Most digital comics are contained within a specific ecosystem, much like ebooks. Users generally aren't able to read their comics outside of the app they were purchased through, and in some cases only after a basic online authentication. Image's store will change that for its own books. Though the DRM-free downloads are only available through its web store — and not from third-party services like iBooks and Comixology — those files can be transferred into any comic reader of the user's choosing, so long as it accepts external content. Image's comics can be downloaded in several different formats, including PDF, ePub, and comic book standards CBR and CBZ, though its entire catalog isn't ready for purchase just yet.

While that means Image fans will need to manually manage their own content to get DRM-free comics, the move should help to mitigate the continued struggles that readers have gone through. Image's store is also the latest sign that small segments of both the comic and book publishing industries are willing to open up on DRM. Sci-fi and fantasy publisher Tor dropped DRM a year back, and Humble Bundle managed to pull together several titles willing to sell without any copy protection as well.