Comics book companies have avoided the whole new media new business plan crap for a while. Since comic books are so much fun to collect and still easier to read in print, piracy (which exists) and digital distribution are not in high demand compared to music and movies.

But Marvel Comics, publishers of Spider-Man, X-Men, and the Hulk, are moving several thousands back issues onto the internet, ready for unlimited viewing for $10 a month or $60 a year.

The selection is initial sparse but the price is shockingly almost reasonable, especially if Marvel eventually allows downloadable versions for laptops, eReaders, and handhelds. For now, I say we just consider this beta.

Marvel is not the first comic company to experiment with digital distribution. Dark Horse Comics provides its anthology series on MySpace. DC Comics has also tested putting comics on MySpace as well as launching an online comics imprint.

But Marvel has been trying different versions of online comics for years. About ten years ago, in the heyday of AOL, Marvel ran original Spider-Man comic strips with sound and animation exclusive to AOL subscribers (my, how times have changed). Over the past few years, Marvel has kept first or important issues of popular series on its website recognizing obvious promotional benefits (though again, not for download). Most impressively, Marvel has released several DVD sets filled with high-quality reprints of decades of comics. There’s one set with 500 issues of Spider-Man, one of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and more, each for a very reasonable $50. You loose the collectib-ility and resale value, but gain more comics than you could ever afford.

So bravo Marvel. It’s nice to see this attempt at building digital distribution networks before there’s need. Comic book piracy is very, very niche (yes, people can download comics). With little competition, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and other comic book companies can experiment with what will attract more readers and fans as well as add value to current fans. Though if that doesn’t work, they can always sue the fans.