That right there my friends is the collective response to the just announced news that digital comics giant comiXology is being acquired by Amazon. As of right now, terms have not been revealed, but my best guess it the cost to Amazon is “a lot”, but it’s hard to imagine this being a bad investment for the mega retailer. This is a bold and shocking move that has driven a lot of rather negative opinions and shocked reactions on Twitter and beyond, but from all early reports, comiXology is very much supposed to retain its brand and not see any significant changes, instead acting as more of a subsidiary.
Time will tell, of course, but for now, all we can go off of are the statements from those who were most involved in the deal – comiXology’s co-founder and CEO David Steinberger and David Naggar, Amazon’s Vice President of Content Acquisition and Independent Publishing. They said:
“ComiXology’s mission is to spread the love of comics and graphic novels in all forms,” said David Steinberger, co-founder and CEO of comiXology. “There is no better home for comiXology than Amazon to see this vision through. Working together, we look to accelerate a new age for comic books and graphic novels.”
“Amazon and comiXology share a passion for reinventing reading in a digital world,” said David Naggar, Amazon Vice President, Content Acquisition and Independent Publishing. “We’ve long admired the passion comiXology brings to changing the way we buy and read comics and graphic novels. We look forward to investing in the business, growing the team, and together, bringing comics and graphic novels to even more readers.”
Again, it’s too early to tell. Amazon isn’t entirely new to comics – I mean, they own a fanfic division in Kindle Worlds for god’s sakes – but I’m curious as to how this might change positioning of digital versus brick-and-mortar shops, if at all. If this opens up more opportunity to bring in new readers though, I’m all for it, even if the doom brigade might be suspicious due to Amazon’s role in the quick destruction of the world of bookshops. More details are coming, but for now, heads go boom.
Update (4/11/2014): On Facebook, ComicsPRO responded:
There’s always a concern when a huge corporation that shows little need to turn a profit tries to convert a niche market into a commodity. Fortunately there is a tactile element to comics that no deep-discounting web entity will ever be able to replicate. So as long as there continues to be fans for the real thing, there will be comics and comic book stores.
