Comics by comiXology iPhone app debuts

Thursday July 23, 2009 08:44:30 am

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Comics by comiXology App Now Available in Apple's App Store

New App Features Multi-Publisher Comic Store, Library and Reader for iPhone and iPod touch, and Comes with Over 30 Free Comics

iTunes download link

San Diego, CA – July 23, 2009 – Today at Comic-Con International, Iconology Inc. announced the launch of its Comics by comiXology App on the App Store. The Comics by comiXology App is a digital comic store, library and reader for iPhone and iPod touch that is launching with over 100 titles available from twenty popular comic publishers and many independent comic writers.

"The stunning display and innovative multi-touch user interface of iPhone and iPod touch have finally made comics appealing in a digital format," said David Steinberger, CEO of Iconology, Inc. "By combining great comics with iPhone OS 3.0's In-App Purchasing and location awareness features we are creating a revolution in the way comics are sold and read which could only happen with iPhone and iPod touch."

The Comics by comiXology App heralds an entirely new comic book publishing and connected commerce model. With the Comics by comiXology app, comic book enthusiasts can not only read their comics in a format designed to preserve the comic book experience on an iPhone or iPod touch, but also locate and connect with local retailers to purchase the printed version of the titles. Through relationships with comic book retailers, Comics by comiXology will increase both digital and print sales of comics and deliver a powerful mobile marketing tool for comic book publishers and retailers.

Comics by comiXology offers a "guided view" that keeps the entire page of a comic intact, unlike other solutions where the page is cut into individual pictures the user browses like a photo application. Comics by comiXology is a reader app that contains all a user's comics and offers its own digital comics store that supports multiple publishers.

Among the twenty publishers that have already signed up to deliver their titles through Comics by comiXology are many well-known industry icons including:
• AdHouse Books
• Arcana Comics
• Asylum Press
• Bluewater Comics
• Com.X
• Creative Impulse Entertainment
• Digital Webbing
• eigoMANGA
• Evil Twin Comics
• First Salvo
• Image Comics (Active Images, Allred, Kirkman, Wagner, Brunswick, Revel and more)
• Markosia
• Moonstone
• Red 5
• Slave Labor Graphics
• Th3rd World Studios
• Zenescope

Additionally, popular comics writer Robert Kirkman has agreed to deliver his titles exclusively through Comics by comiXology making it the only place to get "Walking Dead" and "Invincible" for iPhone and iPod touch.

The Comics by comiXology App is now available, including over 30 free comics, for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

About Iconology, Inc.
Since 2007, Iconology, Inc. has been working to expose more people to the world of comics through comiXology.com and related applications. comiXology.com, comic book retailer tools, iPhone and Blackberry apps and digital comics are all connected through the comiXology platform. For more information, visit www.iconology.com.

Contact for media inquiries and requests for review copies and interviews:
Kevin Doel
TalonPR, Inc.
785-273-9660
kevin@talonpr.com

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Comments

emerald (3 months ago)

Hi Comixology

Great app! One suggestion– could you consider adding a ‘slide show’ option in a future update? Something that would allow the reader to sit back and enjoy the comic without them having to keep tapping the screen (i.e. the app transitions through the panels, rather like the ‘autoscroll’ option on ereader software). This option could be customisable by the reader to set how quickly the panels transition from one to the next.

I think this would offer many benefits. It would make reading comics more comfortable and offer extra flexibility to the reading experience by providing an extra means of navigation. It would also open the application to a wider range of customers (i.e those who may have difficulty navigating with the current controls). I’d love to see this feature included in a future update.

Regarding comics, I’d love to see Tomb Raider, Witchblade and Fathom added to the list of digital comics offered. Do you have any plans to port these over?

Cheers

comixology (3 months ago)

In response to PaulPS

Yes, and we even have a submission subject in our contact page. comixology.com/contact

Blackjak (3 months ago)

I'm really enjoying the app. I also enjoy that you can list the free comics by release date...

Could we browse the "Non-Free" comics by release date too?

That would make navigating throught the titles a little easier when I go to check if anything new has been added to the app...

debi cole (3 months ago)

Great app! Bought this last week and have downloaded a few of the freebies just to get a feel of it.

Very intuitive interface. As another another commenter mentioned, the way the panels slide into the next is very pleasing to the eye.

I'm looking forward to using this app to try out some new titles/genres that I'm not yet familiar with.

Great job!!

foxhound421 (3 months ago)

i bought the app last night and just finished reading the Astounding Wolf-Man #1 and i am EXTREMELY impressed!

the way that the panels animate into each other is fantastic and the whole app is just VERY well thought-out. i can see this app opening the door to a lot of great, small publisher titles due to the cheaper digital-format price point. i've been waiting for a "Kindle for Comics" and, aside from the size of the screen, this is it!

great job, Comixology! i can't recommend this app enough!

ralph (3 months ago)

I purchased this app thinking that I would be able to utilize as a reader for digital comics I already have. Can it only be used for reading comics purchased via the app?

Harpua (3 months ago)

Just downloaded the app & I love it!! I'm a huge Walking Dead fan & being able to read the comics at any time on my phone sealed the deal for me. I was just wondering will the entire WD series become available? If so what kind of timeline are we looking at??

Thanks for a great app!!

badjujuman (3 months ago)

I've tried this out and it's great, but I was wondering about something. I love the idea of digital comics, but I don't see myself owning an iPhone forever (or maybe I will, who knows), so I was wondering if you are going to have a desktop client, or a web-based client that would allow me to read my comics from my personal computer? Just a thought. Keep up the great work!

comixology (4 months ago)

Thanks for the comments an questions.

Here are some answers:

>>Do you have any plan to allow submittions from creators without publishers in the future?

We already have a "Creator owned" category in the app. We will consider anything professionally rendered. Contact us through the contact page.

>>I sent feedback from within the app yesterday re: the fact that I had downloaded/purchased 37 titles but when I went to My Comics only 24 or 25 were being shown.

Ken, thanks so much for your patience! You tested the app in a way we missed, obviously. This is completely fixed in the version that Apple is reviewing now.

>>What's the release schedule for new comics? Once per week or irregular updates?

We're going with once a week. It depends on Apple review for which comic when, but for instance we want to do one of each of Robert Kirkman's comics each week, if we can!

PaulPS (4 months ago)

Looks great! Do you have any plan to allow submittions from creators without publishers in the future?

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