Comixology Unlimited is a Fountain of Graphic Novels and Digital Comics for just $6 a Month
It was around this time last year that I predicted that Comixology would launch an all-you-read subscription comic book service.
Today that service launched.
Comixology announced on Tuesday that it is launching Comixology Unlimited, a $6 a month service which lets you read as many comic books as you like. It’s available through the Comixology app on Android and iOS, and comes with a free 30-day trial.
“We’re in a new golden age of storytelling with more incredible comics, graphic novels and manga than ever before,” said Comixology’s CEO and Co-Founder David Steinberger. “Comixology Unlimited is fantastic portal to tons of great comics at a ridiculously great price. Get in there and start exploring."
Surprisingly, neither of the major comic book publishers (DC and Marvel) are participating in the offer; it is limited to just smaller publishers such as:
IDW, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite, Kodansha, Oni Press, Valiant, Archie Comics, Fantagraphics Books, Humanoids, Action Lab, Aspen, and Zenescope.
I would have expected Marvel to join; it has its own subscription service, the $10 Marvel Unlimited, but I guess Comixology wasn’t charging enough or paying enough to interest the Disney subsidiary.
So we are left with basically the same selection as ComicsFix, the competing service which launched in 2014. That service costs $9 a month, and according to its website it is on hiatus at the moment.
Speaking of competing services, Scribd offers digital comics in its much more limited $9 a month subscription plan, and Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited also has a small selection of comics.
It’s not clear how the Scribd and Comixology Unlimited catalogs compare, but the latter is more likely the better deal for comics lovers because it is unlimited.
Once again, Amazon has shown that it is the only company that can enter an ebook market, and dominate it.
Comments
Juli Monroe May 24, 2016 um 1:16 pm
I can comment on the Scribd vs Comixology Unlimited question.
Scribd’s advantage over Comixology Unlimited is their limited selection of Marvel comics. What do I mean by limited? I mean that it’s great if you want to get a feel for MCU characters in their comics incarnations. It’s crap if you want to, say, read the entirety of Doctor Strange before the movie comes out later this year. (Why, yes, I am doing that right now through Marvel Unlimited.)
Scribd’s selection of IDW and other comics is equally limited, and unfortunately, they don’t have most of what I want (Buffy, Angel, Dr. Who and Jim Butcher). I’ll be checking out Comixology Unlimited later today to see if they have what I want. If so, I’ll be as happy as a pig in mud.
So if you want to snack on a variety comics and also want ebooks and a few audiobooks, Scribd is perfect. If you want to dive deep into a particular series, you’re probably better off with one or more of the Unlimited subscriptions.
Nate Hoffelder May 24, 2016 um 11:36 pm
Thanks!
Kevin Flythe May 26, 2016 um 10:15 am
Looks like Comixology Unlimited also offers books from Dark Horse and Image comics, which Scribd does not.
Kevin Flythe May 25, 2016 um 9:53 am
You forgot about Comic Blitz, which is currently only available on iOS, but is reportedly going to soon be available on Android as well. It offers some small publishers not available on Scribd, and frequently updates with new issues, most much more recent than those offered on Scribd. It costs $9.99 a month. I signed up for Comixology’s Unlimited service yesterday, but have not had the chance to see every publisher involved. I did, however, see that they have some offerings from their own Comixology Submit platform, which allows creators to self-publish and sell their comics through Comixology. Wondering how much those creators are being compensated for their books being read on the Unlimited service. Could be great exposure, as with Kindle Unlimited, people much more willing to take a chance on a book that’s part of a subscription service rather than commit to buy an unknown commodity.
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