As we’ve done previously, we’ve got a preview of the brand new Marvel motion comic Astonishing X-Men: Gifted. Featuring the talents of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, this project offers fans a cool way to enjoy a great comic story on their favorite portable device like an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Even though I’m a fan of reading paper comics and I hope they don’t go away any time soon, this is just another way in which new fans can potentially be brought into the fold. Which is a good thing. Plus, with this kind of story and the talent involved, you have to expect this to be a pretty big success for Marvel. Hopefully, that will mean more comics will be getting the “motion” treatment.

So, check out this preview and enjoy it. Also, as we agreed to do in order to bring you cool things like this, following is Marvel’s “official” info about this project and this preview.

Marvel is proud to unveil your first look at episode 2 of the Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic! Based on the acclaimed story by superstars Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and John Cassaday (Captain America), the X-Men are faced with a mysterious new villain and a possible cure for the mutant gene! Now Cyclops, Wolverine and all your favorite mutants must face the greatest threats of their lives and, before it’s all done, experience one of the most jaw-dropping moments in Marvel history!

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March 7th, 2007. A date that will live in comics infamy. The day that America lost its heart and soul. Captain America, after surrendering at the end of the superhero Civil War, walked up the steps of a New York Courthouse and was gunned down in a massive conspiracy orchestrated by his original nemesis, the Red Skull.

It made national mainstream news. The death of a comic book hero was covered by everyone from Yahoo’s front page to the Daily Show and from ABC News to CNN. For a moment in time, a nation mourned the death of a fictional character. Eventually, people got back to their everyday lives.

Many quickly forgot as they brushed off the death of a fictional character. Others took longer to recover because an ideal, the embodiment of their nation, a symbol they had looked up to for as long as they could remember, was gone. What might have made it easier for them was the cliche’ that characters don’t really stay dead in comics.

With a few exceptions (Most likely because the deaths have been so recent), this holds true. Two of the best examples of this are DC’s death of Superman and Marvel’s death of Jean Grey. The former made national news in the 1990’s and had everyone catching the collector’s bug and clamoring for the comic. Issues which priced at $1.25 were bought in by the caseload only to be resold for $50 to $100 an issue.

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