At the SXSW Film and Interactive festival over the weekend, Marvel took the wraps off of several new digital initiatives during the company’s panel. Among the items highlighted were new content that will tie the company’s film, animation, comics, and web programming together with reality programming, news and documentaries.

All of these will be anchored by the newly announced program Marvel’s Earth’s Mightiest Show, a weekly pop culture program covering all-things Marvel and the world. Former G4 star Blair Butler will host the show, which will cover movies, comics, video games, and television with celebrity interviews and first looks at upcoming Marvel Studios films.

So yeah, you know that’s gonna be amazing. To see just how amazing, check out the preview for the show after the break.

In addition, the company also announced it is offering free downloads of more than 700 first issues of many of the company’s favorite superhero comics at no charge. The promotion began Sunday and runs until 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Historic issues based on classic characters in the Marvel Universe including Spider-Man and Iron Man will be available, as well as contemporary titles like Civil War and Astonishing X-Men.

X-Men: First Class is supposed to be a return to form for Fox’s mutant franchise. First, they brought in franchise hero Bryan Singer to shepard the project, then they hired up and coming director Matthew Vaughn to direct, both of whom were in line to helm X3 back when the franchise was golden. So there has been a conscious effort from the execs to tap into the memories of happier times.

That trend is continuing now that the marketing team has their hands on the movie. The two most recent international posters have been released and they share some stark similarities to some of the finer X-Men works of the last decade.

The first new poster shows most of our main characters walking towards the viewer from a dutch angle. This is a clear homage to the one of the most famous panels from Joss Whedon’s ‘Astonishing X-Men’ run. Also, the general design with all of the main characters on a single plane with the more important characters standing progressively more forward is extremely reminiscent of a popular X-Men 2 poster.

More analysis after the jump!

Even with all the cool ways to be entertained these days, sometimes its just nice to sit down and read a few new comics. Speaking of new comics, as usual, this week sees the release of a bunch of new ones from our friends at Marvel.

Let’s take a look at what they have for us. Among the new ones coming out, we’re most interested in Astonishing X-Men #36, Avengers #10, Iron Man 2.0 #1, X-Men #8 and Secret Avengers #10.

As with most weeks, new comics arrive on Wednesday, so hit your nearest comics book store early for best selection.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:
AGE OF X ALPHA #1 AOX 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
AGE OF X ALPHA #1 CONRAD 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #655
ASTONISHING X-MEN #36
ASTONISHING X-MEN #36 KALUTA VARIANT
AVENGERS #10
CAPTAIN AMERICA #615
DEADPOOL #33
DEADPOOL CORPS #11
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #884
FANTASTIC FOUR #587 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
FANTASTIC FOUR #588
HALO: FALL OF REACH – BOOT CAMP #4

Another week and more comics coming out from our pals at Marvel. This week we’re pretty excited for new ones like the latest Avengers, Astonishing X-Men #35, Secret Warriors #19, Spider-Man #5 and the debut of Namor: The First Mutant.

Like most weeks, comics are on sale this Wednesday so head on over to your favorite comics shop early for best selection. Don’t know where your nearest comic store is?

Use this handy guide to find one. Also, be sure to check out covers for some of these books after the break.

Comics On-Sale:

ALL-NEW WOLVERINE SAGA
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #638 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (OMT)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS: AMERICAN SON #4
ASTONISHING X-MEN #35
AVENGERS #4
AVENGERS #4 JRJR CHARACTER VARIANT
AVENGERS #4 WOMEN OF MARVEL FRAME VARIANT
BLACK WIDOW #5
CAPTAIN AMERICA #609
CAPTAIN AMERICA #609 WOMEN OF MARVEL FRAME VARIANT
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE 1940S NEWSPAPER STRIP #3
DARK WOLVERINE #90
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #890
DREAM LOGIC #2
FANTASTIC FOUR #582 (HA)

One of the nice things about the weekly grind is that each week brings some fun in the form of new comics. This week is no exception as our friends at Marvel have a whole slew of new books for us to enjoy.

Some of the titles we are looking forward to this week include X-Men: Curse of the Mutants Saga, Doomwar #5, Iron Man: Kiss and Kill, Secret Avengers #2 and Astonishing X-Men #34.  Remember, comics come out on Wednesday this week so be sure to head on over to your favorite comics store early for best selection. Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:

AGE OF HEROES #1 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (HA)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS: AMERICAN SON #2
ASTONISHING X-MEN #34
ASTONISHING X-MEN #34 DEADPOOL VARIANT
CAPTAIN AMERICA #607 (HA)
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE 1940S NEWSPAPER STRIP #1
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #892
DEADPOOL: WADE WILSON’S WAR #2
DEATH OF DRACULA #1
DOOMWAR #5
HERALDS #5
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL #1
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL #1 IRON MAN BY DESIGN 2.0 VARIANT
IRON MAN: EXTREMIS DIRECTOR’S CUT #4