‘Batman Beyond’ on Sale Digitally and in Print Simultaneously

The coming of a Batman Beyond ongoing series was one of the more welcome announcements of last year's New York Comic Con. The miniseries by Adam Beechen and Ryan Benjamin struck a chord with fans of the 1990s animated series on which it was based, and DC Comics promptly upgraded the book to a monthly that begins anew this week. DC is supporting Batman Beyond with a bit of extra oomph: each issue will be available for sale digitally on the same day the print version goes on sale in comic book stores, and for the relatively low price of $2.99. The catch? That's the same price as the print version.

Batman Beyond #1 is on sale now in comic book stores as well as DC Comics' digital outlets, including comiXology (Apple devices and Web) and the PlayStation Network.

"This year's Batman Beyond comic book miniseries really caught on, and the fan reaction to the character's return was so great that we decided to continue it as an ongoing series," said Jim Lee, Co-Publisher, DC Comics, "As a publisher, we've decided to up the ante even further by releasing Batman Beyond digitally day and date with print to ensure that we're reaching the broadest possible reader audience."

The announcement came via DC Comics' The Source blog, where one DC fan commented, "I am glad day-and-date is becoming more common, but if I am already going to my comic shop to buy the rest of my stack, and this is the same price, why wouldn't I just buy the hard copy?"

The Batman Beyond news comes a few days after Marvel announced its intention to make the much hyped "The Death of Spider-Man" storyline available in print and digital simultaneously, with both versions priced at $3.99.