The Coronavirus pandemic has thrown the comic book industry for a loop, giving fans week after week without new comics for the first time in years. To make matters worse, their favorite superheroes, characters, and senses of humor have gone missing when they’re needed most, as millions around the world weather the storm in isolation.
To help those comic readers during this difficult time, some creators and publishers have come to the rescue by releasing free digital content while the printed weekly issues and trade paperbacks are unavailable. We’ve rounded up some of those that are currently providing fans with the best online content for free.
Marvel Comics have made their digital comics subscription service Marvel Unlimited free untiil May 4th, meaning complete story arcs will be available at no cost — and unlike other subscription services, Marvel has said a trial subscription is not required to get access to the service. To be able to read the comics one simply has to download the app and click ‘free comics’ on the homepage. There are over 27,000 issues online for fans, so there is plenty of content to keep the boredom at bay.
Along with Marvel, comiXology remains a go-to source for a wide range of comics digitally. But if you’re looking to get your weekly dose of comics digitally, for cheaper, and in bulk, they offer a subscription to comiXology Unlimited for a small fee. Normally readers can get a 30 day free trial to try out the service, but during the coronavirus pandemic, this has been extended by comiXology to 60 days. The extended trial means comic book fans will have access to thousands of comics digitally if you have an Amazon account, before having to decide if they want to shell out for a subscription.
On the webcomic side, Rachael Smith is a comic creator and illustrator from Hebden Bridge in the United Kingdom who has been making her own comics for a few years. Currently working for Titan Comics on their Doctor Who titles, Smith has multiple web comics and graphic novels such as House Party to her name. To help comic book readers through the pandemic, Smith has been creating a daily web comic called Quarantine Comix giving insights into the reality of life during lockdown. The stories have proven to be widely relatable thus far, offering a small bit of comfort to those who are also housebound. Smith’s daily dose of entertainment can be found on both her Twitter and Facebook pages.
Dave Cook is an award winning comic book writer from Scotland who first found success with his comics through Kickstarter. Starting in the industry writing about video games, Cook now uses his skills to write comics across a wide range of genres. His most recent comic release, the cyberpunk series Killtopia has won multiple awards across the Scottish comic book scene. Cook is currently sharing the comics that came before Killtopia for free, including the post-apocalyptic series Bust and fantasy series Vessels.
Dark Horse Comics has released more than 80 of their first issue comics, as well as some of their graphic novels completely for free over on Dark Horse Digital. The titles will are being offered at no cost until April 30th, and include hits like American Gods, Stranger Things, Umbrella Academy, and Witchfinder, as well as graphic novels Hellboy Volume 1: Seed of Destruction, Beasts of Burden Volume 1 and Empowered Volume 1! For younger readers, selections like Disney’s Frozen and Itty Bitty Mask are up for grabs. There is also a 50% sale on a lot of other Dark Horse titles once you get hooked on the first issues.
Catana Comics is comprised of an American couple who have been making comics about their relationship since 2016. The connection between Catana and John — shown through Catana’s illustrations — has melted hearts around the world, to the point they have over 3 million followers on Instagram. The web comics focus on capturing small moments from relationships readers can relate to, with recent comics centering on couples working from home during lockdown.
Black Hearted Press (known more commonly as BHP) is an independent publishing house based in Scotland, producing graphic novels and art books from both emerging talent and well known names in the industry like John Wagner and Frank Quitely. The publisher also runs multiple events across Scotland, including the popular comic convention Glasgow Comic Con. BHP are offering their full color sitcomic title Laptop Guy for free to keep readers entertained. Other titles published by BHP including Dungeon Fun and Pirate Fun by Neil Slorance and Colin Bell are also available for free.
Bryan Talbot is a popular British comic book writer and artist who has won multiple awards for his work, including the San Diego Comic-Con Inkpot Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comic Arts. To get readers through these trying times, Talbot has worked with his webmaster James Robertson to put together a downloadable compilation of all the free comics published on his site over the years. The stories include not only those by Talbot, but also includes work by big names such as Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman.
Valiant Comics is also giving away free content during the COVID-19 crisis, ranging from first issues to graphic novels. The following thread on Twitter is updated daily with more comics available, so make sure to keep checking which extra titles have been added. One of the free titles available is Bloodshot, which was recently adapted into a film starring Vin Diesel in the title role. Bloodshot was pinned as the film that would ignite a Valiant cinematic universe, but was one of the first victims to be claimed by the coronavirus due to its March release date.
2000 AD is also offering a mega collection of free comics to keep minds entertained while stuck indoors. Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files Vol.5 is a 400 page collection with multiple stories about dystopian law-enforcer Judge Dredd. The giant volume includes a lot of classic tales about Judge Dredd, including The Mega-Rackets, Judge Death Lives!, Diary of a Mad Citizen, The Hotdog Run, Block Mania and The Apocalypse War!
Another big publisher giving away first issues of comics digitally to reel you in to read the rest is Image Comics. Forget a small or curated library: Image has made their entire first issue line available for free, encouraging readers that if they enjoy the first issues, they should then get in touch with local comic shops directly to indulge in the full story to follow.
Neymar Jr. Comics is a company that has only been around since 2018 but already has more than 3 millions followers. The graphic novel company was set up by the famous footballer Neymar Jr. and has more than 200 comics available. The comics are original narratives about Neymar’s life and interests told through superhero and sci-fi stories. Readers from around the world can pick up the tales straight away, with the titles being available in English, Castilian and Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian. As well as having the entire library accessible for free, artists from the brand will also be doing live streams and demonstrations to keep fans of the comics entertained.
As well as creators and publishers providing free comics to fans, many across the industry have been raising money to help save the struggling shops. Veterans of the industry started the online auction #Creators4Comics, which has seen creators around the world auctioning off work to raise donations. A glimmer of hope for normality in the near future has been seen with DC confirming new comics are coming, along with Diamond Comic Distributors aiming to reopen in May. Best put the time until then to use, finding out which digital comics to chase down when things return to normal.
