Free digital comic reader Panelfly has partnered with Disney-owned Marvel Comics to bring the company's vast line-up of comic books to the iPhone.

Disney recently acquired Marvel Comics, which was founded by comic icon Stan 'The Man' Lee, for a cool $4 billion, which sparked a lot of interest in what plans Disney might have to take those titles digital.

Although most assumed that this would immediately be in the form of games, the deal with Panelfly is an exciting move that will offer a huge number of books - including Spider-Man, The X-Men, Iron Man and more - going right back to the early issues.

Although not yet available on the UK App Store, the Panelfly reader is free to download and makes use of the iPhone's in-app purchase system, with each issue of the comics costing $0.99.

Marvel has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years, and so far comic books have struggled to make the transition to the digital medium. With legitimate comics now on iPhone, and the potential to expand the system onto new devices like the anticipated Apple tablet, Disney could be forging important new ground with Panelfly.