Spider-Man TODAY, a new weekly digital comic written by Al Ewing and drawn by Todd Nauck, is running exclusively on USA TODAY PLAY rather than in comic shops or on Marvel Unlimited. Per the companies' joint announcement, new installments post every Wednesday for a planned 47-week run, with Spider-Man teaming up with a different Marvel Universe hero each issue.
What is USA TODAY PLAY, and why is Marvel on it?
USA TODAY PLAY is USA TODAY's games-and-puzzles app, and it launched in October 2025 as both a standalone subscription and an add-on to existing news subscriptions, Axios reported. The Marvel deal folds roughly 1,000 existing Marvel digital comics into that app, spanning X-Men, Captain America, Black Panther, Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain Marvel, alongside the new exclusive series.
How much does it cost to read Spider-Man TODAY?
A USA TODAY PLAY subscription runs $0.99 for the first month, then $4.99 a month, or $39.99 for a year, per the companies' announcement. Readers who already pay for a USA TODAY news subscription can add the comics library for $2 a month or $24 a year instead of buying a separate plan. Non-subscribers aren't shut out entirely: the free tier gives anonymous visitors one curated comic a week and registered free accounts two.
Do I need to already read Marvel comics to follow it?
No — that's the point of the format. Spider-Man TODAY is built as a vertically formatted Marvel Infinity Comic, the scrolling digital layout Marvel already uses for phone-first reading, and each issue is designed to pair Spider-Man with a rotating co-star rather than assume familiarity with an ongoing arc. Marvel's director of digital publishing, Jon-Michael Ennis, said in the announcement the goal is "to invite even more people to experience our comic book storytelling," while USA TODAY PLAY's vice president and general manager, Dara Sanderson, framed the weekly drop as a "daily moment" built for readers taking a break rather than committing to a pull list.
What does this mean for readers deciding whether to pick it up?
It's a low-commitment way to sample a currently-writing Marvel creative team without touching the direct market. Ewing and Nauck are producing new pages weekly rather than working from a backlist, and the series arrives as Marvel leans into a busier-than-usual stretch for the character — Axios noted the timing lines up with a Spider-Man film release, a landmark 1,000th issue of the flagship comic, and a second season of the character's Disney+ series, all expected later in 2026. Whether that momentum makes Spider-Man TODAY worth a subscription on its own is a matter of taste, but the free weekly comic is a no-cost way to check the art and scripting before paying for anything.
For a related business news perspective, read How Comic Book Distribution Works, Per Diamond's Bankruptcy.