Diamond Digital Update: They Built an App

Diamond Digital logo

Diamond Digital, the program to allow comic shops to sell digital comics through Diamond Comic Distribution, was supposed to launch last September. It still hasn’t rolled out. However, ICv2 has a small update from the recent ComicPro retailer meeting. There they announced that iVerse has built a “Digital Comic Reader App”. Comic stores will sell digital comics either in-store or online using the app, which does not connect to iVerse’s existing store. The quote from iVerse CEO Michael Murphey indicates that someone apparently had some concerns:

Diamond Digital logo

“This is a much cleaner solution for retailers and will give them the same kind of tools companies like Amazon and Barnes & Noble are using to sell digital on these devices.”

However, this is yet another example of building something readers and customers don’t care about. Is anyone looking for yet another app to read and buy comics through? With comiXology and various publisher-specific apps, most readers have too many online comic access points as it is.

Update: Todd Allen has a lot more details on how all this will work. The high points are that purchases have to be made through an individual retailer’s website, and the app is for reading only. Purchases can also be read through a web browser. The program does not include DC, Marvel, or Dark Horse, but Archie, IDW, and Image will participate.



5 comments

  • To the extent that there might be a segment of readership that wants digital, but also has loyalty to a particular retailer, and said retailer would prefer not to just give their customer’s data and buying habits over to a company which is actually *competing* directly with retailers, then I’d say “yes”

    There are scores of apps that allow you to play chess… there’s not room for multiple comics apps?

    What’s interesting is that the Diamond app is branded as the store itself — the name of the app is NOT “Diamond Digital” or “iVerse” or whatever — it would be (if I were to use it) “Comix Experience”

    Diamond appears to have addressed several of my largest concerns, and I’m now at least somewhat considering offering a digital store.

    (mostly for Savage Critic, actually – but if that works out OK, wouldn’t that also be useful for CWR?)

    -B

  • I wanted to offer a digital comic store, but no one will let me set one up without a Diamond account, so I sell through Amazon. I don’t believe this one will be accessible outside Diamond, either.

    You’re right, this makes lots of sense for the retailer, but I’m already hearing complaints from readers that they don’t like the fragmentation of having to remember where various online comics are stored in order to read their digital books. When Warner created another place to store digital movies that wasn’t iTunes, people complained about that, too. Many customers want one access point, not multiple.

    (The chess example… that would only be comparable if I had to play different games through different apps and remember which time zone my competition was in to play them. Too complicated.)

    Interesting that the name will be the store’s. I wasn’t aware of that, thanks for sharing it.

  • Ralf Haring

    What will the store’s app through Diamond be offering to win my business? What sets them apart and makes them more attractive to than the other digital purchasing options?

  • Apparently, it will play on your sense of loyalty to your local store. I’m not sure that’s a strong enough motivation for the price-sensitive or feature-seeking shopper.

  • Michael

    @Ralf – discounts on some titles for buying print + digital is one thing, video “DVD-like” extra features in the back of some titles is another. Tarot #72 with a video interview with Jim Balent in the back was used as an example at ComicsPro.

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