Free Online Comics & Graphic Novels

Where to Read Comics & Graphic Novels for Free on the Web

Jul 5, 2009

Comics and graphic novels can be expensive. Many publishers allow you to read some of them before you fork over your hard-earned cash.

Something for nothing, that's the American dream. Some comic book and graphic novel publishers are making that dream a reality by offering free comics on their websites.

Authors, Artists and Publishers Get More Exposure

The Internet provides the industry with an easy way to increase the exposure of its products by allowing customers to read full issues of comics or graphic novels on their computer (or iPhone or Blackberry) screen. A large number of these no-charge titles are lesser-known or debut titles such as Fantastic Life, by Kevin Mutch for Blurred Books and Ferro City, by Jason Armstrong for Image Comics, which may otherwise be marooned in the vast sea of the comic book world.

It's not only up-and-coming publishers, well-known outlets like DC Comics, Marvel and Dark Horse also make some of their products available for the cost of your Internet service. For instance, DC Comics uses its Vertigo line to display the first issue of Preacher, by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon and Glenn Fabry; Marvel directs users to its separate Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited site; and Dark Horse promotes its Free Comic Book Day once a year.

Other Outlets Offering Free Comic Content

There are almost as many comic book outlets as there are comic book fans. Listed below are some of the ones you may not have heard of before.

Comic Book & Graphic Novel Readers are the Real Winners

If you follow a series or just like to read a comic once in a while for a fun change of pace, you know it can get expensive. For example, the six-part series The Umbrella Academy, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba, will cost you about $2.99 per new issue, depending on where you buy it. That will set you back a total of $17.94 for the whole series, which doesn't include any tax or shipping costs. It's not a whole lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but a lot of comic book readers follow more than one series, and each one costs money to buy.

Another free option is your local library, but chances are it is not going to carry the lesser-known titles from the smaller publishers. So check out the freebies at the aforementioned websites. A whole new free world is just a click away.

The copyright of the article Free Online Comics & Graphic Novels in Graphic Novels/Comics is owned by Kevin Hanson. Permission to republish Free Online Comics & Graphic Novels in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.