Press Release
Today during Festival de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême, comiXology solidified their place in the Franco-Belgian digital market with the release of the fully internationalized iOS, Android and Kindle Fire comiXology app 3.5 update and the new comixology.fr website – all offering a fully French language localized comiXology experience whether on Android/Kindle Fire, iOS or the web at comixology.fr.
In addition to these French language additions, fans of comiXology around the globe can now create Wish Lists in app, a much requested feature that was previously only available on the comixology.com. The 3.5 upgrade also see the debut of Manga Fixed Format – comiXology’s dedicated right-to-left full-page manga reading experience available on certain titles.
“We’re excited to have a complete French comiXology experience – from translated user experience to full BD merchandising – for comics and BD fans in Franco-Belgian countries,” said comiXology co-founder & CEO David Steinberger. “It’s a testament to the teams in Paris and New York that we’ve become the best Bande Dessinée and comics shopping and reading experience just one year after our initial announcement.”
The full feature list for the 3.5 upgrade for Android/Kindle Fire and iOS are:
- Complete French Localization – French language UX throughout all platforms and comixology.fr
- Complete French merchandising – featured Franco-Belgian content is now much easier to discover for French language consumers
- Wish Lists – consumers can now tap on the Wish List button to save a book for purchasing later.
- Manga Fixed Format – a dedicated right-to-left full-page manga reading experience, building upon comiXology’s existing right-to-left capabilities. Note: only available for certain books.
Android/Kindle 3.5 specific feature update also includes:
- Download Notifications – consumers will be able to keep an eye on downloading books while outside the app.
ComiXology’s capped off 2013 by charting as iTunes’ #1 Top Grossing non-game iPad App for 2013 in the U.S., and the Top-Grossing iPad Book App for 2013 in France, Belgium, Germany, Spain and the UK!
At last year’s Festival de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême, comiXology first announced it’s intention to enter the French market by announcing the opening of Paris-based comiXology Europe, the company’s first overseas subsidiary, which is spearheading international language content acquisition across Europe. French language navigation, a precursor to full French localization, was added to comiXology’s iOS and Android apps in 2013. The Franco-Belgian market is home to a ravenous base of comic book fans, which account for a $700 million annual market – roughly on par with the U.S. market.
This is comiXology’s second appearance at the Festival de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême. Now in its 41st year, the festival is considered the premier comics show in Europe with over 200,000 attendees every year and playing host to creators, cartoonists, publishers, and fans from around the world.
