Best Cbz Reader For Mac

There are many reasons to buy an iPad10 Things That Were Harder Before the iPad10 Things That Were Harder Before the iPadSince its launch in 2010, the iPad has driven a revolution in personal computing. Even when you're using a Surface Pro 3 or Samsung Galaxy tablet, the iPad is still at the back of your...Read More, but few are as nerdy as the pursuit of a digital comic book reader8 Places To Buy Comics Online, Whether You Like It On Paper Or Digital8 Places To Buy Comics Online, Whether You Like It On Paper Or DigitalI am presuming here that you the reader are now an adult or at least in your late teens who is probably reading at least a Dan Brown or the latest bestseller on political philosophy....Read More. These days the comic book scene is very much alive and kicking on iOS. “Best — tablet — ever,” indeed.

If you're looking for a CBR and CBZ reader for your favorite OS, look no farther. Comical is an easy-to-use, featureful GUI comic book viewer, written in C++ using wxWidgets. I'd like to read some of my comics on my lunch break at work, but the free.CBR reader I've historically used must have a little spyware attached to it, so the super-secure machines at work won't let me install it.

If you’re reading on Android be sure to check out our top picks4 Android Apps For Reading Your PDF Comic Book Collection4 Android Apps For Reading Your PDF Comic Book CollectionDo you have comics saved in PDF format, or are you just looking for a good comic book reader? Check out these amazing Android apps.Read More for your platform, but today we’ll be limiting our search to apps found on Apple’s App Store.

.CBR/.CBZ Readers

ComicFlow (free)

ComicFlow takes a free, simple, and open-source approach to reading digital comics. It’s probably the best place to start if you’re getting into digital comics, and it allows you to load up your iPad with .CBR, .CBZ and .PDF files before hitting the road. Organization is minimal — just put your comics into a folder, and they’ll be treated as a series.

The reader is polished, reliable, pleasant to use, and even allows you to transfer comics via WiFi using a web server (or WebDAV server) that runs on your iPad. To use it, ensure the server is started by visiting the app settings, then on your computer, visit the supplied URL to drag, drop, and manage your collection. Unfortunately the feature is limited to 50 transfers, after which you’ll need to pay $4.99 via in-app purchase.

With a focus on simplicity over features, ComicFlow provides a minimal toolset with which to read your collection of comic and graphic novel files. The app even promises to handle thousands of comics and tens of gigabytes of files without grinding to a halt.

Bottom line: The best place to start your iPad comic book journey before deciding you need to upgrade.

iComix (free)

Just like ComicFlow above, iComix is another completely free solution with an emphasis on minimalism rather than complex features or customization. The app literally has two themes (light and dark), a simple library with a few tools for organizing your collection, and it places its main emphasis on downloading comics from cloud storage.

There’s no handy WiFi transfer using a web browser, but if you’re using Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, or Pogoplug to store and download comics, this is the best free tool for the job, though you can also transfer files over iTunes File Transfer.

The app only supports .CBR and .CBZ filesCreate CBR/CBZ Files To Distribute Your Comic Strip Or Graphic NovelCreate CBR/CBZ Files To Distribute Your Comic Strip Or Graphic NovelThe Internet has been kind to comic book creators (although piracy has inflicted a big dent in the profits of the major publishers) and web comics and sequential art tales created specifically for an online...Read More, so PDFs are out, but you can open supported files in iComix (from other apps) to automatically add them to your library.

Bottom line: The best free choice if you depend on Dropbox, OneDrive, or other supported cloud services, and it also emphasises simplicity.

YACReader ($1.99)

YACReader literally stands for “Yet Another Comic Reader” and can be considered somewhat of a paid upgrade for those who need a little more than iComix or ComicFlow provides. The app supports .CBR, .CBZ, .ZIP and .RAR archives, and allows you to transfer your comics via Dropbox or iTunes File Transfer.

The app really shines when combined with the free desktop version of YACReader for Mac, Windows, and Linux. If you’ve got a large collection already being managed on your main machine, you can connect YACReader for iPad and peruse or download comics straight to your tablet without the need for iTunes or Dropbox.

YACReader is a step up in terms of customization options over free readers and even features a slick one-tap mode for quickly chewing through your favourite strips.

Bottom line: If you’re already using YACReader on your computer, you’d be silly not to install this as it integrates beautifully and allows you to access your full collection on your iPad.

iComics ($1.99)

Highly customizable and polished, iComics is a solution just like YACReader for those who demand more from their comic book reader. As testament to this, iComics supports more document formats than any other reader, comfortably munching through .ZIP, .CBZ, .RAR, .CBR, .7ZIP, .CB7, .TAR, .CBT, .LZH, .LHA, .EPUB, and .PDF file types.

The app boasts some niche features including support for right-to-left reading, the ability to share individual comic pages over email and support for printing individual pages. You can organise your comics into collections and even restrict page zooming to cut off unsightly borders. iComics also places great emphasis on the reading experience, with “super smooth scrolling” between pages.

Unfortunately iComics is a bit of a let down in terms of transfer options, with iTunes File Sharing and importing from other apps the only ways of populating your collection. WiFi transfer via a Web browser would be nice!

Bottom line: Ideal if you need a reader that can handle strange file types with some great customization features but ultimately let down by limited file transfer methods.

Comic Zeal ($4.99)

A premium product that has been in development for six years, Comic Zeal is mature and rich in features but may seem bloated to those with few demands from a reader. The $4.99 price tag guarantees you a huge range of features, including powerful organization tools — perfect for keeping large numbers of comics at your disposal.

The app includes support for file transfer over WiFi using a Web browser, downloading from cloud services including Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud Drive, import via AirDrop and good old fashioned iTunes File Transfer. It’s worth mentioning that full WiFi transfer support in freebie ComicFlow will also set you back $5.

In addition to seemingly endless customization, Comic Zeal includes a power-user feature called “The Slider” which makes it easy to organise, create reading lists, reorder comics, and easily access other powerful functions. It might be expensive, but it’s packed with features.

Bottom line: Probably the most feature-rich comic reader out there, highly organised with some serious features for those who demand them.

See also: Marvel Comics

The iPad comic book community has lost a faithful servant in ComicBookLover, a comprehensive reader for both iPhone and iPad (with separate versions) that didn’t cost a thing. Though the apps are very much available on the App Store, both versions ceased working with the arrival of iOS 8What's New In iOS 8?What's New In iOS 8?After last year's big iOS 7 redesign, you'd expect a muted iOS 8 announcement at this year's Worldwide Developer Conference – but you'd be wrong.Read More and only the iPhone version has seen an update since.

.@eduo Maintaining legacy support gets harder and harder as Apple deprecates APIs and offers new ones which save development time. Sorry!

Cbr Reader Mac Free

— ComicBookLover (@comicbooklover) February 19, 2014

So unless you’d like to run an iPhone app on your iPad (for a comic book reader, that’s not a great idea) you’ll have to wait and see whether or not the project will spring back to life. The support forums have been “archived” (never a good sign), the Twitter feed has been silent since February, and users are reporting emails going unanswered.

Store & Publisher Apps

If you’d rather browse and buy your comics directly on your iPad, one of these apps might fit the bill instead. All are free, but all have in-app purchases or depend on money being exchanged at some point (though free content does exist).

comiXology

comiXology is probably the most recognisable name in the digital comic book game, providing access to Marvel, DC, Image Comics, IDW, Disney and more. The only problem is you can’t currently buy them in-app, but you can add them to your wishlist and buy using a Web browser (Safari on your iPad) or from a desktop. See how ComiXology compares to Marvel UnlimitedMarvel Unlimited vs. ComiXology Unlimited: Which Is Best?Marvel Unlimited vs. ComiXology Unlimited: Which Is Best?Here's our breakdown of Marvel Unlimited vs. ComiXology Unlimited, comparing the costs, content, and interfaces to pick a winner.Read More in case you’re deciding between the two.

Why? Because Apple decided that if you want to offer purchases via an app, those purchases must be made through their infrastructure. As Apple swallows 30% of all purchases, comiXology chose to remove the functionality altogether. This doesn’t affect your ability to download all previously purchased items within the app, whenever you want. ComiXology also makes it onto the best apps and sites to read comic books on your MacThe 9 Best Apps and Sites for Reading Comic Books on MacThe 9 Best Apps and Sites for Reading Comic Books on MacLove comics and want to read on your computer? Here are our favorite comic book readers for Mac.Read More.

Comics Plus

Comics Plus is a service just like comiXology that sells digital editions from Dark Circle, DC, IDW, Valiant, Vertigo and many more. Comics Plus differentiates itself from the pack by offering additional graphic novel rentals for 24, 48, or 120 hours (though not all available titles are included).

All purchases take the form of in-app purchases, though you can also load the app up with your own comics as it has support for .EPUB, .PDF, .CBR and .CBZ via iTunes File Transfer. Comics Plus’ own “uView” comic assistant brings “community-created reading experiences” to your favourite comics.

Madefire Comics

Another digital comic book store like comiXology and Comics Plus, Madefire Comics provides access to DC, IDW, Dark Horse, Oni Press, and publications from Top Cow in digital format. Madefire’s niche comprises of “Motion Books” — a flagship reading experience that brings comics to life with interactivity, sound, and animation.

Included are some “choose your own adventure” tales, along with deviantArt integration that features fresh talent from the Web’s largest community of artists. Everything within the app is purchased as an in-app purchase, and you can download your entire catalogue within the app itself.

Publishers: DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Vertigo

What can be said about the apps supplies by comic publishers themselves? Most are fairly basic readers, with a store and library tacked-on with little organisation required on your part. While most of the companies selling their wares on the App Store release their comics to other stores (like comiXology), certain items are kept exclusive either permanently or for a temporary period.

Fans with a tendency for certain publishers will get a kick out of these outlets, but for the casual fan having your collection spread across several different services isn’t particularly desirable. If that sounds like you then you should stick to .CBR/.CBZ readers or one of the other stores listed above.

For more, check out these free comic resourcesThe 10 Best Ways to Read Comics Online for FreeThe 10 Best Ways to Read Comics Online for FreeComic books aren't cheap to buy. However, you can save some money by using these sites to read comics online for free.Read More and how to keep your comic collection organized with ComicRackHow to Organize Your Comic Collection Using ComicRackHow to Organize Your Comic Collection Using ComicRackIf you have a large selection of digital comics, you can use ComicRack to browse, sort, and display your comics.Read More.

Explore more about: Comics, iPad, Reading.

  1. Chunky was the best and I paid for the upgrade to pro, but now it crashes on startup on an ipad 2. Even after deleting the entire library, uninstalling, and reinstalling. Too bad, because it was better than all the others.

  2. If this was to be a one-item list, it had to include Chunky.

  3. I love chunky but it crashes nonstop on my ipad 2/ios9.2.

    I switched to it from Comic Zeal. Still looking for something that doesn't crash much on an older device.

  4. Yeah, Chunky should have absolutely been on this list.

  5. Chunky.

  6. Uhm, yeah Chunky kinda blows all of these out of the water really. It should have at least been on the list.

  7. I've tried a good portion of these, but a few months ago I discovered Chunky Comic Reader and it has become my default. Very nice with lots of features, and free.

Reading paper comics is fun, but if you want to take a ton of great reads with you on your laptop, or read your favorite titles on your computer's huge display, you need a solid comic reader. This week we're looking at five of the best, based on your nominations.

Earlier this week we asked you to tell us which comic book readers you thought were the best, since our previous picks were getting a little out of date (and our previous champion, CDisplayEx, apparently is bundled with a boatload of malware that many of you have written in to complain about.) You offered up tons of great nominations—and defenses of CDisplayEx—but we only have room for your top five. Here they are, in no particular order:

What's The Best Desktop Comic Book Reader?

We all love paper comics, and digital versions don't have to replace them—but if you…

Read more Read

Advertisement

ComicRack (Windows)

Advertisement

ComicRack is a free, feature-packed comic reader for Windows. It made the roundup the last time we looked at your favorite desktop comic readers, and it was a popular nominee this time around as well. The app supports and can export almost any comic book file, and also supports image viewing through ZIP, RAR, and 7z archives so you don't have to unpack them first. The app has a customizable, three-paned interface to let you navigate through files and folders inside the app, browse your comics in one pane, and read pages in another. You can even full-screen the app to read in a more immersive view. Another feature that makes ComicRack stand out is that you can collect your favorite comics together in collections, pack them up as a CBZ file, and export the archive so its readable on other devices. ComicRack even allows you to share your comic library over your home network so you can go to another room and pick up where you left off.

Those of you who nominated ComicRack praised it for its library management features, which make organizing and collecting your comics as easy as reading them. The reader can also be used to catalog your paper comic collection, can sync with its Android or iOS apps for on-the-go comic reading, and more. You can read more praise in its nomination thread here.

Cbz Reader Download

Advertisement

SimpleComic (Mac)

Advertisement

SimpleComic is a free, simple option for OS X that's easy to install, lightweight, and easy to use. If you're looking for an incredibly simple comic reader that supports both windowed and full-screen comic views, this is your reader. The app scales your pages to the size of the window when not in full-screen, supports quick look in OS X, so you can peek through the comic before you settle in to read it, automatically saves your place when you stop reading, and more. The app also supports translation and other notes left in the metadata, and is completely open source. The app also supports just about any comic book archive format you can think of, along with ZIP, RAR, and 7z archives. You also get translation notes and text notes, and more. It's also open source, so you can contribute and get involved with the project yourself at its GitHub page.

Those of you who nominated and supported the SimpleComic nomination pointed out that it's a dead simple comic reader for Mac, with an easy to use interface, no bloat or unnecessary features. You also noted that the QuickLook plugin that lets you peek through the comic before you read it just by pressing the Space bar is an excellent feature, and the fact that the app has been largely functional and feature-strong for the past several years—without the temptation to add adware or bloat to the app—is a great thing. Read more in its nomination thread here.

Advertisement

MComix (Windows, Linux)

Advertisement

MComix is an updated fork of the Comix project, a comic reader that made the top five the last time we looked at the best desktop comic readers. Comix stopped development a few years back, and MComix has been updated with a few new tricks, bug fixes, and stability improvements. It still supports ZIP, RAR, 7Zip, LHA or tar/gz/bz2 archives (as well as any old folder full of plain image files), and it brings tons of great features to the table. The reader was designed to handle sequential images in a simple interface that works really well for comic books. All of the pages run down the left side of the screen, and a large pane on the right shows you the current page. MComix is lightweight, free, open-source, and gets the job done. Comix does require Python, PyGTK+ (or another GTK+ framework), and the Python Imaging Library (PIL) installed on your system before it'll run. Some package managers already include Comix, so installing it may be a terminal command away on your Linux system. Windows users can just fire up the installer and go.

MComix was a pretty popular nominee, with a few of you highlighting the fact that it's the natural continuation of one of the best comic readers available, and it's a great image viewer for other types of files and folders as well. Simple and lightweight, and multifunctional, so you can use it even when you're not reading comics. You can read more in its nomination thread here.

Advertisement

Astonishing Comic Reader (Chrome)

Advertisement

The only Chome app in the roundup, Astonishing Comic Reader is actually cross-platform and works just about everywhere Chrome does. There's also a Windows 8 app, but those of you who nominated Astonishing Comic Reader specifically called out the Chrome app. The reader supports CBZ and CBR comics, there's a beta version in testing in the Google+ community right now that supports PDF comics, a night mode for reading in the dark, offline support (so just because it's a Chrome app doesn't mean you have to be online all the time), and a simpler user interface that lets you use Chrome to read your comics the same way you would use it to browse the web. Astonishing Comic Reader also has an Android app, which also has Chromecast support so you can read your comics on virtually any screen, large or small. Plus, it's completely free, and ad-free.

Those of you who nominated Astonishing Comic Reader specifically highlighted the fact that it's ideal if you want to read comics on a computer where you can't install anything, like a work computer or you're using a locked-down account, but a Chrome extension is okay. One of you specifically mentioned that you carry your comics on a USB drive and like to read at work, but can't install a heavier comic reader. Also, the developer is exceptionally responsive to comments and feature requests, and the app's Google+ community is busy and bustling with users sharing experiences and talking to the developer. You also mentioned that both apps remember your place, and can open comics stored in cloud storage services or on local media. Read more praise in its nomination thread.

Advertisement

Cbz Reader For Windows

MangaMeeya (Windows)

Advertisement

Cbz reader download

MangaMeeya hasn't been updated in a while, but it's still a great option for Windows users looking for a great comic reader. The reader is (and has been) maintained by fans at Manga Underground, although its origins are a little mysterious. Regardless of where the original utility was born, the program works especially well for manga fans, who often have to deal with translation notes and often read from right to left (the way the original manga is published). That isn't to imply that MangaMeeya is only good for manga. The app is a great comic reader and image viewer for all images, and allows you to read multiple pages at once, customize key commands to browse images, and works just fine as a sequential image viewer even if you're not reading comics or manga. MangaMeeya also supports image browsing through RAR and ZIP archives, and can unpack them to a folder as well.

In its nomination thread, some of you noted that MangaMeeya is super-fast, super-lightweight, and runs on just about anything you throw it on. Whether you're reading manga or regular comics, it has all the right features like support for image archives and Unicode support. It's missing library management features, but you noted that it's extremely stable and reliable, and super fast to make up for it. Similarly, even though the app claims to only work in XP and Windows 7, all versions run in Windows 8+ as well, and you can choose from the light version or the 'ultra-light' version. Read more in its nomination thread here.

Advertisement

Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to put them all to a flat out vote to determine the community favorite:

Advertisement

This week's honorable mention actually goes right back out to our previous champ, CDisplay/CDisplayEx. Many of you rallied to its defense when we mentioned that we couldn't recommend it anymore—you said that its installer does try and trick you into installing adware, but if you're careful with it, you can avoid it entirely (something we've mentioned in previous posts about it), and that if you download the app from a trustworthy source, you won't get an installer bundled with malware. Similarly, others of you pointed out that you've had the app forever and just never updated it, so it works just fine, gets the job done, and is still one of the best options out there for reading comics in Windows.

We completely agree, and even though we can't put it in the top five anymore, it's definitely a solid, feature-rich option that you should check out if you're a smart and savvy user who can clear that minefield with ease.

Advertisement

Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don't just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

Advertisement