Digital comics (also known as electronic comics, eComics, e-comics, or ecomics ) are comics released digitally, as opposed to in print. Digital comics commonly take the form of mobile comics. Webcomics may also fall under the "digital comics" umbrella. Background With the growing use of smartphones, tablets, and desktop screen reading, major publishers began releasing comics, graphic novels and manga in digital formats. Declining sales and copyright violation have led some publishers to find new ways to publish their comics, while others are just adapting to the digital age while still having great success with the printed comic format. American publishers' attempts at creating digital publishing platforms for local comics and Manga have thus far been more successful than attempts with digital Manga publishing in Japan, which have lacked a coherent strategy to create successful digital platforms in which to publish, and had revenue considerations from the impact of illegal scanlation. Some attempts in Japan have been made, but failed, such as JManga; while others merged with larger worldwide distributors as in the case of Square Enix digital publishing joining the Hachette Book Group for distribution in over 200 countries. Some western notable platforms such as Graphicly have closed down due to the creators getting hired by the self-publishing platform Blurb. Some comics are initially available as "Digital First" or "digital first" publications. These offerings usually contain only about half or a third of the content of a printed magazine issue, though these "chapters" have correspondingly lower price points than full magazine issues. Many "digital first" comics are presented horizontally, with half of a traditional portrait page layout, for ease of viewing on computer monitors (which are typically longer length-wise than height-wise). Notable digital distributors comiXology is a cloud-based digital comics platform that offers material from over 75 publishers and independent creators, which can be bought or downloaded for free. Its publishers catalog includes both big western publishers such as Marvel Comics and DC; and translations of Manga through publishers such as Tokyopop. As of 2014 the platform is owned by Amazon.com. Marvel Comics launched Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, a subscription service allowing readers to read online many comics from Marvel's history, on November 13, 2007. The service also includes periodic releases of new comics not available elsewhere. With the release of Avenging Spider-Man, Marvel also became the first publisher to provide free digital copies as part of the print