Marvel goes from comic to film to anime

That's a logical step, right? Marvel is teaming up with Madhouse, one of Japan's top animation studios, to adapt classic Marvel characters(and, eventually, the entire universe) into anime TV shows.

Madhouse is currently in production on the first of four new series (12 x 30 minutes), which are scheduled to launch in spring 2010. The initial series will feature characters including Iron Man and Wolverine, among others, and Madhouse will ultimately look to adapt the entire Marvel Universe, creating in essence a whole new character base for Marvel.

“We are incredibly excited to have this full collaboration with Marvel to create a completely new world that has never been done before in the Marvel Universe. This will be the first time there will be a full Japanese anime style for Marvel, and the Madhouse creative team is fully engaged to bring this to a worldwide audience,” said Jungo Maruta, president and CEO of Madhouse Inc.

The Marvel anime series will debut on ANIMAX, the first and largest 24-hour network dedicated to anime.

I'd say this is a radically different approach to Marvel properties, but their Saturday morning cartoons have emulated the anime style for years now(along with most other Saturday morning cartoons).

Marvel Press Release