Archie Comics to offer comic books ‘day-and-date’ on Comixology Unlimited

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The first comic book publisher to offer its comics on the service the same day they're in comic shops

(Image credit: Archie Comics)

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.

(Image credit: Archie Comics)

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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Michael Doran

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.