Virgin Comics and MySpace have partnered to launch Coalition Comix, an online comic book platform that will allow users to work with comic book creators in developing and creating characters and stories.
Coalition Comix will commission some of the comic book industry’s creators to work with users as virtual “Story Masters.” Creators will guide participants to collectively develop new story properties for comics that can be used to create films, games and animations.
“Coalition Comix will allow readers to collaborate artistically with both a leading comics professional as well as thousands of like-minded MySpace users all over the world,” said Sharad Devarajan, CEO of Virgin Comics.
“It opens the door to a new world of interactions and collaborations, taking an exciting step into the creative possibilities of the internet, and a new form of collaborative art without borders, barriers, or limits.”
Each issue will have a creation period of two weeks, with sketches, artwork and scripts uploaded for user interaction. The first comic will be led by comic book author Mike Carey. (Voodoo Child, X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four).
Carey will communicate with readers and oversee the development of the plot along with reviewing feedback from readers, and asking questions with five or six choices for the Coalition Comix participants to choose from. Participant’s ideas and votes will decide the final plot.
Gotham Chopra, Virgin Comic’s Chief Creative Officer, said, “Creativity and innovation our the core ingredients to everything we try and do at Virgin Comics.”
“So when we decided we wanted to experiment online and do something different, there was only one partner that made sense to work with – MySpace. What are we gonna create together? No one knows, but it will be cool. That’s the point.”
