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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 10, 2014 14:35:09 GMT -6
Amazon.com to Acquire comiXology SEATTLE—April 10, 2014—(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon.com today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire comiXology, the company that revolutionized the digital comics reading experience with their immersive Guided View technology and makes discovering, buying, and reading comic books and graphic novels easier and more fun than ever before. “ComiXology’s mission is to spread the love of comics and graphic novels in all forms,” said David Steinberger, co-founder and CEO of comiXology. “There is no better home for comiXology than Amazon to see this vision through. Working together, we look to accelerate a new age for comic books and graphic novels.” “Amazon and comiXology share a passion for reinventing reading in a digital world,” said David Naggar, Amazon Vice President, Content Acquisition and Independent Publishing. “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.” Founded in 2007, comiXology offers a broad library of digital comic book content from over 75 of the top publishers as well as top independent creators. Following the acquisition, comiXology’s headquarters will remain in New York. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Subject to various closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014. About comiXology ComiXology has revolutionized the comic book and graphic novel industry by delivering a cloud-based digital comics platform that makes discovering, buying, and reading comics more fun than ever before. ComiXology’s Guided View™ reading technology transforms the comic book medium into an immersive and cinematic experience, helping comiXology become a top ten grossing iPad app in 2011 and 2012 and the top grossing non-game iPad app in 2012 and 2013. Offering the broadest library of comic book content from over 75 publishers – and independent creators as well – comiXology will not stop until everyone on the face of the planet has become a comic book fan. ComiXology is based in New York City, with offices in Los Angeles and Paris. About Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Amazon Fire TV is a tiny box that plugs into your HDTV for easy and instant access to Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, SHOWTIME, low-cost video rentals, and much more. Kindle Paperwhite is the world’s best-selling and most advanced e-reader. It features new display technology with higher contrast, the next generation built-in light, a faster processor, the latest touch technology, and exclusive new features designed from the ground up for readers. Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, features improved fonts and faster page turns. The new Kindle Fire HDX features a stunning exclusive 7” or 8.9” HDX display, a quad-core 2.2 GHz processor, 2x more memory, and 11 hours of battery life, as well as exclusive new features of Fire OS 3.0 including X-Ray for Music, Second Screen, Prime Instant Video downloads, and the revolutionary new Mayday button. The all-new Kindle Fire HD includes an HD display, high-performance processor and dual speakers at a breakthrough price. Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, www.amazon.es, www.amazon.com.br, www.amazon.in, www.amazon.com.mx, and www.amazon.com.au. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise. Forward-Looking Statements This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment and data center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 11, 2014 6:44:27 GMT -6
www.comicsreporter.comA Few, Brief, Early-Morning Notes on Amazon Acquiring ComiXology * I think the main question people had about Amazon.com acquiring comiXology after they stopped making the Little Rascals Wow That's Something Face was a broad one: how much of the acquisition is about Amazon securing technnology, infrastructure and expertise in getting their company to a place they want to get it to, and how much of it was more of a partnership situation where comiXology would retain its culture and corporate identity yet work with Amazon on leveraging things each company does well after a time the digital comics distributor experienced a staggering, bone-stretching level of growth. It looks like more the latter, as presented in articles like Calvin Reid's at PW. * that said, I still believe that the bulk of the story here will develop from how this partnership is executed, what policies are put into place and how they effect the various relationships comiXology has with its vendors and customers. I'm sure that there will be a positive few words said about comiXology's Submit, for example, and you can build a speculative case from different as to whether it benefits (synergistic programs of a similar nature at Amazon) or is potentially hurt (a fear that the bigger vendors will have more sway). What matters is how policy is enacted, not our ability to project what that set of policies might be. * ditto in the same sense is how this might have an effect on retailers. Direct market retail has done astoundingly well in the face of digital pubilshing and on-line distribution/sales. Still, you're likely to see people make threshold arguments in terms of there being a point at which the ubiquity of digital access, or Amazon's desire to provide service linked into digital efforts, will start to take its toll. I'm suspicious of strong predictions here beyond that it should be compelling to watch what happens. * reading around a bunch of odd places last night I saw very little talk about Amazon owning a comics line being a worrisome factor for publishers involved. In general the publishers I talked to are generally blasé and/or generically positive; at least for public consumption. * when I mentioned yesterday that no specific-to-comics objection to Amazon popped into my head as a clear rallying point for pushback on this story, I didn't mean to suggest that more general fears about Amazon becoming such a strong figure in publishing overall are somehow not important. That is a company without a good reputation from many independent booksellers and indy/alt prose publishers -- and the comics equivalent of those folks make a lot of the comics I think most worth reading. Some of the more eloquent writing I got in my inbox and saw in places here and there were worries about that company's dominant influence. There are companies with different ways of getting digital material to market, and I think people are grateful not to have the issue of how one gets comics totally settled. * I suggested yesterday and still believe today that a partnership with Amazon.com might place working with comiXology in a different light than working with comiXology in its non-affiliated days. There's no novelty factor involved in an Amazon purchase at this point, and I think this may cause some consumers to kind of suss out what they want out of a commercial relationship of this type. This is certainly true of a couple of friends to whom I spoke, that want to know more about those kinds of purchases now that Amazon.com is involved. * the PW article linked to above mentions they're hiring someone, or have already. That seems like a company with whom a lot of people would like to work. * I ran a Collective Memory down the page a bit and will continue to play catch on some of the issues involved until I begin to form more rigorous opinions of my own.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 11, 2014 16:54:29 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/comics-industry-reacts-amazon-acquisition-695438Many questions surrounded the news Thursday that ComiXology -- unarguably the leading digital comics platform for the Western comics industry -- had been purchased for an undisclosed amount by Amazon.com. One of the most common questions was simple: how does the rest of the industry feel about the purchase? A statement from DC Entertainment issued in response to the news noted that both Amazon Kindle and ComiXology have “been great digital publishing partners to DC Entertainment” in the past, adding: “We are confident that Amazon's purchase of comiXology will make both our partners that much stronger and allow us all to continue to enhance and build the fastest growing segment of our publishing business as we bring our digital comics and graphic novels to our fans all over the globe.” Similarly, Marvel Entertainment emphasized that the Amazon.com purchase would not impact the existing Marvel Comics App, nor the company’s digital comic store (both powered by ComiXology). “We continue to invite all Marvel fans to use the Marvel Comics App and our digital comics store for all their browsing, purchasing and reading needs,” a company spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. Image Comics, when contacted, declined to comment on the buyout. The ComiXology purchase was also welcomed by other digital comics platforms, with Ben Wolstenholme of Madefire, a digital studio with partnerships with Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing and DC Entertainment, calling it “fantastic” news. “Comics and visual books are perfect for reading on devices,” he continued. “Amazon has just demonstrated that to the world!” (In addition, the official Madefire Twitter account called the news a “game changer for #digitalcomics and everyone in the industry.”) THR also reached out to ComicsPro, the trade association of comic speciality retailers in the U.S., for comment. Many initial reactions online to news of the Amazon/ComiXology partnership focused on the potential damage such a pairing could do to brick and mortar comic stores, pointing to the effect Amazon had had on independent booksellers; however, the statement provided by the organization proves to be more optimistic than some may have suspected. “There's always a concern when a huge corporation that shows little need to turn a profit tries to convert a niche market into a commodity,” the statement from the organization’s board of directors began. “Fortunately there is a tactile element to comics that no deep-discounting web entity will ever be able to replicate. So as long as there continues to be fans for the real thing, there will be comics and comic book stores.”
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 11, 2014 19:34:24 GMT -6
Dark Horse Comics is the highest-profile publisher whose digital releases are not available on comiXology, opting instead to use their own platform, Dark Horse Digital. Following Thursday’s news that Amazon has reached an agreement to purchase comiXology for an undisclosed amount, ROBOT 6 reached out to Dark Horse president and founder Mike Richardson for his thoughts on the matter:
“Companies outside our industry have been paying increasing attention to comics in recent years. New technology has offered a variety of new opportunities in both content creation and content delivery. It is not surprising that Amazon and Comixology would come together considering this environment. The comics industry, despite periods of lull, has always been an evolving and changing business, and this move is consistent with that history.”
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 13, 2014 13:25:53 GMT -6
In case you missed it, Amazon announced last Thursday their intent to buy the popular digital comics provider comiXology. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, and terms were not disclosed.
Maybe this explains why my Prime membership went up in price? OK, probably not. But this is a major shift for the industry, as the biggest seller of digital comics will be owned by a mega Internet company. It’s really too soon to know exactly what this will all mean, but here are a few thoughts I’ve had after shifting through the announcement and some of the reactions to it.
1. My first thought is, “Congratulations to comiXology founders David Steinberger and John Roberts, and the whole comiXology crew on the sale.” comiXology came into comics perceived as a potentially disruptive force to the industry; knives and guns came out as many people rallied around print comics. But they’ve proven to not be the end of the industry as we know it, as they’ve made the effort to partner with retailers through their digital storefront initiative, sponsor things like the CBLDF and the Eisner Awards, and generally support the medium in all its forms and formats. They’ve also built a pretty stellar comic-reading app, making it easy to buy and read comics every Wednesday anywhere you can get internet access (even if that’s thousands of miles from a comic shop). I use comiXology myself to buy comics, from batches of cheap single issues to the latest stuff from Monkeybrain. They’ve been at the forefront of digital comics, building a better mousetrap and setting the standard for what digital delivery looks like. So kudos to them.
2. As a user of comiXology’s services, my next thought is, “What does this mean to me as a consumer?” Reading the interviews with Steinberger and Amazon’s David Naggar it sounds like it’s way too soon to tell, as Naggar said Amazon isn’t coming into this with an agenda beyond buying the market leader in digital comics. Both of them told CBR that nothing would change for end users for now. “For now” being the operative word, because change will no doubt come in some form down the line.
I do take a bit of solace in knowing that it’s Amazon who bought comiXology and not, say, Microsoft or Apple. I think Amazon has a much better track record of keeping what made their acquisitions unique intact without screwing them up or having them disappear into the ether. I am also an Amazon user, so if I end up having to, say, use my Amazon password to access comiXology at some point, that’s really not a big deal for me. I used Zappos before and after their purchase by Amazon, and nothing really seemed to change much — Zappos also has a unique corporate culture that Amazon seems to have pretty much left alone (Amazon has even started using some of Zappos’ ideas themselves). Amazon could leave cX set up the way they are, not wanting to ruin the secret sauce that makes comiXolgy work.
One potential change, just from looking at how Amazon operates, is losing the ability to buy comics directly through the iOS apps. If you’ve ever used the Kindle app on your iPad, you know that you can’t buy books directly; instead you have to buy them via their website and then download them to the app. I don’t think it’s likely, though, that they’d do something like that, as it would really tamper with comiXology’s existing business model and make it a lot more inconvenient to buy comics.
One thing I don’t want to see happen is my comiXology reading experience becoming more like the Kindle comic-reading experience. They are definitely a night and day experience, and I would think that one of the reasons Amazon would want something like comiXology is because they have created such a great reading experience. So if anything, maybe comics on the Kindle will become easier and more pleasant to read now that they have in-house experts.
3. How will this affect comics retailers? comiXology provides a couple of retailer-friendly services: the above-mentioned digital storefronts and their popular print comics pull-list service. It doesn’t sound like the pull list service is going anywhere. But Heidi at The Beat points out that retailers who use those services may not be happy with the fact that Amazon now has access to lists of their customers. While digital comics may not be the enemy of brick and mortar stores, Amazon is another animal entirely, as their pricing strategies could be described as “aggressive” if you were trying to be nice.
In a roundup of various reaction to the news, Graeme McMillan received a statement from ComicsPro, the comic retailer trade association: “There’s always a concern when a huge corporation that shows little need to turn a profit tries to convert a niche market into a commodity. Fortunately there is a tactile element to comics that no deep-discounting web entity will ever be able to replicate. So as long as there continues to be fans for the real thing, there will be comics and comic book stores.”
4. comiXology hasn’t operated without controversy over the last few years. Does being owned by Amazon make some of the things that have happened less likely to happen again, or more? Or does it even matter? Let’s poke around at some of them.
One of the common criticisms I’ve heard (and seen in our comments section on many occasions) is the ownership issue. You’re essentially “renting” your comics on comiXology and can’t download them to your own computer’s hard drive. I doubt this will change under Amazon, based on the Kindle model, as you also don’t actually own any Kindle books you might purchase. However, maybe comiXology being owned by a bigger company will help alleviate some of the fears that “cX could go out of business, and my comics will disappear forever.” I guess Amazon could end up shuttering comiXology at some point if they don’t remain profitable, but that just doesn’t seem very likely.
You might remember back during South by Southwest 2013, comiXology’s servers crashed when they and Marvel gave away a whole bunch of first issues. Amazon is pretty good at the large-scale back-end/technology stuff, so maybe something like this could be attempted again and work as intended. One of the benefits of the deal should be that comiXology and Amazon both now have access to a group of smart people with expertise in areas that could benefit the other; it’s just a matter of taking advantage of the opportunity. My colleague Corey Blake wondered if comiXology, a group that obvious knows and loves comics, could one day curate Amazon’s comics section, for example.
Finally, you may remember the whole Saga #12 thing, where comiXology decided not to add the comic to their iOS store due to their interpretation of Apple’s content policies. Eventually the comic was listed in the app store, but not long after a whole bunch of comics were pulled from their app “in order to comply with the Apple App Store guidelines regarding adult or inappropriate content.” This is more of an Apple issue than anything else, and I wouldn’t think being owned by Amazon wouldn’t affect a similar situation one way or the other. Apple’s vague guidelines apply to everyone, right? Except apparently the late-night section on the HBO GO app.
5. Looking at it from an industry perspective, how much of the overall comic market will be going through Amazon, if you add up the various digital comics they sell themselves, plus comiXology, plus all the print editions in their online store? More than goes through Diamond? I wouldn’t even know how to add that up. Amazon has grown from being an online bookstore to selling, well, just about everything you could imagine. I used to think of them as a good alternative to someplace like Walmart; you could argue the case that now they have become the Internet Walmart.
6. Finally, what sort of opportunities does this acquisition give not only comiXology, but the industry as a whole? I’m thinking in terms of cross-promotional opportunities within Amazon, such as getting free comiXology comics when you purchase a comic book movie, or even just getting a digital copy when you buy a trade paperback. Amazon is pretty good at telling you what else you might like when you buy something, and maybe comiXology could benefit from that. Lately I’ve been getting emails from Amazon telling me that I can download free books as part of my Prime membership. How long before I start getting emails about free comics – and more importantly, how long before all those non-comic readers who have Prime start getting emails telling them they can download comics for their kids? I have the Amazon Prime app both on my Playstation and my TiVo; if that was somehow integrated with comiXology, could I start seeing those double-page spreads on my flatscreen TV? There are a lot of possibilities for this acquisition to grow the number of comic readers out there, which is always a good thing.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 14, 2014 7:36:46 GMT -6
The Board of Directors of ComicsPRO issued a short statement Friday in reaction to the announcement Thursday that Amazon is acquiring comiXology.
"There's always a concern when a huge corporation that shows little need to turn a profit tries to convert a niche market into a commodity. Fortunately there is a tactile element to comics that no deep-discounting web entity will ever be able to replicate. So as long as there continues to be fans for the real thing, there will be comics and comic book stores."
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 14, 2014 14:31:49 GMT -6
www.businessinsider.com/amazon-comixology-acquisition-will-change-comic-book-industry-2014-4How Amazon’s Acquisition Of ComiXology Will Change The Comic Book Industry Forever Amazon announced it was buying digital application comiXology for an undisclosed amount last week. The acquisition has vast implications for the future of the comic book industry, from big publishers like Marvel and DC Comics, to independent creators, to the small but ardent network of 2,500 comic book retail stores across America. While the vast majority of comic books were sold on newsstands from the mid- to late 20th century, boasting circulations of several hundred thousand and sometimes surpassing a million copies per issue, that all changed in the 1980s and ‘90s. Direct sales of non-returnable comics shifted the publishers’ attention to specialty comic shops, and the industry let the newsstands slowly dry up. Today, a single distributor, Diamond, accounts for the vast majority of comic sales, with the average Marvel or DC superhero comic selling between 35,000 and 45,000 copies. Launching in July 2007, the comiXology app sealed deals with Marvel, DC, and dozens of other publishers to sell downloadable digital versions of both archived and recent comic books and graphic novels. The app went on to become Apple’s top-grossing non-game iPad app from 2011 to 2013, with well over 200 million comics downloaded to date. As the perceived value of digital products has increased among young adults, sales have more than tripled since ComiXology’s launch year, with the firm grossing $70 million in 2012. It’s safe to say Amazon fully intends to pump the numbers. Placement of key titles on the website’s front page and through Kindle can be seen as the digital equivalent of the world’s most popular newsstand; a reach no comic retailer can hope to match. ComiXology already pushes the latest “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” or “Amazing Spider-Man 2” tie-ins to their loyal customer base; now Amazon’s marketing muscle can exponentially increase such exposure. But comic book publishers will need to give their product a second thought. In recent years, major publishers have abandoned all hope of attracting young new audiences, focusing instead on providing byzantine plot convolutions and adult-themed takes on iconic characters for their core demographic of 18 – 45 year-old men. Marvel's Black Widow Strikes comic is one of many that appeals to a female demographic. Women 17 – 26 have risen to comprise over 20% of ComiXology’s users, and that’s certain to rise after Amazon’s acquisition. The books will now be exposed to millions of newcomers, so it will behoove major publishers to make their stories more female-friendly, streamlined, and accessible. With comiXology’s new aim to make “every person on the planet a comics fan,” publishers will need to consider new genres, greater variety, and more varied age groups. All good news, but is there intrigue at the edges of the deal? In recent years, Amazon has moved aggressively to extend its reach onto different media platforms, and build content to fill them. Amazon Business Development Executive Philip Patrick has harnessed the power of fan fiction for his Kindle Worlds program. Amazon Publishing cultivates authors and distributes its own books. Can original Amazon-published comic books and graphic novels be far behind? Not limited to digital, Amazon will be able to print its original comics on demand, servicing collectors with increasingly rare hard copies (which they can get creators to sign!). Direct distribution cuts out all middle men, providing Amazon with a larger share of revenues on both their original properties, and those of independents who self-publish through comiXology’s Submit Initiative. With transmedia franchises based on comics from a variety of genres (everything from “300: Rise of an Empire” to “Men in Black” to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”) continuing to storm the box office and spike TV ratings, it would not be surprising to see an Amazon original superhero break free from our tablets in the near future. Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 14, 2014 14:34:40 GMT -6
www.marketplace.org/topics/business/digital-comics-violent-sci-fi-meets-joan-didionThis week Amazon announced it has bought ComiXology, a popular online store and digital reader for comic books, graphic novels and the like. Now, there is a select group of you, i.e., comics nerds fans, to whom this will mean quite a bit more than it means to say, me. I am not a comics fan. Or at least — I haven’t been one. Then I called up Douglas Wolk, a man who writes about comic books, as well as writes comic books, and I started to get pretty excited about comics and the economics behind them. Wolk is currently working on a series called "Judge Dredd Mega City Two," which he describes as "probably the closest that incredibly violent sci-fi gets to a tribute to Joan Didion." I am intrigued. Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two, the five-issue mini-series by Douglas Wolk and drawn by Ulises Farinas. Wolk says, part of why he can write crazy mash-ups like this is because of the weird way the comic books business has worked for many years. "Comics have the strangest economics of just about any medium I can think of," he said. Unlike regular books, where a store can return unsold copies, with comic books, a store buys a certain number from a publisher on a non-refundable basis. That means publishers of comics can gauge ahead of time how many copies will be profitable to print, so it's easier to take risks on books that might only appeal to niche markets. And tapping into those niche markets has become even easier with the rise of digital comics, according to Calvin Reid, a lifelong comic book fan and senior news editor at Publishers Weekly. And that’s a good thing for comic book sales, since sales for physical comic books have reached a plateau in recent years. "Even in the early nineties there were comics that hit real mass market numbers, a million or so," Reid said. "But now, you sell 100,000 copies, and everyone pays attention." Even so, physical comics that you can hold in your hand are still a more than $600 million industry. There's just something addictive about flipping through the pages, says Jeff Ayers, a manager at Forbidden Planet, a revered comic book store in Manhattan that still does brisk business. It's great to be able to read a comic on your phone, Ayers told me. "But I'm not inclined to bring phone in to the bath tub, where I would be a comic book," he says. Reading a comic book tribute to Joan Didion….in the bath tub? I might try that.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 15, 2014 9:09:35 GMT -6
www.wired.com/2014/04/amazon-comixology-analysis/Last week, Amazon acquired digital comics hub ComiXology, and the (comics-reading corner of the) internet flipped out. Business Insider predicted that the deal would “change the comic book industry forever.” Retailer organization ComicsPRO described Amazon as “a huge corporation that shows little need to turn a profit [trying] to convert a niche market into a commodity”—and then threw a jab by drawing a distinction between digital comics and “the real thing.” So, is this the death of the direct market? The end of digital comics as we know them? The advancement of an evil empire at the expense of the hard-working cartoonists and publishers and loyal readers? Nope. Let’s get the major hand-wringing points out of the way first: ComiXology will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary, under its current leadership. If you’re currently a ComiXology customer, you’ll be able to keep buying comics at the same place, for the same price, with the same account, and reading them with the same interface on the same devices. If you’re a creator or publisher, ComiXology CEO David Steinberger confirmed that your contract and royalties won’t change, at least not in the foreseeable future. You’ll deal with the same people, through the same process, in much the same way. The programs Business Insider points out in their sky-is-falling predictions already existed; Amazon had been publishing comics on the Kindle for years, and developing original comics properties for months before acquiring ComiXology. The comics industry lingers in a frozen adolescence, clinging to a shrinking target audience like a sea captain railing at the storm—when the real problem is the rotting wood of his own hull. But what about comics retailers? A few years ago, ComiXology was being heralded as the death knell of comics shops, and that obviously hasn’t happened—digital distribution isn’t ripping customers away from struggling comics shops so much as attracting new readers to the medium, many of whom later find their way to brick-and-mortar stores. Then there’s ComicsPRO’s statement, which is frankly a little baffling in how profoundly ignorant it seems. “A huge corporation that shows little need to turn a profit [trying] to convert a niche market into a commodity”? What does ComicsPRO consider Disney’s relationship to Marvel, or Time-Warner’s to DC—both of which answer far more directly to their parent corporations than ComiXology will to Amazon? Is the concern is a distribution monopoly? If so, the direct market is in no position to criticize: over the last 15 years, Diamond Comics Distributors has consumed almost all independent print distribution in comics, and dictates practices and policy to retailers and publishers alike. The idea that print comics are somehow more independent than their digital cousins—or a scrappy underdog fighting the good fight against evil corporate profiteers—is frankly ridiculous. No idea has proven more damaging to the comics industry than the myth that creators work for love and not money. It’s a philosophy that has justified exploitation of creators and theft of intellectual property. It’s allowed the entire industry to pass the buck for its failures—from publishers to retailers, and retailers to —for decades. And it’s why the comics industry lingers in a frozen adolescence, clinging to a shrinking target audience like a sea captain railing at the storm—when the real problem is the rotting wood of his own hull. ComiXology is not a charity. It is a business—one that has done very good work with apparent goodwill, but which has also survived and grown on the corpses of competitors. Now it has been bought by another business, and both have promised that business will continue as usual. It’s a deal that will probably have a small impact on a handful of people (ironically, between the widened market and the possibility of collaboration or at least more synchronicity between ComiXology Submit and Amazon CreateSpace, independent creators will probably see the most direct benefits), and negligible impact on nearly everyone. So, no: this is not the end of the world, or even the first step down a slippery slope. It’s evolution. I’d say “adapt or die,” but honestly, that inflates the stakes. Adapt or don’t, comics.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 16, 2014 17:06:37 GMT -6
dorkshelf.com/2014/04/15/thought-bubble-amazon-acquires-comixology/Digital comics have been a hotly debated subject for years. Much in the same way that Amazon has, so you can imagine the immediate uproar an announcement like this might cause in either direction. Speaking as a retailer in the comic shop business, I realize I am unabashedly biased in a certain direction about these controversial issues, so here are the facts. Amazon and ComiXology have announced the beginning of their new partnership, but there are no details yet as to what exactly that means, beyond the desire for a wider reach of digital comics for Amazon and its customers. ComiXology has a comics store and a mobile comics app, as well as their own self-publishing platform similar to Amazon’s Kindle platform for self-publishing authors (what made Fan Fiction now a thing you can buy). The only definite confirmation by a ComiXology spokesperson is that the ComiXology brand and apps aren’t necessarily going away. The two companies are interested in finding ways for ComiXology and Kindle to work better together. Amazon That’s all well and good, but not really addressing my concerns as a retailer. What about the already growing popularity of digital comics and Amazon, and the resulting impact that is having on physical book stores? I’m not knocking the entire concept. I recognize the value to having digital comics as a reliable source, but there is a line. Amazon is famous for being the world’s largest on-line retailer, and one of the biggest incentives for people is their promise of the lowest prices. A book at full price in a bookstore may be around $19.99, while on Amazon it could be offered at $11.99, plus shipping and other fees. After the whole process it usually averages out to around what you’d be paying anyway, but the prospect of home delivery is far more appealing to some than going out to the store. I am all for the notion of reaching more people who could become lovers of comics– that’s an attitude ComiXology has gotten very right– but it still remains to be seen if all their and Amazon’s interests where the comic industry is concerned match up. Where am I going with this? It’s simple. Once the ComiXology brand is linked with Amazon, a retailer like me fears the worst. It’s disheartening enough every time we hear a phrase like, “That’s okay, I can find that graphic novel for cheaper on Amazon,” or even asked by people why we don’t offer Amazon prices on the comic books in our store. I have no beef with ComiXology or digital comics in general, I see the need for them and understand why some people prefer comics in that format, so here’s my question. You can find Batman #28 on ComiXology or the Amazon Kindle both for $2.99, which is already a dollar under the cover price you would find in a comic store. Will the price always be dictated by the publisher, or will Amazon find a way to make it cheaper to appear more appealing, as it always does? What about digital pull lists that ComiXology offers, will Amazon become a part of that as well? Subscriptions are a big part of being a comics reader, and honestly a huge incentive for comic stores to gain loyal regulars who come in weekly for their new comics. If Amazon is going to start offering subscriptions to their Kindle customers with the promise of improved digital imagery from ComiXology, how long before more people are opting out of printed copies in favour of digital? Girl reading comics via Getty ImagesAs a former customer and avid comic book reader, I can’t help thinking with a merger like this that the personal relationship between comic book stores and their potential customers will only become more estranged, as more people flock to the internet instead of talking to another human face-to-face about what they’re looking for in a comic. As a comic store employee, we really count on that connection with people. Things like the Marvel bonus incentives in the back of physical issues are great, because the only way to gain a free digital copy from their own digital distribution platform is to buy the printed one with the code in the back, but if you can get physical comics and digital copies from Amazon… then what’s left? And if Amazon can pick and choose, the independent creators who use comic stores as a way to get their creations public notice may be out of luck. It’s bad enough that corporate bookstores like Barnes and Noble have extensive graphic novel sections, but I’ll never forget the day I walked into one not that long ago and was shocked to still see single issued comics on the magazine rack mixed in with US Weekly and GQ. No Marvel, of course, but still plenty of DC. It’s a bad message we’re sending, because if other stores and platforms that are not specifically tailored to the comic book needs are able to sell what we are selling, then what makes us any different? That’s easy. We, the comic stores, are the real face of the comic retail industry. We are the ground floor, the front line, your one-stop-shop to connecting people with comic books, and that message is getting lost. Expanding on the message of this article, more recently there has been a boom of new readership and interest in comics across the board, coming from a variety of age ranges of both men and women. In my comic store alone, there’s been a huge shift in the volume of our customers, and our monthly women’s comic book club has been growing steadily every month. However, you don’t have to work in a comic store to have noticed this inspiring change in readership. You just have to have eyes, and an internet connection. Yes, there is still a need for more All Ages reading material, and yes, not everyone is close enough to a comic shop so going digital is a really nice alternative for them, but the idea of Amazon-published comic books and graphic novels? It’s imperative that we keep local comic shops alive and thriving in this industry. The prospect of direct distribution cutting out the middle man is an ongoing threat to our existence, which is still very much essential to the overall mission of bringing people to comics.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 18, 2014 19:16:29 GMT -6
www.bleedingcool.com/2014/04/18/what-will-happen-to-comixology-submit-tim-gibson-of-moth-city-responds-to-amazons-purchase/My first thought, actually, when Bleeding Cool reported the rumor three weeks before the official announcement that ComiXology might be purchased soon by Amazon, was about the Submit platform. I’ve known plenty of creators who have been quite happy with the creator-owned system for distributing digital versions of your comics through ComiXology, and I’ve done a few review columns of those new books as they are released. Every time I’ve explored Submit comics, I’ve found interesting and innovative works that reminded me of why I love comics in the first place. And so I was concerned. It seemed to me, just as a reader without particular knowledge of how Amazon works, that Submit might fall by the wayside as something that was too community-serving and not big-business enough to generate interest for Amazon. But people have been quick to reassure me that it might, in fact, be partly the financial success of Submit that helped persuade Amazon to make the purchase, given their own development of fan-fiction and e-book publishing. I’m still a little skeptical since I want to see Submit thrive under this new ownership, but one Submit creator, Tim Gibson, whose comic Moth City I had reviewed in the past, had much more positive things to say. He pointed out the strength of the “best Submit” comics chosen by ComiXology in 2013, and doesn’t feel that Submit is going to be on the chopping block. Here’s what he had to say about the impact the Amazon purchase of ComiXology may have on the Submit platform. Tim Gibson, author and artist on ComiXology Submit title Moth City, writes: I think it’ll affect Submit hugely, though it’s hard to tell how at this stage. I suspect with Amazon’s financial success with Self Published Fiction (a real money spinner for them, as seen here) Comixology’s Submit platform and its recent growth might have been the cherry on the top of the Comixology sundae. From a Submit-creator point of view it could be fantastic, especially if our books are integrated into the Amazon.com system and allowed to benefit from their automated suggestion and charts systems that reward momentum and reviews. I think due to our industry’s print distribution and monthly releases schedule we, as comic readers, are very new-new-new reactive, but digital and the discovery systems that Amazon has built can allow for longer term growth that rewards quality. Of course, there’s some niggle that creators might be concerned over, for instance my series Moth City has almost 500 reviews on its first issue – what will happen to them? Amazon has a different review system that only allows written reviews. Plus there’s the further potential Goodreads review integration on the horizon – Amazon purchased them in 2013. Overall, I’m feeling optimistic. Comics and Graphic Novels make up such a small part of Amazon’s e-book system. Around 1% of e-sales if you believe Hugh Howley’s author earnings data (linked to above), so they’re an untapped market within the Amazon platform. They changed their submission engine to encourage more comic submission in the last year or so, but were hampered by some odd file-delivery fees and a small comic audience. Comixology Submit was definitely the first priority for interdependent comics creators looking to sell digital comics, and if Amazon absorbs some of their systems and oversight it could open up a whole new audience for creators. For your average reader downloading the Comixology app, or browsing their online store might be the same unconscious barrier as entering a local comic book shop, and having your horror comic next to the latest horror novel on Amazon might lower than barrier for people. Comics needs less barriers, no? *If you are a Submit creator and would like to join the conversation about what the future holds for Submit, please e-mail me at hannah@bleedingcool.com and we will run some follow up discussion about what the future may hold for Submit… Tim-Gibson-Profile_BW-01Tim Gibson spent his formative years working as at Oscar-winning effects facility Weta Workshop, before getting Creative New Zealand arts funding and launching his digital comics series Moth City. Moth City has six issues and a one-shot out on via Comixology Submit platform, and was named one of their ‘Best Comics of 2013,’ along with other submit titles like The Mire by Becky Cloonan and War of the Woods by Matthew Petz. Moth City was also picked up by Mark Waid’s Thrillbent site, and utlisies digital-native narrative devices and storytelling. You can read the first issue of Moth City for free here. His blog ramblings and free comics exist at www.mothcity.com.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jun 5, 2014 18:49:53 GMT -6
www.bleedingcool.com/2014/06/05/comixology-submit-creator-patrick-gerard-sees-improved-business-model-in-the-amazon-purchase/For the past couple of months, Bleeding Cool has been running the reactions of Comixology Submit creators to the Amazon purchase of the company, which have been generally quite optimistic, pondering a few implications that might arise. You can find those here and here. This week, we have Patrick Gerard as a guest, whose knowledge of business leads him to address the improved profit margin resulting from leaving Apple behind, resulting in the ability to lower the cost of comics and promote sales. Patrick Gerard writes: First of all, a bit of background on myself. I’m the writer/publisher of the book Ungrounded, a Kickstarter financed book which features covers by Dennis Culver (Edison Rex) and Art Thibert (Flash, X-Men, Futures End, etc.). Our distribution channel for the book is ComiXology Submit. When I started getting requests from ComiXology to opt into marketing plans that involved periodic giveaways and discounts, I wondered if they were being integrated into Amazon because the basic strategy was the same approach used by Kindle self-publishing titles. There was never really any shock or disbelief for me and although the timetable of the changes to their app caught me off guard, I expected them to pull support for in-app purchases. As a businessman, I can see where a scenario with both ComiXology and Apple taking a cut of app purchases isn’t good for creators. It’s not good for ComiXology either. They may be a high revenue app but the services and formatting they provide for their guided view experience must amount to a very large amount of labor. I understand that Apple sees themselves as a premiere storefront for products but I’m not even sure ComiXology was turning a profit because the work they do formatting and enhancing the comic book reading experience for mobile devices has to be time consuming. Pulling in a lot of money means nothing if it all goes out the door on R&D and book formatting for the reader. I think Apple’s 30% cut is a bit excessive. It would be fine with cheaply produced products or products with a one time production fee but it seems terribly unfriendly to digital first comics. It forces publishers to drive their prices up. I don’t mind Apple taking a cut on my iBooks edition because I get the remainder. But there are simply too many ways the money has to be spread on a ComiXology in-app purchase. In fact, I wanted to offer my book for less all along. I was able to engineer a price reduction in the physical edition of Ungrounded a few months ago. The great irony being, Amazon stopped ordering the softcover edition once I squeezed the price margins too low, selling it to retailers at a short discount to get by with a lower cover price of $6.99 for a 56 page book..(Barnes & Noble does carry the physical book.) And in this case, no longer having to deal with Apple’s 30% cut allows me to lower the price of the book from $2.99 to $1.99. My royalty doesn’t drop at all. ComiXology’s cut doesn’t drop. Removing Apple from the equation means that YOU can save $1. As soon as ComiXology dropped Apple’s in-app purchases, I saw this as a chance not to collect a higher royalty but to get my work in more hands, to pass on savings to my customers. I think if you want comics to be widely available and truly affordable, you have to really question the idea of a hardware manufacturer charging rent for access to their devices. I like Apple products. I have an iPhone. I have an iPad. If you need to buy my book inside an app, it’s on the iBookstore. But I don’t think ComiXology sales fueling Apple makes sense. It’s too many middlemen. The ComiXology reading experience is worth a little hassle. As I say, the end of in-app purchasing has allowed me to lower the price of Ungrounded by a full dollar. I think that’s incredible and that this can be a powerful opportunity for publishers to make digital books more affordable now that it’s one middleman or the other (Amazon’s ComiXology or Apple’s iBooks). Two middlemen on one purchase was one too many. And that ultimately takes money out of the reader’s hands. As a side note, Ungrounded’s ComiXology edition has been updated with a brand new cover by Art Thibert (most recently of Futures End) and Thomas Mason (X-Men #1 20th Anniversary edition). People who’ve already picked up the book should be able to update the comic through ComiXology. Originally hailing from the coal-mining country of rural Ohio, Patrick Gerard grew up in the Appalachian mountains of Georgia and earned a degree in Theatre at Berry College. He has also studied (Folk) Storytelling at the graduate level at East Tennessee State University and Business at the University of West Georgia. He has experimented with many alter-egos over the years including mild-mannered journalist, pop culture analyst, prize winning performance artist, and panel participant at the American Folklore Society’s annual conference.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jun 13, 2014 11:30:41 GMT -6
www.bleedingcool.com/2014/06/12/its-2014-who-do-you-want-to-distribute-your-digital-comics/Amazon’s policies have certainly been newsworthy of late. Whether it’s the clash with Hachette, leading to Hachette distributed books no longer being reordered by Amazon (rescinded for Marvel but still very much in place for Yen Press) or clashing with Warners, leading to Buy buttons for the likes of The Lego Movie, 300: Rise of an Empire, Batman: Assault on Arkham, Teen Titans Go: Couch Crusaders, Regular Show Season 3, Naruto Shippuden, and Pokemon: Black & White being removed, there’s all sorts of intereting behaviour being exhibited right now. And some publishers are, frankly, worried that Amazon is quite so willing to flex its muscles. The purchase of ComiXology by Amazon has led to some big market ructions, with many readers regretting the removal of the In App Purchase option that encouraged browising and impulse buys on iOS and Android devices. Well, when ComiXology signed publishers to its system they were initially contracted for a period of time – and those contracts have been running out, giving publishers greater options over where their digital comics can be published. I understand that iVerse, behind the Comics Plus digital comics distributor have an announcement to make. I understand that Madefire, the enhanced digital comics publisher, have an announcement to make. And I understand that a new company, Los Angeles-based Comic Blitz, intends to launch a Netflix-style all-you-can-eat digital comics subscription service. stating “Unlimited digital comics for $9.99/mo!” It’s also just possible that these services may include publishers that were previously exclusive to ComiXology. And not an Amazon Buy button in sight.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jul 1, 2014 18:06:05 GMT -6
www.bleedingcool.com/2014/07/01/what-was-the-real-reason-amazon-bought-comixology/What Was The Real Reason Amazon Bought ComiXology? A couple of months ago, we told you that Amazon was looking to buy ComiXology. Three weeks later they did just that. And then brought it under its conditions of publication by dropping the In-App Purchase option. But what really drew Amazon to ComiXology, aside from the reasons given? I’m am told from Amazon sources that, internally, the biggest reason for buying ComiXology was the ComiXology Submit service, where anyone and everyone can submit their comic books and, content willing, ComiXolgy will make their comics available for digital download with the Guided View option. It was considered the aspect of ComiXology with the most room for growth and not beholden to any exclusive digital distribution deals with other publishers. And yes, with Amazon also pushing their Print-On-Demand for print publishers who go out of stock, how soon before that also applies to comic books? Could ComiXology Submit publishers soon find their work in print as well as digital, without them having to lift a finger?
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