Digital Comic News will remain online but will not be updated beginning today. Instead, any news regarding digital comics (such as those for the iPhone, for the PC, etc.) will now be found on the Indy Comic News site.

If you have made Digital Comic News one of your regular visits or if you subscribed to the site’s RSS feed or followed us on Twitter, then you can easily do the same with Indy Comic News.
Many thanks to everyone who visited Digital Comic News during its run. I hope you continue to get your digital comics news fix at Indy Comic News beginning tomorrow.

Pocket Gamer has news of The Dark Knight: Batmobile Game is coming to your iPhone

Massively web site has the latest update regarding the release of DC Universe

New Punisher: War Zone Interactive Comic Book Now Online

ARS Tecnica has an interesting article regarding comic books and video games- Drawn Together: The love affair between comics and games

Today’s announcement marks the fifth title Glu will develop and publish through its licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. Other titles developed with WBDD include Speed Racer, The Dark Knight, Superman/Batman: Heroes United and Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rescue.

Watchmen is known for its unconventional take on the lives of super heroes, depicting them as real people, confronting the trials and tribulations of everyday human life. The film is being directed by Zack Snyder who was behind the success of the box office hit 300. The cast includes such stars as Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian and Matthew Goode in the role of Ozymandias. Other Watchmen are played by Malin Ackerman, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson.

Watchmen: The Mobile Game will be supported by a suite of personalization content which will be available to consumers in early 2009. For more information, visit www.glu.com.

Source: press release

In this email interview with David Steinberger, the man behind ComiXology, he tells us what the ComiXology iPhone application is and what it can do for you.

Digital Comic News: What is iCOS?

iCOS stands for iComicsOnSale. Originally, it was simply a Mac OS X Widget that tracked the week’s comic book releases.

After we launched comiXology.com, which tracks comic book releases far out into the future and past, iCOS became the brand name for any widget-sized software that simplified comiXology.com’s data, so it’s what we call our iPhone web interface as well. iCOS for the iPhone is a simplified version of the comic book data available on comiXology.com, created specifically for the iPhone.

Let me back up and explain comiXology.com. At comiXology, we track the releases of all items that are getting shipped to your local comic book store. I believe we are the single best source for covers, previews, and solicit information on upcoming comic books for all publishers, large and small. You can browse, comment and virtually “pull” your comic books and merchandise, and we’ll remind you on the Wednesday it ships.

Digital Comic News: What has been the reaction so far to it?

We’ve had great reactions to iCOS — Apple featured both the iCOS widget and the iCOS for iPhone on their site when we released them. For some people, I think the widget or iPhone interface is the primary reason they use comiXology.com. It’s a great convenience, being able to get out your iPhone or OS X Dashboard and review the comics you want to buy or check out on your Wednesday morning commute.

We’re the only site out there that offers this type of integration. We connect long-term pull lists (comiXology.com) with desktop software (iCOS widget) and the iPhone (iCOS on the iPhone), and we’re constantly looking to improve the functionality of our entire suite, including deeper connections to local retailers.

Digital Comic News: In addition to iCOS, Comixology also has It Came Out On Wednesday podcast. Do you have any other plans involving the iPhone platform or any other portable platform?

Yes - we have a native comiXology iPhone application that’s “in review” right now at Apple! (Editor’s Note: Since the time of this interview, we have been notified that the iCOS app has been approved by Apple and will be available on December 5th) In essence, it lets a user do anything they can do on the site: browse, pull, look at previews, read our celebrated columnists and listen to It Came Out On Wednesday, all in a great iPhone interface! Hopefully, it will be approved in time for a mid-December release.

Digital Comic News: Where can people get iCOS?

For the iPhone, just browse to http://comixology.com/iphone. For the Mac OS X Widget, you can browse to http://comixology.com/downloads. We’re also on Facebook at http://apps.facebook.com/comixology.

If people are interested in hearing when our native iPhone app is being released, they can sign up at http://comixology.com/iphoneapp — and if they buy in the first week they’ll get it for a dollar off.

Digital Comic News: iCOS signifies a bold move on Comixology’s part by tapping into a market that obviously isn’t being served by any other comic book store at all. Do you see this as a time for comic book stores- regardless if they are online or not- to take things up a notch and make themselves available to this new technology-driven market?

To be clear, we’re not a comic book store — we don’t sell comics directly! Instead, we make great tools and services for consumers and retail stores. There’s just no way for retailers to be able to afford to individually gather all the information about comics that we do.

One of our goals is to make our tools widely available to every retailer. We already have a free service for retailers that allow them to show the covers of all the comics coming to their store on their own web site, and we’re beta testing our service that allows brick-and-mortar retail stores to connect directly to their customers, so when a person “pulls” a comic on comiXology, it’s waiting for them at the store!

As for your question, yes, I think stores need to take advantage of the web. (Of course, I’m biased because we’re creating web-based services for retailers.) However, there are many ways, including free ones, for retailers to create an online presence that allow them to connect with their customers. Comic buyers increasingly research their purchases online, so it’s in the best interest of the retailer to be there to take their order.

The specter of digital comic distribution is no longer looming, but here already. Marvel’s Digital Comics Universe and the comic-as-an-app approach that uClick and iVerse are taking with iPhone comics are examples of the reality of for-profit digital comics.

It will take several years for the digital market to settle, I think. In the meantime, retailers shouldn’t huddle in fear, but find ways to make sure they’re in line (and online) to benefit. Who knows what that will look like in five years? But I guarantee that retailers will have to be online to take part in it.

Based upon Mark Millar’s explosive graphic novel series and helmed by stunning visualist director Timur Bekmambetov-creator of the most successful Russian film franchise in history, the Night Watch series-Wanted tells the tale of one apathetic nobody’s transformation into an unparalleled enforcer of justice. In 2008, the world will be introduced to a hero for a new generation: Wesley Gibson.

25-year-old Wes (James McAvoy) was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known. His boss chewed him out hourly, his girlfriend ignored him routinely and his life plodded on interminably. Everyone was certain this disengaged slacker would amount to nothing. There was little else for Wes to do but wile away the days and die in his slow, clock-punching rut.

Until he met a woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie).

After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly sexy Fox recruits Wes into the Fraternity, a secret society that trains Wes to avenge his dad’s death by unlocking his dormant powers. As she teaches him how to develop lightning-quick reflexes and phenomenal agility, Wes discovers this team lives by an ancient, unbreakable code: carry out the death orders given by fate itself.

In addition to the regular single DVD version, there are also a WANTED Two-Disc Edition, and a Wanted Limited Edition Collector’s Gift Set in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats. The collector’s gift editions come with the following goodies:

* Extended Scene – Be the first to view this killer extended scene from Wanted.
* Cast and Characters – Go behind the scenes with Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Kretschmann and Common as they discuss their roles in the film and their experiences on set.
* Stunts on the L Train – Stunt coordinators Nick Gillard and Mic Rodgers explain how cast members Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy performed the astounding elevated train stunt sequence.
* Special Effects: The Art of the Impossible – Special effects supervisor Dominic Tuohy explains how his team pulled off the stunning special effects throughout the film and how Angelina Jolie contributed to the action.
* Groundbreaking Visual Effects: From Imagination to Execution – A look at how the spectacular visual effects in the film were pre-visualized and executed.
* The Origins of Wanted: Bringing the Graphic Novel to Life – Creator Mark Millar, producer Marc Platt, director Timur Bekmambetov and screenwriters Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan discuss the original graphic novel and the process of adapting it for the big screen.
* Through the Eyes of Visionary Director Timur Bekmambetov – A video portrait of director Timur Bekmambetov, featuring interviews with Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Common, producer Marc Platt and the director himself.
* Wanted: Motion Comics – Watch as the graphic novel comes to life on screen with narration and sound effects.
* The Making of Wanted: The Game
* “The Little Things” Music Video Mash-Up (Please note this feature only appears on the 2-Disc Special Edition and the standard definition collector’s set.)

Exclusive to the Blu-Ray Collector’s edition are the following features:

* Alternate Opening – View this exclusive alternate opening, only on Blu-ray Hi-Def.
* Exclusive U-Control: Universal’s exclusive signature feature U-Control allows viewers to delve into the making of the film with the click of the remote without ever leaving the movie.
* Wanted: Motion Comics: See how the graphic novel compares to the movie in this real-time, side-by-side BD exclusive
* Scene Explorer: Explore the onscreen action from up to three different perspectives in this multi-angle feature.
* Assassins Profile: Get the high-tech low-down on each assassin’s strengths, weapons, and position with your own in-movie surveillance system.
* Picture in Picture: Access cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes moments while you watch the film.
* BD-Live – The new technology that allows viewers to connect to the Internet and access new exciting exclusive online and interactive features.

And much more.