In light of the Amazon decision to no longer sell comics via in-App purchase, comiXology earns back some respect by announcing DRM-free backups.
The digital comic distributor announced during its panel today that a DRM-free backup feature is in the works that will “allow customers to download and store copies of their books.”
I haven’t seen the official press release from the company to know who is on board with this and who isn’t, but Bleeding Cool is reporting that Image Comics is one of the first companies to jump on board with this, which shouldn’t come as a big surprise as the publisher has been selling DRM-free digital editions for some time. The big question in this announcement will be if DC and Marvel jump on board as well.
ComiXology is really good at getting press releases to us, so as soon as I see the final confirmation and list of publishers that are on board, I’ll let you know.
UPDATE: No sooner did I post this, than the official press release has come through:
Today during their panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego, comiXology, the revolutionary cloud-based digital comics platform, unveiled a new DRM-free backup feature that allows customers to download and store copies of their books.
The first wave of participating publishers making their books available as DRM-free backups include Image Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Zenescope Entertainment, MonkeyBrain Comics, Thrillbent, and Top Shelf Productions. In addition, creators and publishers that are self-publishing through comiXology Submit are now able to choose to make their books available with a DRM-free backup.
“We’re excited to make this DRM-free backup option available to our customers and publishers today,” said comiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger. “Our customers can keep a copy locally and continue to do their reading on comiXology in our industry-changing Guided View.”
“For those out there who have not joined the comic reading community because of DRM you have no excuse now,” said co-founder and Director of ComiXology Submit John D. Roberts. “We’re excited about the launch of DRM-free backups today and look forward to announcing more innovative features as we move ahead with our mission of making everyone on the face of the planet a comic book fan!”
To obtain the DRM-free backups of their books, customers can go to the “My Books” section of comixology.com on their desktop computers and click the button that appears next to their books. Books and series from participating publishers will be available for backup starting today. Backups are available in high definition PDF and CBZ.
Customers will continue to enjoy all of their purchases whether available as a DRM-free backup or not on the comiXology platform in comiXology’s exclusive cinematic Guided View reading experience, anytime and anywhere.
With over 50,000 comics and graphic novels from more than 75 publishers, comiXology offers the widest selection of digital comics in the world. ComiXology’s immense catalog and cinematic Guided View reading experience makes it the best digital platform for comic and graphic novel fans worldwide.
Find your favorite comics and graphic novels at comixology.com and try the comiXology app available on all major mobile platforms.
About comiXology
ComiXology, an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), 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 operations in Los Angeles and Paris. For more information visit www.comixology.com.
This is super big news! Can’t wait to see if DC Comics and Marvel will get on board this quarter, or if they’ll make a big announcement in October when the new iPads land and updates to their apps can occur.
2 Comments
This is very good news from consumer standpoint, it meas now we actually own the comics from aforementioned publishers. I dont see DC or Marvel to jump in though, unless DRM will start severely hurt their sales, big companies are always most reluctant to allow any consumer control to their products and are usually stubborn to a fault.
That being said, Im still super salty about what they did to ios in app purchases and how they screwed their European customers with unequal pricing policy.
Eh. I still would rather be able to instantly buy the next comic in an arc without having to go through 6 steps from the mobile site. I’m really not worried about Amazon going away and losing my comics.