From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips



Disney Inks Webtoon Deal to Bring 100 Titles Featuring Characters
From Marvel, Star Wars and More to Webcomics App
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Spider-Man, Captain America, Darth Vader, Beauty and the Beast,
and more from Disney's intellectual-property treasure chest are
coming to Webtoon - with about 100 titles from the Mouse House
set to hit the popular webcomics app over the next several years.

The deal between Webtoon Entertainment and Disney spans webcomics
featuring iconic characters from Disney, Marvel, 20th Century
Studios and Star Wars. Those will include existing comics and
graphic novels from Disney's catalog reformatted for Webtoon's
vertical-scroll app, in addition to all-new original titles that
are currently in development. The Disney webcomics will be
available in a dedicated section of the Webtoon English-language
app, which has over 80 million monthly active users.

Financial terms of the multiyear deal aren't being disclosed. But
in terms of publishing partnerships, the Webtoon pact is "one of
the biggest we have ever done," says Daniel Fink, senior VP, head
of digital innovation at Disney Consumer Products.

The first Disney-owned webcomic to debut will be the Amazing
Spider-Man later in August. That will be followed by Marvel's
Avengers, Star Wars, Alien and "As Old as Time: A Twisted Tale"
(with Belle and the Beast). Webtoon will be promoting the new
Disney partnership at New York Comic Con, which runs Oct. 9-12.

In Webtoon's freemium model, the first few episodes of a webcomic
are free to read; to get full access, users must purchase in-app
"coins" and redeem them for premium purchases. At press time,
pricing of the Disney comics on Webtoon was not available.

The launch of Disney comics on Webtoon comes after the companies
had been in talks for about a year. Fink says webcomics readership
has grown dramatically in recent years and has attracted "people
who are not traditional comics readers." Webtoon's base of
80 million-plus monthly active users was appealing to Disney, and
Fink sees the deal as bolstering its reach internationally and
with Gen Z audiences.

"We have such amazing stories at Disney and Marvel, and we want
our stories to reach as many as people as possible," Fink says.

Both Disney and Webtoon say none of the webcomics produced under
their deal will use AI technology. "It's all traditional
creative," says Fink. The new webcomics will be produced by
Webtoon with Disney's approval, but the companies aren't sharing
what characters will be in the mix except to say the titles will
range "from superhero epics to galaxy-spanning adventures."

Disney talked to multiple players in the webcomics space and "we
saw that Webtoon was the clear leader," according to Fink. In
addition, Webtoon Entertainment is based in L.A. (while its parent
company, Naver Corp., is based in South Korea). "Big picture, it
was a pretty easy decision," Fink says.

Disney joined Webtoon's roster of other content partners, which
includes Warner Bros. Discovery's DC Comics, Discord and K-pop
giant HYBE.

For Webtoon's part, the company saw a huge opportunity to team
with Disney, whose brands are "among the most legendary, creative
and successful in the industry," says Yongsoo Kim, chief strategy
officer and head of global at Webtoon. "We believe teaming up
together is mutually beneficial."

Webtoon Entertainment's brands and platforms, in addition to the
Webtoon app, includes user-generated fiction app Wattpad, Webtoon
Productions, Studio N, Studio LICO, Webtoon Unscrolled, Line Manga
and eBookJapan.

In June 2024, Webtoon Entertainment went public with an IPO on the
Nasdaq exchange. For 2024, the company reported $1.35 billion in
revenue (up 5.1%) and a net loss of $152.9 million (versus a net
loss of $144.8 million the year prior). Between 2017 and 2023, the
company says, it paid out $2.8 billion to creators, with the top
100 creators earning more than $1 million and overall creators
paid an average of $48,000.



<https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/webtoon-disney-100-titles-marvel-star-wars-webcomics-1236486840/>




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