An app will be released with Surgeon X, the new Image Comics series that marks the return of Vertigo founding editor Karen Berger after a three year hiatus (see “Karen Berger Returns to Comics”).  Funded by Wellcome Trust, the same foundation that funded the comics, the app will include the entire first issue of the comic in both color and black and white; animated scientific shorts; historical footage detailing the medical science of antibiotics; futuristic animations from London 2036; documentary interviews with the comics’ creators and scientists, etc., who helped inform the series; with original music and sound design.    

Documentary filmmaker Sara Kenney, who wrote the comic, wrote, produced, and directed the app.  Berger described the concept.  “No one in comics has done anything quite like this before, and I was blown away by the idea of experimenting with off the page storytelling while keeping the purity of comics intact,” she said.  “Not only has Sara created a rich and incredible world, but with the app she’s using her filmmaking talents to expand on the concept in an exciting and special way.”

A new app will be released in conjunction with each new issue of the comic; each will retail for $3.99.

Wellcome is also funding marketing to support the comic and app, Berger told ICv2.  A social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter, including paid advertising, is planned.  The goal is to reach not only comic fans who might buy other Image comics, but also to reach audiences interested in a medical thriller about a world where the superbugs have won.