Is this a sign that print is going to indeed die? The mighty publisher of Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America and the X-Men is moving online to distribute hundreds of its comic books as downloads. Marvel Comics has launched a new digital comics section on its website to entice kids and grown-ups to read old and new stories featuring their favorite superheroes. While movies based on Marvel superheroes are making billions of dollars as movies the medium that begat them isn’t as good as it used to be. Citing a loss of readership to video games and the internet, Marvel is hoping to bring back some of its old guard and maybe new fans as well by offering their comics database by either an annual subscription ($59.88) or a monthly fee ($9.99). When you pay up Marvel promises that you will get to read online the entire run of “X-Men” and the first 100 issues of “Amazing Spider-Man” and “Fantastic Four” as well as dozens of other new series. About 20 new comics will be placed online each week and about six months after they were offered for sale at the newsstand. The company is using a special browser which lets you read the comic book instantly and without having to download it.

You can try the service out now for free as Marvel has 250 sample comic books available at www.marvel.com/digitalcomics.