If you’ve been waiting for comic books to get a Netflix style subscription service, it just happened. The digital comics platform ComiXology has launched ComiXology Unlimited, a new monthly service that features some of the biggest titles in the industry.
For $5.99, fans can access tiles from Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, Oni Press, Kodansha Comics, Fantagraphics, Valiant Entertainment and others. At launch, that lineup includes the early volumes of The Walking Dead and Saga, as well as Hellboy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Outcast, Scott Pilgrim, Locke & Key, Attack on Titan, Transformers, Chew, Bitch Planet, and the Archie reboot.
There are some catches to the new service. For example, most of the current titles won’t be available in their entirety in order to encourage sales on ComiXology’s app and website. It’s more of a sampler service than a replacement for Comixology’s existing business model. You may have also noticed that Marvel and DC are not participating in ComiXology Unlimited. That may change in the future, but ComiXology Unlimited appears to have more than enough companies on board in the meantime to make it viable.
Much like in the case of Netflix, titles will be rotated in and out of the ComiXology Unlimited lineup and there is a free 30-day trial period. There is also the option to read up to 50 titles offline at a time… but make no mistake, this is still a rental service and you don’t actually “own†any of the comics you’re reading.
The upside is that you can legally read more comics than ever before, and that might be a very attractive incentive to comic readers. ComiXology is owned by Amazon and it currently has a stranglehold on the digital comics market. This may only increase its dominance.
You can find out more about ComiXology Unlimited here.
Are you excited about ComiXology Unlimited? Let us know in the comment section below!
Image: Skybound Entertainment/Image Comics
