And in a way that’s kind of alarming and very much at odds with whatever cool stuff comiXology is doing. But, you know, we’re talking about employing a few people, and at the same time Amazon’s entire business strategy, as I see it in Seattle, is to basically displace populations of artists, populations of people of color. And that’s awesome! That’s totally awesome in and of itself, and exactly the kind of thing that comics needs more of. I saw a lot of talk about the comiXology announcement positioning it as a positive thing because the lineup of creators and the content has some diversity to it. So I saw the comiXology announcement in a very specific way that underscored the way things are going.
But I do think that that initiative is part of a broader plan on Amazon’s part to consolidate their, whether you want to call it their market share or their stranglehold, over not only publishing but the entire retail environment. I don’t think comiXology as a company or the people at comiXology are trying to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes with what they’re doing. The comiXology Originals business is really nothing terribly nefarious in of itself. What it means is just a further consolidation of Amazon’s grasp over our entire culture and economy. In your understanding, what is this deal about? And what does it mean? So, I’ve read the Forbes article about it, which seems fairly thorough, but maybe early. Well, I don’t know! I mean, I’m kind of just putting some pieces together myself, you know? Connecting a lot of dots and a lot of random, unformed opinions that are bouncing around in my head as I navigate the city of Seattle and publishing via Fantagraphics. Well, let’s start with the basics and then get into specifics, because you obviously know a lot more about this than I do. TIMOTHY HODLER: Let’s talk about comiXology Originals.ĮRIC REYNOLDS: I sort of feel like it’s really more about Amazon, but fair enough. The following interview was conducted via telephone last month. It seemed as if there was more to the story than Eric was able to convey via social media, so I asked him if he would be willing to discuss the issues, and he agreed. On the same day, Fantagraphics associate publisher Eric Reynolds wrote a series of tweets expressing the disquiet he felt on seeing the announcement. This June, the digital comics distributor comiXology announced a new initiative, comiXology Originals, which would launch a new slate of original comics series available both digitally and via print-on-demand.
Features “Amazon Is the Global Warming of the American Economy”: A Conversation with Eric Reynolds on the ComiXology Originals Announcement
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