If you want to learn more about Marvel's 'Daredevil,' you need this app - it's like Netflix for comic books
Marvel Digital Unlimited is an app for iPhone, Android, and the web that gives you unfettered access to (almost) the entirety of Marvel's 77-year comics publishing history in electronic form. Take it from a comics addict like me, it's the best deal around.
Digital Unlimited works like Netflix. So long as you're paid up, you can read issues indefinitely, and store up to 12 issues for offline reading. That includes literally thousands of issues featuring characters like the Avengers, Spider-man, Jessica Jones, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and, yes, Daredevil.
And as an added bonus, thanks to the fact that Disney owns both Marvel and Lucasfilm, Marvel Digital Unlimited has tons and tons of "Star Wars" comics, to boot.
It starts at $9.99/month or $69 a year, but Marvel is having a special to promote the new season of "Daredevil" - sign up before April 3rd, and you can get Digital Unlimited for $60/year. Just use the coupon code "SEASON2."
Marvel Digital Unlimited can be a little daunting, given the sheer amount of comics available. And while it does offer curated collections to get you started with characters like Daredevil and crossover events like "Secret Wars," here's a very quick list of suggested starting points for the curious Netflix fan:
- Daredevil #168 - the first appearance of Elektra.
- Daredevil #227 - 233 - the "Born Again" story, featuring the Kingpin.
- The Amazing Spider-Man #129 - the first apperance of the Punisher.
- Daredevil vol. 3 #1 - Daredevil moves to San Francisco, kicking off the current era.
There's a catch here, though: Marvel Digital Unlimited only gets brand-new issues on a 6-month lag.
So if you absolutely have to read the very latest issue of "Daredevil" or "Amazing Spider-Man," you're better off going with Amazon's Comixology app, which lets you buy comics for your phone or tablet outright.
But with comics averaging $4 an issue, these days, believe me when I tell you that Marvel Digital Unlimited is a much more economical option, delay and all.
On a final note, it's kind of a bummer that with "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" so close to hitting theaters that DC Comics doesn't offer its own version of this app. Hopefully, one day.