Pop culture staple Archie Comics has announced that starting immediately it will release all the publisher's titles on comiXology Unlimited digital service "day-and-date" with their print releases, meaning the day they're released in comic book shops they'll also be available on comiXology Unlimited.
According to the publisher, "the new initiative marks the first time a major U.S. publisher has made content available day-and-date with the subscription-based streaming service".
The new level of service begins with this week's release of Sabrina: Something Wicked #3. But, along with the latest release, comiXology Unlimited users can now read the full Archie library on the service.
ComiXology Unlimited is a subscription-based service that offers access to 25,000 comic books, graphic novels, and manga for a flat fee of $5.99 a month.
Individual Archie Comics are also available by a la carte purchase via comiXology's standard service.
Archie - celebrating its 80th anniversary this year - says this new service is the latest "in a series of moves making Archie a trendsetter in the digital comics space".
Archie claims it was the first publisher to go day-and-date with digital releases in 2010 and the first to publish animated comics with Spotify, the streaming music service.
While the Sabrina: Something Wicked five-issue limited series continues through December, the publisher has only a Madam Satan Chilling Sabrina #1 one-shot in October and digest and holiday-themed specials scheduled through the remainder of 2020, as it appears to be still adjusting to the aftermath of the COVID-19-induced comic book distribution shutdown this spring.
Still missing-in-action through December is the main Archie series. Archie #713 went on sale in July, but a new issue has not been solicited since.
This new relationship with comiXology Unlimited also puts into question the future of Archie's own monthly digital subscription service, Archie Unlimited, which offers access to the same titles for $7.99 a month.
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