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Comixology Unlimited, Netflix for Comics... Kind Of

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Posting Valiant recs from the other thread. For those that are unfamiliar with it, Valiant is an indie comic book publisher with a shared universe like DC and Marvel. They are very high quality comics and are very well-regarded by the more core comic book community. They have a set stable of characters from the 90s (though they've recently been creating new ones), yet they let their creators have full-reign over stories and events.

Ok, so, depending on what you're looking for:

Archer & Armstrong - Buddy cop conspiracy busters. This is one of the most widely loved books Valiant has. It's just a lot of fun. First volume is free, 6 volumes total, and there's a new ongoing series that follows the characters.

Death-Defying Dr. Mirage - kind of like an ghost/exorcism book. Kind of exposition heavy, but very unique and the art is fantastic. This is a miniseries and the whole thing is free.

Harbinger - It's kind of like X-Men, but it really has legs of its own. It follows a group of misfit teens with superpowers. Saying anything else would be spoilery, but it has two of my favorite characters in the universe. It's very thematically heavy and just an epic tale contained in 6 volumes. The first is free.

Imperium - A pseudo-sequel to Harbinger. I wouldn't recommend reading it if you like Harbinger and want to finish it, but it's a great read on its own. It's like a superpowered cold war book. The first volume is free and currently set to finish next month.

Ninjak - This is an espionage book. You'll enjoy it if you liked Grayson or Velvet. It's got fantastic characterization and Ninjak is a hilarious, arrogant prick. The first volume is free and the series is ongoing.

Quantum & Woody - Superhero buddy cop book with a lot of ridiculous and hilarious ideas. This was almost a laugh-a-panel book for me. The first volume is free, 4 total.

Rai - Cyberpunk samurai cop who rebels against his creator. While not crazy conceptually, and the first few volumes are just good, the third volume is just crazy. First volume free, currently ongoing, and leads into the 4001 AD event.

Unity - A damn good team book, but it's hard to recommend this one without reading XO Manowar up until like issue 19, since it directly involves XO. First volume is free, 6 volumes total.

The Valiant - This is by far my favorite story contained in the Valiant universe. It's a mini-event, all contained in one book, and it does a couple of things really well. First, the art by Paolo Rivera is off the walls good; it brings a tremendous amount of life to these characters. Second, while it's an event that uses established characters (Bloodshot, Geomancer, and Eternal Warrior are the leads), it is a great jumping on point, as it showcases a lot of the characters in the universe and makes you want to learn more about them. Geomancer, in fact, wasn't a character very well explored before this book, yet the story does an incredible job making you care about her plight. The story is kind of a fairytale, self-contained thing that is really touching and affecting on a lot of levels. I will say, some people come away from this feeling like they probably would have benefited from knowing more about the characters, but I knew very little about these characters before jumping into this story and loved it to death. Miniseries, all free.

XO Manowar - A standard cape book, though it has great characterization and there's a few original ideas in there. It follows Aric as he inherits the armor, then tries to avenge his people, so there's a bit of a spin on it in that he's not as much as hero as he is an avenger; however, that's kind of part of how he matures into becoming a real hero. It's Valiant's flagship title. First volume is free, currently ongoing but it will end at volume 12.
 

conman

Member
I don't mind the lack of Marvel and DC. Because then Comixology Unlimited really would be like Netflix with all of its labyrinthine licensing issues where things pop in and out of the service too frequently. For that reason, I like that Marvel has their own dedicated service.

The real kicker, though, is that there is too much "teaser" content. It sounds like they couldn't find a strong enough reason to get the publishers on board, and that this was their big compromise. Too bad. I'll wait and see if the situation improves.

Buying 1-3 volumes of a comic-book run will cost you at least $15, and that's only if there's a sale going on. It's a bargain regardless of how you spin it.
Yes, but then what happens when you run out of the comics that are part of that "bargain"? You will want to keep reading, which will end up costing you quite a bit of money. I get what you and others are saying, and this might indeed be a "bargain" for many of you. But for me, this would just be frustrating as hell.

It would be great if you knew, like with Marvel Unlimited, that eventually subsequent series content will be added to the service. Knowing that Marvel's content is on a six-month lag makes it super compelling. All I need is patience, not money.
 
The best thing about Netflix is being able to binge watch a whole series front to back.

The amount of stuff limited to 1-3 volumes and forcing you to pay for the rest is the main thing that kills it for me. I'm not going to pay for a subscription service when it seems like their main goal is to get you hooked so you pay more money for the rest of the series.

Yeah, it's definitely not worth it to me at the moment. I'm not a huge Marvel fan, but I really liked that their service has pretty much every issue of current series, just 6 months late. I'm used to watching things on Netflix or Hulu 1-2 years after it's come out, and I'm not really in the comics scene/discussion, so having issues of comics be delayed for streaming is no problem for me. But intentionally having a small selection on the streaming service to encourage more people to buy issues is just worthless to me. I don't buy movies, TV shows, or music, and I consume all of those things regularly. I'm not going to start throwing money at another medium that I only have an occasional interest in.
 
This is awesome. Been slowly been getting into comic books and this seems perfect for me. Already see a few on my to-read list have a couple of collections on Unlimited.

The Comixology app is soooo much better than Marvel Unlimited, particularly in terms of image quality.
 
Checked with their Support account on Twitter and they verified that the Android app requires an update that hasn't been released yet in order to function with Unlimited.

Oh well, you would think that would have been released alongside the announcement.
 

ducksauce

Member
I was excited until I saw that the selection is pretty limited. Marvel Unlimited has about a six month delay before they get comics but it looks like this Comixology thing is longer. Most series, even older ones, only have the first 1-3 volumes available.
 
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Deleted member 13876

Unconfirmed Member
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.

I haven't used it since they switched to this.
 
I might actually have used this if it wasn't just a big old tease. They don't have to have every comic book available but most of the ones they feature should have up to the newest volume available. They should thin down the selection of series and increase the amount of issues.

Also, it would be great if they could let us choose a publisher to dedicate our subscription too monthly so I could catch up on Valiant stuff without paying an arm and leg because damn their stuff is expensive and they don't drop prices fast.
 

U2NUMB

Member
Signed up for the 7 day trial.. no way I am paying for this if I can not read a full series. The UNLIMITED tag should not apply. I would rather pay more per month and have access to everything.
 
The smartest thing Image ever did was make it's 1st Volumes 10 dollars and it's subsequent ones 15. I've bought so many first volumes I wouldn't have otherwise bought because they were cheap enough to take a chance on. And that roped me into getting the next, more expensive one. Brilliant marketing honestly.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
Checked with their Support account on Twitter and they verified that the Android app requires an update that hasn't been released yet in order to function with Unlimited.

Oh well, you would think that would have been released alongside the announcement.

Ah ty! Was wondering wth was going on.

I already have MU but this is going to be fantastic for kids comics for my girls.
 

Metalmarc

Member
It's not in the U.K yet, but is there any Dredd from IDW on there? I heard most of it's not as good as the Dredd over here but it would do.
 

calder

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.

Basically what I was going to say. Come on DC! I miss out on so many good DC books because MU is so great I can't justify other non-sub means.
 

KodaRuss

Member
I just dont have enough time to read all of the comics I want to on Marvel Unlimited. I would be all over this if Marvel Unlimited did not exist or if I had more free time. Might check out the trial.
 
I wish Marvel and DC had subscriptions like a Zune Pass. I don't like throwing money into a black hole, lemme get a handful of current issues permanently as part of the sub.
 

mreddie

Member
Good for Indies. I think the first 1-3 volumes is what the creators set up which makes sense.

Gives you a taste of the first leg or series and if you're hooked, you gotta pay for the rest.

Similar fence to Marvel Unlimited.
 

TheFlow

Banned
For the people who are you not getting this because you own a marvel sub is the silliest thing I have ever read on GAF.

1.it is a free month

2. why limit yourself to only marvel. Marvel makes up a lot of the comic revenue but they are far from the best.

3. CMX is a better digital reader/store.

4. All the titles are in hd, not one title in the Marvel unlimited inventory is in hd. the images when put on fullscreen are blurry.

5. For those asking for the full series to be available and ect do keep in mind that the Comic industry requires money to grow. If you want to be cheap about it be cheap, but do keep in mind this service is trying to save you money :p.

6..Before you flame me do note that I pay for Marvel unlimited monthly along with purchasing a lot of Marvel ongoings.

7. So please give the free month a try and get outside your comfort zone. The best comics in the medium are actually outside of Marvel .
 
Pretty sure I know the answer to this
(which would be a resounding NO)
, but does it include the manga that Dark Horse publishes in the US? Like Berserk?
 
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thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
Pretty sure I know the answer to this
(which would be a resounding NO)
, but does it include the manga that Dark Horse publishes in the US? Like Berserk?

The answer is actually yes, but like the rest of the service, only a few seemingly randomly selected titles are under the service, and none of them are the whole series.
 

TheFlow

Banned
Pretty sure I know the answer to this
(which would be a resounding NO)
, but does it include the manga that Dark Horse publishes in the US? Like Berserk?

that is a good question but no it doesn't. CMX has a limited manga selection outside of the popular ones. Only 16 manga titles are available under the unlimited bundle.


They do sales for the manga that they do have every week though


edit: some darkhorse manga is there, not berserk
 

jph139

Member
I'd consider it, but honestly I'd rather plop down the $15 for the various Humble Bundles they put out and own entire series permanently - like The Boys, currently available! - than rent the first three volumes.

Like, it'll be a good way to try out new stuff if I ever run out of books to read, but between Marvel Unlimited and Humble Bundle and floppies and the occasional hardcover, I can't really see myself hitting that point.
 

Ashby

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...
Wait, did Marvel Unlimited lower the wait period from 6 to 3 month?
 

TheFlow

Banned
Shame, this'd be the perfect way to get into a long series like that.

Do they have any of the manga that Dark Horse focused on around 5-10 years back? The more obscure horror and crime stuff? I love that side of manga and they were the only publisher really giving it attention.
Darkhorse has a great digital store on their website. Try that first.

CMX has dedicated manga page and even does same day releases as Japan. Mature content included. I am not familiar with all the manga titles DH publishes but below is a link for you to check it out.

https://www.comixology.com/Manga


Wait, did Marvel Unlimited lower the wait period from 6 to 3 month?
Lol they didn't. still 6 months.
 
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thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
Shame, this'd be the perfect way to get into a long series like that.

Do they have any of the manga that Dark Horse focused on around 5-10 years back? The more obscure horror and crime stuff? I love that side of manga and they were the only publisher really giving it attention.

Might have missed some, but I only saw the first three volumes of 15 for Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project and the first volume of 4 for Appleseed when browsing through the Dark Horse catalog.
 

BrightLightLava

Unconfirmed Member
Good for Indies. I think the first 1-3 volumes is what the creators set up which makes sense.

Gives you a taste of the first leg or series and if you're hooked, you gotta pay for the rest.

Similar fence to Marvel Unlimited.

Based on Twitter, it sounds like a good number of creators weren't told this was going to be happening, and none of them are really sure how this is going to affect their sales numbers. But that is definitely the goal that the publishers had in mind when they agreed to the terms. That's what makes me interested to see how the library changes over time.
 

VanWinkle

Member
So I dug further into it, and it's a shame how limited it is. The one or two volumes per title I can deal with, but each eligible publisher only has like 10-20% of their stuff on Unlimited. That kind of cancels out a lot of its utility for me (trying series that I was interested in to see if I should get the physical books).
 

TheFlow

Banned
So here's the problem I have with this service:

I have now read the first volume of Saga and dearly want to continue.

This is the intent of the service. Get you to buy more comics!

if you do continue and decide to purchase saga come over to Comic-GAF to discusss it.

p.s we love it too
 
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thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
So I dug further into it, and it's a shame how limited it is. The one or two volumes per title I can deal with, but each eligible publisher only has like 10-20% of their stuff on Unlimited. That kind of cancels out a lot of its utility for me (trying series that I was interested in to see if I should get the physical books).

Yeah, the teaser scheme is the bigger problem for me personally, but if it were like 80% of those publisher's catalogs, then it'd make a lot more sense as an added paid feature for their general store service with better free samples and overall savings.

The small amount of titles available makes it look like a typical bundling service even though in practice it's kinda not.
 

TheFlow

Banned
Yeah, the teaser scheme is the bigger problem for me personally, but if it were like 80% of those publisher's catalogs, then it'd make a lot more sense as an added paid feature for their general store service with better free samples and overall savings.

The small amount of titles available makes it look like a typical bundling service even though in practice it's kinda not.

I feel like the 10-20 percent is an exaggeration. closer to 50-60 percent


TMNT is so far the only thing I came across that was not a part of the promotion but that is most likely because of the movie release plus CMX sale for next week
 

mjc

Member
I really, really like this idea.

But it also needs a bit more content. I'll wait until the library is bolstered a bit more.
 
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thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
I feel like the 10-20 percent is an exaggeration. closer to 50-60 percent


TMNT is so far the only thing I came across that was not a part of the promotion but that is most likely because of the movie release plus CMX sale for next week

They display 36 comics per page and you're lucky if you break 10 unlimited comics on any given page in the Dark Horse and Image sections. No way it comes anywhere close to 30%, and definitely not 50-60%.
 

TheFlow

Banned
They display 36 comics per page and you're lucky if you break 10 comics on any given page. No way it comes anywhere close to 30%, and definitely not 50-60%.

what do you mean break 10 comics on any given page.


what glaring titles are missing from each publisher? I would like read what you and Vanwrinkle think is is missing from the list.
 
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thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
what do you mean break 10 comics on any given page.


what glaring titles are missing from each publisher? I would like read what you and Vanwrinkle think is is missing from the list.

I mean 10 "unlimited" comics per page. What percentage of that is meaningful content is maybe another story and very subjective, but straight raw percentage is really low.
 
It should come as no surprise that DC and Marvel are not on board with this. They both want their own streaming services to pimp.

Whats gonna make or break this streaming service for me is whether Image comics will be on board with it.
 

JDB

Banned
comixology/amazon have a way different interpretation of unlimited than I do.

There's like 1 trade per series available even on stuff fairly old like Saga Vol 2

It should come as no surprise that DC and Marvel are not on board with this. They both want their own streaming services to pimp.

Whats gonna make or break this streaming service for me is whether Image comics will be on board with it.
uh, what?
 

VanWinkle

Member
what do you mean break 10 comics on any given page.


what glaring titles are missing from each publisher? I would like read what you and Vanwrinkle think is is missing from the list.

Here's a sample page from Dark Horse. Look at the amount that have Unlimited content in them.

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Su1zPPU.png

This is par for the course from what I've been looking at. Sometimes less than this and every once in awhile more.
 

Orpheus

Neo Member
Sucks that there's no Marvel or DC, but there's still plenty in there that i've been meaning to read. Definitely going to give this a shot and support the concept.
 
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