Today, people tend to read comics on digital books more than their printed counterparts for 2 main reasons. First, it is easier to find and download new episodes on the internet, and second, you can read your comic books anytime anywhere with your portable devices. Despite all conveniences, some people may have problems with opening the archived comic book files they downloaded. Below, we will explain to you how to open CBR/CBZ files both on laptops and smartphones, as well as how to convert them into PDF or e-book formats.
What are general comic book files?
When our favorite comics are published on the internet, they are usually in image formats like .png and .jpeg. Besides, most of the time, the files are going to be compressed into RAR or Zip files. In some cases, the files can be compressed in other formats as well, so readers can download all files at once and enjoy their comic books continuously.
Regarding compressed archive formats for comic books, there are mainly 5 types depending on how the files have been compressed. You can easily know this by noticing the last letter of the file extension, for example:
- CBR means the comic book files use RAR format.
- In case the files are stored in Zip format, we call them “CBZ”.
- “CBT” means comic books are compressed into TAR format.
- “CB7” refers to 7Z compressed files.
- When the files use the ACE format, we call them “CBA”.
What are the best online comic book readers?
So if you don’t want to trouble yourself with file conversions, below we listed the top 3 online CBZ file readers:
- Cidplayex
With this platform, you can read any comic book format such as CBR, CBZ, and of course, PDF. It’s easy to use, clean, and available on Windows and Android - Comic CBR CBZ Viewer (Chrome Add-on)
This extension will allow you to explore your favorite comics directly in your web browser! Just go to the Chrome Web Store and install the extension from there. - Afzafri Github Web Comic Book Reader
Afzafri rimes with pure simplicity. This free web CBR and CBZ file reader is made of one page and one button. You choose the file, it reads your comic book, and voilà!
How can we read a comic book that was compressed into an archived file?
Once you downloaded your favorite comic book in an archived format into your Windows computer, you can easily open it by using a comic book archive viewer. Here are our recommended programs:
- Before anything, look at the file extension.
- If the file is CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT, or CBA, you can use CBR Reader to open it. The CBR reader is the most well-known free program that allows you to read comics in almost every format.
- As an alternative, we recommend “CDisplayEX”. The latter is another free comic book reader that is very easy to use. One downside of CDisplay is that it cannot read CBA files.
- Apart from the 2 popular comic book apps above, there are also image-viewing applications for example Manga Reader, Simple Comic, Sumatra PDF, etc. Every program is free and can be installed on both Windows laptops and MacBooks.
- For CBR/CBZ readers on Linux, we recommend using “MComix”.
How can you open comic book files on a MacBook?
As MacBook has a different operating system from Windows computers, you may wonder if you can read comic book files on your MacBook? The answer is yes, but you need to install CBR/CBZ viewers in order to open comic files.
In fact, there are a lot of choices you can pick from, such as GonVisor or OpenComic. However, in this article, we would like to introduce you to YACReader which seems to be the most user-friendly in our opinion. With YACReader, you are able to open CBR, CBZ, as well as PDF files. After finishing the installation, here is a step-to-step instruction on how to use YACReader:
- Once launching the program, it will show a blank, black window on the screen.
- After that, go to the comic book on your MacBook and select the file.
- Click on the selected comic book CBZ file to open it.
- Within a second, your comic will be displayed on the screen. Simply like that!
What are the best comic book reader applications for mobile phones?
Of course, you can also enjoy your comics on your smartphone! What you need is only a comic book reader app. We have listed all the most recommended ones for you:
- For Android smartphones
Install CBR/CBZ readers like ComicRack, FullReader, or Moon+Reader on your Android phones, and then you will be able to open comic book files. These 3 mentioned applications are free to download as well. - For iPhone users
Unfortunately, there are not many free choices. The most popular free ones include Manga Storm CBR and iComix. For paid apps, iComics is truly worth buying. It provides a great interface and allows you to read comics very smoothly. In addition, the app also supports almost every file format, including CBR and CBZ. Now, iComic is selling at $0.99 only on the Apple App Store. - For iPad
We suggest using iComics, Chunky Comic Reader, as well as ComicFlow.
How can you convert your archived comic book files into other formats?
After installing a reader program on your computer, it is not complicated at all to convert your CRB/CRZ comic book files to other formats. The easiest way to do this is to use the “Sumatra PDF” program. The latter is the best free CBR to PDF converter for PC.
Moreover, you can also convert the comic book files to e-books (in ePub or Mobi format) with Sumatra PDF in just a few clicks. Firstly, open the program and select the file. Thereafter, click on “Save As” or “Export” and then choose the file format you prefer. That’s it!
Here is every technique to open, read, and convert your favorite comic books. We hope this article will be useful and can help you enjoy the world of comic books on your device of choice!