AOL and DC Comics Launch Online Batman Comic Strip

Posted on October 10, 2003

The Dark Knight Detective, the citizens of Gotham City and AOL members will soon have a new nemesis -- Sin Tzu -- who will make his cyberspace debut this Fall in the a new original online Batman comic strip created for America Online by DC Comics. Through an agreement between AOL and DC Comics, "Batman: Shadow of Sin Tzu" will appear online exclusively on AOL five days a week. This new Batman ongoing storyline was developed especially for the online environment and for KOL, AOL's new experience for kids, which will be available to consumers this Fall.

In the upcoming daily strip written by Mark Schultz and with art by Rick Burchett, Gotham's most notorious villains have banded together under mysterious circumstances. Batman must discover who is behind this diabolical conspiracy before an all-out war descends on the city. As the mystery unfolds, kids can go online each weekday and get a new episode in this year-long serial.

"Kids love comics and Batman is one of the coolest, most beloved superheroes of all time," said Malcolm Bird, Senior Vice President and General Manager Kids and Teens, America Online. "We are thrilled to give kids online access to this original online comic series that they can follow online all year. This offering from DC Comics is a great example of AOL's commitment to offering kids cool original programming they can't get anywhere else."

AOL and DC Comics have also joined forces to offer additional content and features for AOL's kids and teens audiences. Kids can check out special Batman and Superman comics online at KOL as well as access other features related to superheroes. In addition, each weekday, kids and teens can get new Spy vs. Spy comics and excerpts from Mad Magazine.

"'Batman: Shadow of Sin Tzu' is the first-ever strip exclusively developed by DC for the online environment, and we are thrilled to give AOL members access to this special online edition of such an exciting comic," said Richard Bruning, Senior VP & Creative Director at DC Comics. "By bringing this world-class superhero to the Internet, we are literally bridging the generational gap between parents who grew up reading Batman stories in comic books and watching him on television and their kids who will now be able to check out Batman's daily adventures online."