Comixology Fail #3: Organization

Disclaimer the first: I have never used any of Comixology's mobile applications, only their web application. So my complaints are purely based on that limited experience. If their mobile applications are far superior to the web application, though, then consider that another fail. I'm sure I'm not their only customer who reads primarily on my laptop, so they need to put as much energy into making the PC customer's experience great as they presumably do the iPad customer's.

Disclaimer the second: I am about to talk about what I don't like about the organization options (hint: there aren't any) in the My Comics section of Comixology's web application, but there are in fact many things I do like. I like the visual display, for example, with a cover and logo for each series. I like that a little icon tells me how many issues in each series I own. I like that they recently stopped (for the most part) referring to series by volume number (e.g. Aquaman, Volume 13) and started referring to them by date range (e.g. Aquaman (2008-2009)). The date range is more meaningful than a volume number, especially now that DC has started all their series over with a new volume (I imagine this was the impetus for the change--Aquaman, Volume 14, is much less appealing to new readers than Aquaman (2011- )).

Now that we got all that positive crap out of the way, let's get to the purpose of all blogging, the rant: I hate hate hate that I have no control over how my comics are organized in my digital comics library. It's nice that the series are sorted by title, but what if I want to sort by date? By writer or artist? By character? By publisher, at the very least? I can't do any of this. I'd also like a way to link storylines that cross over from one series to another--the crossover is, after all, a staple of comics.

And why not playlists? I want to be able to group together pre-Flashpoint comics and post-Flashpoint comics. I want to be able to make a list of my favorites. I want to be able to group comics I'm reading just for fun and others I'm reading to review later and others I'm reading to expand my horizons. In short, I want to choose how my comics are organized, and Comixology doesn't let me do that.

But really what I want is to figure out why on earth Green Lantern: Mosaic #1, the first issue in a 1992 series featuring John Stewart, is listed as part of the "series" Parallax: Emerald Night, which is in reality a one-shot from 1996 featuring the death of Hal Jordan. Really?

Comixology Fail #2: Unpredictability

Disclaimer: I don't know whether this is a Comixology fail or a DC Comics fail, but either way the end result is the same for me, the average consumer. So I'm counting it as a Comixology fail.

On June 8th of this year, Superman 701-710, the first ten parts of "Grounded," were released on Comixology. I had been curious about the "Grounded" storyline, but not enough to buy the issues when they were first published (July 2010-April 2011). I had been planning to buy the trade, but it worked out to be cheaper to buy the issues digitally so that's what I decided to do. These weren't great comics, but I was interested in the story, especially once Chris Roberson took over, and I planned to buy the remaining chapters as they were released on Comixology. Except now it's September and Superman 711 has still not seen digital publication. Will it ever? I don't know.

A few other examples:

• Every issue of Detective Comics from 838 to 870 is on Comixology, with 870 being released on June 22nd. I was really looking forward to the beginning of Scott Snyder's run with issue 871. I'm still looking forward to it.
• The first two parts of J. Michael Straczynski's other aborted storyline, "The Odyssey," have been on Comixology since June 25th, but there's no sign of the rest of the story. 
• All three Green Lantern titles seemed to be on a steady release schedule this spring, with the most recent issues consistently released digitally one month after publication--until Green Lantern 67, which happens to be the final chapter of the big summer event "War of the Green Lanterns." The issue was already delayed several weeks before print publication, and digital readers had to wait another month and a half after that. 
• DC actually announced ahead of time that all Flashpoint tie-ins would be released digitally one month after publication. This has mostly been the case, but Flashpoint: Abin Sur 2 was released a month and a half after publication for no apparent reason, and the Booster Gold tie-ins simply haven't shown up after the first one. 

I'm not saying that Comixology needs to publish a schedule of their back issue releases two months in advance. It's actually kind of fun to check on Wednesday and see what new series are being added to the digital vault. But once they start digitizing a series, I'd like to see them continue, at least until they get to a logical stopping point. I'd like to see it work like it has for Gotham City Sirens: The first issue was released on March 30th, and a new issue has been released every week since then. It's fun to read the series this way, to experience an accelerated version of the original serial release. I look forward to a new issue of Gotham City Sirens every Wednesday, and I haven't been disappointed yet. 

So whoever it is at Comixology or DC who decides when and how back issues are released digitally, can you please get your act together? Variety is the spice of life, but predictability is the meat and potatoes.

Comixology Fail #1: "Ownership"

Don't get me wrong, I think Comixology is doing a lot of things right. But they're also doing a lot of things wrong. How do they fail? Let me count the ways:

1. You don't really own anything you buy on Comixology. Every comic you buy lives on their server and only on their server. You can't download it and transfer it to your non-wifi-enabled iPod. You can't read it when your device is not connected to the internet. And worst of all--because this is something entirely outside the customer's control--you can't read your comics when Comixology's server is down. This afternoon I paid for six comics but I didn't have time to read them until tonight. And now I cannot get onto Comixology's web app--not via the link on their homepage, not via DCComics.com, not via Comics Dungeon, where I bought the comics this afternoon. When customers cannot access the content they paid money for, that is a major business fail. This needs to be fixed. I get that they're worried about piracy, but (a) they could still discourage piracy by using some kind of DRM-protected (but downloadable) file that only works in a Comixology desktop app, and (b) piracy happens anyway. The pretty pictures I post on this blog? They're all taken from screenshots from Comixology's web app. If I were so inclined, I could screenshot an entire comic and save it as a jpeg or pdf. I'm not so inclined--I stick to fair use when taking screenshots for the purpose of reviews--but the point is that not allowing customers to download the comics they buy serves no purpose.

So stop it, Comixology. NOW.

(Enumerated list of Comixology Fails to be continued in future posts...)

EDIT: So I guess you actually do download your comics on the iPod/iPad app, but there isn't any kind of PC desktop app, so everything I say above applies only to people like me who read their comics on a PC. I'm still annoyed. Why don't you have a PC desktop app where I can download and keep my comics, Comixology?