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Marvel and VIZ Media are coming together to bridge the manga/superhero divide (and promote their digital services)

Two of the giants in comic publishing, Marvel and VIZ, make a rare partnership we'd love to see more of.

Viz Media/Marvel — Image credit: Marvel/Viz Media

Published on Tue Apr 16 2024

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In a synergistic team-up worthy of a '197'70s Marvel comic, Marvel and VIZ Media have partnered for a cross-promotion that brings Marvel’s superheroes to VIZ’s digital platform… and ideally will allow fans of either western comics or manga have an easy (and no-cost!) way to learn about what else is out there.

Following on from February’s announcement that the two companies would be working together to re-release some classic manga featuring Marvel characters, VIZ and Marvel have announced that VIZ Manga’s digital service will become home to Marvel manga including Deadpool: Samurai, Wolverine: Snikt!, Spider-Man: Fake Red, and Marvel’s Secret Reverse, with both Spider-Man: Octo Girl and X-Men: The Manga: Remastered arriving on the service this fall.

Perhaps more surprisingly, both Viz and Marvel are marking the announcement with a promotional effort to allow subscribers of either Viz Media’s digital platform and Marvel’s subscription service Marvel Unlimited to sample the other service. Subscribers to either service have already been emailed details and codes to redeem a month’s free subscription to their opposite number, with the offer available through May 16 and only to U.S. subscribers, unfortunately.

As a cross-promotional tool, it’s a simple one — and potentially a very effective one, allowing fans of either manga or western superhero comics to step outside of their particular niche and sample something different for a change. Sure, both forms of comics may be read in opposite directions from each other, but otherwise, there’s more than enough crossover that a curious fan looking for something more from their reading could very well discover their next new favorite thing through this experience. Here’s to reminders that comics are comics - and to free month-long trials for things, as well.

Find out more about the Viz/Marvel digital crossover right here.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.