07 July,2023 07:42 AM IST | Mumbai | Anika Mahansaria
(From left) The Lone Rider was a popular Western classic series; one of Comic Book Plus’ most famous titles; GI Joe is a an all-time fan favourite. Pics courtesy/comicbookplus
Comic Book Plus has a collection boasting over 42,500 comic books, all of which have been legally sourced, with almost 50 new titles being added each day. This massive collection is also entirely free. Besides the expansive collection, the site focuses primarily on books from the 1920s to the 1970s, meaning that it lacks some modern favourites such as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. The site gives access to comic strips which are also from the 1920s to 1970s time period. Additionally, it has social features such as a forum for like-minded comic lovers from around the world to connect with each other.
Log on to: comicbookplus.com
Comic Extra has a collection of comics ranging from Marvel's Deadpool to DC's Batman and Robin. However, a major drawback is that there are too many ads that distract from the reading experience. On the flip side, they have some extremely rare collectibles, like Amazing Fantasy #15, on the site for free, if you want to read a rare book, Comic Extra has you covered.
Log on to: comicextra.net
Digital Dark Horse has a plethora of fan favourites such as Stranger Things and The Umbrella Academy. However, their free library is limited to just over 100 books which does not include Marvel and DC comics. However, they do have the Star Wars comics and Avatar: The Last Airbender (which is a paid series). This site works best for fans who are newbies in the world of comic books, or have a niche interest like the game Overwatch - which has a miniseries on the site.
Log on to: digital.darkhorse.com
DriveThru Comics boasts of the first issues of most of their comics for free; however, after that the books are either paid or on a pay-what-you-want basis. The collections does not include Marvel or DC comics, but their top competitors like Aspen Comics and Valiant Comics. They also have filters to sort by category, age group, genre and more which makes it easy to find the desired book.
Log on to: drivethrucomics.com
Digital Comic Museum has classic comics from the 1930s to 1950s. All the comics available are copyright-free as well as in the public domain. The site has their books sorted by category and collection which makes it easy to navigate. One of the only downsides is that the site has quite a few ads that can get irritable for the reader. Luckily, this does not affect the reading experience as the books must be downloaded first.
Log on to: digitalcomicmuseum.com
Gocomics is a site that has comic strips, and not books. The strips include the famous Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes, and it also boasts of the first published comic book in both series. There is a free and paid model; however, the free model is all that is needed to access the strips. Users can also leave their comments under strips. The free model does have a few ads but they do not interfere with the reading experience.
Log on to: gocomics.com
