Ahh, Free Comic Book Day! One of the most wonderful time of the year. Nerds of all kinds flock to stores all around the globe to grab some free books from their favorite companies, trying out new things and hopefully spreading the joy of comics through our inherent love of free things.
But, it’s 2013. Free Comic Book Day doesn’t just exist in stores anymore. In fact, we have free comics all year ’round, and I’m not just talking about the stuff you pirate (don’t pirate!). There are plenty of digital-specific comics that are available for you, so today we’d like to share a few free digital options that you may enjoy when you get back from the store.
Thrillbent
Launched by Mark Waid, Thrillbent is an online comic publisher based on the type of digital comics Yves Bigerel designed, in which we’re given only pieces of panels at a time in order to really optimize the sequential reading experience. While it was initially just Waid’s “Insufferable”, the site has grown in content to house such exciting comics as “The Eighth Seal” and “Pax Arena”, all of which utilize this particular style. It’s definitely a great one-stop shop for digital comics, all of which are free, and all of which can be found at Thrillbent Dot Com.
Challenger
One of my personal favorites, Challenger Comics is an imprint by Ryan Ferrier. Housing not only his work (such as “Tiger Lawyer” and “Ultranova”), the imprint now has all kinds of comics available for you to read by a wide bevy of talented folk. And while there are plenty of comics that you can buy (both physically and digitally), there are a ton of free comics to read on the site, such as “The Harvest”, “Tales to Defile”, “Southpaw” and “Baby Girl”. There is no specific style to Challenger, but rather just an all encompassing creator-owned style of shorts, one-shots and ongoings, and all of it is worth checking out.
You can investigate further at ReadChallenger Dot Com
Keenspot
Keenspot is a lesser known comic spot, but it’s full of awesome things if you take the time to look. Specifically, Keenspot is where several creators are digitally serializing their work, including Image favorites “Skullkickers”, “27” and “Green Wake”. It’s an interesting method, taking something that was traditionally in print and giving it away for free one page at a time, but if Jim Zub’s post extolling the benefits of this move in increasing the audience for “Skullkickers” is any indication, it’s clear that Keenspot is a force to be reckoned with.
Plus, come on: free “Green Wake.” That’s just delicious on every level.
You can check these comics out and more at Keenspot Dot Com
Comixology
Perhaps a slightly controversial pick on this list due to Comixology’s comics not being DRM-free and their recent involvement with Saga-gate, but never the less: Comixology is the premiere digital comics app for tablets and iOS devices across the board. And not only can you use it to get almost all of your favorite comics with day-and-date releases, but Comixology has a whole section of free comics for you to try out, including such greats as “Planetary” #1, “Bone” #1 and “Chew” #1. It’s an incredible database of material, and it keeps growing at an exponential rate; there are very few instances where someone can ask me for a recommendation of a book that can’t be found on Comixology, for those who aren’t fans of buying physical comic releases.
So while they certainly have the monopoly on digital comic sharing right now, it’s certainly worth a browse on whatever device or browser you so choose, and many of the free comics they offer of famous #1’s are great gateways to fantastic series that you’ll never forget, the type of comics that can turn you from a casual reader to an avid fan. And that’s certainly a major benefit.
The Wide World of Web Comics
This is a bit of an esoteric option, sure, but it’s never the less true: this is the internet, and there are so many web comics to explore to scratch every potential interest you may have. Honestly, whatever you’re into, there’s probably a webcomic for it, whether you’re a fan of widespread fantasy and sci-fi, or just characters sitting around in aimless lives making jokes to one another in typical Sunday strip form.
The world of webcomics has evolved in such a way that it’s very easy for anyone to do it now, whether it be big creators like Cameron Stewart putting Sin Titulo online or new comers like Colin Bell and Neil Slorance’s Jonbot vs Martha. Webcomics like Hark, a Vagrant, Lets Be Friends Again, Axe Cop and Little League were career makers! Even some Multiversity staff have their hands in the web comic game with stuff like Esmeria, Detective Space Cat and Monster Plus, and there are always things to recommend: Moth City, Deep Dive Daredevils, Tom Scioli’s online comics at AmBarb Dot Com, Ghost Bucket, Doctor Cat, The Abominable Charles Christopher… the list seriously goes on and on.
So while it may seem like a cop-out answer to close the article up (as well as an opportunity for a few cheap and easy plugs), it is never the less clear that there are so many great web comics for you to check out. If you’d like a good place to start your search, the Web Comic :ist is definitely a great database, as well as Wikipedia’s list (although Wikipedia is extremely narrow about what they allow to be listed, so it’s not a very comprehensive list).
