The Best Places to Read Comics Online [July 2019]

Books aren’t the only medium that’s found its place in the digital world. Online comic books are getting more and more popular by the day.

Nowadays, most of the biggest publishers have their own digital comic book subscriptions. Also, Android and iOS apps for reading comic books come with more and more features and integrations.

If you’re wondering where to get all these digital copies, you’re at the right place. This article will list some of the best websites to download and read comic books online.

Comixology

Since 2009 Comixology has been the top comic book seller on the internet. If you’re looking to find any comic book issue, you will probably find it here.

Major comic book publishers like Marvel and DC sell their comics on this website. You’ll also find a lot of independent publishers from around the world, including plenty of Japanese manga releases too.

There’s also a large database of free comic book titles that grows larger every day. So, even if you don’t want to spend money at the moment, you can try out the website and the app.

The best thing about Comixology is that it has its own app that is compatible with both Android and iOS. Amazon bought it in 2014, so you can import all the comics that you acquire here to your Kindle device.

The only downside is that the app is not available for PC, so you will have to read them in your browser, which may be inconvenient for some.

DriveThru Comics

Unlike Comixology, DriveThru Comics doesn’t have such a big catalog of titles or some big names like DC and Marvel. However, you will find some other popular publishers here such as Valiant Comics.

One of the top advantages of this website is that it usually doesn’t have a fixed price for its comic books. Instead, they encourage you to donate as much as you want, and if you really like the comic book, you’d buy a physical copy.

The website has an outstanding advanced search option, where you can browse comic books by genre, publisher, and audience. On the downside, it is missing a lot of important titles, and the image quality of the comics can sometimes vary. But it costs nothing to try it out.

Marvel Unlimited

Considering the scale of the Marvel universe, it’s no wonder that you have a website dedicated to only Marvel comics. It has over 25,000 titles, and with a subscription, you can gain access to all of them.

The database consists of old-school Marvel comic books such as the first ‘Uncanny X-Men’ and ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ and new releases such as ‘War of the Realms.’ These new releases are added a month or two after their physical release.

You should note that this platform is not a substitute for physical copies in real time. If you want to read a comic book upon its release, you’ll have to find another way.

If you don’t want to spend money on physical copies, a monthly subscription to Marvel Unlimited is a more affordable option. However, you should keep in mind that you’d be limiting yourself to Marvel’s publications.

Amazon                                               

If you can’t find a comic book on Amazon, you probably won’t find it anywhere else on the internet. Amazon’s online shop has a wide range of comic book titles from the most popular publishers to independent do-it-yourself creators aiming to be the next big thing.

You can read all of the comics that you buy on Amazon on a Kindle device or apps, including the Comixology app. You can click on the ‘Top 100 free’ section to check out the most popular free issues.

It has a pretty good search filter where you can look up comics by genre, price, publisher, and other factors. Also, keep in mind that most Kindle devices are black and white, which is not the best way to read colorful comic books.

Honorable Mention: Digital Comic Museum

If you’re a fan of new releases, then Digital Comic Museum is not for you. However, this website contains relics from the past that you can download and read for free. You’ll have access here to most issues from the Golden Age of comic books (1930-1950).

You’ll hardly find familiar heroes, but you’ll recognize the influence of this time period on the comics of today.  All the titles are available to download and read for free.

Panel by Panel

s more and more issues go digital, you can rest easy knowing that you’re well-prepared to purchase any issues you want online.  If you know about any other interesting websites for reading comics online, share it with us in the comments section.