AWS hosts about a third of the web, including everything from Slack to Netflix.

I’m not going to disrespect people who want to take an ethical stand, but bouncing Comixology buying food and drinks for SPXers because Amazon Web Services hosts a (admittedly alarming) facial recognition technology is a pretty far reach for offense. (Submit was launched and run by co-founder John Roberts, I’m told.) And Comixology Originals, although also controversial, really was a creator owned platform that paid good page rates – something virtually unheard of.Ĭomixology’s sponsorship of indie comics festivals, including SPX and Thought Bubble, eventually rubbed some people the wrong way. Comixology offered a lot of services that benefitted the most indie of creators, including Comixology Submit, a long running program that allowed creators to get their comics on the platform. It was sadness not just for the end of a dedicated sales platform, but for the many people who worked at Comixology who were seen as valued colleagues.Ĭontroversies aside, (we’ll get to that), Comixology added a lot to the comics community – co-founder David Steinberger and head of content Chip Mosher, who became for many the public face of the company, weren’t just techheads. So it is that last week’s near total layoffs of employees and seeming sinking of the brand as an independent entity within Amazon was met with sadness by the online comics community.

It turned out that digital was additive and people liked paper – and though Comixology was viewed with suspicion for years, quietly and patiently, they became a respected member of the comics community, and a solid sales platform.

Comixology membership