Marvel CyberComics or Webisodes were digital comics produced from 1996 to 2000 by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

using

Adobe Shockwave Adobe Shockwave (formerly Macromedia Shockwave and MacroMind Shockwave) is a discontinued multimedia platform for building interactive multimedia applications and video games. Developers originate content using Adobe Director and publish it o ...

. The Marvel CyberComics were originally made available exclusively on the

AOL AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online ...

web portal, but were later made freely available on the Marvel.com website. The Marvel CyberComics featured established Marvel characters such as

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

and

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

and consisted of a combination of comics and animation. The Marvel CyberComics were removed from the Marvel website in 2000, and the service was succeeded by

Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited Marvel Unlimited (formerly known as Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited) is an American online service owned by Marvel Comics that distributes their Comic book, comic books via the internet. The service launched on November 13, 2007, and now has more ...

in 2007.

History

CyberComics were created by

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

in the summer of 1996 as a part of a promotional deal with

America Online AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo! Inc. The service tra ...

. The CyberComics were placed into the ''AOL/Marvel Zone'' and were exclusively available to AOL users. From 1996 till 1998 there was a run of the ''Spider-Man Cybercomics''. In 1997 Marvel built their own website at MarvelOnline.com and the CyberComics were freely available to all users through registration on MarvelZone.com (due to the contract with AOL). On September 17, 1999 ''NextPlanetOver.com'' (NPO), a now-defunct online comics store, announced a one-year marketing and content licensing deal with Marvel Comics. Terms included a year of run-of-site advertising on Marvel.com. In addition, NextPlanetOver.com was sponsoring monthly CyberComics created exclusively for them by Marvel. NPO was bought out less than a year later and went bankrupt in 2000; the CyberComics were renamed into "Webisodes" and made available at Marvel.com for free without any registration. The first characters to star in CyberComics were ''Spider-Man'' and ''Wolverine'', soon followed by several others. The comics were not only canon to the mainstream but also tied in directly with Marvel's newsstand offerings. They came out on a monthly basis, in four parts consisting of eight pages each. Using Macromedia's Shockwave software, readers guided the action by clicking through word balloons and following panels complete with animation, sound effects and music. CyberComics were still very much in the comic book or strip genre - the result was a cross between comics and animation. The Cybercomics were made by taking penciled pages and transforming them through a program called "Electric Image Painter" and

form-Z Form·Z is a general-purpose solid and surface modeling software. It offers 2D/ 3D form manipulating and sculpting capabilities. It can be used on Windows and Macintosh computers. It is available in English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Greek, ...

into the digital comics, colored in digitally in

Adobe Illustrator Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and Computer-aided design, design software developed and marketed by Adobe Inc., Adobe. Originally designed for the Apple Inc., Apple Mac (computer), Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began ...

. Simple animations were created in Macromedia Shockwave, and Garry Schafer of grimmwerks created the soundscapes which drove the animations. Done at a time previous to mp3 compression as common as it is now, only 4 channels of small, short soundscapes could be used at one time. Due to financial reasons, the production of new CyberComics ceased in 2000 and Marvel removed them from their website. Having a huge back-issue archive, Marvel decided to save money by replacing Marvel CyberComics with Dotcomics. This successor would eventually become

Marvel Unlimited Marvel Unlimited (formerly known as Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited) is an American online service owned by Marvel Comics that distributes their comic books via the internet. The service launched on November 13, 2007, and now has more than 30,000 ...

Heroes

Blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

(A one-shot; 21. August 1998) The story is tied into the film of the same name. Art by

Dærick Gröss Sr. Richard Gröss Event occurs at 1:13-8:35. (January 28, 1947 – December 8, 2023), known professionally as Dærick Gröss Sr., was an American illustrator, writer, editor, and art director. Gröss worked at comic book companies Marvel Comics, DC ...

. *

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

: Invasion Force (In four parts) Two of the

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

' most prominent uncover the truth behind the new alien race, the Ravel, and must halt an

alien invasion Alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and films, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade Earth to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it, harvest people for food, steal the planet's resource ...

! Art by Dærick Gröss Sr.. * Daredevil (v.1): Protection Racket (In four parts; 1998) Featuring Daredevil's fight against Kingpin and

Bullseye Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to: Symbols * ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block * (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click Animals and plants * Bull's Eye, '' Eury ...

. By

D. G. Chichester Daniel G. Chichester (born August 22, 1964) is an American comic book writer. His credits include '' Daredevil'' and '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' for Marvel Comics. Career D. G. Chichester was born in Connecticut, and studied filmmakin ...

and Dærick Gröss Sr. * Daredevil (v.2) #0: What a Life (A one-shot; September 1998) Written by

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

, with art by

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, ...

and

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti star ...

A preview/prequel to the relaunched Daredevil title in 1998. * Heroes Return (In five parts; 1997) It took place between issues #3 and #4 of the Heroes Reborn: The Return Limited Series. The Wall-crawler takes on the Green Goliath and encounters the Heroes Return super-heroes! By

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor (comic book), Thor'', ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...

, Casey Jones and Rob Haynes. * Marvel Milk Maniacs: Race for Destruction (A one-shot; 2000) Starring

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

and

. A promo CyberComic for drinking milk. * Nick Fury / Black Widow: Jungle Warfare (In four parts)

Nick Fury Colonel (United States), Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and ...

and Black Widow race to defuse a bomb buried in the banks of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

- without setting off any political landmines. Art by Casey Jones. *

Deadpool Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is ...

: Ride My Hard Drive, Baby! (In four parts; February 2000) In this quirky tale of everyone's favorite Merc-With-A-Mouth, Deadpool gets interactive as he ends up being downloaded into the computer, owned by his good buddy

Weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...

, and mayhem ensues in Cyberscape! Featuring appearances by

Quasimodo Quasimodo (from Quasimodo Sunday) is the titular protagonist of the French novel '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (1831) by Victor Hugo. Born with numerous deformities, most notably a hunched back, Quasimodo serves as the bell-ringer for Notre ...

Vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

and

. "Ride My Hard Drive, Baby!" is written by Joe Kelly, with art by Casey Jones.

Mutants

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

: The Hunt for the Tomorrow Stone (December 27, 1999) Was the first CyberComic referred to in a printed comic (in the pages of Gambit #12). The plot occurred approximately after Gambit #10 - Gambit helps Spat obtain the Tomorrow Stone to stop her de-aging and save her life. In his quest for it he encounters Sekhmet who needs the Stone herself to save her mother from the suspended animation she was put in by her husband. Sekhmet finally gets the Tomorrow Stone but provides it to Spat and saves her life. After that, Sekhmet goes on looking to find help for her mother. Art by

. *

: Merciless is the Mongrel by

and Dærick Gröss Sr. (In four parts; July 1996). This was one of the two first Marvel CyberComics ever (the other one was with Spider-Man). Pale Flower is playing a dangerous game, with Wolverine in the middle. Can she control a tiger by the tail? Features first appearances by Mongrel and Pale Flower. *

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

: Twisted History (In four parts; January 2000) Written by

with art from Dærick Gröss Sr. the X-Men's original line-up gets a bit of a revamp, with

Rogue A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior or strikes out on an independent and possibly destructive path. Rogue, rogues, or going rogue may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * ...

, and

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue; colossal statues, are generally taken to mean a statue at least twice life-size ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ...

thrown into the mix! *

: The Ravages of Apocalypse (1996 one-shot) Was a promotional CyberComic story tied into the X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse videogame. The game itself was a commercial

total conversion Video game modding (short for "modifying") is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general ''modding''. A set of modifications, commonly c ...

of the '' Quake'' engine. Written by

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles ...

, penciled by Dærick Gröss Sr.

Marvel's Excelsior Theatre

Scoop:
The only "movie" in this "theatre" was called ''The Secret Adventures of Captain America - Far Flung in the Far East'' and came out in five parts in 1999-2000. It was conceived by former editor and

Stan-hattan Project ''The Stan-hattan Project'' was a writing workshop conducted as a joint venture by Marvel Comics and New York University (NYU)'s Department of Dramatic Writing between 1995 and 1996, whose aim was to develop new writing talent for the comic book pu ...

founder James Felder and co-written by James Felder,

Ben Raab Benjamin Raab (born October 13, 1970, in New York City, New York) is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer and editor. Early life Raab is a native of Cedarhurst, New York, and attended Lawrence High School. He gradu ...

and Joe Kelly with art/designs by

John Cassaday Johnny Mac Cassaday (; December 14, 1971 – September 9, 2024) was an American comic book artist, writer, and television director. He was best known for his work on the critically acclaimed ''Planetary (comics), Planetary'' with writer Warren Ell ...

and overseen by John Cerilli; sound effects, music, animation and even the voice of Captain America was provided by Garry Schafer. The idea was to do a

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

animated series with actors and writers contributing the characters' voices - all involved recorded parts - John Cerilli was Nick Fury, for example. Sort of a retro-modern version of the old movie serials with a bit of the

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

's ''

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...

'' radio show vibe. It was discontinued after the fifth episode without bringing the story to an end for unclear reasons. Story:
Chasing down a mysterious phenomenon in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

during the

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

confronts the nefarious

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

! A certain Sergeant Fury is present and accounted for as well, but with allies like these... Other appearances include

Dum Dum Dugan Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum Dum" Dugan is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an officer of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is one of the most experienced members of Nick Fury's team, known for his marksmanship w ...

and Sgt. Fury's Howling Commandos, consisting of Dino Manelli, Rebel Ralston,

Gabe Jones Gabriel "Gabe" Jones is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, he made his first appearance in World War II war comics series '' ...

Pinky Pinkerton Percival "Pinky" Pinkerton is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character's first appearance was in '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' #8 (July 1964), in which he replaced Jonathan Junio ...

and Izzy Cohen. * Episode 1: Valley of Death * Episode 2: In the Clutches of the Mandarin * Episode 3: The Valley of Lost Spirits * Episode 4: The Road of Frozen Hells * Episode 5: Fireworks Review:
The adventure featured numerous "firsts", including a new first meeting of Captain America and Nick Fury; one that is decidedly different than the one featured in the pages of Sgt Fury comic. Much more advanced than the CyberComics, it had music and actors performing their parts and more advanced animation. Oddly the story seemed to take the stand that Nick Fury was somehow opposed to Captain America beforehand, seeing him as some kind of glorified piece of propaganda.

External links

Excelsior Theatre episodes and a write up of the process

Marvel Digital Comics
*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110810214626/http://www.comicsbulletin.com/features/95816259268328.htm An interviewwith

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin is a daily website covering the comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks In January 2000, New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice founded then named Silver Bullet Comicbooks. During this period, the site ...

{{Marvel Comics American webcomics Internet properties established in 1996 Internet properties disestablished in 2000 Marvel Comics titles Webcomic syndicates

History

Heroes

Mutants

Marvel's Excelsior Theatre

See also

External links