Amazon subsidiary Comixology seeks to make comic ownership more meaningful as it breaks the chains of digital rights management on digital comic books and graphic novels served up via its distribution platform.
That's thanks to free-hearted publishers and authors who have agreed to the option, but the DRM-free deal doesn't include Marvel and DC offerings.
Consumers of Comixology's digital distribution service now have the option to download HD backups of comic books as PDFs or comic book archive (CBZ) files, where publishers allow, according to Comixology. The CBZ format was designed specifically to display comic book graphics.
Publishers that have offered DRM-free content include Image Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Zenescope Entertainment, MonkeyBrain Comics, Thrillbent, and Top Shelf Productions. Comixology's 'Submit' creators and small press publishers were given the option to make their content DRM-free, according to an email message from Comixology CEO David Steinberger.
"Offering DRM-free backups to you and our customers-to-be is another step in taking comics further, and serves our mission to turn everyone on the face of the planet into a comics fan," stated Steinberger. "There is much more to come."
The DRM-free backups can be used on any device that has a PDF or CBZ reader installed, according to Comixology. While the quality of the DRM-free backups won't fall short of the orginal comic books and graphic novels, Comixology said the experience will be lacking its platform's signature feature, its Guided View technology.
Comixology said the backup content won't be compatible with its "awesome Guided View technology." Guided View delivers a cinematic presentation of comic books, but many users would argue that having the ability to access digital content on almost any device out weighs the "awesomeness" of the feature.
Doctor Who illustrator Marc Ellerby lauded Comixology's move to free content from DRM. Ownership was better at preventing piracy than DRM, stated Ellerby.
"The reading landscape has changed and you can't dictate how people read a book or even how they buy a book nowadays -- if the readers wants it on their iPad they will find a way whether you have it for sale digitally or not," said Ellerby. "Ownership's a big thing in e-reading and I've been selling a modest amount of my ebooks as DRM-free PDFs via Great Beast for the past few years, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that this move from Comixology will hit those direct sales."
DRM-free comic books will bear a badge in Comixology and will be available for bulk download by owners.
Comixology offers approximately 30,000 comic books from more than 75 publishers. Comixology users have been urged to lobby hold-out publishers to release their digital works DRM-free.
