One of Image’s biggest announcements in the HEAP of announcements is that their new website, seen at ImageComics.com, now features a brand new digital store. From now on, all of Image’s digital comics come with PDF, ePub, CBR and a CBZ file which is a game changer to say the least, as you now actually own the digital comic that you purchase, DRM-Free. This is decidedly different from Comixology, where you can only access the comic through their app, and basically adds a brand new revolution to the strange digital comics game that is always evolving one step at a time.
This, though? This is like a whole jump. The big issue of digital comics was that you’d pay for something that you could only access in a specific way, and one that you could lose at the drop of a hat (or a cloud). Image, forever trying to put the power in the hands of the people they serve, is literally putting the power in the hand sof the people they serve with this move — and it’s kind of astonishing to see this happen from the publisher.
The big get here is that “Jupiter’s Legacy,” previously in print only, is now available for purchase digitally. This is bigger than a lot of people ostensibly realize, because Millar was against the digital aspect of the book at first. Millar had made it known he wanted people to go to shops to pick up the issues, which had upset people who had either no access to shops or just wanted a digital edition of the book instead of a print. Now, while you can’t get it on Comixology, you can buy your own digital edition of the book, and I can imagine that quite a few people are stoked on this.
Of course, the Image comics digital policy goes for ALL of their books, not just “Jupiter’s Legacy,” but given the initial controversy the lack of digital release on that book caused it’s exciting to see Image “get” Millar’s digital book, in a manner of speaking.
Not only that, but “Scatterlands” by Warren Ellis and Jason Howard, a single-panel serialized story that was featured on Ellis’ website, has now been digitally collected for a whopping 99 cents through Image’s digital webstore. While you can read it for free anytime via Ellis’ site, the convenience of this digital comic and the cheap price point make this a rather exciting move.
So, all in all, this Image Expo thing is off to a rocking start, huh? Can’t wait to see what’s next.
