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Comixology Unlimited, Netflix for Comics... Kind Of

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P

Penguin

Member
Well in theory this sounds good, but without Marvel and DC involved you do lose a huge portion of the industry

Think of Comixology Unlimited, which went live Wednesday morning, like a “Netflix for comic books.” For $5.99 a month (after a 30-day free trial), users gain unlimited access to a trove of hot comics titles from The Walking Dead to Hellboy. Instead of the superhero titles of Marvel or DC, Comixology Unlimited’s catalog is drawn from more independent publishers like Dark Horse and Image
Click to expand...

ike Netflix, Comixology Unlimited will eventually cycle titles in and off its catalog in the future, though it already starts off with hundreds of issues from dozens of different series.
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To help readers find new titles, Comixology Unlimited will offer recommendation tools, including search filters, home page curation, introductions to various publishers, and even editorial guides
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http://www.ew.com/article/2016/05/2.../books+(Entertainment+Weekly/EW.com's:+Books)
 
W

whatsinaname

Member
It looks fairly limited as of now. (First 1-3 volume of series). Will jump in once the library is more substantial.

And I don't mind DC and Marvel not being on there. Marvel Unlimited exists. And $5.99 month for Marvel+DC+Rest might not be sustainable, especially for the smaller publishers if payouts are done on number of reads.
 
V

Viewt

Member
Yeah, the lack of Marvel and DC really cuts the value, for me. Also, why the hell is in-app purchasing STILL disabled on iOS? Ever since they got bought by Amazon, Comixology's lost a lot of esteem in my eyes.
 
W

whatsinaname

Member
Viewt said:
Yeah, the lack of Marvel and DC really cuts the value, for me. Also, why the hell is in-app purchasing STILL disabled on iOS? Ever since they got bought by Amazon, Comixology's lost a lot of esteem in my eyes.
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I can't blame them for that at all. They have to give away 30% of their revenue for nothing by enabling in-app purchases.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I know its a minority opinion but I haven't been a fan of a good amount of the stuff DC and Marvel has been releasing at large. I'm glad some changes are occurring including more diversity, better portrayals of women, etc. but a lot of times I feel the stories themselves have been pretty lack luster aside from some great stand outs.

I'm glad Comixology is devoid of them in a sense that I get to see a lot of more interesting comics that I might never of heard of but then again I'm getting far more into the indie scene and less main stream stuff in general so it really works for me. Now if only manga creators could get a better system for getting issues over her faster and translated coherently.

Edit: That said their uncatalogued overall could be better and it would still be nice to get Marvel and DC stuff on their in the future or at least maybe some stuff like Vertigo comics.
 
C

cbrun44

Member
I'd give it a shot for a month or two. I already subscribe to Marvel Unlimited (which is the best thing ever by the way), but I'd love to check out the Dark Horse and Image stuff.

Now waiting on you DC.
 
V

Viewt

Member
whatsinaname said:
I can't blame them for that at all. They have to give away 30% of their revenue for nothing by enabling in-app purchases.
Click to expand...

I understand it from a business practices standpoint, but from a user experience perspective, the service became much more cumbersome, since it had been available without issue for years beforehand.
 
P

Penguin

Member
HStallion said:
I know its a minority opinion but I haven't been a fan of a good amount of the stuff DC and Marvel has been releasing at large. I'm glad some changes are occurring including more diversity, better portrayals of women, etc. but a lot of times I feel the stories themselves have been pretty lack luster aside from some great stand outs.

I'm glad Comixology is devoid of them in a sense that I get to see a lot of more interesting comics that I might never of heard of but then again I'm getting far more into the indie scene and less main stream stuff in general so it really works for me. Now if only manga creators could get a better system for getting issues over her faster and translated coherently.

Edit: That said their uncatalogued overall could be better and it would still be nice to get Marvel and DC stuff on their in the future or at least maybe some stuff like Vertigo comics.
Click to expand...
My qualm isn't necessarily NOT having DC and Marvel stuff, I have no problem reading it.

But to MANY MANY people, they are the comic industry. I think it's easier to sell something like this by saying can get caught up on the adventures of Batman, Superman, Spider-man, the Avengers, etc then it would be to say... here's Locke and Key or something!
 
W

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Image is where every good writer in the industry has gone to be creative, anyway. They go to Marvel/DC for the paycheck but put their best ideas into their books on Image.
 
F

Fletcher

Member
Wait this has image stuff? Like how recent? Image is publishing some of the best comics currently. I'd be in for 5 a month to just get new image comics alone.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Penguin said:
My qualm isn't necessarily NOT having DC and Marvel stuff, I have no problem reading it.

But to MANY MANY people, they are the comic industry. I think it's easier to sell something like this by saying can get caught up on the adventures of Batman, Superman, Spider-man, the Avengers, etc then it would be to say... here's Locke and Key or something!
Click to expand...

Yeah that's why I edited my post. I didn't want to sound like they shouldn't be on there, just that I'm kind of glad they aren't cluttering things up with 8 dozen crappy super hero romps and letting some other far less mainstream or well known works get some limelight. I also would love to see Vertigo comics and other lines owned or purchased by Marvel and DC on there.
 
W

Warxard

Banned
Dark Horse / Image only?

Nice. Marvel books are a shit show and DC -- including Vert -- has no idea what they're doing. I'm in.

IDW, Valiant and BOOM would be good additions too
 
N

NumberTwo

Paper or plastic?
I wish DC would stop dragging their feet. A subscription service could only help them in this day an age for new readers who want to immerse themselves in their catalogue. This is a good start, and even though it is a limited selection, hopefully the proliferation of comic book subscription services will lead to this distribution method becoming more common.
 
O

OniBarubary

Banned
Works for me. Last Marvel/DC comic I bought instead of skimming at the shop was Ellis's Moon Knight. I stick almost exclusively to Image and other indie publishers with an occasional Vertigo series here or there. That's where all the good comics are nowadays anyways.
 
LordRaptor

LordRaptor

Member
Not having Avatar Press seems like a missed opportunity

e:
Topher said:
I wish DC would stop dragging their feet. A subscription service could only help them in this day an age for new readers who want to immerse themselves in their catalogue. This is a good start, and even though it is a limited selection, hopefully the proliferation of comic book subscription services will lead to this distribution method becoming more common.
Click to expand...

If they wanted to 'test the waters', they could do so with some of their purchased imprints that aren't part of the DCU proper - Wildstorm, Milestone, Charlton
 
F

Fletcher

Member
Holy nuts. I just checked and most of the current image stuff I read is on there. This is the best news I've had in a while.

They're way behind from the current issues, though. Damn.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
What an odd title, OP, and a wasted opportunity to the more accurate and obvious: It's like Marvel Unlimited, minus the Marvel.

Will give the free trial a shot, has some series I follow on there, some I wanted to read for a while, lets see how it performs. The one problem I have with Marvel Unlimited is that it sometimes refuses to properly load pages.
 
P

Penguin

Member
Aiii said:
What an odd title, OP, and a wasted opportunity to the more accurate and obvious: It's like Marvel Unlimited, minus the Marvel.

Will give the free trial a shot, has some series I follow on there, some I wanted to read for a while, lets see how it performs. The one problem I have with Marvel Unlimited is that it sometimes refuses to properly load pages.
Click to expand...

Just using the language presented in the article!
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Some fantastic Image series worth checking out:

Lazarus
Velvet
Prophet
Stray Bullets
Black Science
The Manhattan Projects

Velvet is so good. An entire spectrum of spy fiction condensed into one gorgeous action-packed series, from Bourne-esque hard-hitting take-no-prisoners action to Cold War-era espionage to Bond-style gadgets to the one-woman-army agent of the likes of Salt and Nikita.

Velvet and Lazarus are my favorite Image series
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Oh, lol, I was gonna try it out, but here you go:
Is comiXology Unlimited available worldwide?
ComiXology Unlimited is currently only available to U.S. customers. We plan to expand this service to our international users in the future. Please stay tuned.
Click to expand...
That's the end of that.
 
F

Fletcher

Member
More_Badass said:
Some fantastic Image series worth checking out:

Lazarus
Velvet
Prophet
Stray Bullets
Black Science
The Manhattan Projects

Velvet is so good. An entire spectrum of spy fiction condensed into one gorgeous action-packed series, from Bourne-esque hard-hitting take-no-prisoners action to Cold War-esque espionage to Bond-style gadgets to the one-woman-army agent of the likes of Salt and Nikita.

Velvet and Lazarus are my favorite Image series
Click to expand...

I'd add Deadly Class and Southern Bastards.
 
J

JC Lately

Member
Comixology CEO: “It sounds silly but our mission is to make everyone on the planet a comics fan."

> Comixology Unlimited is only available in the US.

Ok.
 
P

Penguin

Member
More_Badass said:
Some fantastic Image series worth checking out:

Lazarus
Velvet
Prophet
Stray Bullets
Black Science
The Manhattan Projects

Velvet is so good. An entire spectrum of spy fiction condensed into one gorgeous action-packed series, from Bourne-esque hard-hitting take-no-prisoners action to Cold War-era espionage to Bond-style gadgets to the one-woman-army agent of the likes of Salt and Nikita.

Velvet and Lazarus are my favorite Image series
Click to expand...

Hmm some of these will need some work, Velvet is only first three issues it seems
https://www.comixology.com/Velvet/c...V4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9zZXJpZXNTbGlkZXI

Black Science is at least first volume
https://www.comixology.com/Black-Sc...V4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9zZXJpZXNTbGlkZXI
 
W

whatsinaname

Member
joelseph said:
Clean Room is excellent. Is there a list of everything currently on the service? I might jump over from MU.
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Just search for the series. The issues on unlimited are marked just like on MU.

Kntg3Lm.png
 
C

Cloggerdude

Member
Am I missing something? I signed up for the Unlimited free trial and then downloaded the Comixology app on Android, but none of the titles are showing up as free. They all still show $6.99, or whatever.

I've got to be doing something wrong I assume?
 
S

stump sock

Member
I don't super mourn the lack of DC... except that they control Vertigo. if this service had Vertigo's catalogue too it would be a home run for me.
 
N

NumberTwo

Paper or plastic?
More_Badass said:
Some fantastic Image series worth checking out:

Lazarus
Velvet
Prophet
Stray Bullets
Black Science
The Manhattan Projects

Velvet is so good. An entire spectrum of spy fiction condensed into one gorgeous action-packed series, from Bourne-esque hard-hitting take-no-prisoners action to Cold War-era espionage to Bond-style gadgets to the one-woman-army agent of the likes of Salt and Nikita.

Velvet and Lazarus are my favorite Image series
Click to expand...
I think we're going to need an OT, as I will be making a list myself.
 
T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
I'm fine with no DC and Marvel. It's a good way to get me into non DC and marvel stuff.

But it's really annoying they do stuff like only have the first volume of Saga. Also I would hope they got the majority of Indie stuff if they're not getting DC and Marvel, but even most indie stuff is unavailable. Like why is there only 3 unlimited availible comics their list of 25 indie essentials?

At least it's a good bit cheaper than most unlimited subscription services, but i'd much rather pay a higher price for a larger selection.
 
O

OniBarubary

Banned
My bookshelf is pretty much breaking under the weight of Image books.

I'd probably sell my soul to have Wicked and the Divine be weekly.
 
V

Vyer

Member
Having Image there is a big bonus, even without the big 2. But yeah pretty limited for now.

whatsinaname said:
I can't blame them for that at all. They have to give away 30% of their revenue for nothing by enabling in-app purchases.
Click to expand...

they managed to grow for years doing it, the separate apps for publishers can still do it. I also wouldn't call the exposure and customer base of the app store 'nothing'. Certainly it was a huge benefit to the product as it got started.

It was a shitty thing to do and showed a general disregard for the customers that helped get them where they are.
 
S

Sgt. Kabukiman

Banned
Too bad it's not available worldwide, I'd love to try it out for a couple of months, there are a lot of Dark Horse and Image series I've been wanting to check out. I'm more of a DC fan these days but I can't stop using Marvel Unlimited, there's so much good stuff to read. Come on DC, I would be willing to pay twice the price for a similar app!
 
M

Mindwipe

Member
Warxard said:
Dark Horse / Image only?

Nice. Marvel books are a shit show and DC -- including Vert -- has no idea what they're doing. I'm in.

IDW, Valiant and BOOM would be good additions too
Click to expand...

It has some IDW books.

It being US only when it's not like there are exclusive licensing issues like in TV is stupid, and really makes me think less of CMX.

$6 a month for the amount you can read is really crazy value, even if it's a smaller selection. But I'd love an MU like service from DC at this point.

Edit: Also lol at anyone who thinks putting up with Apple's shit on in-app purchases is anything like a good idea. The people you are angry with are Apple for having such a terrible system, not CMX.
 
J

joelseph

Member
So they only have the first 5 or so issues of all Image no matter how old the series is? Too much of a tease for me to jump in. I can understand holding back the recent 3 months like MU does but if the series is older than that...
 
T

TheFlow

Banned
The amount of stuff they are offering is already absurd. I am have been reading Image and Darkhorse titles for years and this is still overwhelming.


and apparently all the titles are fully HD which is amazing for the price considering Marvel is still SD.


joelseph said:
So they only have the first 5 or so issues of all Image no matter how old the series is? Too much of a tease for me to jump in. I can understand holding back the recent 3 months like MU does but if the series is older than that...
Click to expand...
lol no, go search for the book you want and find out. some go up to 3 volumes
 
T

TheFlow

Banned
BruceCLea said:
I'm totally with you. Good God comics are expensive these days. If they can get the big two then I'll jump in.
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try the 30 free trial. it is worth.

and not to be a fanboy or anything but Image is blowing the big two out of the water when it comes to quality titles.
 
D

Delusibeta

Banned
Releasing a comic subscription service without Marvel and DC is a bit like releasing a music subscription service without Sony Music and Universal Music: it makes the service pointless for 95% of your potential audience.
 
S

Simply Sarah

Member
This honestly isn't sounding too impressive to me right now with what people in here are saying. It's sounding more like a paid sampler service more than anything. Marvel Unlimited might just be SD and might have a 6 month wait but at least you generally can read all of what is up when it is up and otherwise digitally available. I mean, I don't expect my digital pull list to be replaced by an unlimited service but how this seems to be set up means I'd almost save more money waiting for a good sale on a series before trying it since at least buying the rest of it would be cheaper.

Mindwipe said:
It being US only when it's not like there are exclusive licensing issues like in TV is stupid, and really makes me think less of CMX.
Click to expand...

That's not true. Licensing is needed for every region and clearly they've only worked all those out for the U.S. currently. I'm sure that they're working on other regions but rights issues can get super messy.
 
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