At iVerse we couldn’t be more excited about the release of SHREK: The Final Chapter — which is out in theaters today!  We’re so excited about Shrek, and all the Dreamworks animation offerings, that we’ve partnered with our friends at Ape Entertainment to bring you the comic movie PREQUEL!!

You can head over to iTunes right now and download the comic for $1.99 — that gets you the full Shrek Prequel story “Rumpelstiltskin’s Revenge” giving you all the details on the film’s main baddy!  Plus you can grab two additional stories in the app as well for $0.99 each!  These are “Cookie Monster” — starring everyone’s favorite Gingerbread Man, and “Lost Flute” exploring the mysterious Pied Piper!  

It’s fun for all ages, and the app is a universal binary which means it will run on iPhone, iPod Touch, AND iPad for just one purchase price!

Click Here to check it out!

You can find some really great new titles in iVerse Comics this week — let’s run down the list of what’s new!

First up is Archie #608!  This issue is a great jumping on point for new readers and begins a new storyline in Archie’s life —- and a new love interest for everyone’s favorite Riverdale redhead.  You can find this in both iVerse Comics and the kid friendly Archie Comics applications!  

There are more great Archie releases this week as well, including classic issues of Betty and Veronica, Archie and Friends, and more!  Check them all out!

Next, from IDW Publishing we have some fantastic new releases — The COMPLETE Transformers: Bumblebee and Star TRek: Assignment Earth mini-series are available now! Plus, G.I. Joe Origins #13, the complete Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression and the complete Locke & Key: Head Games series are out now as well!  You can find all IDW titles in iVerse Comics, or IDW Comics, and Star Trek, Transformers, and G.I. Joe are also available in their own age-appropriate apps!

Our weekly release of the phenomenal Dynamo 5 Image Comics series also continues — and there are now 15 issues of the series available.  The first one is free — so give it a shot if you haven’t checked out this innovative superhero team book yet!

US users will be able to dive into an enormous Marvel update featuring the first 12 issues of Iron Man, the first 30 issues of the most recent Captain America series, as well as the dramatic Daredevil: Yellow series, Civil War, and more!  New Marvel titles are being added all the time — so check back often for new releases!

For those of you who may not be aware, May 1st is Free Comic Book Day. FCBD is a one day a year event where comic book store give away a variety of free comics to anyone who walks in the door!

These are great starter comics and are easy entry points for anyone looking to get into comic books and the comic shop experience.

At iVerse we love print comics and cannot wait to hit our local stores tomorrow and see what kind of cool books this year's FCBD brings!!

If you're traveling or not sure where a local store is in your area, iVerse has teamed up with Diamond Comics to make it easy for iPhone and iPad owners to find local shops!

If you have the latest version of iVerse Comics then you already have the Diamond Comic Shop Locator installed! On your iPad just touch the "more" button on your comic shelf and touch "Find Comic Shops". On the iPhone you'll find the same feature in the "Settings" tab.

You can also download the Comic Shop Locator as a stand alone app on your iPhone right here -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/comic-shop-locator-service/id313295031?mt=8

There are some great comics for kids and adults of all ages that will be available tomorrow -- so go get them!!! Support your local stores!

iVerse Comics is pleased to announce that many titles from Marvel’s ICON imprint are now available in the iVerse Comics store for iPhone and iPad!

Launch titles include “Kick-Ass”, “Incognito”, and “Criminal” — which are available WORLD WIDE!  “Powers” will also be available in the US and Canada shortly!

We’re very excited to be adding these amazing titles to our ever expanding library of digital comics! 

If you haven’t yet downloaded iVerse Comics you can get the universal application for both iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad right here.

Michael Here —

You know, we release a lot of spectacular content on the iPhone and iPad devices…and I’m very proud to be able to help bring all of it to you in this new Digital Age that is just beginning…but every now and again there is a book that I love so much, I just have to write about it for a minute.

“Parker: The Hunter” is a very special book to me.  I have always loved hardboiled crime novels, and I have always loved the work of Darwyn Cooke — so when it was first announced that this series was going to be released in print…I was elated to say the least. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it, and the day it hit comic shops, I was there.  I plunked down my $25 for the hardcover, and that book is sitting on a shelf right now in my office.  I actually took the book with me to the hospital and read it while waiting to go back for my second child to be born….that’s where I read it for the first time.  It’s an odd kind of book to be reading at that particular moment in your life, and I certainly hope my son makes better life choices that the lead character in the story…but I can’t wait for him to be old enough for me to share this book with him. 

This book is an absolute masterwork — and shows how truly powerful the comic book medium can be.  

It’s also a book that I think makes the PERFECT case for DIGITAL AND PRINT instead of DIGITAL VS. PRINT.  Here’s why —

IDW is a publisher that is truly committed to making the highest quality comic books available.  “The Hunter” defines this.  The book is printed exquisitely, with every possible attention to detail ironed out.  From the paper color and texture, to the design of the hardcover itself — the BOOK feels like it belongs on a shelf with any other prose hard cover you may own.  

For some, though, you might want to try it out first.  Well, if you own an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad — we can help with that, because IDW has released this title digitally for the price of $1.99 per chapter…so you can get the entire story for $8.  

I implore you to give this book a try — I think you’ll love it…and if you DO buy it and like it digitally, I think you owe it to yourself to run down to your local comic shop and take a look at the hard cover print edition of this book.  I think when you see the quality of the print material, you’ll be hard pressed NOT to lay down the cold hard cash to add it to your bookshelf.