The Final Death Of ComiXology

Well, they finally went and did it. Amazon pulled the plug on the life support of the very project they tore apart in the first place.

Word came into the email boxes of Amazon and ComiXology users that the ComiXology app was being shut down, something they’ve been trying to do almost since they bought the company in 2014. Digital comic fans fought hard to keep it going but Amazon didn’t seem to care. They wanted…well, I’m not sure what Amazon wanted and that’s kind of the problem. What was Amazon’s end goal with taking over and tearing apart ComiXology. The assets, the same way Maker Studios did with Blip? They don’t need it. I’m sure they could get a deal to digitally distribute Marvel and DC, though they use their own apps, and smaller publishers already use more than one service. Fans had to beg to restore the Guided View, the feature that made ComiXology stand out over other readers and sites along with the fan forums and review sections, plus the ability to download DRM-free versions of some of the comics. If I had known that was going away I would have grabbed the ones in my library while I had a chance.

So they weren’t after the app, could have gotten the licenses on their own, and shut down all the comic fan friendly features. I ask again…why did they want ComiXology?

Here’s the info from the emails.

Hello Comics fans,

We’re writing to let you know about upcoming changes to the way that you will access and read your Comixology digital comics, graphic novels, and manga titles. On December 4, 2023, we will be merging the Comixology and Kindle applications on iOS, Android, and Fire OS. Starting today, any books previously purchased on Comixology will automatically be visible in your library on the Kindle app. The upgraded Kindle app experience is available now; however, you may continue reading your books in the Comixology app until December 4, 2023. You can read more about the upcoming changes here.

You can go there for the full report, or if that isn’t working this article on the changes, but here’s the summary from the email.

• Your library in the Kindle app now groups your issues, volumes, and omnibuses from the same series together.
• The Kindle app now allows you to hide and unhide specific comics, graphic novels, and manga in your library. Titles you’ve already set to hide via the Comixology app will automatically be hidden in the Kindle app.
• With your complete library of books now conveniently in one place, you can select ‘Comics & Manga’ from the in-app filter menu to quickly find just your comics, graphic novels, and manga titles.
• Members of Comixology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited, or Amazon Prime can borrow comics, graphic novels, and manga titles directly in app. Tap the ‘Home’ button from the bottom nav, select the ‘Explore’ button in the top left directly under the search bar, then select the ‘Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels’ button listed under the ‘More categories’ label. You may also continue to browse for content on the web via www.amazon.com/comixology.
• You may also continue to read your Comixology books on the web via read.amazon.com. If you prefer to read on your Kindle E-reader, you can go to Your Content and Devices to send individual titles to download on your e-reader.

I can at least confirm after a quick check that the Guided View feature still works on the Kindle app on the phone (thus presumably also tablets), but I don’t see how to make sure the app sends them to the SD card instead of the phone’s internal storage. It should also be noted that as of this writing there are still comics that Amazon was already distributing through Kindle that have not been set up to work with Guided View. For example, my copy of Tomorrow Jones #1 and some samplers do not work in Guided View on either app or the Cloud Reader. This makes using those comics on the app a lot harder, and it’s not readable at all on the Kindle Cloud reader because I can’t zoom in on the images on my computer. So the only way to read the unformatted comics is the Kindle app. Will new comics be formatted for it or not, now that so many ComiXology workers were laid off and Amazon seems to be disinterested in the whole thing.

The whole thing is a mess, and unfortunately there’s nothing we can do about it. Supposedly all the bookmarks, place holds, and other settings will transfer over, but why not leave the comics on their own app and the books on Kindle? I would be surprised to hear that Amazon Prime and Freevee (their similar absorption of ad-sponsored livestreaming site IMDB TV) use different file types and there is a separate app for Freevee…and again, it’s easier to find Freevee shows on the Firestick and phone than it is the website. (Still don’t know why dad bought that if he wasn’t going to learn how to use it, but my gain.) Just move all the comics to ComiXology, set them up for Guided View, and suddenly you have happy customers and more money. I don’t understand business. If you didn’t want the app and online reader, the only things that set ComiXology apart from their competitors besides the fan interaction parts and DRM downloads you also tossed out (there’s no way to download at all), what was the point? You’re actually ruining digital comics over the physical ones. If that was your goal, congrats. You’re doing a good job. If it was getting into the digital comic field and create something good–or rather take someone else’s work and just let the money come in–you failed!

Meanwhile the guys who sold and left the company decided to screw over the very format they helped make popular by creating DSTRY, a service where you have to pay every time you want to read your comic, but if you sell it you also have to pay them. That’s a terrible digital distribution system, and I stopped following the company when I realized none of their comics even sound like something I want to read. At least there’s still Drive Thru Comics (just need a PDF reader because I hear the app has issues) and public domain comic hosts like Comic Book Plus for my fix.

I have nothing against digital comics, obviously. I have two sections of this website devoted to digital comics I made. However, this is another example of why physical comics are easier to read. I may be trying to clear out a lot of my collection at the moment, but that’s just to ditch the comics I don’t want to read. Physical media will always have an advantage over digital. It’s harder to take away.