Tag: Comixology

NYCC | ‘The Comixology Originals program is here to stay,’ declares the head of Comixology

The digital comics platform held an event during New York Comic Con to announce new Originals titles and talk about the future of the platform.

During an event at Amazon’s New York office this week, Comixology’s Jeff DiBartolomeo announced the next wave of Comixology Originals titles as well as teased 17 newly acquired projects.

More than that, though, he showed that the original digital comics program — and Comixology itself — is still alive and moving forward inside Amazon.

“The Comixology Originals exclusive digital content line plays a key part in our business,” said DiBartolomeo. “The Comixology Originals program is here to stay. We’ve been busy signing deals for 17 new creator-owned projects with new teams joining the family and some fan favorite creators returning to work with us again. We’re thrilled to help both new faces and industry veterans bring their stories to the public through Comixology Originals. To say we are excited about the future is an understatement.”

It’s been almost two years now since Amazon laid off a large portion of the staff working on Comixology and a year since Comixology announced plans to retire the stand-alone Comxiology app. Since then, we haven’t heard much from Comixology about its future, although they have continued to announce and release new additions to the Originals program.

Continue reading “NYCC | ‘The Comixology Originals program is here to stay,’ declares the head of Comixology”

Curt Pires’ ‘Endless’ will debut on Comixology this Tuesday

Pires will team with Diana Nguyen, Jacoby Salcedo, Stefano Cardoselli and Ryan Quackenbush for the story of a thief lost in the multiverse.

Curt Pires’ partnership with Comixology Originals, which has brought us titles like Youth and Lost Falls, will continue this Tuesday with Endless, a five-issue miniseries drawn by several different artists.

“Endless is the story of one man’s lives across the multiverse,” Pires said in the news release. “Each issue–a new universe, a new life, drawn by one of freshest new talents in comics. Strap in and come aboard, because we’re about to take you on one hell of a trip.”

Pires is working with artists Diana Nguyen, Jacoby Salcedo, Stefano Cardoselli and Ryan Quackenbush on the story, which is about a thief who becomes unbound in space and time. They’re joined by colorist Mark Dale and letterer Micah Myers, while Sunando C provides the cover for the first issue:

Continue reading “Curt Pires’ ‘Endless’ will debut on Comixology this Tuesday”

Jordan Alsaqa + Ray Nadine will ‘Raise Hell!’ on Comixology next week

The coming of age horror story arrives digitally on Tuesday.

Jordan Alsaqa and Ray Nadine are bringing a little Hell to Comixology next week.

The writer of Terminal Protocol, Finding Peace and more has teamed with the GLAAD award-nominated cartoonist on Raise Hell!, a six-issue coming-of-age horror/comedy miniseries about three friends who decide to summon a demon one summer, which makes the upcoming school year hell — well, even more hellish than normal.

“Raise Hell! is a love letter to our own teen years,” said Alsaqa. “When Ray and I met, we bonded over our mutual love of Ska, horror and the anime of the mid-2000s. It’s a time period we’re nostalgic for, so many of our story ideas come from recalling our favorite childhood memories and injecting the supernatural and demonic into them.”

Continue reading “Jordan Alsaqa + Ray Nadine will ‘Raise Hell!’ on Comixology next week”

Austen + Olliffe re-team for ‘The Tormented’

The horror miniseries will launch on Comixology Originals next week.

Chuck Austen and Patrick Olliffe have reunited for another new series from Comixology Originals — The Tormented, a new five-issue digital comics series that will debut next week. They’re joined by colorist Lee Loughridge, letterer Jodi Wynne and editor Greg Lockard.

Austen, Olliffe and Loughridge previously worked together on Edgeworld, a science fiction series released by Comixology. This new series brings together horror and reality TV.

“Ryan Auster, our protagonist in The Tormented, sees ghosts, but kept it from his ghost-hunting family because he feared his family more than the ghosts, and because he’s been hiding it his whole life. Now in his 20s, he still hasn’t quite learned how to deal with the unexpected spirits, demons and otherworldly creatures that are constantly invading his life,” said Austen. “This series has been an absolute trip to create with Pat, and I hope readers have as much fun reading the story as we’ve had making it.”

Continue reading “Austen + Olliffe re-team for ‘The Tormented’”

Amazon will discontinue the Comixology app on Dec. 4

Users will need to switch to the Kindle app to read their comics after that date.

Amazon has announced plans to “retire” the Comixology app effective Dec. 4, according to a message in the app itself. Comixology users will have to start using the Kindle app to access their comics and graphic novels after that date.

The move is not a surprise, given everything that’s happened with Comixology and Amazon over the last two years — starting with the relaunch of the Comixology app that brought it more in line with the Kindle experience, as well as the elimination of a separate Comixology website for buying comics. Earlier this year the Comixology team was severely impacted by Amazon-wide layoffs, leaving the future of the digital comics service in question.

Continue reading “Amazon will discontinue the Comixology app on Dec. 4”

Sable + Haun unbox ‘Boxed’ for Comixology Originals

The graphic novel will take over your devices next month.

Mark Sable and Jeremy Haun have both been responsible for some pretty interesting stories, so it’s great to see them combine forces on Boxed, a new graphic novel coming next month from Comixology originals.

Boxed is about a (not so) distant future where AI is widespread and sometimes breaks bad, so the FBI has an anti-AI division that “boxes” up rogue AI when needed. The story features colors by Nick Filardi and letters by Thomas Mauer.

“Much of Boxed is inspired by my work with military and intelligence agencies as a futurist for the Atlantic Council,” said Sable. “Artificial Intelligence software is shaking up our times, from Chat GPT to Midjourney to Open AI, these entities are becoming more immersed in our everyday reality not only replacing what humans can do, but blurring the line between human and machine intelligence and the capabilities are not to be underestimated.”

Continue reading “Sable + Haun unbox ‘Boxed’ for Comixology Originals”

Scott Bryan Wilson + Al Barrionuevo unleash an ‘Angry Ape Army’ next week

The digital comic will debut on Zestworld, Comixology and GlobalComix.

Technology and magic will clash on a world inhabited by apes in Angry Ape Army, a new digital comic coming from EEP Universe, the production house behind House of Slay, as well as Zumeta Studios and XRM Media.

Writer Scott Bryan Wilson and artist Al Barrionuevo, who worked together on Savage Tales, will bring this world to the comics page.

The story revolves around a tribe of peaceful apes on a planet called Genesis World, where they have lived under the thumb of the more advanced Nano Apes for generations. The Nano Apes strip-mine the Genesis Apes’ natural magic for fuel, and their culture has been eradicated. Then a secret warrior tribe arrives just in time to start an uprising.

“Angry Ape Army is a high-octane sci-fi adventure full of twists and turns and heroes you love to love and villains you love to hate. It’s breathless, character-driven action in a world where the nearly forgotten ancient forces of magic are needed to ward off a seemingly unstoppable technological threat. Al Barrionuevo and I are thrilled to team up again to bring this story, world, and characters to life,” Wilson said.

Here’s an exclusive first look at the trailer:

Continue reading “Scott Bryan Wilson + Al Barrionuevo unleash an ‘Angry Ape Army’ next week”

It’s time for ghost-punching in Gunter + Andan’s ‘Grammaton Punch’

The digital title will debut on Comixology March 14.

Comixology Originals has announced Grammaton Punch, a new five-issue miniseries by writer Miles Gunter, artist Briane Andan, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Taylor Esposito, which will debut on the platform on March 14.

Gunter, whose credits include BPRD, Terminator and Weird War Tales, said the new title is a twist on the “classic ghost story,” mixed with his love for video games. It’s about a teenager who can see and fight the ghosts that prey on his classmates.

“In Grammaton Punch, Van Nguyen was born during a solar eclipse and while that might sound cool, it’s not,” Gunter said. “That’s because eclipse babies are born with something extra and, for Van Nguyen, that means he can see ghosts.”

And he doesn’t just see them — he also punches them.

Continue reading “It’s time for ghost-punching in Gunter + Andan’s ‘Grammaton Punch’”

Comixology Originals announces ‘Trick Pony’ by Greg Lockard + Anna David

The new graphic novel will arrive on the platform on Feb. 28.

While we ponder the fate of Comixology amidst all the layoffs and what that means for all those digital comics we’ve “acquired” from them, I guess there’s some solace in the fact that there are still new releases and announcements coming from their original comics line, Comixology Originals. That has to be a good sign, he says, as he realizes contracts were likely signed months in advance and maybe they just haven’t had time to sunset that program yet. Hey, don’t ruin my Sunday, okay?

Until Amazon is willing to share more (or not; their PR email seems to be a black hole) let’s focus on what we do know — that GLAAD award-nominated writer Greg Lockard has teamed up with artist Anna David and letterer Lucas Gattoni for a brand new western graphic novel, Trick Pony, which will arrive on the site on Feb. 28. It’s about a gay rodeo star named Jimmy.

“Trick Pony is a project that has been germinating in my head and heart for over a decade,” Lockard said. “It’s a love letter to all my favorite Western stories but through a distinctly modern lens. Jimmy’s adventure is about self-fulfillment on the path to making your dreams come true… and accepting that some shadows are going to follow you for life.”

Continue reading “Comixology Originals announces ‘Trick Pony’ by Greg Lockard + Anna David”

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.

Continue reading “Comixology hit in latest round of Amazon layoffs”

Comixology Originals will publish the debut graphic novel from Xavier Saxon

‘Night at the Belfry’ arrives on the platform Oct. 18.

Comixology Originals has announced plans to publish Night at the Belfry, the debut graphic novel by writer and artist Xavier Saxon.

The story is about a 73-year-old former postman who starts remembering his time as a recreational boxer in the 1980s and “hatches a life altering plan to regain the control he believes he’s lost.”

“Night at the Belfry is my first book and I am super proud of it, but it is not where I would have expected myself to start off in the world of comics,” Saxon said. “I don’t have much of an interest in boxing, I’m not a 70-plus year-old retiree (yet), and my preferences in terms of fiction have always skewed more towards the fantastical, genre-based stuff. The idea came from a few places. It started purely visually, the idea of a boxing match in a church belltower. But as I developed the story I became fascinated with the idea of applying undue importance to an, in retrospect, insignificant period of one’s own life. Mostly, though, the book came from a place of frustration. I wanted to finish something. And now that I have, I hope what I’ve made will resonate with readers.”

Continue reading “Comixology Originals will publish the debut graphic novel from Xavier Saxon”

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.

Continue reading “Chip Mosher leaves Comixology Originals”