Whether you prefer to read Marvel or DC, comics on iOS are easily available in the Netherlands via apps. We highlight a number of them.
Read Comics on iOS: Marvel, DC, and More
In the Netherlands we mainly read comics, but in the United States everything revolves around comics. These short strips tell an ongoing story, with a cliffhanger at the end of each edition. This is the place where superheroes like Superman, Batman and Spider-Man grew up. But how do you read these comics? We list a number of apps and services for you, where you buy individual comics or take out a subscription. There are also apps that allow you to import comics yourself.
Comixology
The most logical start to reading comics on your iPhone or iPad is Comixology. This service was recently taken over by Amazon and offers comics from all kinds of comic makers. The big comics houses Marvel and DC are present, but smaller providers are also making their work readable.
Comixology has a subscription service, but unfortunately it is not available in the Benelux. That is a shame, although it is not a great loss. This service mainly offers limited series to make you tasty. If you want to read more, you still have to buy individual comics on top of the subscription price.
Still, Comixology is excellent if you read individual comics. Unfortunately, you cannot buy this directly in the app itself, but via the website Comixology.eu. There are regular offers there that you can take advantage of. You can simply log in with an Amazon account.
Reading comics in Comixology is nice, both on your iPad and iPhone, because the app guides you through the pages very cleverly. If you read on the small screen of your iPhone, the app sends you by swiping exactly to the correct speech bubbles and images, so that you get everything right.
→ Download Comixology from the App Store (free)
Marvel Unlimited
If you don’t want to think about individual comics, but just want to go wild on full series of, for example, Spider-Man, X-Men, The Avengers, Fantastic Four and more, then you’ve come to the right place at Marvel Unlimited. This is a subscription service, for which you pay monthly or annually and then read unlimited from the range of tens of thousands of comics. The biggest disadvantage, of course, is that you only have a choice of Marvel comics. But let’s be honest: those are the best.
Unlike Comixology’s subscription service, Marvel Unlimited does give you access to complete series. This allows you to read ‘runs’ of comics from start to finish without paying extra. There are a lot of old comics in the app, so you can see how famous superheroes started. Yet modern series are also constantly being added, such as the new female versions of Thor and Iron Man.
In the app you will not find any comics that have just been released. It differs per comic, but you have to wait about half a year for them to appear in the app. That is no problem, because the app has a huge range that you can enjoy for a while. In addition, both old and new comics are added every week.
Like Comixology, this app offers a pleasant way to read the comics on your iPhone by swiping from image to image. However, you are free to read how you want. Whether as a full page, horizontally, vertically or as individual images.
Tip: keep an eye out for an offer for Marvel Unlimited and then take out an annual subscription. If you do it smart, you can read unlimited comics for just over four euros a month.
→ Download Marvel Unlimited from the App Store (free)
Import comics on iOS
In the above services you obviously have to pay for your comics, as it should be. However, do you get your DRM-free comics in a different way, for example through independent comic makers? Then there are also apps to open them.
ComicRack
If you are looking for an app that focuses purely on importing your own comics, ComicRack is an excellent option. This app not only lets you import your own comics, but also organizes them in a well-organized manner. The app keeps track of where you left off in a comic and automatically zooms in the pages so that it fits on your screen.
Separately, this app works with cbz and cbr files. If you also use ComicRack for Windows, ComicRack also supports cb7, cbt, pdf and djvu files and WebComics. To do this, synchronize the app with the Windows version over WiFi. The disadvantage of ComicRack is that the app costs quite a bit of money.
→ Download ComicRack from the App Store (8.99 euros)
Comics Plus
If you don’t want to pay that much, you can try Comics Plus. As a free app, it is not as good as the above apps, but if you want to import your own comics in epub, pdf, cbr and cbz files, this is a very nice option. This app also has its own store to buy comics, if you don’t find the above options ideal.
→ Download Comics Plus from the App Store (free)