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At the C2E2 comiXology panel it was confirmed that DC graphic novels are no longer being sold through Kindle Fire’s comiXology app, and CEO David Steinberger said it was intentional. However the reasons are hidden behind many layers of NDAs.

This is all odd because you can certainly still buy DC books via Amazon and their Kindle store. You can purchase tons of DC comics from comiXology, on the web and their IOS app. Apparently, you just can’t buy DC Comics through the Kindle Fire comiXology app (we don’t have a Kindle Fire handy to check).

DC have not responded to inquiries. ComiXology only give the line “ComiXology readers can continue to access DC Comics that are in their My Comics library. Plus, comiXology on the Kindle Fire syncs libraries from any part of the ComiXology platform, so DC readers can access comics purchased through the web.”

The DC/Kindle Fire exclusive GN marriage was announced with great fanfare and promise, but soon resulted in heartache and acrimony when B&N and Books A Million pulled their DC graphic novels off the shelves in spite. While no one is saying anything at all about this glitch, it probably has some weird technical proprietary cause and isn’t very dramatic at all.

Or that’s a guess anyway.

In the meantime, there are still plenty of ways to get DC Comics on your Kindle Fire, and the arguments over platforms and proprietary interfaces for digital comics will continue.

10 COMMENTS

  1. I have a Kindle Fire and it’s true, they stopped putting new DC issues out around issue 4 of the Nu52 through the app. Just one Wednesday there were no new DC Comics. I tried finding any info online at that time, but didn’t really. Just, oh download them through your computer and sync your Kindle Fire. Yay convenience! Or get an Ipad dummy!

  2. Inconvenient for sure, but at least there’s a way around it. I contacted them about this 2 weeks ago, thinking it was just my device. They were quick to respond with that same canned line. Good enough for now, I guess!

  3. You can even buy the comics on the comixology website using the Fire’s Silk browser, so this really seems to be a matter of limiting the ease of access. Works the same way that some websites claim to be optimized (read: impossible to use without the proprietary app) for certain devices.

  4. This is the biggest threat of digital: the possibility to limit customer choice. As counter-productive as it sounds, it happens all the time, regional blocks being the biggest offender.

  5. Yeah, this is kinda confusing. I need to see a chart with “monthlys” and “graphic novels” across the top and all of the different variations on downloads down the left side and checkmarks for the areas it works.

  6. I actually bought a Kindle Fire because of the early DC exclusives. Now I wish I hadn’t (not only because of this change, but because the thing is buggy).

    This was the first time I strayed from Apple products since, well, ever. It was also the last. iPad for me, next time.

  7. And the comics industry wonders why people download scans which are in a device-independent format that works on any computer and can be backed up for future use?

  8. This article is incorrect. I can not see DC comics that I’ve purchased through ComiXology on my Kindle Fire at ALL. They do apparently NOT transfer across ALL platforms.

  9. Can confirm what Tony Smith wrote ; cannot access and previously purchased DC Comics, including previews and 101 issues. Might be because DC Comics are available directly from Amazon?

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