Press Release
IDW and the U.S. Army announced today they have entered into an all-new digital distribution agreement to feature the U.S. Army’s America’s Army Comics on virtually every digital platform — the IDW Comics app; Comics by comiXology for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, Nook, Windows 8 and the Web; Apple iBooks; Amazon Kindle; Barnes & Noble Nook; and Kobo. The America’s Army Comics let readers delve into the storyline behind the highly successful America’s Army PC game (www.americasarmy.com) that provides players an inside perspective and virtual role in the U.S. Army.
For over eleven years America’s Army (AA) players have been able to experience Army-influenced training and missions as they learned about the necessity of teamwork and leadership for success. The AMERICA’s Army Comics were created as a way to let players further explore the game’s storyline and character plots of Soldiers’ lives when deployed or at home. Initially launched for America’s Army 3, the new AMERICA’s Army Comics are setting the stage for the upcoming America’s Army: Proving Grounds game to be launched later this year.
“IDW is proud to work with the America’s Army team to bring this comic series to digital comics readers everywhere,” said Jeff Webber, IDW’s Vice President of Digital Publishing. “This is a great action story and a perfect complement to the game. Who would have suspected that the Army has strong comic creators too!”
“This partnership with IDW is an exciting step for us as we are able to work together to bring America’s Army and stories of U.S. Army Soldiers to a larger readership, said Marsha Berry, Project Manager for America’s Army.
AMERICA’s Army Comics tell the story of U.S. Soldiers deployed to Czervenia, a tiny foreign nation in the middle of a chaotic conflict. From a seemingly insignificant nation of Czervenia, President-General Adzic and his army set upon a campaign of annihilation against the neighboring Republic of the Ostregals, setting in motion a mysterious plan that could change the course of world power forever. America’s Army must create new experimental combat teams, forged together in secret Proving Grounds, and uncover the General’s insidious plot before time runs out.
Today’s announcement kicks off with the release of four AMERICA’s Army Comics — America’s Army Issue 1: Knowledge is Power, America’s Army Issue 2: Rise to the Challenge, America’s Army Issue 3: Under a Watchful Eye and America’s Army Issue 4: Escalation. Over the coming months, the Army will release new issues that further the plot for the game’s missions and maps.
The America’s Army comic series is produced by Michael Barnett and written by M. Zachary Sherman (Radical Studio’s Shrapnel). At the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con, M. Zachary Sherman and comic book artist Scott Brooks will be signing special edition art and comics at the IDW booth.
About IDW
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE and MY LITTLE PONY; Paramount’s Star Trek; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; 2000AD’s Judge Dredd; The Rocketeer; Toho’s Godzilla; Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons; HBO’s True Blood; and the Eisner-Award winning Locke & Key series, created by best-selling author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints, and Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio.
IDW’s critically- and fan-acclaimed series are continually moving into new mediums. Currently, Warner Brothers and Barry Sonnenfeld are attached to adapt LORE into a feature film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Disney are creating a feature film based on World War Robot, with Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes and Sony bringing Zombies vs. Robots to film.
About America’s Army
America’s Army (www.americasarmy.com) products use innovative technology to provide authentic and entertaining Army experiences that reflect the lives, training, technology, skills, careers and values of a United States Army Soldier. The flagship is the America’s Army PC Game, the official game of the U.S. Army. It’s rated T for Teen and can be downloaded free from Steam. The Army launched America’s Army in July of 2002, America’s Army: Special Forces in 2003, and America’s Army 3 in June 2009. The next version of the game, America’s Army: Proving Grounds, brings the best features of the previous games to a new AA environment that stresses small unit tactical maneuvers. The America’s Army Comic series, which includes online and mobile issues available for download, lets readers further explore the America’s Army storyline and delve deep into character plots of Soldiers’ lives when deployed and at home. America’s Army is produced by the Army Game Studio, part of the AMRDEC Software Engineering Directorate at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Alabama.
