It can become a costly hobby if you don’t find the best digital services to read comics. I found Marvel Unlimited and, from there, read about 2000 comics over the next three years. As I expanded to other publishers, I spent about $1000/yr purchasing non-marvel titles. I started researching the different subscription options and found a combination that keeps me under $50/mo for nearly unlimited comic book reading.
Digital Services I currently use to read comics
- Marvel Unlimited – This is my first stop for anything Marvel. They have +30,000 digital comics covering the entire Marvel Universe and continue to add. Marvel Unlimited has complete coverage of the most notable characters and events, and new titles are added on a six-month delay. The back catalog has some gaps in the more obscure titles, but this is continuously being improved. This subscription is a must-have for Marvel readers. Cost: $9.99/mo ($99/yr)
- Kindle Unlimited – I will look to Kindle Unlimited first if I am not reading Marvel. It has a pretty good variety of comics included, especially for the non-DC/Marvel publishers, but it usually only contains the first few titles of a run that I want to read. The free start was problematic — until I found Hoopla. Now I will start the series in Kindle Unlimited and then transition to Hoopla to finish it out. Kindle Unlimited also has a much smaller catalog than Comixology (see below) but includes books, so I chose this route. I recommend Comixology for a bigger selection and lower cost if you are only interested in comics. Cost: $9.99/mo
- Hoopla – Hoopla has a great selection, and best off, IT IS FREE WITH A LIBRARY CARD! The only reason that this is third on the list is that you are limited to 6 borrows per month. I start with my subscriptions and try to save my borrows for titles I need to buy. That typically works out because Hoopla mainly contains trade paperback collections, not individual titles. Each book tends to be about 300 pages, so I get 1500 to 1800 pages of free comic books per month. Hoopla has been the saving grace on my wallet, especially as I am trying to catch up on 50 years of comic book reading. Cost: Free with my library card
- Kindle purchases – Last, I can’t find an issue in the above I will buy select titles through my Kindle. I limit this to 1 or 2 purchases a month. Cost: I try to keep this to under $20/mo
- Physical Copies – This is still my preferred way to read comics. I try to get physical copies of my favorite stories, the ones I know I will be re-reading several times. I try to buy the Hardcover Omnibus/Compendiums that also look nice on the bookshelf. This is purely a splurge on my part, and you can avoid it with the options above. Cost: Limited — mostly comes as Birthday and Holiday Gifts from the Family
Other digital services to consider
- Comixology Unlimited – Owned by Amazon and has a much larger library (+40,000 titles) than Kindle Unlimited. I chose Kindle Unlimited because I like the book selection in addition to comic books and can typically fill the gaps with Hoopla. If you are not a book reader, this is the best Amazon service to use to read only comics. Cost: $5.99/mo
- DC Universe Infinite – I can get most of the DC titles through trade paperbacks on Hoopla, so I have not needed to invest in DC’s subscription service. I will re-evaluate if I find myself buying more one-off books to fill in story gaps. Cost: $7.99/mo ($74.99/yr)
Photo by Mahdiar Mahmoodi on Unsplash
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