MARVEL ADAPTING COMICS INTO NOVELS

With comic book sales still in decline, even with the boost from DC‘s New 52, Marvel has decided to enter the Prose Novel market. Although this isn’t their first foray into the medium, it will be their first huge push to reproduce all of their major trade paper backs into novel form.

Here’s the full press release for more:

New York, NY—December 20th, 2011 — The world’s most popular super heroes can be found in the pages of Marvel Comics every week, but now their greatest stories are set to conquer the world of prose fiction! Launching in June 2012 with the adaptation of CIVIL WAR, Marvel will release its most popular stories of all time as prose novels.

It all begins in CIVIL WAR, adapted by author Stuart Moore (Wolverine), with the story that irrevocably altered the Marvel Universe and redefined comic books for an entire generation. In the wake of a tragedy, Capitol Hill proposes the Superhuman Registration Act, requiring all costumed heroes to unmask themselves before the government. Divided, the nation’s greatest champions must each decide how to react — but will you side with Iron Man or Captain America? And just which heroes will pay the ultimate price?

“Releasing our most acclaimed graphic novels as prose fiction not only allows us to reach a different audience with these stories, but also gives us a chance to bring those readers back to the comics that started it all,” said David Gabriel, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marvel Entertainment. “CIVIL WAR is easily our best-selling graphic novel of the past decade and certainly one of the most influential in recent memory, so it was the perfect launch title for this new line. Not only will you get all the action that Mark Millar and Steve McNiven delivered in comic form but no fan will want to miss the new wrinkles we’ve added in this novel.”

What’d you guys think? I feel bad admitting this, but I don’t like reading about Superheroes in prose. It’s a very visual genre, and it’s just such a difficult barrier to overcome. Do you guys have the same problem? Sound off below.