Now that some time has passed and we’ve all seen how unusable ComiXology has become as a reader and as a service as a whole, I think DCUI should step up it’s game. By basically making itself the only game in town to purchase digital comics, ComiXology has totally disrupted the market.
We’ve all seen the complaints about how Amazon broke their own reader. But my biggest complaint is that all of my subscriptions were cancelled and their marketplace is completely unusable. I haven’t been able to keep up with any of my pull list since this mess started.
I recognize that a lot of people might think, “why not just go to the store for your pull list? Support local shops etc.”, but unfortunately I’m disabled and getting to a shop every week is really not an option for me. ComiXology was literally the only way I could buy current books and support the series that I love.
I don’t think it would be unreasonable to ask DC to shorten its delay window on comics and to add the further Vertigo/Imprint library to DCUI. The Netflix Sandman series is coming out soon and I’m sure a lot of people are going to want to read the issues. Unfortunately Amazon decided to fix what wasn’t broken; making it really difficult to give you our money.
Honestly, it’s been such a mess that I’d be fine with a tier that lets me keep up with my books. A six month delay is better than the year delay that used to be standard, but it’s still pretty rough.
I admire the effort. That said with the whole ‘Discovery takes over the entertainment side of the company’ thing going on and all of its restructuring with other aspects of the company, I don’t see something as meager as the comic industry getting any innovative focus for a bit
I just wish you could purchase comics on this app, especially the ones that have deals in place. Watchmen unavailable because it’s still selling well? Okay, here’s my money so that I can “own” it, even if I stop subscribing to it. Only want to read Detective Comics? Buy it, but you can still read it here.
Back when DC Universe was originally launched, there was a possibility being explored of also being a storefront to individually purchase comics. Now that ComiXology has become all but unusable, I do think it’s time to revisit that idea.
I definitely would be on board for some sort of tiered service, where the basic package operates more or less as-is, with a premium feature unlocking books on day of print release.
Not unreasonable, but we do have licensing and legal restrictions for a fair amount of comics, which is sometimes the reason that they’re not on the service as of yet. Obviously, getting the comics everyone wants to read is the best course of action for DCUI, but if we can’t do that, we can’t do it.
I would like to point out that I find comixology is fine on comics where they like using good sized panels. It worked real well for Flashpoint Beyond 0.
On the other hand once the current storyline is done I am dropping Aquamen since it is too hard to read all the exposition.
My issue is less the comic reader, and more the marketplace. It’s as user-unfriendly as everything else on Amazon, so trying to find anything specific is a nightmare. The ComiXology storefront used to be a pretty well-oiled machine and now it’s a broken mess.
Back when DC Universe was originally launched, there was a possibility being explored of also being a storefront to individually purchase comics. Now that ComiXology has become all but unusable, I do think it’s time to revisit that idea.
It was always curious to me why you weren’t able to buy DC Comics on DC’s own website.
Anyway, whatever the case may be with past agreements, yes, a storefront on dccomics.com is something that probably should have happened 10 years ago. Just cut out the middleman.
Oh, and yes, I agree with most everyone else, the new ComiXology is… well, it is what it is. I had wondered what it was going to look like once it went over to Amazon, because I was actually considering switching from Apple Books to the new ComiXology.
So I went there and, oh boy… I was not expecting that.
Continuing my sad Comixology / Comixology Unlimited greek tragedy story:
I have resorted to no less than 3, yes three different portals / platforms to get to the comics I have purchased or “borrowed” as well with Comixology Unlimited.
The sad excuse of an Android app.
The web version that I have saved as a Desktop icon on my tablet.
Incredibly, the Kindle app.
It turns out that each has its uses in this dark period of Comixology history. The android app lets me get access easily to what I previously or currently purchase or borrow. The web version gives a better Search option. The Kindle app has the best search option. I was able to find and enjoy some of the Lion Forge Catalyst Prime comics that the other two versions were no help with for example this weekend.
It’s sad, pathetic, and long past time for them to fix all this, and if they continue to shrink what they offer for Unlimited, I’ll cancel that part.
In other news, Amazon that is behind all this just lost $4 billion in worth in one day on the stock market.
I find the new comixology close to useless. I’m not interested in searching for other apps or devices. I just have the laptop, and if they are unable to service a customer with a laptop, they are making zero effort. I’m not buying anything off amazon until I see some improvements.
I do appreciate that they went from saying I’d “borrowed” my purchases, to “acquired” my purchases, and now agree that I purchased my purchases. But I haven’t been able to get any comics to open for me in the last week anyway.
DC should definitely look into selling the e-comics themselves IF they’re sure that they can always maintain the reader’s access to what they sell them.
also thinking on it, this might be considered a lower priority than trying to get DCUI released internationaly. At the moment it is still a service limited to only a few select countries.
The Kindle and comixology apps on IOS are pretty much identical now. They’re both… fine? once you get used to them, but neither as is user-friendly as the old comixology app.
The search process on kindle is a complete disaster. The reader itself is ok, but good luck conveniently finding what you want.
