Posted in: Comics | Tagged: amazon, comixology, kindle, patton oswalt

Patton Oswalt Vs ComiXology And The App Update

Another day, more ComiXology complaints to join the litany that Bleeding Cool has been reporting in recent days. But maybe a chink of light as well? But first, the issues reached geek royalty as Patton Oswalt opened up his ComiXology app to read his comic books and… oh dear.

Patton Oswalt is a writer, comedian and performer, and may be best known to Bleeding Cool as the Koenigs on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Remy in Ratatouille, MODOK in MODOK, Pip The Troll in Eternals. Max in Mystery Science Theater 3000, and will play Matthew The Raven in the new Sandman TV series. He has also written comics such as JLA, The Goon, The Simpsons, Serenity, Sky Cake and MODOK.

And clearly his opinion was important to many. Patton Oswalt later posted "I've received some very kind outreach from @Marvel and @DCComics after this whole @comixology mess. They both have wonderful digital platforms and if you like their comics you should definitely use them. BUT…as much as I enjoy @Marvel & @DC books (and @Image and @DarkHorse) there are dozens of other, smaller companies (like @AfterShockComix, @OniPress, @thevaultcomics, @AhoyComicMags) putting out some of the most innovative, exciting new books…and @comixology was always this terrific, one-stop location to not only download (and pre-order) from the major publishers, but a great way to explore newer, smaller, riskier outfits, and help get them exposure… I can't even navigate the new app, let alone pre-order and find the smaller publishers. It is beyond user-hostile, and I'm just gonna go back to buying physical comics on Wednesday for the time being I hope this all shakes out, that @amazon and @comixology hear these concerns and go back to their old model, which was PERFECT. And I REALLY hope this doesn't hurt the smaller publishers, all of whom have been doing beyond stellar work these past few years. Maybe @comixology is just as much a victim of larger, short-sighted greed. But the old site and app were clearly designed by comic book lovers, and this new design feels like hedge fund sharks thinking, "Eh, Batman and Spiderman whatever. Run the beta version I could care less."

Comics creator Benjamin Rivers replied "Thank you so much for talking about this. As a small creator who genuinely found Comixology to be a good place to (a) find indie stuff and (b) sell indie stuff, today has been a dark day."  Patton also replied "I'm so sorry man. "Snow" and "Worse Than Death" were titles I took a chance on, and both were wonderful. And I found 'em both by idly exploring @comixology. Oh well."

Reader Lina Nicklin added "When you go out to buy the physical comics, you will also be supporting local, small businesses. So, win/win!" to Patton Oswalt's "This is true!" And to that point, Patton brought attention to a thread by comics writer and publisher Kelly Sue DeConnick, "Brick & mortar comic shops that would like a signal boost @ me with your store name, location, website and be sure to mention it if you do mail order. Attach a photo if you can. (Then feel free to use that tweet to start a thread abt your shop/employees/specialties/book clubs.) I'm using #ComicShopspotlight"

And now Patton Oswalt has boosted that too!

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