What is ComiXology? Amazon's new update leaves fans triggered

Following Amazon's acquisition of adored digital comic distribution platform ComiXology, the two's integration has been relatively hassle-free until recently. Earlier this week, the retail giant pushed updates to the app that received a lot of backlash from users.As per the new update, the comic platform's web reader is soon to be nixed and ported to an Amazon storefront.This means users can only read comics through the firm's updated app or Amazon's Kindle web-reader, which provides a very shoddy experience while reading comics.ComiXology's recent controversy explainedComixology@comiXology1/. A message from @stonemtn: The Comixology 4.0 update is rolling out in the coming week!For Comixology customers on this journey, we’ve been sending email updates, but we wanted to consolidate the info.The FAQ is but here's a need-to-know 🧵.tinyurl.com/mr37h2pn1:11 AM · Feb 12, 2022106371/. A message from @stonemtn: The Comixology 4.0 update is rolling out in the coming week!For Comixology customers on this journey, we’ve been sending email updates, but we wanted to consolidate the info.The FAQ is ⬇️ but here's a need-to-know 🧵.tinyurl.com/mr37h2pn https://t.co/2mn4d9sZrpComiXology was an online cloud-based comic distribution service and community that let users read these comics very efficiently. The firm was launched in 2007 and became a revolutionary means to purchase and consume comics online. The platform also gave rise to a comic book community.After Amazon bought the online comic store and consumption platform in 2014, the ecommerce behemoth removed the option of directly purchasing comics from Iconology's cloud-based service. However, the recent changes have also sparked severe vitriol amongst small comic book publishers.How Amazon's changes have ruined the ComiXology platform?Following the recent update, several comic fans took to social media to vent their issues with the changes to the beloved platform.Patton Oswalt@pattonoswalt...I can't even navigate the new app, let alone pre-order and find the smaller publishers. It is beyond user-hostile, and I'm just gonna go back to buying physical comics on Wednesday for the time being...1:50 AM · Feb 19, 2022217296...I can't even navigate the new app, let alone pre-order and find the smaller publishers. It is beyond user-hostile, and I'm just gonna go back to buying physical comics on Wednesday for the time being...Paul Scheer@paulscheerThis is so well said. The @comiXology unlimited subscription introduced me to so many great books and writers. I recently cancelled because it was so lackluster and empty. That I didn’t know what I was paying for. twitter.com/pattonoswalt/s…Patton Oswalt@pattonoswaltMaybe @comixology is just as much a victim of larger, short-sighted greed. But the old site and app were clearly designed by comic book lovers, and this new design feels like hedge fund sharks thinking, &quot;Eh, Batman and Spiderman whatever. Run the beta version I could care less.&quot;10:22 AM · Feb 19, 2022442Maybe @comixology is just as much a victim of larger, short-sighted greed. But the old site and app were clearly designed by comic book lovers, and this new design feels like hedge fund sharks thinking, &quot;Eh, Batman and Spiderman whatever. Run the beta version I could care less.&quot;This is so well said. The @comiXology unlimited subscription introduced me to so many great books and writers. I recently cancelled because it was so lackluster and empty. That I didn’t know what I was paying for. twitter.com/pattonoswalt/s…Jim Zub@JimZubYup.Went through the Buy page on my site and deleted every direct comiXology link because they no longer work. I don't have time to go through over a hundred Patreon posts and replace them there though. twitter.com/riteshwriter/s…Ritesh@riteshwriterEvery old Comixology link ever used in an article or recommendation piece to take folks directly to that book is now seemingly dead.Imagining the effort it'd take to go back and now update all those dead-links with new ones after arduous attempts of finding each book on-site.8:33 AM · Feb 19, 20223110Every old Comixology link ever used in an article or recommendation piece to take folks directly to that book is now seemingly dead.Imagining the effort it'd take to go back and now update all those dead-links with new ones after arduous attempts of finding each book on-site.Yup.Went through the Buy page on my site and deleted every direct comiXology link because they no longer work. I don't have time to go through over a hundred Patreon posts and replace them there though. twitter.com/riteshwriter/s…This caused multiple renowned authors and celebrities like Patton Oswalt to voice their irk with the new changes that broke the former platform. Comedian and actor Oswalt labeled the old platform as &quot;PERFECT.&quot;Awful UI and functionalitiesAmy Dallen@enthusiamyDear God.This is a disaster. Comixology's reader is going away, so as of next week here are my options to read comics on desktop. There is no two-page view. There is no zoom. I have not altered these pictures aside from markup.Witness the work of the great J. H. Williams III.6:33 AM · Feb 12, 20222039681Dear God.This is a disaster. Comixology's reader is going away, so as of next week here are my options to read comics on desktop. There is no two-page view. There is no zoom. I have not altered these pictures aside from markup.Witness the work of the great J. H. Williams III. https://t.co/8rFzaOSO16Many users pointed out that while the ComiXology App was still functional, Amazon's Kindle Desktop application was terrible for reading comics. The Desktop/Laptop comic-reading experience from Kindle lacked features like &quot;single-page view,&quot; a proper zoom-in function, and more. The existing zoom function also lacks control over the extent of the magnification. This causes scalability issues while reading comics on the web.Furthermore, there is a massive categorization issue, as Amazon refers to single issues as individual books/items. This makes finding a particular comic issue massively inefficient. To make matters worse, Amazon's Kindle Cloud Reader and their store's integration do not give the option to read the comics from catalogs instantly.Jodie Troutman@LongTallJodieThings Amazon has gutted from Comixology, for zero end-user gain:- DRM Free downloads- Subscriptions outside the US- In-Browser Reading- Submit- LITERALLY AN ENTIRE FUNCTIONAL WEBSITE- Probably a lot of jobs8:17 AM · Feb 11, 20221166479Things Amazon has gutted from Comixology, for zero end-user gain:- DRM Free downloads- Subscriptions outside the US- In-Browser Reading- Submit- LITERALLY AN ENTIRE FUNCTIONAL WEBSITE- Probably a lot of jobsThe user's comics from the former platform are also categorized under layers of sub-categories. Moreover, the platform does not offer DRM-free downloads anymore. Amazon has also removed the archive functionality of the comic catalogs.Forced accounts mergerNicholas Finch@ObnoxiousFinchI made a decision to actively keep my Comixology and Amazon accounts separate for personal reasons. This has resulted in my Comixology account completely vanishing. None of my Comixology books appear here, and I cannot log into that account as it requires a username.3/?6:42 AM · Feb 18, 20229810I made a decision to actively keep my Comixology and Amazon accounts separate for personal reasons. This has resulted in my Comixology account completely vanishing. None of my Comixology books appear here, and I cannot log into that account as it requires a username.3/? https://t.co/DzwJ0nst7VAmazon now forces users to merge their ComiXology accounts with the ones on its own platform. However, some users claimed to have separate accounts and lost access to the comics that were already bought from their ComiXology account.Meanwhile, Amazon claims that:&quot;All previously purchased books are still available in your account.&quot;Nicholas Finch@ObnoxiousFinchTo continue, I was able to get permission from someone with an active account that sucessfully merged with Amazon, and has an extensive libary of books. There is a filter to differentiate Kindle books from Comixology books, but all the &quot;My Comics&quot; search options are gone.4/?6:46 AM · Feb 18, 2022798To continue, I was able to get permission from someone with an active account that sucessfully merged with Amazon, and has an extensive libary of books. There is a filter to differentiate Kindle books from Comixology books, but all the &quot;My Comics&quot; search options are gone.4/? https://t.co/rpcUGFxIHFIt is unclear how Amazon migrates the previously owned catalogs of users to its own platform.It ditched Global readers' series subscriptionsJamie McKelvie@McKelvie2:09 AM · Feb 11, 202228141https://t.co/ddhWfj75CEReaders outside the US will no longer be able to subscribe to their favorite series' latest releases. Non-US users will now have to purchase individual issues manually. Furthermore, Amazon will also cancel the existing subscriptions of users outside the US.More problems for independent and small publishersBenjamin Rivers@BenjaminRivers@pattonoswalt @misscecil @comiXology Thank you so much for talking about this. As a small creator who genuinely found Comixology to be a good place to (a) find indie stuff and (b) sell indie stuff, today has been a dark day.2:06 AM · Feb 19, 2022581@pattonoswalt @misscecil @comiXology Thank you so much for talking about this. As a small creator who genuinely found Comixology to be a good place to (a) find indie stuff and (b) sell indie stuff, today has been a dark day.The intuitive &quot;self-publishing&quot; feature for smaller comic book creators in the form of the ComiXology Submit Program has also been removed amidst the new changes. Instead, small creators will now have to join the Kindle Direct Publishing system.Patton Oswalt@pattonoswaltMaybe @comixology is just as much a victim of larger, short-sighted greed. But the old site and app were clearly designed by comic book lovers, and this new design feels like hedge fund sharks thinking, &quot;Eh, Batman and Spiderman whatever. Run the beta version I could care less.&quot;1:50 AM · Feb 19, 20222693202Maybe @comixology is just as much a victim of larger, short-sighted greed. But the old site and app were clearly designed by comic book lovers, and this new design feels like hedge fund sharks thinking, &quot;Eh, Batman and Spiderman whatever. Run the beta version I could care less.&quot;Amidst these changes, numerous users have called out Amazon on social media and urged to revert to the previous model. However, the e-commerce platform is yet to respond to the controversy.

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