Amazon has completely changed the way it works with digital comics, with a wave of comic releases this week. The full merger of Amazon and Comixology accounts has not made any noticeable changes to the Comixology app. The experience of reading comics on the Comixology app is in line with the experience of reading them on Amazon's library, thanks to the updated Comixology app. A panel-by-panel reading experience is included in Comixology. Older releases and digital collections of classic comics can look a little fuzzy all the way in, but newly released comics look great with this feature.
The biggest failures come in the browser experience. The original native website of Comixology now directs you to Amazon's own site. Although featuring Comixology iconography, it is for all intents and purposes similar to many other in-site storefronts on Amazon. Buying comics is the same as buying anything else on Amazon, and as a digital purchase you have all the benefits of page tracking, so you can pick up in-app where you left off on a browser.
You probably want to do it because reading comics in Amazon's Kindle Cloud Reader is a major pain. The old Comixology browser reader was quite basic, but the new Kindle Cloud Reader is more suited for reading digital books. Before, readers could choose between a comic by page by page or a double spread at a time, but now they have to do it in Kindle Cloud Reader. If there was a general zoom in function like Comixology used to have, it would be fine, but KCR lacks that as well. It's not easy to navigate, progress by scrolling with the mouse wheel or using the directions on a keyboard, and it's ugly to boot, not filling the entire view of the page.
The inability to zoom outside of this is most felt on double-spread pages, which KCR completely butchers. There is no way to zoom in on these pages outside of double clicking for the panel-by-panel approximation, but that is not going to work for every double-spread piece of art. It just means you're left squinting at a book instead of being able to admire the artwork, and the fact that Amazon thought the way to treat comics was to just give them the same treatment as books in its browser reader feels, putting it diplomatic.
The browser experience of Comixology and the loss of function are not the only issues. Comics purchases are hidden away in your Amazon account under the "Manage Your Content and Devices" tab. Unlike the filters in the Comixology app, you have no choice of being able to see purchases you made on Comixology bundled with comics you may have purchased directly for Amazon, and sorting books by series becomes unwieldy. Instead of giving each individual series in your collection its own page to store individual issues, sorting by title simple lists them in a huge block. It can be difficult to find individual issues through the storefront of Amazon. I searched for Nightwing #89 in my library and found it, but the page on Amazon gave me the option to purchase it again, even though I already had the option to read it from its landing page.
The storefront gets even worse for international users, who can no longer subscribe to an ongoing title, because they can't get every issue automatically purchased and added to their library with each release. The ability to subscribe is only available in the U.S., and there is no indication as to whether or not it will be made available outside of the U.S.
It's hard to say what's been gained by the changes, but I'm sure Amazon sees benefits in bringing comics readers more directly to its storefront. If you turn the Comixology app into the Kindle App, you now have a mobile reading experience with all the strengths and flaws of the prior Kindle experience for comics, and nothing particularly gained along the way, and even basic, previously accessible features missing with no sign of returning. The browser experience is a step back for both reading and buying comics, at best a clunky way to push more people to reading on other devices, and at worse the mockery of work that made Comixology the premiere digital comics reading experience.
Changes to publishing options for smaller options by transitioning to the eBook-focused Kindle Direct Publishing program has caused a backlash from users and comics creators alike. With creators and readers alike left dissatisfied, it's clear Amazon and Comixology have a lot of work to do to make the changes work. io9 reached out to Comixology for comment on the reaction to the redesign's launch, as well as on whether or not missing features previously available would return, but did not receive a response. The internet's biggest home for legally acquiring and reading comics has taken a few steps back, with little sign of improvement in the near future.
Wondering where our feed went? The new one can be picked up here.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
