Starz Invests in Digital Comic Platform

BOULDER: Starz Media is among the contributors to the more than $1 million in funding secured by Graphic.ly, a digital comic book publisher and community platform.

Further investors for this round of funding, which was lead by DFJ Mercury, included Northstar Equity Investors and GC&H Investments. Individual investment contributions were received from David Cohen, Chris Sacca, Jake Nickell, Paige Craig and Dave McClure. The funds will be used by Graphic.ly to expand development and marketing efforts and begin work on content partnerships. 

“Graphic.ly is changing the ways that people read and engage with content,” said Blair Garrou, Managing Director, DFJ Mercury. “Comic publishers and creators are looking for new ways to deliver content to their fan base and readership, as well as a way for those readers to engage and form a community. Graphic.ly provides this easy-to-use solution for publishers and readers.”

Micah Baldwin, the CEO and co-founder of Graphic.ly, noted: “We have begun work with the comic book industry to bring them to the Graphic.ly platform in a new and interesting way that extends beyond just simply providing digital comics.”

Kevin Mann, chief scientist and co-founder of Graphic.ly, added: "While we are excited to bring publishers such as Marvel to the iPhone, we are more excited about allowing readers to engage and access their libraries and exclusive content wherever and whenever they desire.”

Marc DeBevoise, the senior VP of digital media business development and strategy for Starz Media, said of the investment, ”In our business, we have seen digital media transform the way consumers learn about, interact with and ultimately view television and movie content.  We see this transformation as a key opportunity in various forms of content. We are excited about the investment in Graphic.ly and its approach to bringing this kind of change to the comics and publishing world. Micah and his team recognize that the opportunity at-hand is not just about making content available, but making it available in the right context and with the expanded features that allow users to interact with the content and each other.”