Digital comics giant comiXology have today shaken up the world of digital comics by unveiling a new subscription service called comiXology Unlimited that sees them attempting to become the ‘Netflix of comics’. Similar to services already offered by Marvel (Marvel Unlimited), ComicsFix and Scribd, the main difference is that comiXology Unlimited are the only subscription service to include titles from Image Comics and Dark Horse. But how will this affect indie and small press publishers? And will this be the birth of the phrase “ComiXology and Chill”

“We’re in a new golden age of storytelling with more incredible comics, graphic novels and manga than ever before,” said comiXology’s CEO and Co-Founder David Steinberger. “ComiXology Unlimited is fantastic portal to tons of great comics at a ridiculously great price. Get in there and start exploring.”

“You may have heard of Love and Rockets, Krazy Cat and Ignatz, or Lumberjanes – but had no idea where to start reading or what collection to buy. Now you can simply start reading all these great titles today,” said John D. Roberts, comiXology Co-Founder. “ComiXology is changing the game again. First, we ignited digital via our Guided View reading technology. Now, with comiXology Unlimited, everyone can easily explore the expansive world of comics.” 

It’s currently only available in the US, with a 30 day trial option to get you hooked, and there are promises that this will begin rolling out to other regions soon.

UPDATE: When asked for comment on the possibility of a UK release we were told by Chip Mosher, Senior Director of Communications “We’re excited to share our love of comics worldwide and we plan to expand comiXology Unlimited in other regions in the future.” – so no specific dates as yet!

The full list of publishers available on comiXology Unlimited are IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, Kodansha Comics, Oni Press, Valiant Entertainment, Archie Comics, Fantagraphics Books, Humanoids, Action Lab Entertainment, Aspen Comics, Zenescope Entertainment and more, but it is conspicuous that Marvel and DC and not included on those list.

We’re also going to be interested to see how this will affect indie and small press publishers using the comiXology Submit platform. Will they be included in this service, or will they be exempt? We can’t help but think individual indie publishers will be better off out of this catch-all bundle.

UPDATE: We asked ComiXology for comment on how it would affect Submit publisher and Chip Mosher, Senior Director of Communications told us: “Right now, Submit participation is invite-only and we have almost 70 Submit titles like Atomic Robo, Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose, Poorcraft, and reMIND all currently available on comiXology Unlimited.” When asked for comment on how indie and small press publishers would be paid for their inclusion as part of Unlimited we were told “[ComiXology] do not discuss their business terms.

A selection of series available today are listed below and include big sellers like Saga, The Walking Dead and The Wicked and The Divine alongside cool indie titles like Lumberjanes and The Umbrella Academy as well as classics like Love and Rockets. As with all subscription services, they are only as good as the content on them comiXology will continue to add more titles over time but it will be interesting to see how up to date these titles are as services like Marvel Unlimited are traditionally 3-6 months behind in terms of currency.

The current list includes:

Adventure Time by Ryan North, Braden Lamb, Shelli Paroline and various (BOOM! Studios)
Aliens by Mark Verheiden, Sam Kieth, Peter Milligan and various (Dark Horse Comics)
Archie by Mark Waid and Fiona Staples (Archie Comics)
Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama (Kodansha Comics)
Atomic Robo by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener (Tesladyne)
Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro (Image Comics)
Bloodshot by Duane Swierczynski, Manuel Garcia and Arturo Lozzi (Valiant Entertainment)
The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (Dynamite Entertainment)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Joss Whedon and various (Dark Horse Comics)
Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image Comics)
The Complete Peanuts by Charles Schulz (Fantagraphics Books)
Conan the Barbarian by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (Dark Horse Comics)
Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima (Kodansha Comics)
Fatale by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image Comics)
Ghostbusters by Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, and various (IDW Publishing)
G.I. Joe by Chuck Dixon, Robert Atkins and various (IDW Publishing)
Grimm Fairy Tales by Ralph Tedesco, Joe Tyler and various (Zenescope Entertainment)
Godzilla by Duane Swierczynski, Arthur Adams, Simon Gane and various (IDW Publishing)
Hellboy by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse Comics)
Hip Hop Family Tree by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics Books)
The Incal by Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius (Humanoids)
Lazarus by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark (Image Comics)
Letter 44 by Charles Soule and Alberto Alburquerque (Oni Press)
Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima (Dark Horse Comics)
Love and Rockets by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books)
Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW Publishing)
Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson and Brooke Allen (BOOM! Studios)
My Little Pony by Katie Cook and Andy Price (IDW Publishing)
Outcast by Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta (Image Comics)
Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios (Image Comics)
Princeless by Jeremy Whitley and various (Action Lab Entertainment)
Red Sonja by by Gail Simone, Jenny Frison, and Walter Geovanni (Dynamite Entertainment)
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
Serenity by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews and Will Conrad (Dark Horse Comics)
Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni Press)
Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image Comics)
Spawn by Todd McFarlane (Image Comics)
Star Trek by Mike Johnson, Stephen Molnar, Joe Corroney and various (IDW Publishing)
Poorcraft: The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less by C. Spike Trotman and (Iron Circus Comics)
Transformers by John Barber, Andrew Griffith, Marcelo Matere and various (IDW Publishing)
The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse Comics)
Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse Comics)
The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard (Image Comics)
The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (Image Comics)
Wonderland by Raven Gregory and Sheldon Goh (Zenescope Entertainment)
Wuvable Oaf by Ed Luce (Fantagraphics)
X-O Manowar by Robert Venditti and Cary Nord(Valiant Entertainment)
…and many more.