HISTORY HAPPENIN' HERE - IN COMICSVILLE!!
On May 12, 2025, history was made in the world of comics and digital media with the first-ever live comic book reading inside a metaverse. Hosted within the immersive CALIFORNIA COMICS virtual space in VeVeVerse, the event featured VeVe CEO David Yu and YouTube / X comic personality OzmanKollects63 of the WebV Collective and Get to Da Comics, bringing fans an electrifying live narration of PLANET DEATH #0 — a comic that has taken the industry by storm.
The event was captured & recorded on the Get to Da Comics YouTube Channel, so please do check it out and subscribe to their channel for future events & readings! https://www.youtube.com/@GetToDaComics
I was thrilled to be invited to attend and meet David “in the Verse” by California Comic’s Founder, Daniel to witness the action live, to help put some perspective into this article, so here we go!
WHAT’S THE ‘VEVEVERSE’ AGAIN?
The VeVeVerse is VeVe's newly launched metaverse platform: a fully 3D, interactive digital world that allows collectors, creators, and fans to engage with licensed digital collectibles, comics, and events in real-time. Designed for social connection, storytelling, and commerce, the VeVeVerse merges the world of fandom and blockchain-backed ownership in a dynamic, user-controlled environment.
This groundbreaking reading took place inside the California Comics virtual store (in the VVV), which was specially constructed to celebrate Marvel and independent comic publishers and their titles, along with a stunningly beautiful visual space for collectors and asset holders to showcase their prized assets or seek buyer / seller opportunities.
There are no physical borders, no risk of damage to physical assets, no distribution delays and no restrictions - all comic enthusiasts are welcome! All you need currently, is an active VeVe account, which you can sign up for FREE and receive $10 USD to start your digital collecting journey.
The metaverse reading of Planet Death, where attendees, represented by digital avatars, gathered to watch and listen as David Yu and OzmanKollects brought Planet Death #0 to life panel by panel is another groundbreaking moment, bringing he and business partner (COO) Dan Crothers’ vision of a live, albeit virtual collecting community portal together.
WHAT’S THIS “VEVE” AGAIN?
VeVe (a $1 Billion company) has provided fans of Marvel, Disney, Lucasfilm, Black Pink, Back to The Future, James Bond and 100’s of other brands a place to enjoy, collect, own and trade digital assets in an easy-to-use, crypto-free platform.
Seeing a gap in the collectibles industry unfilled (and unfulfilled) with no digital capability, advancements in blockchain and digital ledger technology made the idea of a digital comic & collectibles space a reality.
Having world-class licensor Alfred Khan (who brought Cabbage Patch Kids and Pokemon to North America) join the team early didn’t hurt, which helped VeVe secure licenses with iconic brands such as DC, Marvel, Universal City Studios LLC and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. (Back to The Future) & MJM (James Bond), with new brand partners continuing to appear all the time, such as independent comic publishers like 24/7 & Dynamite and global brands like UBISOFT and FUNKO.
All this, despite a market RIFE with negative media narratives on NFTs, company collapses and world tariff tragedy, VeVe continues to build and grow, ultimately benefitting the entire collectibles industry and artists alike.
WHAT’S THIS “CALIFORNIA COMICS” AGAIN?
When a team of passionate comic collectors saw an opportunity to enhance how fans can experience and enjoy their digital comic collectibles on top of the VeVe ecosystem, California Comics was borne, further enhancing the community’s access to FUN!
I asked California Comics founder, Daniel, to share his thoughts with you:
"Since launching our comic book store, we wanted to create a platform that could truly allow our customers to indulge in the passion of comic book storytelling. From this we spawned the concept of a collaborating with the amazing OzmanKollects63 to deliver a first of its kind moment, delivering a metaverse comic book reading.
We were very fortunate to share this landmark experience with the Co-Founder of VeVe, David Yu, who fully embraced his inner space orc to deliver an academy-worthy reading of Bad Idea's sci-fi epic, Planet Death #0.
What excites us most here at California Comics is how we can embrace our passion of comic books in physical format, whilst exploring innovative ways to enjoy this further in a digital realm."
WHAT'S THIS 'METAVERSE BUILDER' AGAIN?
Metaverse Builder Collectors Gone Digital was chosen as the developer, and the world’s first metaverse comic book store was launched. Plans are already underway to feature additional artists, collectors, industry experts, new features and talents to share with fans in a fun, interactive format brings enthusiasts from every corner of globe.
"Why is VeVe is so special? It's the people and experiences they connect, the community, the interaction of so many fandoms and collectors, both physical and digital, all coming together to share a mutual passion. I just can’t wait for people to find out and give this a try - it’s really incredible!" (Josh, Founder of Collectors Gone Digital)
WHAT’S THIS “PLANET DEATH” AGAIN?
PLANET DEATH #0 is the brainchild of blockbuster screenwriter Derek Kolstad, creator & writer of the John Wick film series, delivering a gritty, hyper-cinematic sci-fi epic about survival, rebellion, and identity on a war-torn alien planet.
The comic is co-written by New York Times best-selling author Robert Venditti (Superman '78, Green Lantern), visionary artist Tomás Giorello (Star Wars, Conan), and ten-time Eisner Award winner Dave Stewart (Star Wars, Hellboy). Together, they deliver the must-read first chapter of a bold new sci-fi epic.
Released as a digital asset title on VeVe with only 2025 total editions, the physical pre-sale for Planet Death #0 sold 655,000 copies before arriving on any store shelf (>900k total) making it one of the fastest-selling indie comic drops in history.
Check out BAD IDEA for more information on upcoming issue releases & more!
WHAT'S THIS 'UPDATING THE COMIC FAN EXPERIENCE' AGAIN?
The live reading marks a another advancement in how comics can be experienced: exploding out from printed pages, turning past the familiar YouTube & X Streams...now engaging many fans together, in real time, inside an ever-evolving digital space available anywhere for those who want to share in the fun.
Having read a few live YouTube stream with OzmanKollects myself, as none other than Matt Murdock / Daredevil & more recently as Commander Stargazer from SilverHawks, I can attest how great it was to read my favourite comics with a fellow enthusiast, and have a wee bit of that “celebrity” experience to share with anyone who wishes to watch the episodes later on YouTube.
With these VeVeVerse events though, the comic book experience is live, visual, connected. It was just so participatory, social, transactional and immersive. It's sort of hard to explain, to be honest. I know I'm not doing this justice...and I apologise.
But, if you can try to envision OzmanKollects reading the narrative & flipping the pages, while our avatars hung out in this virtual comic store's reading section, with 'theme music' playing in the backgroun, and David so passionately reading the book from a publishing partner he was SO PROUD to have in his family...then hanging out to chat a bit after...it was some of the best time I've ever spent in my history of enjoying reading comics.
CHECK THE YOUTUBE OF THE EVENT & ENJOY THE PASSION OF A SIMPLE COMIC BOOK READ:
Meeting OzmanKollects through the VeVe Community was a special moment for me.
His family resides in the same city my Grandfather grew up in (UK), and his passion for supporting the community is just so heartwarming. He's the classic example of an enthusiast going above and beyond to produce content & build a brand focused squarely on making the comic book space better.
I asked his thoughts on the event, and what this all meant to a chap grinding hard on socials & YouTube...
“It was a historic moment reading the first (Planet Death digital collectible) comic in the world’s first metaverse comic book store, in the VeVeVerse, and I’m so glad David had such a positive experience - really diving into character and having such fun with it.
Huge congratulations to California Comics for all the incredible work they’ve put into making the store a success, and I’m looking forward to more collaborations in the future. A big thank you as well to you, Chris for braving the very early Canadian morning (ahh those global time zones!) to share and report on this groundbreaking event.
For me, there’s real joy in sharing fandom through these digital platforms, owning and reading amazing titles, and appreciating the stories and artistry that go into making these books. The digital space is making comic book reading and sharing more accessible than ever, and thanks to platforms like VeVe, Candy, FutureVerse and others, there’s no longer the worry about storage, condition, or scarcity. The future of comics is bright, and I’m thrilled to be along for the ride.” (Alex 'aka' @OzmanKollects63, Founder WebV Collective.)
WHAT THIS MEANT AS THE BYSTANDER?
Yeah, this set a precedent for what’s possible when storytelling, technology, and fan communities intersect, and it’s only the beginning. As for being “in the room” to watch this happen, I was overjoyed.
In fact, I felt a profound sense of pride for David, OzmanKollects, Daniel & Josh…they were just so happy, so enthused, like kids again, reading a comic book together in an 80’s basement, enjoying each other's company without any care to the issues facing the world.
All having never known each other before VeVe arrived, now building the next evolution of comic collecting fandoms.
I can only imagine how cool this is all going to be as VVV 2.0, 3.0 etc. come out, or how great this will be for OTHER FANDOMS these digital realms will allow for. I’ll be enjoying the time with some incredible people the whole way along regardless, and can’t wait for my turn to read another comic with the crew in the California Comics VeVeVerse store - I so hope a few more of you might consider giving it a go too…the community would be thrilled to welcome you!
Thanks for Reading!
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