Amazon’s big Comixology changes ignite concern from comic book creators, fans

This week Amazon, launched a new app for its digital comics platform, Comixology, and a new Amazon-native online storefront that will eventually replace Comixology’s browser-based store and reader. Both creators and users are alarmed by the changes.

Long-time Comixology users have taken to social media to list all the ways the new web and app user experience represents a step backward from what they’re used to. Chief among the many complaints is a new web reader that doesn’t display double page spreads correctly, has removed creator credits from book listings on the storefront, and lacks both panel-by-panel and zoom functions, rendering most comics in illegibly small images.

Amazon purchased Comixology, a digital comics company, in 2014. Comixology is unrivaled in its space, to the point of holding a near monopoly on access to digital comics from American publishers — it’s the primary digital store for the likes of Image Comics, BOOM Studios, and more.

New changes mean that comics creators can meet up with the service halfway. British artist Jamie McKelvie flagged to his followers on Twitter that under Amazon’s new changes, series subscriptions — in which digital comics are automatically purchased upon release — will only be available to Comixology users based in the U.S.. Users outside the U.S. will have their existing subscriptions switched off automatically, apparently permanently.

Smaller creators are also struggling with the recent closure of the Comixology Submit program in favor of Amazon’s own Kindle Direct Publishing, a service designed to self-publish prose eBooks. Kindle Direct demands that creators manually format transitions between panels. Comics published via Comixology Submit are not automatically included in Kindle Direct. To make their comics available on the new website and app, small publishers will need to reupload and formatte their Comixology back catalogue. Kindle Direct Publishing offers creators a lower royalty rate than Comixology Submit. It is reportedly a 65/35 split instead of 50/50.

Polygon reached out at Amazon and ComiXology to get their comments on ComiXology’s new online and mobile experience. However, they did not hear back by publication time.