I get an assortment of press releases in my email off-and-on. One caught my eye today, however. It seems Archie comics, the publisher of such comics as, "Sabrina," and, "Archie," are going to be going day-and-date with digital streaming. This means when an Archie comic is released to comic stores (be it the all-ages ones or the more direct market focused titles for older readers like the horror ones) it'll be available digitally on ComiXology Unlimited the exact same day to read with a monthly fee. This is notable as while Marvel, DC, and many other publishers are day-and-date where you can buy a diigtal copy of a new comic, they don't put their latest releases on ComiXology Unlimited. Marvel's digital offerings you can subscribe to are generally on a six-month delay and DC's subscription service (which is currently dropping shows for just being comics) is similar, digital-first comics aside.
Why does this get my attention so much? Well, there are more and more rumblings from some readers of comics they would like an option where they pay a flat fee and a variety of publishers make their books available digitally as soon as they are physically released too. It is like music streaming services (think of Spotify). You pay the monthly fee and get the latest jams online, but you could always go to the store and buy a physical copy of your favorite new LP. Now, such a market where everything a big publisher puts out is available digitally for a flat fee or can be bought at a store with zero delays to digital would probably decimate the comic market if someone such as Marvel, DC, or Image did it. Making all your comics day-and-date streaming sounds kinda crazy if you're them. For Archie comics, though, it may just work out well.
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