Simple Comic for Mac is a fast, lightweight comic reader for the Mac that will open a number of different file formats. This makes it very portable, and because it opens and reads comics so quickly, it's a useful tool for those with large libraries of CBR files.
DrawnStrips Reader is Fully compatible with Mountain Lion and Optimized for the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display DrawnStrips Reader is a new reading experience for your comics on your Mac. Reading, with Multi-Touch on your Trackpad and Magic Mouse. LuJoSoft ComicReader is a simple comic reader, even simple it is able to read all comic book formats (cbr, cbz, cbt, cb7, pdf etc.). It'simplest give you the best reading experience. It'simplest give you the best reading experience.
Pros
Fast to install and open: Simple Comic for Mac downloads and opens in seconds. While it requires security verification on newer Macs because it is not in the App Store, it takes almost no time to get open, so if you have CBR files or other ZIPs or TAR files that need to be opened to read your comics, this will do it fast.
Intuitive interface: Once open, use the File menu at the top of the screen to open your existing comic book files. Simple Comic does not allow you to download comics, nor does it come with any files, so you'll need to have a legitimate source of files from another source; but once you do, this will open them fast and make it easy to read them on any size screen.
Cons
Fairly limited in scope: Simple Comic is open source and free, and it does everything you need to read comics, but if you want something more powerful for storing and cataloging your comic book files, this isn't it. It will open a comic archive, and can even capture or bookmark pages in it if you want to come back later, but this is not iTunes for Comics.
Bottom Line
If you need a straightforward comic book reading app for your Mac, then Simple Comic is what you're looking for. It's fast and easy to download, offers streamlined interface settings for opening and reading your comics, and doesn't bog down your computer in the slightest -- a great all-around app.
What do you need to know about free software?
If you've been looking to go digital with your comic book collection, you're probably overwhelmed with all the comic readers available on the iPhone and iPad. Fret no more: Comic Zeal is the app you want.
A Comic Book Lover's Guide to Going Digital
Whether you've been a diehard comic book fan for years or you just want to see what…
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Comic Zeal
Platform: iPhone and iPad
Price: $4.99
Download Page
Price: $4.99
Download Page
Features
- Automatically organizes all your comics by series
- Manually organize your comics with swipe gestures and easy-to-understand options
- Track which comics you have and haven't read
- Search and find your comics by title and tags
- Proceeds directly to next issue when done reading
- Zoom lock lets you fit the page to your screen however you want and remembers it between pages
- Tons of additional settings for brightness, navigation, and reading
- Load comics over USB, Wi-Fi, or Dropbox
Where It Excels
Comic Zeal is, hands down, the best app on iOS for organizing your comic library. When you import new comics, it automatically detects the series name and filters them all into their own categories by series. If you want to do something different—like create a reading list for a multi-series event—you can do so by swiping individual issues into ComicZeal's 'slider,' then emptying them out as you see fit. It can be a little tedious to do, but it's still light years ahead of any other comic readers. Comic Zeal also has a lot of settings for reading, which means you can get everything set up just how you like it. The 'smart zoom' feature is particularly awesome.
Simple Comic Reader For Mac
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Where It Falls Short
Comic Zeal does have a few annoyances, but they're minor enough to keep it in the top slot. Turning pages is a bit slower than it is in other comic readers, so going from page to page doesn't feel very smooth at all. Similarly, importing comics takes a long time, and you can't do anything while the app is importing—so if you're importing a large number of comics, be prepared to set your device down and wait awhile.
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The Competition
Zip Comic Reader For Macbook Pro
![Zip Comic Reader For Mac Zip Comic Reader For Mac](https://img.creativemark.co.uk/uploads/images/223/14223/img3File.png)
Comic Viewer is slightly cheaper at $3.99, but has enough options to keep most people happy. It has a 'fit to screen' or 'fit to width' mode which works flawlessly, and it has a few settings to keep the reading experience solid. It also has a silly-but-kind-of-awesome page flipping animation and sound (which you can turn off), if you want to recreate the real-life reading experience as much as possible. Its organization is nowhere near the level of ComicZeal's (though you can manually categorize things themselves), so I'd recommend spending the extra dollar on Comic Zeal. Comic Viewer is certainly a solid alternative, though.
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If you want something free, ComicFlow is probably your best choice. Its 'library' interface is very similar to Comic Zeal's, but with some nice filtering options (though not nearly as many good organization options). ComicFlow, as its name describes, excels at flipping between pages with fantastic smoothness (unlike Comic Zeal). However, it doesn't remember your 'zoom' level on each page, which is extremely annoying for people that don't want it to fit every page to the screen. It also is pretty bare when it comes to settings (for example, it only gives you a 'dim mode' rather than letting you adjust the in-app brightness). Like ComicZeal, ComicFlow can import comics over Wi-Fi, but it'll cost you $3.99 after the first 50 transfers. If ComicFlow has one incredible advantage, its that it imports comics in the background, which is really nice.
CloudReaders is another popular one, and while its interface isn't nearly as pretty as Comic Zeal or ComicFlow, the reading experience is a good one. Like ComicFlow, flipping between pages is fantastically smooth, and it has a few more settings if you don't care about looks, care about features, and want something free.
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Of course, all the above apps are for reading your DRM-free CBR, CBZ, or PDF comics. If you want to read comics from the official source, you'll want something like Comics from ComiXology. ComiXology is the place to buy, download, and sync comics straight from companies like Marvel and DC (who, incidentally, have their own Marvel and DC versions of the app), as well as others like Image, IDW, and Disney. If you're looking for new comics from these companies, this is the app you'll want to download.
https://everbiz811.weebly.com/comicbook-reader-for-mac.html. Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.
Comic Reader Pro For Mac
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