

Although this isn’t a new complaint, I was hoping that Amazon would invest in disabled fans: when I use the Mac or iPhone’s built-in screenreader, this is still what I am told it says: “Image” or “Image, Part 1” or “Image, ,” or some other variation of that. However, I did research it and a different accessibility device probably wouldn’t have changed my experience anyway-at least not yet (there is an app in development at Wichita State, Vizling). I couldn’t afford to update to a different screen reader to test the Kindle/ComiXology merger. However, the comic book industry has been slow to make the medium accessible, and the updates to the Kindle/ComiXology show how slow that change is (efforts are being made that should be acknowledged elsewhere). Digital accessibility isn’t something people often think about when they think of chronic pain and adaptive devices, but it can make a big difference in pain patients’ lives (chronic pain can make it difficult to hold a book or clearly see a page). I regularly read digital comics on my iPhone 12 Pro (with the out-of-date iOS 15.5), and I also sometimes read them on my 13-inch MacBook Pro. Instead, I was hopeful the company would finally create an accessible app-of course, that didn’t happen. So when Amazon first announced that it had decided to merge ComiXology and Kindle, I wasn’t scared like many comic book fans who read on their phones, tablets, and computers. However, it’s the latter statement that really gets my goat since tools like ComiXology and Audible are (or could be) essential to readers with disabilities. When people tell me they don’t have time to read or that reading on a digital platform doesn’t count as reading, I scoff.

But I also view them as a great accessibility tool.

I’ve subscribed to Kindle Unlimted, ComiXology, and Audible for longer than I care to admit. Review devices: iPhone 12 Pro, MacBook ProĪmazon has been my go-to digital platform for a long time.
