iPad .cbr reader for comics?
January 18, 2023 12:47 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for a new .cbr reader for iPad. Willing to pay a little bit to avoid ads in-app, but would love something free that works well, as Comic Zeal seems to be dead/off the App Store.
I used (and loved) Comic Zeal for a really, really long time. Unfortunately, I think it's essentially been abandoned by the developer and no longer plays well with newer versions of iOS. It went from being janky (wouldn't allow me to turn pages or access other files in the library unless I turn the iPad to landscape then back physically) to broken (when I tap on it, I get the "app is opening" iPad animation, then a black screen, then the home screen again).
The timing isn't great, as I'm doing a comic strip project with students, and had used various comics to help them understand layouts and more creative ways to build the panels of their stories. I'm looking for something that works, that has an in-app library that can be organized, is DRM free, and it would be nice if I could load files over wifi like Comic Zeal could.
I used (and loved) Comic Zeal for a really, really long time. Unfortunately, I think it's essentially been abandoned by the developer and no longer plays well with newer versions of iOS. It went from being janky (wouldn't allow me to turn pages or access other files in the library unless I turn the iPad to landscape then back physically) to broken (when I tap on it, I get the "app is opening" iPad animation, then a black screen, then the home screen again).
The timing isn't great, as I'm doing a comic strip project with students, and had used various comics to help them understand layouts and more creative ways to build the panels of their stories. I'm looking for something that works, that has an in-app library that can be organized, is DRM free, and it would be nice if I could load files over wifi like Comic Zeal could.
YACReader
I have been using this for years, both the iPad app and the MacOS library to organize things, though the library is not required for reading. Everything just works and looks nice.
posted by Animus at 4:03 AM on January 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have been using this for years, both the iPad app and the MacOS library to organize things, though the library is not required for reading. Everything just works and looks nice.
posted by Animus at 4:03 AM on January 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Seconding YACReader, which is where I landed when I got tired of all the ways Comic Zeal was becoming unpleasant to use before finally just completely breaking.
posted by Aznable at 5:32 AM on January 18, 2023
posted by Aznable at 5:32 AM on January 18, 2023
I use ComicFlow. I have no problems with it, it just works. You can upload CBR, PDF, JPGs inside a ZIP, whatever you like, and it makes it readable. No ads.
Sometimes the web-based uploading can be a bit fiddly (eg. if it falls foul of a firewall on your network), but I've always been able to get it working.
I installed it a long time ago and never updated it, so I hope it's still available and still works.
posted by snarfois at 7:39 AM on January 18, 2023
Sometimes the web-based uploading can be a bit fiddly (eg. if it falls foul of a firewall on your network), but I've always been able to get it working.
I installed it a long time ago and never updated it, so I hope it's still available and still works.
posted by snarfois at 7:39 AM on January 18, 2023
Another vote for Chunky here. I paid to upgrade it and the integration with Dropbox and other web storage tools has been tremendous. Admittedly I haven't tried any others, but I have a hard time imagining something doing a better job with comics on the iPad.
posted by Shepherd at 11:19 AM on January 18, 2023
posted by Shepherd at 11:19 AM on January 18, 2023
Late answer, but I just came across this question. I use Panels and am quite fond of it.
posted by lousywiththespirit at 3:06 PM on February 10, 2023
posted by lousywiththespirit at 3:06 PM on February 10, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by TheRaven at 1:21 AM on January 18, 2023