During San Diego Comic Con, we learned that Kodansha Comics was planning a deluxe edition of the Ghost In The Shell manga to be released alongside the feature film in March that somewhat controversially stars Scarlet Johansson in the lead role. But in a surprise move today, the company has apparently released the series digitally for Kindle, Nook, Apple iBooks, comiXology, Motorola StarTAC, and other digital platforms. Volumes released include Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface and Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor by Masamune Shirow, as well as spinoff series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Volumes 1-5 by Yu Kinutani. Kodansha notes that "volumes 1, 2, and 1.5 are the classic Studio Proteus translations by Frederik Schodt, Toren Smith, Tom Orzechowski, and Suzie Lee."

The deluxe hardcover editions previously announced will be released on January 31. You can see a preview on Kodansha's website.