Press Release
IDW Publishing today confirmed its leadership position in the digital comics world with the announcement of another major milestone – distribution of over one million apps on the Apple App StoreSM. Demonstrating the breadth of IDW’s overall digital strategy, more than three million IDW digital comics have been distributed across all platforms worldwide.
IDW Publishing was one of the first major comics publishers to step into digital distribution. IDW digital comics are presently available for more mobile devices and platforms than any other major publishers, including the Apple App StoreSM, Sony Digital Comics for the PSP, the Nokia Ovi Store, Amazon’s Kindle Store, the AT&T AppCenter® and BlackBerry’s App WorldTM, with more to be announced throughout 2011. The IDW digital comics catalog includes single issues and graphic novels, all formatted for tablets, phones and game devices, with titles ranging from top licensed brands to fan-favorite creators. IDW also offers comics through several partners, including iVerse, Graphic.ly, and For-Side.
“We have over 800 comics in our digital line,” said Jeff Webber, Director of ePublishing for IDW. “That amounts to more than 3,500 individual apps and comics offered through various distribution partners. We’re especially excited that digital distribution is increasing awareness of IDW’s offering overall, bringing in new readers with over 40% of our downloads occurring outside of the US. And while Apple products generate the most downloads, we’re very pleased to see our other distribution channels growing rapidly.”
As the first comics publisher to launch its own “in app purchase” storefronts for the Apple iPadTM, iPhone® and iPod touch®, IDW has introduced several unique apps catering to fans of particular titles. The IDW Comics app offers the complete digital catalog, while the TRANSFORMERS Comics, G.I. JOE Comics, Star Trek Comics and True Blood Comics app feature titles from each respective brand. The latest edition of IDW’s storefront apps is Doctor Who Comics, which shot to the top of the App StoreSM book lists worldwide and offers IDW’s complete Doctor Who catalog to fans around the world.
IDW Publishing has also created apps for special series and events, such as INFESTATION, which includes issues from the popular cross-over series featuring TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, Star Trek and Ghostbusters. In yet another innovation, IDW released the first creator-based app, Templesmith Comics, featuring the art and stories of Ben Templesmith.
IDW comics are available on the following platforms and through many eReaders:
- Apple App StoreSM
- Sony PSP
- Nokia Ovi Store
- Amazon Kindle Store
- AT&T AppCenter
- BlackBerry App World
About IDW Publishing
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The Transformers and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC’s Doctor Who; Toho’s Godzilla and comics and trade collections based on novels by worldwide bestselling author, James Patterson. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studios; and is the print publisher for EA Comics.
IDW’s original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.
