ComiXology made some big changes this week regarding both its platform and its relationship with its parent company, Amazon. In an email to comiXology users, CEO David Steinberger announced major updates to the comiXology app, which will take place over the fall. These entail several upgrades to the app’s interface and a complete overhaul of the company’s online storefront.
The announcement comes with implications that will surely be controversial. Among other things, Steinberger claims that there will be improvements to the comiXology app’s filtering and sorting, faster and more reliable downloads (plus read-while-downloading for Android users), and the ability to buy and borrow books from either the comiXology or Kindle apps. Amazon Prime and Kindle Unlimited members will also be able to access comiXology Originals, such as the recently released Astonishing Times. However, the biggest news is that there will be stronger integration between Amazon and comiXology.
While the comiXology app will remain separate, the website comixology.com will deactivate and instead redirect to a comics section of amazon.com. Any comiXology purchases will be readable on Kindle apps and devices. The good news is that these changes all provide greater flexibility to readers. The downside is that it strengthens comiXology’s reliance on Amazon. For years, comiXology has recommended that users merge their accounts with Amazon accounts, but starting in fall it will be required, and this obligatory linking of accounts may be a negative to many. Fortunately, in select countries, Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime members will be empowered to borrow comics on the comiXology app.
Combining comiXology with the Amazon storefront could be good for the comics industry. It expands the number of people who may be exposed to comics, including creator-owned comiXology Originals by authors like Scott Snyder, and provides new avenues for long-time readers to access their comics. However, it still does leave a sour taste in the mouth, considering that comixology.com is one of the largest platforms solely dedicated to showcasing and selling digital comics. Removing it would not just be a simple change to the platform, but rather a loss of a vital independent space for comic readers to shop and check out new releases.
It is still somewhat early to tell whether or not these new changes will work as intended and ultimately be to the benefit of comiXology and its users. While the updates do have the somewhat foreboding implications of the company more completely folding in with Amazon, it does indicate a major success in the company’s ongoing mission of expanding comic book readership, especially during a time when comic book stores are suffering due to current events. The general updates to the app and integration with Amazon’s robust storefront could potentially fix long-running issues with the platform. Plus, there will be a wider range of options for new readers to seek out stories that interest them and discover a love for comics. Either way, fall will represent a major moment of change not just for comiXology, but for Amazon as well.