Tag: David Steinberger

For today only, get DSTLRY’s ‘The Devil’s Cut’ on digital for $1

The new comic company launches their first limited digital comic.

DSTLRY, the comics company founded by former Comixology guys David Steinberger and Chip Mosher, has released their first digital comic — an online version of The Devil’s Cut, the anthology title that kicked off their line this past summer. And if you buy it today, it’s only $1, so head on over to their website before the price goes up at midnight.

Update: The price has now increased to $6.66.

You might recall from their initial announcement/unveiling of their company that DSTLRY plans to have “limited digital releases,” selling them directly through their website rather than through a service like Comixology. They plan to somehow make the digital releases “collectible and resellable” at the same time, through some sort of online marketplace. If this all sounds very NFT-ish, well, they say it’s not, but that marketplace apparently isn’t ready quite yet, as noted in their launch message on their site:

Remember, these pioneering single-issue releases won’t be available again digitally until our Marketplace launches in early 2024—and then only if owners decide to sell! Seize this unique opportunity to be part of DSTLRY’s evolving story from the outset. Our digital collections will be available when they launch with no immediate end-of-sale date. 

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DSTLRY’s first title will arrive in August

‘The Devil’s Cut’ anthology will feature comics by Scott Snyder, Becky Cloonan, Jamie McKelvie, Ram V, Jock and more.

DSTLRY, the new company started by former Comixology execs David Steinbeger and Chip Mosher, has announced their first title: The Devil’s Cut, an anthology featuring comics by the company’s “founding creators.” The anthology will go on sale Aug. 30.

Steinberger and Mosher announced the new venture last month, which is taking some unique approaches to how they operate:

  1. They’ve enlisted a group of creators who they are calling “founding creators” who each have equity in the venture. They’ve set aside an additional 3% of company equity to be distributed among all creators who release projects during the first three years of their publishing slate, with allocations being based on title performance. This part seems to have been generally well-received, as it’s an attempt to address the financial and ownership disparities that have cast a shadow on the industry in the past.
  2. As part of their release plans, they will publish print comics and digital comics, and have announced distribution deals with Diamond and Lunar Distribution for print. Their digital single issues will be sold on their website (and/or through an app, or something … they haven’t released details on the specifics of how this will work yet) and they plan to somehow make them collectible and resellable “with no crypto or NFT-hassle.” This part has not been so well-received, with many noting that digital scarcity is the kind of notion that drives things like the NFT market. DSTLRY has said that they plan to collect individual series in trades that will be available widely in print and on digital, even outside their own marketplace. So they seem to be trying to appeal to both collectors and readers, the two wolves that exist inside the comics community that are constantly eating each other.

The Devil’s Cut will be distributed digitally by DSTLRY through Sept. 6, according to the press release, which signals that their digital marketplace will be up and running by the end of the summer.

Jock provides the main cover, which will be one of six covers for the anthology:

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Two Comixology vets return to comics with DSTLRY

The new publisher will offer creators an ownership stake in the company.

If you’ve been wondering what comiXology co-founder David Steinberger and former comiXology Originals head Chip Mosher have been doing lately, wonder no more. Today the duo have launched DSTLRY [pronounced “distillery”], a “next-generation comics publisher that redefines creator-owned comic books and collectibles.”

The new company will offer “limited physical and digital item drops, available online or in-store at local comic shops, while providing creators with fairer deals alongside company ownership.” There’s a lot to unpack from their press release, so let’s jump in … but first, here’s an image of DSTLRY’s founders drawn by Tula Lotay:

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Comixology hit in latest round of Amazon layoffs

The corporate giant plans to lay off a reported 18,000 employees overall.

Some Comixology employees are posting to social media today that they’ve been impacted by the latest round of layoffs from their parent company, Amazon.

Journalist Jason Del Rey, who regularly reports on Amazon for Recode, shared a leaked letter from Amazon retail CEO Doug Herrington about the layoffs. According to news reports, Amazon plans to lay off 18,000 employees in this latest round, or roughly 6% of their global workforce. Herrington’s letter says they hope to have their U.S., Canada and Costa Rica employee notifications done today, with other regions to follow in the weeks ahead.

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Chip Mosher leaves Comixology Originals

Bryce Gold will take over as head of the digital comics imprint.

Comixology’s Chip Mosher, who spearheaded their Comixology Originals line and grew it into what it is today, has announced he’s leaving Amazon at the end of this week.

“After 11 years, I’ve decided it’s time for a change and this will be my last week at Comixology,” he said on Twitter. “It’s been an amazing decade+ for me & I’m grateful to have been able to be part of the company’s growth. In particular, it’s been an honor pioneering the Comixology Originals program.”

Under Mosher’s leadership, Comixology Originals has brought original, digital-first comics to the platform by creators like Scott Snyder, Spike Trotman, Curt Pires, Chip Zdarsky, Alex Segura, Rachel Pollack and many more — and then later to print through an arrangement with Dark Horse. He also worked with the Harvey Kurtzman Estate bring Marley’s Ghost to fruition, a “lost” graphic novel by the creator that went on to win an Eisner Award.

Before Comixology Originals launched, Mosher served as their head of marketing and PR, and prior to that was at BOOM! Studios in a similar role. He’s a comics veteran with a lot of knowledge and a good reputation with creators, so it’ll be interesting to see what he does next.

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A new comiXology experience is coming this fall

The digital comics platform announces changes to its app and more integration with Amazon.

In a letter to customers, comiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger today announced several changes coming to the digital comics platform — changes that include a redesigned app and more integration with their parent company, Amazon.

According to the email, the changes you can expect include:

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comiXology expands their ‘Originals’ line with creator-owned titles, print-on-demand

comiXology moves into print comics with an ‘experiment’ using Amazon’s print-on-demand capabilities.

comiXology Originals debuted in 2016 and have since published comics in conjunction with Marvel, BOOM! Studios, Valiant Entertainment and the estate of Harvey Kurtzman — and even earned an Eisner nomination. Now the Amazon-owned company is branching out to include creator-owned comics as part of the program.

The company announced four new titles that can be found on comiXology’s storefront, with the promise of more to come. Interestingly, comiXology is expanding beyond digital and will offer three of the four books through Amazon’s print-on-demand service — giving consumers the opportunity to buy comiXology material directly, rather than through a traditional comic book publisher.

The new comiXology Originals releases include: Savage Game created by NFL player Ryan Kalil, written by Shawn Kittelsen, and art by Chris B. Murray; Superfreaks from writers Elsa Charretier and Pierrick Colinet, with artist Margaux Saltel; Elephantmen 2261: The Death of Shorty from writer Richard Starkings, and artists Axel Medellin and Boo Cook; Ask For Mercy from writer Starkings and artist Abigail Jill Harding.

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