Digital Comics & Platforms

For a long time, I was very much against investing in digital comics, regularly citing a lack of "iTunes for comics" as justification. Even as I closed my pull file in late 2010 and prepared to move halfway across the country pursuing a career in tech startup journalism, I held out. I wanted everything in one spot, like a comic shop.

Not unrelated, but I used to manage a comics shop. It was a great gig, possibly the best I've ever (and will ever) have. But it also supercharged the rate at which I was picking up cool new comics. Copious piles of tangible books were synonymous with the aesthetics of my habitat. At peak, I probably had two shelves of graphic novels and 18 long boxes across two states. Commissions and signed/sketch covers, too. It's not that I had a problem with collecting, but the ever-expanding physical space requirements put an end to my usual routine regardless.

Thus, I went all in on digital comics by mid-2011. It was an easy decision, made easier in large part by Comixology. As a startup reporter at the time, I was impressed by how instrumental the founding team was in getting all the major comics publishers on board, how many hoops they had to jump through (and did) to get traction. After all, Comixology worked with Marvel on adding digital redemption codes to print books, bridging an important industry gap.

For a time, all the major publishers had digital comics store apps built on Comixology's technology, making it easy to sync purchases on the main Comixology app. It was one of the only companies that enabled PDF downloads for publishers that consented, too. Plus, they invented the guided panel-to-panel view feature for reading and later, helped Marvel relaunch its Unlimited subscription service with far more stability than it had ever seen previously. Even indie comic creators were invited to sell and distribute their books via its Submit program, as I reported in an exclusive feature back in 2012.

It was hardly a surprise when Amazon eventually acquired the platform, which seemed like a beautiful fit. The king of digital books and online physical book sales now had the best digital comics reading experience.

And everything went well for a while, until it didn't.

Cracks were forming in the relationship with fans almost immediately following the 2014 acquisition, which shut off in-app purchases within iOS apps in favor of Amazon's web-based store; a necessary concession, given Apple's 30% fee on all transactions. The real rift opened in 2021 after Amazon announced it was shutting down the Comixology Submit program. Over 15,000 indie books were removed entirely from the platform, according to an industry source speaking to Weird City...