It’s been nearly a full decade since Amazon acquired Comixology. The popular storefront for reading and buying comics online was able to relatively remain its own thing until about early last year when it was hit with a heavily criticized redesign. Things have gotten worse since then: not only did it get caught up Amazon’s layoffs at the start of 2023, Comixology is now going away entirely not long before this year wraps up.
Earlier this week, Amazon revealed it’ll be retiring the Comixology app on December 4. After that date, users will have to read their graphic novel and manga purchases in the Kindle app for Android and iOS. You’ll have to manually download the material over to said app first, but the progress will thankfully sync. The last remnant of Comixology will be its store page, which will remain a destination to buy online comics and manga after the app’s shutdown date.
Kindle’s a book-focused app, and to help with the transition, Amazon’s added a “Comics and Manga” filter for personal libraries. A series’ individual issues, bundled volumes, and even omnibuses will all get grouped together, and specific books can be hidden or unhidden at any time (that status also carries over for ones that were done so within Comixology). For those subscribed to the Comixology Unlimited service, it appears Amazon doesn’t plan to do away with that for now, and it’ll be usable within the Kindle app. All of this only affects Comixology the app, so any comics that are billed as an original series from the platform will seemingly retain that branding and continue on as intended.
Comixology was founded in 2007 by Peter Jaffe, John Roberts, and David Steinberger. Originally meant as a community site for comic book fans, it gradually expanded to include a store locator for physical comic shops (Pull List) and an online suite for said retailers to improve their online presence (Retailer Tools). In 2009, the actual digital storefront launched, then known as Comics by Comixology. Come 2018, it would launch its Comixology Originals banner, which has drawn in creators both new and old into its circle over the years. One of the more recent gains is Batman scribe Scott Snyder, who used the opportunity to launch his Best Jackett imprint and eight creat0r-owned titles within it. That relationship still continues, and has resulted in works like We Have Demons (with Batman artist Greg Capullo and colorist Dave McCeg), Clear (Francis Manapul), and By A Thread (Valeria Favoccia, Whitney Cogar, and co-written with his son Jack).
An FAQ on Comixology’s shut down can be read here.
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