You have to give it up for Marvel. They truly seem to be embracing the online and “digital” new media. They’ve got an iPad application that lets you read comics on the device, they offer comics online at Marvel Digital and they’ve released a series of very well done motion comics, which you can play on your iPod Touch or iPhone.

They don’t just phone it in or do a half-assed job on the motion comics either. Everything is professional and of the highest quality. Heck, they even get superstars like Joss Whedon and Brian Bendis to write the motion comics and artists such as John Cassaday and Alex Maleev to draw them, so they must be taking these projects pretty seriously.

The latest character to get the full Marvel treatment is Iron Man in the new Iron Man Extremis motion comic, which is written by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov. To commemorate this event we’ve got a behind the scenes video of the making of the new moco, courtesy of Marvel. As we’ve done in the past, here’s the synopsis provided by Marvel:

Experience Iron Man in a whole new way – IRON MAN: EXTREMIS Motion Comic. From the story by Warren Ellis & Adi Granov, this incredible epic blends seamless motion, dynamic voice acting, and stunning special effects, bringing to life the story that redefined Iron Man for the 21st Century. Now you can get an exclusive sneak peek at this breathtaking visual breakthrough in motion comics with a brand new behind the scenes video! The first episode of IRON MAN EXTRMIS goes on-sale Friday, April 16th!

Check out the video after the jump and just like it says above, get your own copy of Iron Man Extremis this Friday.

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!

Excelsior! Sorry, couldn’t resist. Actually, that word completely applies in this case seeing as how the X-Men were created by the great Stan “The Man” Lee and Jack “King” Kirby. Still, its a pretty good day today and a pretty cool thing we have to share with you right now.

Our pals at Marvel have provided us with a new video showing a bit of behind the scenes with the folks who make the Astonishing X-Men motion comic. Hosted by producer Kristine Stone, you get a tour of the production facility and get to meet many of the people responsible for putting this cool project together. All in all, not a bad way to spend a few minutes.

You get to learn some things and have a little fun too. What could be better than that? Not much, so be sure to check out the video after the jump. The Astonishing X-Men MOCO is available now at iTunes and on Hulu.

If you happen to live in New York, or are planning on being in the city on October 28th and you love all things Marvel, this post is for you. Why? Well, glad you asked.

Marvel is having a big party and you’re invited. Check out all the details about Marvel’s upcoming event “MarvelFest” from this very official press release:

Marvel is proud to announce MarvelFest NYC 2009 (www.marvel.com/fest), an all-new interactive outdoor experience in New York City to celebrate the iTunes release of the groundbreaking Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic on October 28th. In celebration of the release of the AXM Motion Comic, based on the award winning story by superstars Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and John Cassaday (Captain America), this landmark first episode will be projected three stories high so that fans can experience the adventure like never before! Join celebrities and the biggest names in Marvel history to commemorate the Astonishing X-Men premiere!

The festivities begin at 4pm at Forbidden Planet (www.fpnyc.com), when some of Marvel’s most legendary creators, including Neal Adams (Uncanny X-Men), Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men, X-Men Forever), and Dan Slott (Amazing Spider-Man) sit down to meet fans and sign autographs. This is your chance to meet some of the most influential writers and artists in Marvel history!

We’ve been keeping pretty close track of Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. and Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, the new motion comics (aka MOCO) coming from Marvel. Recently, we brought you the first news of them, a trailer and a sneak peek and now we’ve got the brand new trailer for episode three of Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. for you today.

This trailer gives you a preview of episode three of the series and provides a bit more insight into how our favorite female web crawler is going to deal with some pesky problems. Also, as is often the case, Marvel has a little something to say about the video as well

Marvel is proud to unveil new footage from the critically acclaimed Spider-Woman motion comic! The New York Times Best-Selling team of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev (Halo Uprising) continue Marvel’s first ever original motion comic as Jessica Drew shows the world why Spider-Woman is force to be reckoned with!

Spider-Woman Episode 3 hits iTunes on September 16th and no True Believer can afford to miss it! Discover more at www.marvel.com/motioncomics!

Check out the trailer after the break.