Digital comic books and Kindle are Amazon's newest dynamic duo

Comixology and Kindle are Amazon's newest dynamic duo, but what does it mean for comic fans?
What will Amazon's Comixology purchase mean for graphic novel fans?

The graphic novel reading experience on Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets could be in line for a superhero-sized upgrade after the company announced the purchase of digital comics platform Comixology.

Amazon has shelled out an undisclosed fee for the popular Comics by Comixology mobile apps, with a Comixology rep hinting one goal would be improve how the service and Kindle devices work together.

Amazon has not discussed its plans for Comixology, which is already the equivalent of a Kindle Store for comic books. However, it certainly adds another string to Amazon's ever-growing digital content bow.

Whether Amazon will fold Comixology titles into the Kindle Store and perhaps even the Kindle Lending Library initiative remains to be seen.

Amazon could also look to expand on Comixology's recently launched self-publishing platform, a medium budding authors have come to rely on with the Kindle Store

Guided View

Comixology has been credited with reinventing comic books thanks largely to its Guided View reading mechanism that offers dynamic shifts between panes.

The Comics app sells titles from Marvel, DC and over 75 smaller publishing houses will remain in service in its current form, with Amazon planning to chuck in cash to help the company grow further.

While all Comixology readers with Kindles will probably benefit the most from this acquisition, it'll be interesting to see how much work goes into improving the Amazon and iOS apps from here on in.

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Chris Smith

A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.

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