Archie Comics announced today that it has partnered with Madefire to relaunch its digital comics app.
The overhaul is extremely attractive, and while the top billing goes to its rebranded Riverdale gang, Archie Comics has stacked the front page with options for every single Archie fan.
Just as in its previous Archie app, customers can choose to pay as they go for the titles they want, or buy the Archie Unlimited subscription a month at a time for access to a library of vintage titles. The popular Archie Digital Exclusive anthologies are being rebranded as Pep Digital, and for the economy minded comic book aficionado, Archie has dollar-priced digests—-dubbed “Dollar Digests”—again for the first time in 31 years. The last issue of Archie Comics Digest to be priced at one dollar was #68 (October, 1984), and that one also had a $1.25 variant. While these new dollar digests will be digital only, the small price point will no doubt please parents of young Archie readers with access to an IPad or Kindle.
One essential change for iOS device users is that you can no longer, at this stage, subscribe to Archie Unlimited through the Apple App Store. If you formerly subscribed through the App Store to Archie Unlimited, you will notice that books will be marked as Unlimited products, but you will not be able to access them without paying for the single issue. To fix this, you need to go to the following page and subscribe directly to Archie Unlimited, bypassing the App Store. At this point, you will be able to utilize your Unlimited subscription. My household has three longtime fans of the Archie Unlimited service, and we learned this for ourselves today.
As longtime users of the product, I like the enhancements to the digital reading library. I appreciate the addition of multiple shelves, so that the Archie title is broken down on shelves labeled 1-100, 101-200, 201-300, etc., and I especially like that back issues that are being prepared for the app appear in the listing with the future date of their digital publication listed. There were some seventies Harry Lucey issues of Archie, for instance, that were missing in the previous Archie App, and now you can see that some are being added on November 18th, and others on November 25th. Archie was the only title I checked for this new feature, but if this is the new model for the entire application, that is a major improvement.
Archie Unlimited through the Archie App has already had one of the best digital reading libraries, and with the new enhancements (and 30 free digital digests for new account holders), it remains a great service. Whether you’re an Archie fanatic, a diehard Marvel and DC reader that is getting disillusioned with the repetitiveness of the superhero genre, an eclectic comic book reader looking for the best comic book experiences you can find, or a casual general reader looking for some humor here and there, the new Archie App has something for you.
Official press release:
Archie Comics partners with Madefire to launch new, groundbreaking digital comics app
iOS app combines a la carte and unlimited models with Android version to follow
New York, NY (November 12) – Archie Comics, the acclaimed and bestselling comic book publisher that is home to some of the most well-known pop culture creations in the world, including Archie, Jughead, Betty & Veronica, Josie & The Pussycats, the Dark Circle heroes, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the hit AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE and CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA horror series, announced today that it will relaunch its digital comics app in partnership with innovative technology company Madefire.
The new app, which goes live on iOS devices today, will feature a bold, streamlined storefront showcasing all of Archie’s diverse and top-selling titles, graphic novels and exclusive digital content, including the year’s biggest new comic books, ARCHIE by writer Mark Waid and artist Fiona Staples and JUGHEAD by writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Erica Henderson.
While many comic publishers have chosen to keep their buy-as-you-go and “unlimited” digital comics apps separate, the new Archie Comics app forges new ground by merging both—allowing fans to experience the many worlds and adventures of their favorite Archie titles under the convenient roof of one aesthetically pleasing and groundbreaking app. App users will be given the option to utilize the “Archie Unlimited” service, an “all you can read” option available exclusively through the new Archie Comics app.
“Archie has always been a leader—across the board, from the stories we publish to how we get the great content to our fans. Digital is a big part of this,” said Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics Publisher/CEO. “I’m immensely proud of the new Archie app—it brings us to the forefront of the medium again, thanks to the sterling work of our partners at Madefire. This is a forward-looking, engaging and sleek app that will serve Archie and entertainment fans well, and is a perfect way to ring in Archie’s 75th anniversary.”
“Jon and the team are re-inventing Archie and we’re very proud to be a part of that,” said Ben Wolstenholme, Madefire’s CEO & Co-founder. “Having a direct distribution to their fans is vital for Archie to build on their loyal community. Using our Motion Book Publisher platform, Archie has control of their apps, storefront, and digital comic formats from PDF to fully immersive Motion Books, as well as a flexible model for pricing. It’s a new era for Archie.”
The app, which boasts an all-new comics reader showcasing an improved and fluid reading experience, will also give readers new navigation options—allowing fans to browse by imprint, series, best-sellers and most popular, in addition to the ability to search directly for comics of their choice.In terms of content, the app will include comics and graphic novels from every Archie imprint, including the New Riverdale titles, traditional Archie stories, Archie Action’s Sonic and Mega Man series, Archie Horror and the company’s Dark Circle super hero books, eliminating the need for fans to switch between apps to fully enjoy the diverse and beloved Archie Comics experience. Additionally, the Archie Comics app will also feature a number of must-have exclusives for Archie fans, including the all-new PEP DIGITAL ongoing series of collections and a new line of DOLLAR DIGESTS.
