Interface for the new version of the Neon Ichiban digital comics app, May, 2026.

Courtesy of Neon Ichbian/DSTLRY

Neon Ichiban, the digital comics platform launched last June by Amazon/comiXology executives David Steinberger and Chip Mosher, is taking another step forward in the increasingly competitive comics and manga space with the launch of new native iOS and Android apps and a host of new features for readers, collectors and creators.

“We have rebuilt the fan experience from the ground up,” said Steinberger in an exclusive interview by phone last week. “We want to have the best reading, collecting and community experience anywhere.”

Steinberger points to critical improvements in speed and performance in both the iOS and Android app, along with nearly seamless integration of the storefront, which now lists more than 30,000 titles in inventory from most of the biggest comics and manga publishers.

“David and I both come out of the comics community,” said Mosher, who is also publisher at DSTLRY, the publishing arm of Neon Ichiban. “We understand things from the fan, publisher, creators and retailer perspectives and we’ve built our platform to support every aspect of the ecosystem.”

One of Neon Ichiban’s unique features is the ability to buy and sell limited edition digital collectibles through the site (not using blockchain), including variant editions and comics that have been signed or remarqued by creators. This caters to the collector aspect of the comics hobby, a big driver of sales for physical products, while offering creators the opportunity to generate revenue from the sale and resale of these signed or remarqued editions.

“It lets the creators build equity,” said Mosher, noting the expanded Creator Hub that connects creators and fans, brings the in-person convention signing experience to digital, and will soon expand to custom commissions. “A lot of these guys see their signed books or artwork going for 10 or 20 times what they sold them for, and this lets them participate in those revenues.”

Steinberger emphasized that the collectability aspect is only one mode of engaging with the platform. “We want to meet fans where they are,” he said. “If you want to download a PDF, depending on the publisher terms, you can do that. If you want to resell on our marketplace, you can do that. The important thing is that you’re not just buying the license to read the comic the way you do on other platforms. You’re actually buying the comic. It’s yours to do what you want with.”

Having features not available on other apps is important as the digital comics market becomes increasingly crowded with both new and established companies, including some well-capitalized startups and platforms spun off from existing providers. Japan, the world’s biggest comics market, saw a dramatic shift from print to digital in the past 6-8 years and investors are waiting for North America, where digital sales have been stuck at about 15% of print since the early 2010s, to follow suit.

Competitors are positioning themselves to capitalize on that market growth through a range of approaches, including subscription and hybrid subscription/download models, open creator platforms, in-app purchases, AI-driven localization features, and integration between manga and anime. At stake is the opportunity to shape the habits of the next generation of comics fans.

One important difference in Neon Ichiban’s approach is that it does not see digital and print as part of a zero-sum game. When Steinberger and Mosher were at ComiXology, they observed and promoted the growth of the direct market (comic book shops) alongside digital. They are bringing elements of that approach into Neon Ichiban, including several new programs part of today’s announcement meant to tie digital and print more closely together.

The company’s new Print Pre-Order Rewards gives customers app credits with the verified purchase of comics at retail. Customers have to pre-order books before final order cutoff, the date when retailers need to finalize their orders of non-returnable inventory from the distributor, then upload proof that they purchased the book at retail. Completing that transaction earns customers $2.50 toward anything on the Neon Ichiban site.

“David and I have been looking for ways to incentivize pre-orders, since that’s really important for the retail segment,” Mosher explained. “We’re just doing baby steps right now, with only a couple of publisher partners including DSTLRY and Oni Press.”

The 2.0 launch also includes features to promote community, including incentives for reading and reviewing comics on the site, a watchlist for fans to stay up to date on upcoming titles, and fan-curated lists to bring a personal touch to discovering new reading material. Neon Ichiban even includes a mode meant to work with the Apple Vision heads-up display, with features to view comics on a wall or marquee floating in space.

“Obviously the customer base for Apple Vision is pretty small right now, but their buying power is mighty,” said Mosher.

Despite the barrage of new bells and whistles, both Mosher and Steinberger emphasize that the core of Neon Ichiban is the superior reading experience: smooth panel navigation, super crisp high resolution scans, optimized performance on both Android and iOS devices and simple ways to find, buy and collect digital comics.

“The global potential, as we know, is enormous,” said Steinberger, who previously served as Global Director for Comics at Amazon. By bringing together fans, publishers, retailers, creators, collectors and every corner of the comics ecosystem, he and Mosher hope that Neon Ichiban can realize the promise they initially intended for ComiXology, before the brand and technology vanished inside of Amazon.