Suvudu Universe

We knew, when Amazon acquired ComiXology, that changes would be in order. However, I wouldn’t have guessed that this particular, much-requested one would come so quickly.

ComiXology announced yesterday that, for selected publishers, you could download DRM-free versions (either PDF or CBZ) of their comics. That means that your “purchases” (which previously could be more accurately described as “rentals”, since if anything happened to ComiXology’s servers, you’d be out of luck) can now be backed up locally or transferred to other readers.

According to ComiXology, “Participating publishers include Image Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Zenescope Entertainment, MonkeyBrain Comics, Thrillbent, and Top Shelf Productions. In addition, our Submit creators and small publishers are now able to choose to make their books available DRM-free.” So this doesn’t cover DC or Marvel, which isn’t surprising — the biggest companies are usually the ones who most want to lock down and reduce customer choice. Image has sold its own DRM-free comics directly for a while now, by the way, as does Top Shelf.

If you want to know whether a book is available for you to download, look for the icon. You can check out which titles are available from your past purchases in the new My Backups tab once you’re logged into the site, or find out more on their FAQ page, where they encourage customers to let non-participating publishers “know you want them!”

Industry commenter Rob Salkowitz thinks this is no big deal since the company has no real legal competition and cloud-based content is more usual, while Sean Kleefeld supports the change.

Similar Posts: ComiXology Ends Marvel Giveaway Early to Bring Site Back § Do Customers Want Publisher-Specific Apps? Top Shelf Launches Everywhere § Digital Exclusivity Returns, With Marvel Singles Exclusive to Comixology § ComiXology Submit May Not Be Easy to Get Into § ComiXology Announces Authoring Beta to Increase Digital Comic Diversity