By Todd Allen

Marvel wants you to try their digital comics so badly, they’ll even pay you to do so.  Their current deal is buy a Spider-Man digital comic and they’ll mail you a $5 coupon for some print comics.  There are a couple catches to this, but Marvel’s offering you a free comic if you play your cards right.

The big catch to all this is you have to go to a store that’s participating in the program.  According to the announcement page:

**** The e-mail containing the link to your coupon will also include a link to help you find the closest qualifying store(s)

Personally, I’d like to know I could redeem the coupon before I randomly buy the digital comic to get the coupon.  But that’s just me.

Looking at the eligible titles for this promotion, I’m seeing a lot of $1.99 titles, particularly with Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1.  Spend $2, then come out ahead $3 with the coupon.  While Marvel is running this promotion in conjunction with the release of the Spider-Men mini-series, you can use it on any title.  Which is to say, you can use the coupon on Marvel titles you’re already buying.  Or try Daredevil. (You should try Daredevil at some point.)  Technically, since you’ve already spent $1.99, you wouldn’t be getting a $3.99 title for free.  You’d be paying $0.98 for it.  A $2.99 title would be free.

Is this more about bribing people to sample Spider-Men or to sample digital?  If this were exclusively about Spider-Men, that’s the only title the coupon would be good for.  This isn’t the first time Marvel has done an offer like this, either, so it looks like Marvel really wants you to try digital.

1 COMMENT

  1. This could be a smart campaign, but as I amliving in a region of Canada, I am reluctant to try this offer without being certain that my Nearest Participating Comic Store is actually somewhere drivable in a few hours or so, NOT located in the USA or in downtown Toronto.

  2. “Personally, I’d like to know I could redeem the coupon before I randomly buy the digital comic to get the coupon. But that’s just me.”

    Yes. I was ready to buy some comics–but if I won’t know if I can even use the coupon in this country until after I spend the money? No thanks.