Madefire Announces First VR Comics Platform on Oculus; Blazes a Trail Into New Realities

Madefire Partners With Oculus to Launch First VR Comics and Announces Investment of $6.5M Series B From World-Class Creators, Including Kevin Spacey and Drake


NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - October 06, 2016) - NEW YORK COMIC CON - Madefire set a new standard in digital comics and books with the launch of the Madefire app and Motion Book format. The award-winning Madefire app is the #1 featured and best-rated app in Apple's App Store Books category. Following its high-profile launch on Apple TV, today, Madefire takes the experience to a whole new level with the announcement of the free Madefire preview app for Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus. The Madefire preview app on Gear VR showcases Motion Books in VR. This experience extends reading into a whole new realm with motion, sound and the ability to see the story in 3D whilst being completely immersed in a 360-degree environment. Madefire enables readers to literally step into the page.

"Comics are such a powerful storytelling format. People learn to read through comics; people are transported to other worlds through comics. Comics are words-and-pictures, perfect for storytelling in virtual reality," said Ben Wolstenholme, CEO & Co-Founder of Madefire. "It's a new era -- Madefire's launch today with Oculus -- and announcing our investment from world-class investors and creators like Plus Capital, True Ventures, Kevin Spacey, Drake, and Framestore supports our mission to be where the myths of the 21st Century are created."

The free Madefire app will preview world-class content specifically optimized for VR reading, including:

Revolution -- The brand-new comic book universe that merges Transformers, G.I. Joe, and more from IDW Publishing and Hasbro.
Somnia: Origins -- The new original title from world-renowned visual effects studio, Framestore.
Injustice: Year One -- The smash-hit comic from DC.
MONO: The Old Curiosity Shop -- The award-winning Madefire Original.

To support its expansion to new platforms, Madefire has recently closed a $6.5M Series B funding round led by Plus Capital alongside several of the top creators in the world including Kevin Spacey and Drake. Existing investors and new strategic investors also include True Ventures, Big Loud Capital, Anthem Ventures and Framestore Ventures.

See YouTube movie: Madefire Introduces VR Comics with Oculus

Where to find Madefire at NYCC:

Centrally located in the main convention hall at Javits Center opposite Lucas Film, the Madefire Booth (#866) will provide a fully-immersive reading experience for comic and VR aficionados with four demo pods showcasing the Madefire Motion Book experience in Oculus Gear VR, along with exclusive giveaways and signings by Dave Gibbons, Bill Sienkiewicz, Des Taylor and a number of world-renowned creators.

At NYCC, 3pm on Thursday, October 6, Madefire will be hosting "The Future of Comics in New Realities" panel. The panel (room 1A10) will be moderated by Ben Wolstenholme -- Creator of Mono, CEO, Madefire, with a select group of esteemed speakers, including Dave Gibbons -- Co-creator of Watchmen and Kingsman; Matt Hooper -- Director of Development, Oculus; Ted Gagliano -- President, Post-production Twentieth Century Fox; Cristina Mancini -- EVP Franchise, Twentieth Century Fox and Nick Hooker -- Creative Director, Framestore. The panel will explore how new platforms expand comics, taking words-and-pictures even further beyond the page.

To experience the future of Comics in VR, download the free Madefire preview app for Oculus Gear VR today.

The Madefire app for Oculus Rift is being developed and is coming soon.

About Madefire
Founded in 2011 by Ben Wolstenholme, Liam Sharp and Eugene Walden, Madefire is a media and technology company, and creator of the award-winning Madefire App. Madefire provides creators and publishers the cutting-edge publishing platform, 'Motion Book Publisher,' which enables a digital-first approach to publishing cross-platform in multiple formats. Madefire -- Where the Myths of the 21st Century are Created. www.madefire.com.

About Motion Book Publisher
Motion Book Publisher is a browser-based publishing platform created by Madefire Inc. Motion Book Publisher is designed for all types of visual books; including comics, graphic novels, children's books, manga and illustrated books. Motion Book Publisher enables publishers and creators to master their digital library once and distribute across multiple platforms and file formats. Built from the same platform as Madefire's award-winning app, Motion Book Publisher takes a digital-first approach that enables a benchmark end-user experience from phone through to tablet, web, television and headset -- resulting in a future-proofed digital library.

Madefire's partners and clients include:
Apple, Archie, Blizzard Entertainment, Boom! DC, Deviant Art, Framestore, Hasbro, IDW, Kodansha, Microsoft, Stan Lee/POW Entertainment, TNT, Twentieth Century Fox and Valiant

Download the free Madefire App:
Apple, Android, Windows, Oculus Gear VR

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/10/6/11G117145/Images/MadefireImage-9888d82af3e5ada3bf5b19a31522d853.jpg

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rIOOR5RReM&feature=youtu.be

Contact Information:

Madefire Press Contact
Juliet Travis
Liftoff Communications
juliet@liftoffcommunications.com
510-479-3818 (o)
510-612-9622 (m)

Madefire Introduces VR Comics with Oculus