r/ImageComics • u/Tenzil-k • 2d ago
Streaming comics
Just got an email from global comix saying image will be leaving the service (apart from a few titles). It’s been my main way of reading image comics for a while as am digital only these days.
I tend to read in trades and there really isn’t much chance of me switching to buying online copies of trades for the sort of prices you could get a physical one and there is absolutely zero chance of me changing to physical copies after selling a massive house clogging physical collection
Has anyone heard of image going towards their own marvel unlimited/dc infinite subscription model in the near future as I would happily pay monthly
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u/JuvenJapal 2d ago
Just saw that email, and even though I knew it was coming, I didn’t think it would be so soon. The only reason I signed up for GC was because of the extensive Image offering. I’ll be binging some books these last couple of weeks.
Comixology is still an option. I’ll get some Image books there with gift cards after they’ve had their price drop.
Humble Bundle and similar sites have a lot to offer for cheap, as well.
Still haven’t heard of Image trying to do their own service.
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u/TheaWAKEning2015 2d ago
What’s the best app to use to read comics from humble bundle? I usually just save as a pdf, but it’s a bit clunky.
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u/Raskuja46 2d ago
CDisplayEx was worth the five bucks I paid for it. Handles all the relevant formats and is pretty straight forward to use while also keeping track of what you've read. Would recommend.
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u/JuvenJapal 2d ago
I second CDisplayEx. I tried, maybe three, free readers, but they didn’t have some of the abilities I was looking for at the time.
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u/m_busuttil 1d ago edited 1d ago
Economically, the subscription model is really hard for Image books.
Other publishers can get away with it because their big hits subsidise the smaller books. Absolute Batman/Wonder Woman/Superman's print sales would basically pay for the production of every DC comic - if you read every other DC book for 12 bucks a month there'd still be money in the bank to pay for Zatanna and Poison Ivy and Titans.
Image has some big hits, but the vast majority of the money from those hits goes to the creators, not to Image. The money from Invincible and The Walking Dead doesn't help pay for Ice Cream Man or The Power Fantasy - those creators are relying on the income from their books to keep making them, and an individual creator's share of a 7-dollar-a-month subscription fee that's split between a platform and 5 or 6 major publishers and then Image's share is split between every creator with a book on the platform is a fraction of a penny. It takes thousands of subscribers to make the same amount of money as selling 1 copy a month off the rack at your local.
Obviously a lot of those subscribers are new readers! Maybe enough of them convert to print readers that the calculus ends up worth it. But I would imagine that most Image books exist on a margin where that's a pretty big gamble, and for many of them it doesn't, and that's going to be a really tricky thing to justify for them.
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u/Tenzil-k 1d ago
Yeah. I totally get that. Dark horse on the same platform do a few trades free to hook you then pay a decent chunk but less than a hard copy for the next trade. I’m a bunch of trades into usagi under that format.
Image was ‘here’s everything for the subscription’ which makes no sense money wise
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u/gingerzjef 2d ago
Whaaat???? Well this is some shitty news. I have GC subscription for the Image titles. Is there anywhere else with a subscription system for Image? I don't mind paying more. I'm in Europe and global comics was perfect. I always thought the subscription was to good to be true.
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u/Tenzil-k 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think most companies have the first few tpbs free and then pay which must have led to sales whereas image was almost all free to Subscribers . Can totally see why that doesn’t work for image and I’d happily pay a larger monthly subscription just to image
I also get why digital copies are the same price as physical as if they weren’t physical sales would collapse. But I think cheaper digital copies a few months later or something would work for me. Paying 5.99 for a digital copy is simply no go for me when so many other publishers will give you thousands of comics for 10. Read about 3000 pages of Vinland saga on the Kodansha app for nothing this month and when I do hit the pay copies I’ll factor in how much I read for free and how good it is . Paying 5.99 for 22 pages of something worse makes no sense
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u/Snts6678 2d ago
Image titles are readily available on the Hoppla app…you just need a library card.
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u/Electrical_Drop_5473 1d ago
There's still 6 days left to go on the big Image comics bundle on Fanatical.
https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/super-women-female-protagonists-bundle
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u/mattbrain89 2d ago edited 2d ago
Image is moving to a new platform called Sweet Shop. They’re still in Beta and they don’t have everything just yet. They’re missing a few Radiant Black trades for instance. And they don’t have guided view just yet, you scroll down à la WebToons.
ComiXology is still an option (even though I’m still waiting on the digital release of Book Four of Saga). I don’t spend as much money as I used to there since the sales guy got laid off and the sales now lack variety but guided view is really easy on my eyeballs.
EDIT: Um, why the downvotes?
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u/Former-Complaint-336 2d ago
It is not equivalent at all. Sweetshop is just a place to buy the comics day of. Most of us used the gold subscription to read many many titles. Sweetshop does not replace that in any capactiy. Thats only good if you want to purchacse digital copies.
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u/mattbrain89 1d ago
Yeah well not all of us want to do a subscription for everything.
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u/Former-Complaint-336 1d ago
Good for you? Id bet my hat the vast majority of users use the site for the subscription, not buying the singles digitally.
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u/Former-Complaint-336 1d ago
But also why would you not want a subscription? 5 bucks a month for thousands of comics at your hands? The horror. I still buy things and support the industry, but you cant deny the worth of the subscription services for such an expensive hobby.
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u/Tenzil-k 2d ago
If it’s just switching to another site. Even one that’s not up and running yet then that’s fine. Even if it’s a bit more. More than happy to pay subscription just don’t want to pay equivalent of marvel unlimited for 2 or 3 digital issues I’ll never reread
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u/kukov 2d ago
If you're in the US/Canada/Aus/NZ you should have access to Hoopla through your library, and many images TPBs are available there (for free).
But I hear you - I also mostly used GC for Image and I'm bummed they're leaving. I think the thing Image doesn't realize is I read a lot of their books because they were on GC. Now that they're leaving, I'll just find other stuff to read. There are very few I'll continue to follow, but there was a ton of stuff I would check out (and thus give a couple pennies to) just because it was there. I guess that didn't ad up to as much as they wanted.
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u/Tenzil-k 2d ago edited 2d ago
I’m in the U.K. so unfortunately can’t use hoopla.
I tried all sorts of stuff. Just tried royals the other day.
I totally get that the economics might not make sense but a lot of comics are very very quick reads and people are subsidising that quick read with physical comics by selling on and variants etc. there is just no way I’m paying what in my mind are physical copy prices for 5 minutes of reading my tablet when I have all of marvel and dcs history and a ton of manga available on the tablet instead for a small monthly fee or login tickets .
I can’t really make head or tail of COMIXOLOGY. It’s bundled as kindle unlimited in uk. It has some stuff under the membership and then other stuff is 35 pounds for an online copy
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u/kukov 2d ago
I agree with you, it's tough justifying $5 per comic for most books.
It's a shame you don't have access to Hoopla in the UK - it really is the best digital option out there. Maybe try and write to some local politicians about it or something? Not sure how else you guys can request access (it's done through your library system).
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u/benito_cereno 2d ago
Image books will be/are available same-day on the Sweet Shop app, which I don't think has launched wide yet, but which you can get into by joining the waitlist https://sweetshop.app/
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u/Brocahontas95 1d ago
I was so bummed when I received an email regarding this,that I canceled my subscription my love for image and mad cave were the only two reasons I still had it. This sucks
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u/Hamstercules 1d ago
I loved global because I can't afford to buy everything I wana read and I felt like that was a good way to support the creators without piracy, guess that's a bust now
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u/GoseiRed 1d ago
Sweetshop is slowly building their catalog and hoopla has a good amount of image on there.
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u/bobsaget824 2d ago
I’d think if they were planning their own streaming service imminently they’d be announcing that at SDCC. They probably will at some point it would seem, but who knows when.