DC Comics Enters Digital Comics Space with iPhone / iPad App

As the discussions around digital comics have evolved, and as more and more of the companies relesed digital comics apps, the question that everyone has been asking has been "When is DC Comics going to offer digital comics?"  

Well, very quietly DC Comics has finally provided an answer.  In the wee hours of Wednesday morning the DC Comics iPhone and iPad application became available for download in the iTunes App Store.

I immediately downloaded the app onto my iPad and here are a few screen caps:

 

When I opened the app it defaulted to the Featured page which contains a mix of books across DC Comics' imprints. There are even a bunch of samples and previews you can download for free (you can download one book with no hassle, but after that you need a comiXology account).

 

Click over to the New section brought a whole slate of books to check out. You'll notice issues of both Jonah Hex and The Losers as well as issues of All-Star Superman, Planetary, The Unwritten, Tiny Titans, Fables, Sandman, Green Lantern and … waitaminute…

 

That is the new issue of Justice League: Generation Lost! That's the issue that hits comics stores today (or tomorrow depending on when you're reading this!) Ohmygod!

 

This is a developing story with a lot of information to process so check back here all throughout Wednesday for updates.

 

UPDATE: As you can see if you've taken the time to poke around the app you've seen that DC has set tiered pricing. $0.99 for some older Wildstorm issues, $1.99 for older and more recent DC, Vertigo and Wildstorm issues, and $2.99 for current issues, like Justice League: Generation Lost #4. Speaking of Generation Lost, the entire mini-series will be available for purchase on the app the same day that it is released in stores. DC implies that this may just be the first title available for day and date purchase. We shall see about that. In addition to the one day and date comic, there is also a free 10-page preview of Superman #700, which hits stores next week. — Conor Kilpatrick

UPDATE: 100 news issues are going to be added to the app each month. One new issue of Sandman will be added each week. — Conor Kilpatrick

UPDATE: Here's what comics are on the app so far:

Free
Batman Black & White (five chapters)
Bayou #1
Fringe #0
Mirror’s Edge #0
The Origin of Batman #1
The Origin of Superman #1
Superman #700: Preview

$0.99
Gen 13 #21: World’s End
Stormwatch: PHD #13: World’s End
Team Zero #1-6
Wildcats: World’s End #1

$1.99
Action Comics #844
All Star Superman #1
The Authority: World’s End #1
Batman #404
Batman #608-613
Batman #655-656
Dante’s Inferno #1-3
Fables #1-5
Fringe #1-3
Green Lantern #21
Green Lantern #29
Green Lantern Corps #14
Green Lantern: Rebirth #1-6
Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1
Jonah Hex #1-6
Justice League: Generation Lost #1-3
The Losers #1-12
Mirror’s Edge #1-3
Planetary #1-6
Sandman #1
Superman/Batman #1-10
Tiny Titans #1-6
The Unwritten #1
Victorian Undead

$2.99
Justice League: Generation Lost #4

— Conor Kilpatrick

Comments

  1. Woah! Awesome. 

  2. So they are using comixology as well. I hope that means that they will be available in the Comic app.
    Anyway this is great, but it seems that comicxologys servers are overloaded right now?

  3. Hmm…I am at a lost of words.  So happy right now.  New books the day they come out. Happy days are here.

  4. This is big news. I’m gonna have to steal my cousin’s iPad for a while and check this out. 🙂

  5. So I guess that’s DC: 1 and Marvel: 0

    Also this app has been
    available since friday….so how did no one not know about it?

  6. @TNC: The release date on the app is June 23, 2010. That’s today.

  7. Wait, I thought Jim Lee said something about them doing different digital comics? I remember him saying that they wanted to do comics specifically formatted for iPad and iPhone, instead of just doing the regular comic scans like all the other companies are doing? I think it was on an episode of iFanboy if I recall.

  8. iTunes says "Released June 23rd".

    Anyway, it’s pretty awesome.  I’m glad to see it’s by Comixology.  They’ve done a nice job with Marvel’s books and the books available in the Comixology app.

    Here’s to same day releases!  🙂

     

  9. It looks like it was released to iTunes on June 23, but was available in the app store on iPhones on June 18.

  10. This is cool and there seems to be some new stuff here aswell. Could they actually be thinking of releasing books close to real time ?

  11. this is great. so far i’ve used comixology to catch up/read up on invincible and walking dead on my iphone and jeez, were you guys right about invincible.

    now i can finally tackle rebirth and sinestro corp, been waiting for this for a while.

    but it’s gonna be a real biggie if DC will actually put the most recent issues on their app. awesome. 

  12. However here comes the mandatory whining. I paid the same for vol. 1 of Hellboy in the comics app as DC wants for the latest Generation Lost.

  13. OK now it’s time to buy an iPad.

  14. Awesome they are getting into the digital realm and release an issue day and date. Dissappointed it’s the same price as if you just go to the comic store. But I guess this digital thing will take a while before more comics become cheaper and are available the same day as the print editions.

  15. have grabbed the first 4 issues of generation lost. First 3 issues $2.50 Australian, where latest issue $3.99. Still works out cheaper then buying actual issues over here at about $5-$6 for a $2.99 comic. Hopefully they will continue to release this series like this each fortnight as liked what I’ve read so far.

  16. New issues…. the only thing that would make me a believer

  17. I assume all the posts above are from those with sleeping disorders, procrastanators, manic depression, or those that can’t sleep when too inebriated  (to spell correctly)

  18. OH MI F*CKING GOD! $3.99 australian for a $2.99US comic! This shit is bananas!
    Day of release digital comics!!!

    I think this may be some crazy fever dream!

  19. Unclebob, no I’m just European.

  20. okay now it’s time to go get the iPad.

  21. Wow, nobody wants their digital comics to be cheaper anymore?

    So thats it, digital comics have arrived! Now if it could only arrive on my desktop.

  22. This is kind of embarrassing for DC. I had taken the company’s silence on digital distribution as a sign of them developing something that was going to blow the minds of comic readers. Instead DC basically released out of nowhere the same app Marvel released months ago. Im a little disappointed. Also the decisions made on what to include in the app are questionable at best. There are definitely some  positive aspects. The first is the flexible prices seen in the app. I like the fact that there are books that are free, $.99, $1.99, and $2.99. I also like the fact that DC has already included a same day release in their launch and that it doesn’t cost more than the print version. Although I would prefer it to be a little cheaper, having it the same price makes sense if DC is seeking to reach out only to non-print readers with the digital format. The choice of the issue for this initial push is kind of odd. JL Generation Lost is not a self contained story like Iron Man Annual will be so you need to buy the three previous issues first and it isn’t really that big of a series. im surprised DC didn’t decide to use Brightest day as their first same day release. I also would have liked DC to have taken the big step and released numerous new releases today because that would have been a big step from Marvel has been doing. Overall Im excited but a little underwhelmed about the launch of this app. 

  23. @THX7168~  I believe you are correct in quoting Jim Lee, but my guess is that it’s the future of what DC is going to do.  With the digital market burgeoning, I wouldn’t expect DC to take a completely different route by creating digital exclusive content right off the bat.  Like any business, they are adopting new tech and distribution slowly and will adjust as demand rises.  Also, comic book fans would shit if something amazing was released exclusively, especially with a niche part of the overall market ready for iPad exclusive stuff.

  24. FINALLY!  This is very exciting.  I hope they open this up, so it isn’t iPad/iPhone exclusive.  Put this thing on the PC.

  25. I don’t think this can be decided as DC – 1, Marvel – 0. This is an impressive first push into the digital comics market, but, like @glwarm76, I am underwhelmed. $2.99 for an issue? Yikes!

  26. @conor

    Will you be doing a full review of the app soon? And while you’re at it I’d love to see an episode of video podcast showcasing all of the comic related apps on the market.

     

     

  27. Yes, can’t wait this is so exciting!

  28. I am glad that the day and date release is more expensive/same price, if it wasn’t a lot of people would abandon comic shops, and that’s terrible because people would then be out of a job. Good on DC for this, I’m really happy to see this happen.

  29. The app has already crashed on me 6 or 7 times. Every time I go to download a book it shuts down. Is anyone else having this problem?

  30. Now they are available in the Comics app as well. My local comic book store here in Stockholm is now dead to me.

  31. I think that $2.99 is too much for a digital comic, I think $.99 for back issues and $1.99 for current issues is fair.  I am more then willing to buy all my comics digitally, and actually I am looking forward to it.  I will buy collections and oversized in print.  I am currently spending $200ish a month at the comic book shop, and would like to see that come down, what about all you can eat solutions for these apps.  if DC & Marvel offered a $25 a month all you can eat, and all comics are available day and date of print launch, i think that that would be the best solution.

     

  32. Sorry I’m confused.  Can I use the comixology app on my desktop or not?

    If this were something I could get, I’d actually be fine with 2.99 for day-and-date release.

     

  33. Anyone else having a problem with the app just closing for no reason? Everytime I try to look at this thing for very long, it just shuts down.

     Boo.

  34. @DeadpoolFan1 I keep having the same problem. I’m running iOS3 on my ipod, so I don’t know if that is part of the problem.

  35. Kirkeson, works fine here on a 3GS with ios4. Have you tried using Comics instead? It’s the same but with more publishers and purchases made in the DC app is valid there aswell.

  36. https://comics.comixology.com/#/dc_store    this site can be used to few it on your desktop!

  37. @Joppe that seems to work. I guess I’ll keep using comixology until they fix the glitches.

  38. Ohcaroline, I’m not able to check if they are available on comics. Comixology.com but I guess they would.

  39. Woo!    I was planning to pick it up at the store for $2.99 after work, but now I’ve already got the latest issue of Justice League: Generation Lost on my ipad for the same price.  Exciting!  I’d prefer a slightly lower price, but, well, isn’t that always the case?  Maybe now, to the extent Marvel was considering pricing the digital version of that Iron Man Annual (rumors I saw had that in 3 digital issues at $2 each, but in stores for $5), they will reconsider.

    Another interesting thing I noticed, not only are all the comics from the DC Comics app now in the Comixology app as well, but if you buy them in one app, you can download it again in the other app for no cost.  I was annoyed at the prospect of having to only use the DC app to read DC comics, but then I opened up Comixology and saw that Generation Lost was listed for sale, but available for me to download at no charge.  It’s the logical way to do things, but that doesn’t stop me from being surprised. 

  40. DC books are now available on the PSP as well.

  41. I pray for the day when digital comics are available the same day as their print counterparts all in the same application for the same cost as a music download.

  42. Re: Jim Lee’s comment, I think they’re testing the waters for digitally exclusive content by releasing Zuda content on the app. I’m downloading Bayou right now. Zuda’s web comic format suits an iPhone screen well and once they got that down pat, we’ll see digitally exclusive content from Vertigo, Wildstorm and DC soon.

  43. This is a great step forward. Like others, I would like to see a lower price, however did we ever actually hear that digital comics would be a lower price? Or was that just wishful thinking on our part?

  44. From the Techland article on the deal: "The biggest news, though, is that DC will offer day and date editions of current and ongoing titles across all platforms for $2.99."
     
    The article suggests that Generation Lost is just the first day and date title, and that more series will be added.  I’ll be curious to see which titles and how quickly.  Was Generation Lost the first choice because it needed a sales boost, perhaps?
  45. yup, now I could connect to comics.comixolog.com and they show up there. So buy it once and view it on iPad, iPhone and the web. Sound good to me. The Marvel books i bought seems to be iPhone and iPad only.

  46. i can see generation lost being used first in digital by dc because it is a bi-weekly, hoping that it snags new readers due to the increased frequency might be a play.  allows dc to chart digital sales projections faster than a month title.

  47. Lower price would be great but once the Big Two start really putting out current titles, I’m done with floppies and sticking with iPad. I’ll definitely miss my paper issues, but storing all my comics on 1-2 devices just makes sense to me without tons of long boxes taking up space.

  48. If i had an iphone or ipad i’d be stoked, but as i own neither i will continue to fill boxes.

  49. great news….but price for digital comics should be low. 1.99 for recent ones. Maybe they will soon..

  50. its an impressive debut and another interesting example of how good DC is at keeping big secrets. Sure the price point isn’t ideal, but its still a very good start and much better than Marvel’s "Iron Man–charging you twice for one issue" BS. I’m glad DC stepped into the ring. 

    Like another poster said, comics would be an ideal place to try a monthly fee tied to an "all you can read" kinda thing.  

  51. I’d love to switch over to digital entirely, but won’t be able to do that until they start pricing them lower than cover price.  With discounts available from LCS and DCBS, there’s no way I could justify it (even with the glorious lack of boxes piling up).  There’s no paper/printing overhead with digital comics, so why should we be expected to pay the same price as they charge when factoring in said overhead?

  52. Like others have said, it would be nice if the day-of-release titles were cheaper then the print, but hey, they’re already a step-up from Marvel in that they’re the same price as the print version. 

  53. Very nice news, indeed. This is definitely more aggressive than Marvel (though I suspect you’ll see both companies continue to get more aggressive as they figure out this new market). I like that they seem to have a systematic plan in place to move toward day/date releases.

    Alright, it may be time to buy the iPad. We’re getting close to having all of the elements I was waiting for.

    So, is it correct that both Marvel and DC are using the ComiXology platform? If so, they’re the real winners here.

     

  54. There are some so called "iPad killers" coming out I believe, so if this digital stuff really starts going, people should probably wait and look into those before buying an iPad.

  55. @cromulent–there have been an s-ton iPod and iPhone "killers" that have come out over the years that have faded into obscurity. Its tough to design and market a product that can beat Apple’s "sex appeal" regardless of how good or bad it is. 

    as soon as they come out with the 2nd gen of the iPad i’m on it.  

  56. Seeing as it Sandman is ostensibly going to be their flagship back-issue title for the service:

    Doing the math, at 1.99, the 75 issues of Sandman would run 149.25 before tax, Alternatively on Amazon, the 10 trades add up to 132.50 before tax.

    The investment is only marginally more expesnsive than collecting it in print. Through amazon at least. If one goes to an actually bookstore to collect the trades, you’d have to ad $2 to $3 per volume. Which is about the cost of the digital issues. Kinda in the the ballpark isn’t? It’d be great if Apple allowed 1.75 price, which would be right on the money as far as I’m concerned. But..so far, not to bad.

  57. For those of you who aren’t in the cult of apple this stuff is also on the Playstation store I just read Superman#700 preview on my PSP

  58. Maybe they should just offer everything for cover price, no matter what that price might have been. Download the first 20+ years of Superman or Batman for a dime a piece?

  59. What glorious news to wake up and see!

  60. Yes! Instead of reading on a incredibly cramped low-res touchscreen, you should read it on a less cramped but even more low-res regular screen, with weird interlace lines, depending on your model. 

     

    Seems like fun!

  61. I may consider picking up an iPad now, but first the new iPhone G4. This app has me excited tho.

  62. Non iPad/iPhone/PSP/iPod owners you guys get all this good stuff on the Comixology app.  Well saide from Marvel for some reason.

    http://comics.comixology.com  You can buy and read them all within their web app, and if/when you get a device that can read them you can download the ones you’ve bought onto that device.

    Vice versa too, if you buy it on your iPad you can read in the web app.

  63. I’m assuming the Sandman issues available thru the app will be the ones featuring the new digital coloring available on the Absolute Sandman editions. The Sandman trades currently available feature the old-school coloring.

    I still think these comics are priced for regular comics readers and not priced to attract new readers. It’ll be interesting to see if they ever release sales figures for these digital comics.

  64. Crap, no one hold me to that thing I said a few months ago. I don’t have the money

  65. Got the DC app on my phone, but it just keeps crashing.

    @Gobo – Great point about the desktop app. This is really the closest we’ve come to what I’ve been looking for the past few years. From what I’ve seen on the iPad (don’t have one yet, but have played with ’em), comics are fairly readable. And with this system, I can purchase once and read it on a tablet, a phone, or a computer. And now you throw in day/date releases and what looks to be a planned release schedule from one of the major publishers? Yeah, we’re on our way, folks.  

  66. iPad here I come. This should help me win the epic struggle against loose comics all over my apartment, and clutter.

     The sheer convenience of potentially accessing your entire collection on one device whenever you chose is for me enough of a reason to justify the cost of the ipad, and even the price of the digital comic.

     I’m guaranteed to keep a digital comic because it’s not taking up any tangible space, but with paper comics, I eventually sell or just give them away. It’s a win win for me.

  67. Is anyone else concerned that Comixology is on the path of becoming the Diamond Comics of the digital age. First they published tons of indie books through their app. They power Marvel’s digital comics app. Now they power the DC Comics app. That puts a huge dent in the plans for Longbox and Graphic.ly. You can say the first one to market wins but it makes me a little nervous for the future.

  68. @gobo:

    I thought it was private beta.

    Regardless, I am just went to the second page of my comic 5 minutes ago and its still loading. Its something I supposedly own. Comixology is doing a great job, but this is…not fun.

  69. how much space does a weekly comic take up on an iPad’s hard drive?  I’m just curious…

  70. The real interesting thing to see is what DC does to make this easier on stores.

    Maybe we’ll see collections being released the same day as their digital singles are available online?
    Maybe we’ll see more OGNs like Superman: Earth One?

  71. I have to admit, seeing comics on my buddy’s iPad made me want one. Sure, the other things it can do are nice but not that different than an iPhone or Touch. But reading a comic or book? Totally awesome. Reading things on the iPhone sucks because the screen is too small. I’d like to be able to see all of something at once without zooming in and out, rotating the damn thing, and using a magnifying glass/reading glasses. I think if they do a price drop I might get sucked in, although if I have another device enslaved to iTunes I might kill myself.

  72. Glad DC finally jumped on board

  73. I am all for $2.99 new releases. If that becomes the norm, sorry to say but bye bye LCS.

  74. @bulletproof I’m with you.  This is the main reason I bought an IPad. If they could add a link to DCBS in app for purchasing the books I must physically own, this would be it for me.

  75. Arghh!!!! There is only Batman #404 there. No Batman #405 – 407. Why do they tease me with just the first issue of Batman Year One? Seriously though, seeing this app available first thing this morning almost made me late for work. Lots of coolness to choose from. And I gotta say, no more JL:GL for me from my LCS. I want to read it, but it will be nice not having 26 issues around taking up space.

  76. Can’t wait until this app stays open for longer than 5 seconds without crashing …

  77. @MikefromGotham: I just downloaded The Unwritten #1 (never got around to checking out the series in paper format), and it came to 17 MB for 32 pages.

    Also note that you can delete comics from your device (Settings > Manage Storage on iPad), and they still show up as “purchased” and available for (re-)download.tg Looks like each app’s storage is separate too, so it’d be possible to take up space with duplicates downloaded in ComiXology and the specific publisher’s app. Worth noting!

  78. Love the app

    DC managed to get some money off me that wouldnt have otherwise, gave Planetary and Gen13 a shot and they wernt bad, eager to read more Planetary.

  79. @ Caughey Thanks, I was wondering how much we could fit on an iPad.