Marvel Unlimited, Scribd and Comixology Unlimited: A Comparison.

For any comic fans wanting to read hundreds of comics without breaking the bank, there are now several options available.  One option is sites like HumbleBundle and Groupees which occasionally offer bundles of digital comics for incredibly cheap prices.  Another way is with a monthly subscription to Marvel Unlimited, Scribd, or Comixology Unlimited, which you could loosely describe as kind of like 'Netflix for comics'.

Here's a summary of each of the services...

Marvel Unlimited

Marvel Unlimited

Pros:
1) The Marvel Unlimited library includes over 17,000 comics!

2) You can save up to 12 comics to your device for offline reading.

3) The Marvel Unlimited app is available for Android and iOS, and subscribers can also read comics on the Marvel website.

4) A monthly subscription costs only $9.99, or an annual subscription is even better value at $69.  Look out also for special introductory offers from time to time, such as your first month free, etc.

5) The Marvel Unlimited library is fairly comprehensive from 2000 onwards.

6) New comics are added every week with recent titles added after a six month delay.  The exact number of new additions varies from week to week, but 25-40 per week is fairly typical.  As well as recent (six month old) comics being added, each week you'll generally see a few comics from years-gone-by added as well.

10 Websites For Free Comics, 'Pay What You Want' Comics and Cheap Bundled Comics

Free and great value introductions to the world of comics...

With the current trend for successful Hollywood movies based on popular comic book characters, it's likely that a number of new readers will have been attracted to the comic book market in recent years.  If you're curious about comics yourself, but not sure where to start, then here are a few websites where you can legally download free digitial comics, 'pay what you want' comics, and cheap bundled comics...

Django/Zorro: One of over 200
comics in the Dynamite Mega Bundle.

Bundled Comics:

1) The Dynamite Mega Bundle

I'll start things off with an absolutely brilliant deal from Dynamite Entertainment and BitTorrent; The Dynamite Mega Bundle.  This comics bundle has two levels; the basic bundle is free and features 30 comics, or the complete bundle features over 200 comics and is available for a 'pay what you want' price, with a minimum of $6!  Personally, I would definitely recommend buying the full bundle, as at $6 for over 200 comics, that works out at under 3 cents per comic!

If you want to test the water first though, then the free bundle is also a great deal and features a wide range of comics, with my own personal favourites including Django/Zorro, Bob's Burgers, Ex-Con, Uncanny and The Twilight Zone.  Truthfully though, I'm still only a fraction of the way through reading the entire bundle, so I'll probably discover several more recommended comics before I finish reading the entire set of comics.
The Dynamite Mega Bundle!

Free Stuff!

Music, web shows, guide books, etc ... all for free!

This month's post is for the benefit of anyone who spent a little too much cash over Christmas and New Year.  All the items featured in this post are free!

1) Free web series:

Pioneer One was funded entirely through donations.

Pioneer One is a cool web series which was financed via crowdfunding and won the Best Drama Pilot at the 2010 New York Television Festival.  It's distributed with a creative commons licence, and each episode is available free (via torrents) from the VODO website:

This is the blurb:
"A mysterious spaceship has entered Earth's atmosphere. A US Department of Homeland Security investigation has uncovered a live human being in a Soviet space suit in an unstable condition. A note in Russian, found at the crash site, claims the man is the child of cosmonauts living at a base on Mars."

Funny Webcomics Worth Checking Out

Surreal humour from comic strips found on the web...

There are lots of amusing webcomics out there with large followings of fans, but in my opinion many of these webcomics deserve an even bigger audience.  This month I've therefore featured below a few comic strips from some favourite webcomics of mine...

1) Unearthed Comics

This first comic strip is from the Unearthed Comics website created by Sara Zimmerman (with her husband Rob providing support), and it features quite a literal joke...

Comics: The Li'l Depressed Boy

The Li'l Depressed Boy: A Uniquely Appealing Comic

The Li'l Depressed Boy: "A comic with a lot of charm."

When I first discovered The Li’l Depressed Boy, I was immediately curious about the title, but at the same time it was a title which also almost put me off reading it.  I wondered if maybe this was a downbeat depressing comic where the main character just mopes about feeling sorry for himself.  Thankfully, I was wrong and The Li'l Depressed Boy is just a regular dude who likes doing regular things, trying to deal with regular life.

It’s hard to really describe why I enjoyed the opening issue so much, as all that happens is that the Li’l Depressed Boy meets a girl and does ordinary stuff like going to gigs (and playing laser quest!).  Whatever the reason though, the opening issue left me feeling excited at having discovered a cool new comic, but also confused as to why exactly I had enjoyed this comic so much.

Maybe part of the appeal is the fact that writer S. Steven Struble has created story-lines about everyday real-life, rather than fantastical adventures, and therefore many readers will find it easy to relate to.  And without doubt another of the reasons why I instantly made a connection with this comic is the cool stylised way in which The Li’l Depressed Boy is depicted.