How to find an endless supply of digital comics
There are countless ways to read comics in digital format. My list of recommended methods spans apps, websites and digital archive solutions.
Digital comics save space, are handy for on-the-go reading sessions and show up well on tablets, e-readers or smartphones. I can recommend at least one good source of reading material for every genre.
Already have a digital comic collection? My roundup also includes handy apps that’ll help you store, organise and read your comics all in one place.
Apps for iOS, iPadOS and Android
The recommendations listed here are apps that sell individual comics or subscription content. On some of them, you can even read free of charge.
Marvel Unlimited: the entire Marvel universe at your fingertips
Enjoy following the stories of Deadpool, Spider-Man and The Hulk? Then this app’s perfect for you. With a library amassing over 30,000 titles, Marvel Unlimited gives you access to the entire Marvel universe. The app does require a user account right from the off, but you can start with the seven-day free version before the paid subscription kicks in.
Once you’ve done that, you can choose your favourites from the heroes’ catalogue and save your favourite series. You’ll be able to download reading material for your next holiday too.
Availability: iOS, iPadOS, Android
Price: from CHF 10 per month or CHF 70 per year
Manga Plus: endless manga
My all-time favourite app for both well-known and more obscure manga titles is Manga Plus. The app offers over 400 titles with a total of over 20,000 chapters, many of which can be read once for free. If you want to read them more than once, you have to take out a subscription.
Another drawback is that you need to be connected to the internet to use the app. On the bright side, the comics are available in a variety of languages, including English, German, French, and Spanish.
Availability: iOS, iPadOS, Android, online
Price: first read free, then 2 CHF per month
Webtoon: the website for comic newbies
When you log into Webtoon, you can select up to five genres you like. The comics are mostly Japanese and Korean, but there are also a few DC stories available. Topics range from action and superheroes to fantasy and mystery.
The comics are often created and uploaded by lesser-known artists. Series are updated on an ongoing basis and don’t cost anything to access. However, you can buy coins that’ll unlock new chapters of your favourite series before they’re released.
One of Webtoon’s special features is the view: comics are displayed from top to bottom. They’re also just individual panels, so they’re great for scrolling through on a smartphone. Webtoons is available in different languages, including English, German, Korean and Spanish. Your chosen language dictates which content is available to you.
Availability: iOS, iPadOS, Android, online
Price: free, coins for pre-release content
2000 AD Comics: the British comic anthology par excellence
2000 AD is a major British anthology comic magazine. An anthology, by the way, is a collection of different comics in one issue. 2000 AD has been publishing these since 1977, with Judge Dredd being one of its most famous offerings.
2000 AD comics are published by Rebellion and can be purchased as single issues. You can, however, get a digital or print subscription. Just bear in mind that print subscriptions aren’t available outside of the UK. The comics are available to download as PDF or CBZ files from the website. App users also need to download comics before reading them.
Availability: iOS, iPadOS, Android, online
Price: free of charge, per comic prices, subscriptions
Google Play Books and Amazon Kindle: handy all-rounders
In these apps, you can buy any books, comics or audiobooks at regular prices. You can read them via your account on all your devices, even without an internet connection. The Google and Amazon websites can also be used to export purchased books as EPUB or PDF files.
If you have an Amazon Prime account, you’ll be able to read hundreds of comics, e-books and e-magazines on your Kindle at no extra cost. The content changes regularly, but the range is always extensive.
Availability: iOS, iPadOS, Android, Google online, Amazon online
Price: pay per comic
Websites: read online from anywhere
Websites are great for comics; although you don’t have to download anything, you can read whatever you feel like. There’s also an immense selection of content available. On the flip side, you often need to be signed up to a paid premium version to save favourites and set bookmarks.
Comic Book Plus: the Golden Age comic archive
If you’re really into old comics from the Golden Age (1938–56) and Silver Age (1956–70), you’ll strike lucky on Comic Book Plus. It’s probably the best archive around for comics from those eras. Plus, it includes treasures such as pulp fiction and other US comic strips.
As all the comics were created in the 1970s or before, they’re part of the public domain – in other words, free to access. If you have an account, you can download content free of charge and read it offline.
Availability: online and via download
Price: free
GoComics: snackables ranging from Garfield to Snoopy
GoComics houses short comics dedicated to famous characters such as Garfield, Calvin & Hobbes and Snoopy. The content’s available for free – albeit with a lot of ads surrounding it. That being said, ad blockers currently still work on the site.
The paid version of GoComics boasts a few benefits. It’s ad-free (without the use of an ad blocker) and has a wider selection. If you want, you can have your favourites regularly sent over to you by e-mail. You can try out the pro version free of charge for 30 days.
Availability: online
Price: free of charge, subscription available from 2 CHF per month
GetComics: all sorts of free reading material
GetComics offers a huge selection of free comics – and they’re available to download too. The bank of content is fed by a massive community of comic enthusiasts. However, even with an ad blocker enabled, you’ll have to put up with quite a lot of adverts.
Availability: online and as downloads
Price: free
Internet Archive: has literally everything
Internet Archive is a non-profit, digital library providing not only comics, but all kinds of books, films and software. There’s a very extensive selection of illustrated titles, including Spider-Man and The Boys. You can find them via the search bar, and download them too.
Availability: online and as downloads
Price: free
Your personal comic archive
These apps are designed to help you archive your existing digital comic collection. They keep your reading material organised in one place, displaying it in a pleasant layout. As a result, you have the chance to leaf through it on a mobile device.
iComics and Chunky Comic Reader: digital collections for Apple devices
You can upload comics and PDFs to iComics from your internal memory or the iCloud, then create your own folders. There are a bunch of things you can determine in the settings, such as double versus single pages, reading direction and app icon.
The Chunky Comic Reader app works in a similar way and is also only available on iOS and the iPad. It’s free to upload and sort your comics, but you’ll need the paid pro version to use the settings or more cloud options.
Availability: iOS, iPadOS
Price: 1 CHF (iComics)/4 CHF (Chunky Comic Reader)
Comic Reader: a digital collection for Android devices
This Android app searches for comic formats (CBR, CBZ, PDF) in the memory of your phone or tablet and loads them automatically. You can customise the app in a number of ways; there’s a night mode, the option to automatically open your most-recently read comic and the option to scroll using the volume buttons. If you ask me, that last feature is pretty cool.
If you use the free version, you’ll have to live with seeing adverts. The pro version is ad-free, supports cloud connection and has an option allowing you to mark your favourites.
Availability: Android
Price: free, pro version for 17 CHF/year or a one-off fee of 25 CHF
Have I forgotten any major online comic book outlets? Can you recommend any nifty archive apps? Let me know in the comments!
Header image: Michelle Brändle
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In my world, Super Mario chases Stormtroopers with a unicorn and Harley Quinn mixes cocktails for Eddie and Peter at the beach bar. Wherever I can live out my creativity, my fingers tingle. Or maybe it's because nothing flows through my veins but chocolate, glitter and coffee.
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