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Via PR, a new initiative between publisher Dark Horse, electronics giant Toshiba, and newspaper USA Today called DH:HD (Dark Horse: High-Def), but it’s not quite clear what it is. It will bring comics to multiple platforms — desktop, digital and doorstep — and be like Wednesday Comics (which ran a Superman page in the online USA Today after a print launch) and will be viewable on Toshiba’s giant HD TVs. It will also involve Dark Horse top properties. Hm.

The program kicked off today with a feature on Janet and Alex Evanovich’s new graphic novel, TROUBLEMAKER, which appears to be a digital comic with some kind of Flash interface looming over a profile of the Evanovii. Okay then! PR below:

Three leaders in pop culture have come together for a groundbreaking new program to bring comics to your desktop, doorstep, and digital TV! Following up on the success of USA Today’s Wednesday Comics program, it was announced today that the nation’s top-selling print newspaper will bring comics to the forefront of culture yet again. The program will showcase exclusive and all-new original content from Dark Horse Comics’ top properties and creators across a variety of media platforms.

“As an entertainment company, Dark Horse prides itself on pushing the boundaries with groundbreaking creators and content,” said Mike Richardson, president and publisher of Dark Horse Comics. “We’re excited to continue this tradition by showcasing some of our most exciting stories in this all-new program with these great partners.” 

“As a leader in home entertainment built on Toshiba’s rich 130-year history of groundbreaking technologies, we are proud to associate our products, including our new LED HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc players, with the compelling and legendary Dark Horse brand,” said Maria Repole, vice president of communications for Toshiba. “This truly exciting campaign will help Toshiba build a connection with a passionate group of consumers eager to experience fresh content in innovative ways.”

“USA Today is excited to be partnering with Toshiba and Dark Horse on this innovative program. It’s a terrific example of how USA Today can take exclusive content and turn it into a compelling cross-platform reader experience,” said Susan Lavington, senior vice president of marketing for USA Today.

The DH:HD (Dark Horse: High-Def) program kicks off today with an exclusive look at best-selling author Janet Evanovich’s first graphic novel, Troublemaker, in USA Today. The newspaper and Toshiba will maintain momentum by continuing to showcase Dark Horse’s content online, in print, and at the Comic-Con International in San Diego and New York Comic Con. In October, Dark Horse will roll out a series of all-new stories created exclusively for the program.

1 COMMENT

  1. Hold on, let me get out my PR bingo card…

    “great”
    “compelling” x 2
    “groundbreaking” x 3
    “legendary”
    “exciting”
    “innovative” x 2

    Yep, they more than covered their hyperbole quota.

    Too bad there’s not much in the way of actual details of what and how.

  2. Interesting…
    I read the Evanovich article earlier via Google News, but there is nothing on the USA Today web page to indicate that there is a preview.

    I thought that was just some sort of banner ad for the book… perhaps they should add the word “preview” to the title.

    Hmmm…
    Not intuitive.
    The hand cursor seems to indicate “stop” not “grab”.
    There’s no full page option, you have to scroll up and down the small pane at the top of the page.
    There’s no easy way to scroll.
    There are no “help tags” to define the controls.

    The content is pretty good… I’ll give the book a read.

  3. I don’t like the clunky flash interface. Flash isn’t the future for online comic content. It’s terrible! The project looks pretty cool, but I only got to page 3 before I was fed up with the interface wonkiness. Fail!