comixology
Latest
comiXology is being bought by Amazon
comiXology has made waves over the years by providing a high quality digital solution for comic book fans. Its revolutionary Guided View™ mode allow readers to view a comic panel-by-panel on mobile devices that previously weren't suitable for comic books. Even with concerns about censorship on the app on Apple devices, comiXology is the go-to source for comics on iOS. Today Amazon announced that it is in the process of purchasing comiXology. Details of the acquisition haven't been disclosed, but the deal is expected to be finalized in the second quarter of 2014. In a statement, Amazon Vice President David Naggar praised the company as a like-minded business: "Amazon and comiXology share a passion for reinventing reading in a digital world. We've long admired the passion comiXology brings to changing the way we buy and read comics and graphic novels. We look forward to investing in the business, growing the team, and together, bringing comics and graphic novels to even more readers." comiXology was one of the top 10 grossing apps for iPad in 2011 and 2012, and the top grossing non-game iPad app in 2012 and 2013. So don't worry, superhero fans -- given its profitability, this sale is unlikely to affect iOS users in any way.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for April 10, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Amazon buys popular comic book app platform Comixology (update)
There's nothing quite like taking a massive, heavy library of beloved books and shrinking it into an e-reader. Amazon, having already accomplished that with its tremendously popular digital book service, is now targeting the comic book market. The company is purchasing Comixology, a digital comic book service with hundreds of millions of users and apps for all of your devices. Comixogy CEO David Steinberger is quite fond of the agreement, the terms of which were not disclosed (we're assuming it's at least $3.50 -- comics these days are awfully expensive). "There is no better home for comixology than Amazon to see this vision through," Steinberger says in the announcement. "Working together, we look to accelerate a new age for comic books and graphic novels." It's just a wild guess, but we're expecting the first such "acceleration" will involve integrating Amazon payments and the Comixology userbase over to Amazon. It's not yet clear if Comixology brand will stand on its own (Amazon already sells single issues and graphic novels on Kindle), but we're asking the company for more, but don't expect to hear much -- the deal hasn't closed just yet, but it's expected to in the next few months. Update: We heard back from Amazon -- join us below for more.
Sex Criminals #2 still under review by Apple, ComiXology helps fans with work around
Comics books aren't just for kids, and the sometimes adult content is putting Apple's content standards to the test. Last year there was a bit of a dustup over Brian K. Vaughan's Saga issue 12 being unavailable for purchase from the ComiXology app. Initially it looked like Apple was behind the ban due to the issue's sexual content, but eventually ComiXology took responsibility for pulling the issue. ComiXology's CEO said the issue was pulled based on an assumption of Apple's policies regarding content. The issue of what content is too adult for the App Store has risen again with today's release of Sex Criminals #2. While the title of the book may make it seem like this a pornographic comic, it's no more graphic than many R-rated comedies. The title revolves around a group of robbers who can stop time when they have sex. And it's under review by Apple. Last night, the book's writer, Matt Fraction, tweeted the following. HEY DIGITAL COMICS BUYERS: SEX CRIMINALS #2 is still "under review" at Apple. This means no iTunes or @Comixology tomorrow. > - BUTT STUFF WEREWOLF (@mattfraction) October 23, 2013 I know @comixology is trying to fight the good fight for us but they, like us, have to wait for Apple to decide we are Acceptable. Ha ha. > - BUTT STUFF WEREWOLF (@mattfraction) October 23, 2013 The first issue was sold on ComiXology's iOS app with no questions, explicit content and all. However, the second issue seems to have raised its ire. ComiXology has provided readers with the following workaround so they will still be able to read the issue on the Apple devices. While Sex Criminals #2 is still under review at Apple, this fantastic follow up to Fraction and Zdarsky's hilarious debut will be available for purchase Wednesday(NOW) across the entire comiXology platform with the exception of iOS. So not only can you get it on, and subscribe from, comiXology.com and sync to your iOS device, you can also read via the Kindle and Google Play store! So don't let this little hiccup stop you from enjoying this great new series! Sex Criminals artist Chip Zdarsky posted an interesting take on the Apple/ComiXology approval situation over on his Tumblr. Yes, Issue two is "under review" at Apple to see if it meets the high standards of the sexless ghost of Steve Jobs or something. What does that mean? Well, this is my limited understanding of what the situation is like: -Matt and I have created a magazine which is a cross between National Geographic and Cosmopolitan with jokes. -Comixology is a convenience store. -Apple is the magazine distributor. -Apple is worried that Comixology is going to allow adults into their convenience store with stepladders so their kids can reach the book up there with titles like Fisting Quarterly and Barely Bare Bears. They are also worried that these same adults will take the magazines home and just leave them in the kids' lunches to take to school or something. God bless Apple. Apple has not released a statement about the delay in reviewing the magazine.
DC Comics and Vertigo graphic novels arrive on Google Play, Sandman and all
If you've looked up to Google Play and DC Comics and shouted "save us money" without hearing any whispered responses, there's a reason: they were waiting. Today, DC Entertainment announced that it's brought a whole slew of its comics and Vertigo graphic novels to Google's online storefront in the form of collected editions. This "extensive lineup" is available now and includes Watchmen, Sandman and a chunk of the recent DC Universe. ComiXology is getting the same deal, but unlike Google Play's previously sparse selection, a lot of what's listed after the break was already available within the digital comics app. It may not be as comprehensive of an offering compared to what's available on other marketplaces, but hey, it's a start.
This week on gdgt: HX50V, Minx Air 100, and Moto X customization
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
Comixology adds options for subscriptions and bundles (update: Web app only)
Comixology is, as we've discussed here before, basically the premiere app for comic books on Apple's iPad. And now, the app (well, the web app at least) is adding one more feature to its already long list. Starting today, you can subscribe to your favorite comics right inside the app's web store, which means that instead of going in every week to buy the comics you want, you can tap one button, and you'll automatically pick up a comic when it arrives. That's pretty handy if you buy a lot of comics -- it's like having your own personal comic book store pulling issues as you need them. The company has also added support for buying comics in bundles, which means those deals we occasionally see come out of Comixology's offices will probably be a lot better (it's much easier to buy a bunch of comics at a time for cheap, rather than a ton of issues individually on sale). This also means that the company can bundle up storylines and back issues, so finding what you want to read and purchasing it all in one go should be a piece of cake. Update: Bundles and subscriptions are only available on the web app, we're told. But you can definitely buy comics on the web, and then browse them on your iPad.
Comixology claims responsibility for banning Saga #12, rescinds ban
Yesterday, we posted about Apple reportedly banning issue 12 of a comic book called Saga, due to a couple of graphic sex scenes included in it. The book's creator, Brian K. Vaughan, had posted that Apple wasn't allowing his book to be sold on the App Store, though it was available through a number of other channels. But today it turns out that Apple isn't to blame -- instead, the book's digital publisher, Comixology, has confessed that they made the decision not to sell the book. Comixology runs the very popular Comics app on iOS, and they publish the digital versions of books from a number of different publishers, including Image Comics, who publishes the Saga series. The company's CEO, David Steinberger, has posted on the company blog that Comixology made its own decision to not publish the book, based on its assumption of Apple's policies. Of course, after the news yesterday, Apple says it would not have a problem with the book being published in Comixology's app, and Steinberger says the issue will be available soon, and apologizes to Vaughan and Image Comics for the confusion. So there's both good news and bad news here. The good news is that this decision did not come from Apple -- instead, it was Comixology that jumped the gun and decided to not publish the book on the App Store. But the bad news is that while Comixology did make the mistake, I can't really blame them for being concerned about Apple's retribution. Just yesterday, the company did threaten an App Store developer with removal over some adult content, and we've seen examples before of Apple being overly concerned about content that was already labeled for users 17-plus. That's why we here at TUAW jumped on this story and took the comic's creator, Vaughan, at his word -- because it's not hard to believe, given Apple's unclear and inconsistent polices on this matter, that they would have a problem with this book. Fortunately, they don't, and all credit to them for confirming that. Macworld followed up with Apple to confirm the supposed ban, and in hindsight, we should have done the same. But as long as Apple's policies and their enforcement on what's OK and not OK for the App Store remain unclear, we may see more issues like this pop up, either driven by developers dependent on the App Store for revenue, or by Apple itself.
Marvel giving away over 700 free first issue digital comics (for real, totally seriously this time)
Remember, like, not even a month ago when Marvel tried giving away over 700 first issues of its comic library in digital form on ComiXology? Apparently that didn't work so well, with rabid fans crashing the digital comic service while attempting to pull down as many issues as possible. Fret not, law-abiding citizens, as Marvel is re-introducing its offer today, albeit with a different method for snagging those free copies. Head over to the service's special sign-up page right here and enter a bit of information ahead of tomorrow night's expiration. Following that, you'll receive an invite from ComiXology sometime on April 11th with instructions for how to download more comics than you'll ever have time to read. Even better, the whole shebang hopefully won't be bookended by download errors this time! That's what we'd call super.
Marvel offering 700 free digital comics again
Marvel is getting ready to offer over 700 #1 issues again just weeks after it had to halt the giveaway after demand crashed Comixology's servers. To avoid a server overload this time around, Marvel is offering the downloads to users in batches. To get your free 700 #1 issues, follow these steps: 1. Go to Marvel's or Comixology's promo page between now and 11:59PM ET April 9th and sign up for a personal invite. 2. Starting on April 11th keep an eye out for your invitation. 3. Once you get your invite be ready to download... a lot. Do note that as of the time of this writing, both Marvel's and Comixology's registration pages seem to be overloaded, but keep trying back and you should get through.
Daily Update for March 12, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Comixology halts digital Marvel giveaway
A day after Comixology and Marvel announced a giveaway of more than 700 Marvel #1 issues for free, Comixology has had to halt the promotion. In a letter posted on the company's blog (and sent to customers via email), CEO David Steinberger said: It's been a whirlwind weekend, and we're fresh from SXSW where Marvel Comics launched their Marvel #1 promotion featuring over 700 free comics distributed via our platform. We expected a high degree of excitement for the Marvel initiative -- and had believed ourselves prepared -- but unfortunately we became overwhelmed by the immense response. We're still struggling to keep our systems up. The result is that you aren't getting your comics when and where you want. We don't like letting you down. Our teams are working around the clock to resolve these issues so that you can have the experience you've come to expect. To that end, we're pausing the Marvel Comics #1 promotion for the time being. For those of you that want to take advantage of the offer -- you will get your comics! Comixology is asking users to fill out this form so they can be notified when they can download the free issues. Comic Book Resources talked to several comic book publishers who offer titles through Comixology. Though the 700-free-issue promotion was Marvel-only, Image Comics confirmed that Comixology's server crash affected sales of its issues. It told the site that a "significant part" of daily digital comic book sales come through Comixology.
StarCraft: Kerrigan -- Hope and Vengeance free on Comixology
This week, we had patch 5.2 to contend with, but next week it's all about the launch of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm for plenty of players. Blizzard has been slowly releasing promotional material for the new game, including a new cinematic and a pretty fascinating viral advertising campaign called Project Blackstone, which is still being updated as the time ticks down to Heart of the Swarm's launch. And now we have another piece -- a comic about Kerrigan and a glimpse at what she's been through that takes place at some point after she was rescued at the end of Wings of Liberty. Kerrigan -- Hope and Vengeance #0 is a relatively short comic, but the art and writing is top-notch. And here's the kicker -- it's absolutely free. You don't have to pay for the comic, you simply plunk it in your cart, checkout and read. The comic is a fairly brisk 8 pages, but with a story by Cameron Dayton and some really stunning art by Zoddd, not to mention the absence of a price tag, this is a nice treat for StarCraft fans. To my knowledge, this is the first time Blizzard's ever offered a free digital comic of this scope. And it does make one wonder.
Comixology sends out call for comic creator info
As we've said before, Comixology has essentially conquered the App Store for comics on the iPad. There are a few companies and options out there for buying digital comic books, but Comixology (with its Comics app) has secured a huge collection for sale, and offers up great prices in conjunction with huge comics publishers almost every week. Now it sounds like the company is trying something completely new. It's sent out "a call for creator info," which is a 26 week initiative (starting at the Baltimore Comic-Con) to put together photos and information about 6,000 different comic book creators, from artists and writers to inkers, letterers and editors. They're hoping to collect all of this information via the company's Twitter account, and then presumably it'll all be included in the app eventually, creating a huge database of comic book creators to browse through. Comixology is hoping to do one letter a week, so by midway through next year, they should have a pretty substantial amount of information. They've already put together a great resource for us comic book readers on the iPad and a database like this would also be much appreciated.
iBooks gets its first DC Comics title: Batman: Earth One
DC Comics has been publishing titles on the iPad for a while now, both in the official DC Comics app and in the Comixology app (which, as you may know, actually produces the official app anyway). But DC is now finally turning to iBooks to sell comics as well, with an iBooks version of the Batman: Earth One story that passed through the official Batman lines recently. This is DC's first title on the iBookstore, and it joins a slew of Marvel titles, as well as quite a few independent titles already selling comics in this way. Most of the "big" line titles in the iBookstore are trade paperbacks -- bigger collections of Marvel and other titles that combine more than one monthly comic together. But that's not necessarily the only option out there: Some companies have released single issues on the iBookstore, available for just a buck or two per issue. Because the market is so open, these companies can do whatever they want. Obviously, releasing titles in this way helps comic companies dodge the extra fees behind using Comixology's software to sell their books, but then again they miss out on Comixology's significant audience and discovery features that bring in new readers to old and obscure books. These days, comics companies will likely try whatever they can to sell these digital copies, and we'll see which method works best in the future.
Comics iPad app gets Retina-friendly update, 'POW!' bubbles now much POWier
ComiXology is usually keeping up with the latest-and-greatest, and it's doing so yet again by rapidly updating its Comics app to meet the new iPad's Retina-sized needs. In addition to the CMX-HD comic books coming to the 2048 x 1536 screen, the updated application also includes novel social sharing features via Twitter, Zuck's network and email. Among other bits worth noting are a handful of nondescript bug fixes as well as stability improvements. Best of all, the refresh won't cost you a dime and it's available now in the App Store, linked just below for your convenience.
The pros and cons of making a digital jump with comics
Anime News Network did an in-depth comparison of reading manga on an iPad vs. a Nook Color today, after Viz Media sent them both devices so they could do a hands-on look at making the digital jump. After taking a hit from the closing of Borders, Viz decided to turn its popular Shonen Jump publication into a digital-only product. Launched in January, Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha is $25.99 for an annual subscription, with three of its flagship series -- One Piece, Bleach and Naruto -- now running almost concurrent with the Japanese release. Individual issues can be rented for 99 cents for a 4-week period. The results aren't surprising. By holding up a volume of manga next to an iPad, it shows that the iPad is right about the same size as a manga volume and the experience is just as good as reading a print book. What the article does highlight is the problems that the Nook Color has with Viz's products, especially when it comes to things such as double-page spreads. It doesn't touch on the Kindle Fire, however, since Viz hasn't ported its app out to it yet. As expected, the big drawback to the iPad is the price. While manga sold via Viz's iPad app is cheaper than the print volumes, the price of an iPad would be the barrier preventing teens from completely making that digital jump Viz wants them to make. We originally looked at the Viz app in 2010, and we were pretty pleased with its offerings then. If you haven't considered a digital transition of your manga and comics yet, the ANN article is a good way to see if you'd want to do so. While I still prefer buying print graphic novels, my comic-buying habits are a mix of supporting my favorite local comic shop and buying digital manga through Comixology and Viz -- the latter being excellent for long series that take up a ton of shelf space.
Comixology reigns over comics on the iPad
While there are still quite a few good comic book reader apps on the App Store, there's really only one choice for buying digital comics directly from the publishers: Comixology's aptly title Comics app. Comixology launched early on iOS devices, beginning with a web interface and then the very popular iPhone app. Since the introduction of the iPad the company's really started to shine, bringing in huge partnerships with publishers like DC, Marvel, and Image Comics. Comixology provides both a very slick and usable reading interface and a very well-designed store that delivers digital comics through in-app purchases. Comixology's VP of Marketing, PR, and Business Development Chip Mosher kindly met up with us on the floor of Macworld | iWorld this week, and he agrees that the App Store has brought a lot of success for Comixology, both the app and the company itself (which also runs a few other standalone apps). Even so, Mosher says "really good" still isn't good enough. While Comixology does have most of the major comic titles covered, Dark Horse Comics still delivers its titles through its own store, and Archie Comics also come through a dedicated app run by competitor iVerse Media (though Comixology does carry the comics as well already). There are still some whales out there that Comixology is hunting in terms of delivering digital comics on the iPad. Mosher balked at revealing any major features of the app in the works, but he does say that Comixology is aiming for a "buy once, read anywhere" plan with its digital downloads. Even before iCloud took off, Comixology offered its own syncing service, so any titles purchased on the iPhone would show up automatically on the iPad and vice versa. Mosher says the company has worked to do that with everything, so purchases also cross over to Android devices, plus any readers on desktop computers or the web. He agrees that as long as the company can provide readers with their purchased comics when and wherever they need them, customers will be happy to jump in and buy them under the Comixology banner. Mosher shrugs at the mention of Apple bringing comic books to iBooks in a more official way. Certainly, Apple has shown some interest in bringing periodicals to iBooks, and a few comic authors are publishing their own books using iBooks Author. But Mosher believes Comixology will just have to continue to provide content users want in an app they're happy to use and worry about whatever Apple decides to do when that happens. Finally, we chatted about Comixology's "Guided View" technology, which provides a panel-by-panel look at each comic's art. Mosher says that when the tech was first introduced, "I don't think anyone at Comixology thought people would use it," but in fact "a ton of people have." Mosher says it's probably most valuable on the iPhone's smaller screen, but Comixology still uses the tech to provide the feature on all of its new comics, so clearly the company is committing to support it. Comixology has had a lot of success on the iPad especially, to the point where anyone looking for comics on Apple's tablet will likely end up in this app eventually. We'll keep an eye on the app and the company going forward, and see what they can do next to keep their growing hold on the iPad's comics market.
App Store holiday sales on now: GTA 3, id software, Dungeon Raid, lots more
The App Store freeze goes down today, so this is the last chance for many developers to put their apps on sale. And of course, many have taken advantage of that chance. Before we even start listing sales today, many of the sales previously listed, including EA and Gameloft's whole-catalog 99 cent sales, are still ongoing through the weekend. The anniversary release of Grand Theft Auto 3 is only $2.99. That's a bargain no matter which way you slice it -- pick it up. Japanese developer Cave is having a big 99 cents sale, with some of its bullet-hell shooters available for cheap. id Software is also going cheap, with Rage HD, Doom Classic, Doom II RPG, and more going on sale for just a buck. Hack-and-slash Aurum Blade (above) is free for the holidays. Monster RPG 2 is 99 cents. Comixology's great Comics app is having an in-store sale, with lots of comics for only a buck. Dungeon Raid is one of the best games of the year, and it's only $1.99 in a rare sale. Dragon Fantasy is an excellent 8-bit style RPG that's only a buck. Wayforward's excellent Shantae: Risky's Revenge platformer is only $1.99. Gamevil's Zenonia and Zenonia 2 are both completely free. iPad exclusive tower defense/strategy game Ant Raid is only a buck. Chillingo's Ravensword: The Fallen King is only 99 cents, and there's plenty of other Chillingo titles on sale for cheap as well. Disney's in on the sale, too, with Where's My Water, Jelly Car and lots of others for only 99 cents. Companions for iPad is only a buck. Galaxy Pirate Adventure got renamed as Galactic Phantasy, and it's only 99 cents right now. Word game Welder is just $1.99. And that's only the ones we've heard of -- there are probably lots more sales out there. In other words, if there's an app that you've been wanting to buy, you should probably check up on it today, because if it's not on sale now, it probably won't be this year. Good luck, enjoy all of your new apps!
End of Nations' Warfront 02 details large-scale battles, new comic
In this week's End of Nations Warfront, Cole Marshall takes a close look End of Nations' massive scale and the new End of Nations comics from DC. It even gives the community an opportunity to interrogate Community Manager Myll_Erik. Players are given a glimpse at the large-scale battles of End of Nations as Marshall talks about massive, planet-wide battles. He then announces the release of End of Nations #1 from DC Comics. The issue can be bought in stores or online at Comixology, and readers can pick up a small teaser issue, End of Nations #0, for free online. To top it off, the community is given the opportunity to "interrogate" Community Manager Myll_Erik. So head on over to the game's official Facebook page and interrogate away, but first, click on past the cut for the full video.
