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Uthor
Jul 9, 2006

Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.
Digital comics have grown significantly in the last few years. Here's a place to discuss them (and post about sales!).

UPDATE 2021: A lot has changed in the landscape of digital comics since this was originally written, but the basics are still relevant. Mostly, the market is cololessing around comiXology, with several of the smaller services closing (eg, Image no longer runs their own store). And the app recommendations may no longer be the apps of choice. Also, local libraries offer digital downloads for check out for free; support your library and see what they have on offer! I'm not making an effort to keep the OP up to date, but feel free to ask questions in the thread.

Why read digital comics?
People get digital comics for the same reason they buy mp3s or use Netflix: you have virtually unlimited access to your collection anywhere you go, there's no physical clutter to deal with, and it's easier to buy comics with a couple of clicks on your computer than to trek down to the store, especially if you live in the boonies or are overseas.

Tell me more!
Currently, there are three main models for digital comics:
-Buy books from an ecosystem like comiXology. You own these books, but they are tied to the service; there is no moving them to a different system. This is analogous to how Kindle operates. (Update: select publishers are now allowing DRM-free "backups" to be downloaded in PDF and CBZ format directly from comiXology.)

-Buy DRM-free files in the form of PDF or CBZ/CBR. This is like buying DRM-free mp3s and playing them wherever you'd like. These files are usually found from Indie creators, as Kickstarter rewards, and, recently, bigger players like Image are getting in the game.

-Getting an unlimited access monthly subscription ala Netflix. Currently, Marvel and Archie are the only companies doing this. (Update: Scribd has entered the comics game, but reports are that the reader isn't that good. There are a few more publishers beyond Marvel to check out here.)

Where can I get my comics fix?
comiXology - comiXology is the big dog in the house. Nearly every publisher has their books available here same day as print, they have a guided view designed to make reading on smaller screens (even phones), they are on virtually every platform (iOS, Android, Kindle, Windows 8, and a web based reader for everything else), and feature frequent sales. Most books cost as much as their physical counterparts, but drop in price after a few months.

comiXology Unlimited - comiXology recently unveiled an "unlimited" service for $5.99/month. All you can read from a lot of the major publishers (minus Marvel or DC), but appears to be targeted at new readers, generally only serving up the first few issues of any given series.

Dark Horse Digital - Dark Horse is the only big player not on comiXology, instead opting for their own store and apps. Their service is based on comiXology's technology, so the experiences are similar. Dark Horse offers bundles of comics at a discount, which is nice.

Marvel Digital - Marvel started off separate like Dark Horse, but they eventually combined forces with comiXology. You can link the two accounts and anything you get at one is available at the other. There is no reason to buy direct from Marvel's site except for this being the place you redeem the free digital codes they give out with many of their physical books.

Comics Plus - Another competitor with comiXology. There is a lot of overlap between the two, but Comics Plus has a few more small publishers that want to stay independent of comiXology.

Image Comics, 2000 A.D., Heavy Metal, Panel Syndicate, and Top Shelf - DRM-free comics are still in the hands of the small guys, but Image opened up their entire catalog to PDF, CBR, and ePub downloads last year. Top Shelf followed suit at the beginning of this year at a smaller scale, but include discounted bundles with their physical books. I'll be happy to add some of the other bigger publishers if you let me know!

Marvel Unlimited - Marvel's all you can read monthly subscription service. The books available tend to lag about six months behind what is current, but it's a great way of binging on older runs for a few bucks a month.

MU is notoriously troublesome to navigate. Check out Nightcrawler (get it?), which scrapes title information from MU and presents it in an easy digestible way.

Guess Nightcrawler is no longer a thing.

Baby Proof posted:

It looks like Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators is still up and scraping. It's not particularly friendly, especially for non-PC browsing, but it has some useful indexing. I used to use the yearly summary for browsing Marvel Unlimited:

http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/dat2018.htm

Scribd - Scribd recently added comics to their selection. Like Marvel Unlimited, you pay a monthly fee and can read all that you want. Currently, they have titles from Marvel, IDW, Top Cow, Top Shelf, Dynamite stuff, Archie, BOOM, Valiant, and Zenescope.

Comicsfix - Another all you can read service. There's a smaller selection than Scribd, but some big names (Dynamite and Valiant) with a lot of creator owned indie books.

Archie Comics - Archie splits their selection between different apps (Archie, Sonic, MegaMan). You can buy them individually, or take part in the inexpensive subscription service. A good deal if you like those books, have kids, or want to know why Archie is fighting zombies.

Humble Book Bundle - The people that have been selling you tons of great PC and mobile games for pay-what-you-want have gotten into the ebook game. They don't always do comics, but when they do, you can get many books for whatever you want to pay with unlocked bonus books for under $15. These all come as DRM-free PDF, ePub, and CBZ files.

How do I read these amazing things?
With the services, sign in, buy some books, and go to town! They all have web based readers for reading at your computer, plus apps for iOS and Android (and comiXology has a (pretty bad) Windows 8 app). For the DRM-free books, you'll have to download the files to your computer and deal with storage on your own (I suggest using something like Dropbox to get books to your phone or tablet). Use your favorite reader for PDFs and ePubs. CBZ/CBR files require a special reader like CDisplayEX (Windows), FFView (Mac), Comic Flow (iOS), or Komik (Android).

More apps are listed in the second post.

Tablets seem to be the best way of getting a good reading experience. Things like the iPad, Nexus 7, Nook HD, Kindle Fire, or Surface should all work great.


Questions? Problems? Need help getting started? Want advice on a reader? Heard of a great sale? That's what this thread is for!

(Don't ask about :filez: We like our creators to get paid!)

Uthor fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Feb 12, 2021

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Uthor
Jul 9, 2006

Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.
Reading CBZ/CBRs
Here are some apps that you can use to read CBZ and CBR files on your devices.

A CBZ is just a container of images. It is made by placing image files (usually JPGs) into a *.ZIP file and renaming the extension to *.CBZ. You can reverse the process, renaming a *.CBZ to a *.ZIP and extracting the images.

A CBR file is the same thing, but using a *.RAR file for the container.

Windows
CDisplay EX - Fast and light reader that has the nice ability of letting Windows create thumbnails in Windows Explorer. Warning: be careful upon install, there's a 3rd party installation that you should cancel or you'll get browser add-ons you don't want.
(I can't recommend this in good conscience anymore.)

ComicRack - ComicRack goes beyond being a reader and into a library organization tool. It helps you organize comics with tags and includes iOS and Android apps designed to help transfer files to your tablets.

Toshimo posted:

I've been using YACReader for years on windows and it's the best approximation of OG CDisplay, and I think it has a Chocolatey package if you are into that.
https://www.yacreader.com/


MacOS
FFView


iOS
Comic Zeal - Reader with the ability to import files through WiFi and cloud based services.

CloudReaders

ComicFlow - Reader with the ability to import files through iTunes or over WiFi.

ComicRack - Your app to use with the desktop app.


Android
Komik - Bare bones reader that reads comics that you manually have to copy to your device.

Comics Reader - Bare bones reader that reads comics that you manually have to copy to your device. A little more complicated than Komik, but with more options.

Astonishing Comic Reader - A newcomer to Android. Modern UI and works without a complicated setup and allows for collection organization. Works with Dropbox for file transfer and backup of collection data.

ComicRack Free and Paid - Your apps to use with the desktop app.

Heavy Metal posted:

Perfect Viewer is a great viewer for Android I use.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rookiestudio.perfectviewer&gl=US

Uthor fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Dec 11, 2022

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



Uthor posted:

Anything I missed? Am wrong about?

I'm an Android/Windows guy, so could use help with anything iOS or OSX related. Like: what do you guys use for CBRs?

Searching the App Store for CBR brings up several options including Comic Zeal and Comic Flow.

Waterhaul
Nov 5, 2005


it was a nice post,
you shouldn't have signed it.



Great OP.

I've used Comic Zeal and Flow before and they do the job but after a while I gave up on using non guided view on tablets.

Uncle Boogeyman
Jul 22, 2007

I just got an ipad yesterday and already I've blown a ton of money on comixology. poo poo's dope. I can't say I care for guided view, really, but I got one of the larger ipads so I don't really have any trouble reading it in full-page view.

Gonna have to get a dark horse account next, that Concrete bundle is calling to me.

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


I use an iPad exclusively with fit-to-width in the Comixology app. I can't stand guided view, never could (though I also can't stand portrait mode). It's a neurotic thing, but I hate how it regularly cuts off like 10/20% of the edges of a panel. I like to have a larger perspective.

Inkspot
Dec 3, 2013

I believe I have
an appointment.
Mr. Goongala?
FFView is a good CBZ/CBR viewer for Mac desktops.

Cloudreader is good for iPad/iPhone, though it can crash with larger files.

IndyPlanet and DriveThruComics are good for truly independent stuff, and a lot of Top Cow/Wildstorm/Aspen kinda books pop up, too.

Aphrodite
Jun 27, 2006

I don't even know how to use guided view. I have it enabled but stuff just opens regular.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



Double tap on a panel.

onefish
Jan 15, 2004

I love digital comics - iPad user primarily buying from Comixology, occasional DRM free files through Comic Zeal (which is totally functional). I initially didn't use guided view, but grew to really like it--used mostly intermittently as a more convenient zoom, but also generally useful for comics with hard to read text or really amazing details in the art. It's annoying when it cuts off panel edges, but you can always zoom out when that happens to get the full view, and then do the non-guided zoom if necessary.

I actually prefer the digital experience to paper. Colors are brighter, zoom lets me catch details just as well or better, I don't have to worry about comics' conditions, can take a full series of comics on the road, $1/issue sales are great... all of that combined with the space saving benefits make me a digital comics evangelical.

One main downside is that I really, really prefer to buy comics on sale, so if I miss a sale for a series I end up regretting not buying, it bums me out, and I hate paying full price for something I know I could have gotten cheaper. So I really appreciate a thread where sale discussions/recs are encouraged!

The other problem, of course, is that I'm buying into a closed ecosystem with comixology, and I really prefer the consolidated collection. So given my preferences, I kind of "can't" read Dark Horse, and if Comixology ever goes belly up, I'll be reallllly annoyed.

But I feel good about Comixology's prospects, and digital comics in general. I assume the experience will keep getting better as tablets and wifi access continue to improve.

onefish fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Feb 27, 2014

Waterhaul
Nov 5, 2005


it was a nice post,
you shouldn't have signed it.



SALE TIME

Moon Knight is today's Marvel's sale. Ends at 11pm EST tonight. The Huston run was well liked around BSS despite the Finch art and a good jump on point if you want to know more about the character. The Bendis/Maleev run is...interesting. It's got some good Maleev art but I didn't really like the changes Bendis made and the treatment of Echo in the series. Mileage may vary and I think the first issue is a good example of what to expect from it.

Boom Originals Sale running until Monday. I was trade waiting on Six Gun Gorilla but since it's on sale... It's Si Spurrier and Jeff Stokely so good stuff.

RealFoxy
May 11, 2011

I'm not making a fucking QCS thread for this but seriously can we take a harder stance on Kiwifarms freaks like this guy, Jesus Christ seriously, you used to be better at knocking these creeps down. I guess ADTRW mods aren't responsible like GBS mods are.

Waterhaul posted:

SALE TIME

Moon Knight is today's Marvel's sale. Ends at 11pm EST tonight. The Huston run was well liked around BSS despite the Finch art and a good jump on point if you want to know more about the character. The Bendis/Maleev run is...interesting. It's got some good Maleev art but I didn't really like the changes Bendis made and the treatment of Echo in the series. Mileage may vary and I think the first issue is a good example of what to expect from it.
Huston's run is really good, and provides some really gritty street-level anti-hero. Lots of blood.

Bendis's run is a lot more creative, I really liked Moon Knight becoming so crazy he thinks he's the Avengers. All the Avengers. Of course it suffers from Bendis writing so things can become really wordy and drawn out.

If anyone doesn't know what Moon Knight is, he's basically Batman with Schizophrenia. He's got murderous tendencies, hears voices/sees things that aren't there, it's a really interesting take on Batman.

Uncle Boogeyman
Jul 22, 2007

Bendis' run is hamstrung by the fact that it gets cancelled just as it's starting to really get the plot moving (which, maybe you shouldn't take 12 issues to get the plot moving but, y'know, Bendis), but it's still some decent street-level-superhero fun with some really awesome Maleev art.

And yeah, Huston's run is genius. Dude's one of my favorite working writers of both novels and comics, he's a treasure.

onefish
Jan 15, 2004

Waterhaul posted:

SALE TIME
Boom Originals Sale running until Monday. I was trade waiting on Six Gun Gorilla but since it's on sale... It's Si Spurrier and Jeff Stokely so good stuff.

Strong recommendation on Six Gun Gorilla from me. Great world, neat themes, cool art.

Any comments/thoughts/comparisons on Mice Templar?

Edit: Huston only wrote that Moon Knight volume through 13 and "advised" 14-19. But whole volume should be read if you're gonna read it, right?

edit2: Wait, Mice Templar isn't Mouse Guard, which is the one I'd heard some buzz about. Oh well.

onefish fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Feb 28, 2014

Aphrodite
Jun 27, 2006

Waterhaul posted:

SALE TIME

Moon Knight is today's Marvel's sale. Ends at 11pm EST tonight. The Huston run was well liked around BSS despite the Finch art and a good jump on point if you want to know more about the character. The Bendis/Maleev run is...interesting. It's got some good Maleev art but I didn't really like the changes Bendis made and the treatment of Echo in the series. Mileage may vary and I think the first issue is a good example of what to expect from it.

He launches today in Marvel Heroes. Nice timing.

Waterhaul
Nov 5, 2005


it was a nice post,
you shouldn't have signed it.



The thing with the Bendis run is that Echoes death really bothers me and kind of ruins the series for me.

Aphrodite posted:

He launches today in Marvel Heroes. Nice timing.

All leading up to his new series next Wednesday.

Aphrodite
Jun 27, 2006

That's coincidence in the game though, since he just happened to be done faster than Doctor Strange.

Uncle Boogeyman
Jul 22, 2007

onefish posted:

Edit: Huston only wrote that Moon Knight volume through 13 and "advised" 14-19. But whole volume should be read if you're gonna read it, right?

No. Stop with 13.

Madrox
Jan 31, 2001

Does whatever
a multiple can.
So on the comixology site today, I no longer see the option for the old default viewer. Now the html5 version that was previously available as a beta seems to be the only option. Unfortunately, it has never worked properly for me. I'm in Chrome on win7 64, and any comic I load has an annoying grid over-laying the comic. I mentioned this in the last thread when I tried the beta. Has anyone encountered this? It's no longer even worth using the site in this state. It doesn't matter if I'm in normal page view, guided view etc. I've turned off the few chrome extensions I have installed for the site (adblock plus and a couple others). No dice. Searching Google for others with the same problem hasn't turned up a thing. This happens in both Chrome and IE (ew), which are both up to date. I've e-mailed their support, but thought I might check if anyone else is encountering this.

Update: Their support replied fairly quickly, but no resolution at this time. Appears to be a known issue. Here's what they sent in case others are having the same trouble:

"Thanks for the feedback, MyNameHere! Really appreciate it. We're aware of this bug and hope to fix it asap. Thanks for your patience in the meantime. :-)"

I do have a 7" Nexus tablet I can use in the meantime at least, but I prefer a full-size screen.

Madrox fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Feb 28, 2014

the guy from Semisonic
Jan 13, 2006

Let's kick some gigabutt!

Bleak Gremlin
Not sure if this is the correct thread to ask this, but when I buy physical comics that come with digital codes, I redeem them and read them on my tablet. I usually let a few pile up before I redeem them in bulk. I have a copy of Avengers Annual #1 and when I peeled back the sticker to get at the code, most of the code stayed stuck to the sticker and it's totally unreadable. I've e-mailed Marvel support twice over the past month and they haven't responded. Am I SOL, or do they usually take a long time to respond?

Uthor
Jul 9, 2006

Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.
They took a long time to respond last time I had to contact them. I've had that happen not that long ago and ended up doing some detective work and some guessing (there was a pattern to the codes of successive issues).

Senor Candle
Nov 5, 2008
The first time I emailed them about something like that(sometime last year) and they responded within like a week. I emailed them recently about the exact same thing and I haven't heard anything in like a month.

Teenage Fansub
Jan 28, 2006

One month of Marvel Unlimited for $.99 with code SXSW99.
http://marvel.com/SXSW14

Waterhaul
Nov 5, 2005


it was a nice post,
you shouldn't have signed it.



Monday's Marvel Sale is Wolverine and the X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega.

click

Alpha and the Omega is not essential reading but despite it getting marred with a lot of crossovers I would suggest that anybody that likes fun comics to give the first issue of Wolverine and the X-Men a shot. And #17 should be compulsory for everybody that posts in BSS.

hadji murad
Apr 18, 2006

"Waterhaul posted:

Wolverine and the X-Men a shot. And #17 should be compulsory for everybody that posts in BSS.

Absolutely. It's brilliant.

Next sale is American Vampire. A 7 day sale.

RealFoxy
May 11, 2011

I'm not making a fucking QCS thread for this but seriously can we take a harder stance on Kiwifarms freaks like this guy, Jesus Christ seriously, you used to be better at knocking these creeps down. I guess ADTRW mods aren't responsible like GBS mods are.
I jumped on the 99cent Marvel Unlimited deal, having issues with the app but I have problems with almost all apps on this stupid Android tablet.

How easy is it to find story arcs on this thing, instead of by title?

e: Nope, the app sucks rear end. Having to change the view to one-page every single time, constantly having the app get confused and thinking I'm logged out/Not an unlimited user. It's trash, and it's my fault for buying an Android tablet instead of something else, but there's no excuse for an almost non-functioning app.

RealFoxy fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Mar 6, 2014

Sarchasm
Apr 14, 2002

So that explains why he did not answer. He had no mouth to answer with. There is nothing left of him but his ears.

Flameingblack posted:

I jumped on the 99cent Marvel Unlimited deal, having issues with the app but I have problems with almost all apps on this stupid Android tablet.

How easy is it to find story arcs on this thing, instead of by title?

e: Nope, the app sucks rear end. Having to change the view to one-page every single time, constantly having the app get confused and thinking I'm logged out/Not an unlimited user. It's trash, and it's my fault for buying an Android tablet instead of something else, but there's no excuse for an almost non-functioning app.

Their Android app is trash. I load it up on my HTC One every few months or so just in case they've managed to fix it in the meantime, and I'm always disappointed.

The web interface isn't great either, but that's what I use.

Teenage Fansub
Jan 28, 2006

I have no idea what's up with their pinch zoom issue on Android.
The page fits to your screen, then locks in that resolution so when you zoom in it just enlarges those pixels, but if you switch to smart panels, they blow up just fine, so the resolution is there. You just cant zoom into it yourself from a full page.
I can read a single page full-screen, no problem, but double pages get too low res to read anything, so I have to turn on dumb panel view.
It's all I want them to improve. I just want zooming functional.

e: Oh yeah. It's pretty ridiculous not to be able to open the app and read the offline comics you've stored... offline.

Teenage Fansub fucked around with this message at 02:24 on Mar 6, 2014

Fishylungs
Jan 12, 2008
For the record, I think the web interface is worse now than when I got Unlimited for a year in... 2008? And all of their mobile apps I believe are pure garbage.

RealFoxy
May 11, 2011

I'm not making a fucking QCS thread for this but seriously can we take a harder stance on Kiwifarms freaks like this guy, Jesus Christ seriously, you used to be better at knocking these creeps down. I guess ADTRW mods aren't responsible like GBS mods are.
The most frustrating part so far is just fighting with the App telling me that I'm not an Unlimited member every single time I try and read a new issue, and having to close the app and re-open it multiple times. Marvel really needs to just link up Unlimited with Comixology.

fozzy fosbourne
Apr 21, 2010

99% sale on American Vampire: http://www.comixology.com/American-Vampire-Sale/page/1025

Sarchasm
Apr 14, 2002

So that explains why he did not answer. He had no mouth to answer with. There is nothing left of him but his ears.


That's $.99, not 99%. Gonna get people's hopes up too high.

Nawid
Mar 27, 2011
FYI, YACreader is the iPad comic reader of choice. I think it does everything better than Zeal.

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


Comixology got hacked, and they're asking everyone to change their passwords. Only their lovely password reset system is broken and doesn't work, so my comics are being held hostage at the moment. This is the downside to the all-digital future :smith:

Senor Candle
Nov 5, 2008
Then again this is the first time I haven't been able to access my comics since I started using them. Still annoying that I can't reset my password right now though.

Waterhaul
Nov 5, 2005


it was a nice post,
you shouldn't have signed it.



The password reset functionality worked for me earlier. Though now I get an error page whenever I try to read anything and the comics I redeemed on Marvels site yesterday haven't appeared.

Hopefully it's not a similar situation as when they tried to give out a bunch of free Marvel #1s and the site was basically down for a week.

Uthor
Jul 9, 2006

Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.
I was just able to reset mine no problem.

Edit: but I can't seem to log in on my phone...

Uthor fucked around with this message at 16:51 on Mar 6, 2014

Madrox
Jan 31, 2001

Does whatever
a multiple can.
I did have an error on my first attempt to reset my password, but a 2nd attempt worked. Meanwhile, I've had no further response from them on the weird grid overlay issue I've mentioned a couple times in this thread.

Edit: They're still having issues... Intermittently getting "Something's Not Quite Right.
Our team is aware and working on the issue." if I try to pull up an issue.

Devo
Jul 9, 2001

:siren:Caught Cubs Posting:siren:
Maybe I'm dumb but I couldn't find anywhere to put in the SXSW99 code when I bought a month of Marvel unlimited. I've been meaning to resubscribe anyway so no big deal but I'm just throwing that out there. It also seems like it's much harder to browse for the comics I want compared to when I was subscribed a couple years ago.

e: like I'm trying to get to the start of Simonson's Thor run and I can't figure out a way to do it that doesn't involve scrolling and scrolling and scrolling

Devo fucked around with this message at 21:29 on Mar 6, 2014

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Senor Candle
Nov 5, 2008
I don't think the interface is really any different. I'm not really seeing what you're having a problem with though?

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