Comic Blitz Review! Digital Comics Subscription Service Provides Necessary Competition

If I’m pro-anything it’s 1) Pro bacon 2) Pro Double Shot Arcade (legit unbeatable 4 foot game) 3) Pro competition in digital comic book libraries.

I’ve written for years now that the best thing that could ever happen to Marvel Unlimited is some comparable digital comics library service (*cough*DCUnlimited*cough*). It’s easy to exist with flaws in a vacuum, but some healthy competition can push you to improve the product in a way that benefits all comic book readers.

We’ve seen some strong steps in this direction in 2016 with Comixology Unlimited, and now for the first time I’ve started exploring Comic Blitz.

Comic Blitz brings some unique features to the table as well as that much needed competition. There are pros and cons to the service that keep it from the top of any “All You Can Eat” comics list, but with a 1 month free subscription option, this is another service I’d recommend to many comic book fans.

Let’s take a look:

The Pros of Comic Blitz

The Comic Book Library Features Full Series Runs –

The first thing I’m looking at in any “Netflix” of comics is what kind of comics are available, and how many of them are available.

We see different approaches across publishers, with Marvel Unlimited dumping EVERYTHING into your lap, and Comixology Unlimited offering first volumes of trades in the hopes that your addiction will result in a frenzied spending spree.

Comic Blitz takes a hybrid approach, with trade collections from Dynamite Comics including the following recommended reads:

Django v Zorro, Kirby Genesis, Flash Gordon, and Red Sonja

The best deal here is the Valiant Comics selection which offers extended runs of series like Archer and Armstrong and Harbinger. Up through Book of Death and The Valiant.

The single greatest part of Comic Blitz is the Valiant Classics library. Coming from someone who bought every single old Valiant issue during a $0.99 Comixology sale, I sure wish I had known Comic Blitz was going to offer up near 50 issues of classic Bloodshot on their library.

For those looking to explore, I recommend sorting the library by publisher, as I was able to get a better sense of the available comics this way.

Clean In-App Reading Experience

Comic Blitz looks great on a full-size iOS tablet, filling the screen appropriately without any distracting frills or nuisances.

It’s also very easy to rate books for other Comic Blitz readers, and to jump to the next issue in a run, which may seem egregiously simple but is no guarantee. Comic Blitz has also recently developed a web reader for non iOS devices and desktop, and although it’s not as smooth as the app, it’ll get you your comics.

Offline Reading and Custom Shelfs

Comic Blitz also makes it very easy to build custom lists of comics you want to read (particularly useful if you’re diving into the Valiant Universe and need to mix an event). Offline reading is only limited to your device memory, which is excellent for long trips dedicated to Valiant U binge sessions.

The Cons of Comic Blitz

Price!

A $9.99 per month price point is pretty standard for these types of subscription models, but given the competition it feels unfortunately high. Marvel Unlmited has only recently hit that price, and it offers thousands more books with higher demand. Meanwhile, Comixology Unlimited comes in low at $5.99 per month, with a more substantial variety of comic book publishers.

My recommendation is to make use of the free first month and see how much you’re enjoying Comic Blitz before you commit to that $10 a month.

No Android!

Pretty self explanatory, but as an Android user, this one hurts. I had to borrow my wife’s iPad like a common ruffian!

Growth Potential

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, it’s going to be crucial for Comic Blitz to carve out a library niche. Do they want to compete with the big boys and land the Image Comic library, or is their best play to highlight indie and lesser known works that speak to more of a fridge audience?

These are challenging questions, but as it stands, Comic Blitz is comparatively limited to Dynamite and Valiant in terms of publishers inside the comic book top 10. This doesn’t mean the other publishers don’t have any worthwhile reads (Action Labs can be some nutty fun), but they require far more curation for the casual fan.

Comic Blitz In Review

At the end of the day, if you enjoy exploring your digital comic book reading options, I highly recommend the free month of Comic Blitz. Worst case, you finally dive into the Valiant Universe, and best case, you find an under the radar comic book library that fits your needs.