Disney and Webtoon join forces to launch new digital comics platform
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Disney announced on Monday that it is launching a new digital comics platform in partnership with popular online comics service Webtoon.
The platform will bring together comics from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, 20th Century Studios, and other brands for the first time in a single place.
According to Disney’s blog post on September 15, “For the first time, more than 35,000 Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar, and 20th Century Studios Digital comic books will be available in one digital platform for fans to experience.”
The new service will feature both vertical and traditional comic formats. It will offer archived comics, ongoing comic book series, and original stories.
The platform will be built and operated by Webtoon Entertainment and will include decades of iconic comics from Disney’s portfolio.
Current Marvel Unlimited subscribers will also have access to these comics, while new fans can explore storytelling from across Disney’s brands along with a selection of Webtoon Original stories.
The blog post stated, “Disney and Webtoon have entered into a non-binding term sheet for the development of an all-new digital comics platform that will feature current comic book runs and include decades of past comics from across Disney’s portfolio, including Marvel, Star Wars, 20th Century Studios, and more.”
Disney and Webtoon had earlier announced a multi-year collaboration that would feature nearly 100 reformatted classic series and new original stories optimised for Webtoon’s vertical-scroll format. The post noted, “This development, alongside Disney announcing plans to acquire a 2% equity interest in Los Angeles-based Webtoon, spiked the company’s share price by 90% to $28.48.”
This partnership is seen as a major step in expanding Disney’s presence in the digital comics space.
Shares of South Korean studios linked to web novels and comics also surged, with Mr. Blue Corp. shares climbing nearly 20% on Tuesday.