HD Just how good is reading a comic on a Kindle Fire \ other ereaders?

[the_fog_26]

To be honest the primary reason for getting an ereader is due to comics. What are people's experiences with reading comics on the Kindle Fire, or is there an alternate tablet that may be better? There's a couple of things that are key to me:

Does reading it on a 7 inch screen a positive, or a drawback? Obviously that's significantly smaller than a normal sized comic (manga aside) and I know it'll probably come down to personal preference, but is a 7 inch too small? I think if the 8.9 inch Kindle was out in the UK (where Im based) i'd go for that one (iPad3 is a bit too much out my price range atm). I know on the Comixology app there's the feature of looking at one panel at a time but yeh, just wondered people's own thoughts on this? Everything else about the Kindle has pretty much been sold to me (I'm an Amazon junkie, would use it primarily as a film \ book device) but reading comics on it is the deal breaker for me.

Should I choose to get an 8.9 inch one (there are other one's out there in the UK for a good price and good reviews, such as the A1CS Fusion Premium), I'm not sure if they particularly cater for being a comic book ereader? Again, anyone's advice \ experience would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

[WillysJeepMan]

I can only speak about reading cbz/cbr comics....

I have found that most 7" tablets are not quite good enough for reading comics. The only exception has been the 7" Kindle Fire HD 16GB. It is actually very readable. I just tried reading a cbz-version of an old 1971 Sears Wishbook catalog. The original size was at least 8.5" x 11.0" and I was pleasantly surprised to be able to read the catalog without the continuous need to zoom in.

If you can, try to get a hands-on with both 7" and 8.9" models. The 7" MIGHT be acceptable to you, but I think that there'll be absolutely no problem with the 8.9".

[nprentiss]

I've been using Perfect Viewer for .cbz/cbr and (with a plug-in) .pdf comics. The reading was adequate on the original 7" fire; after about a week with the Fire HD, I see a significant upgrade, brighter and clearer, and just seeming BIGGER despite the 7" screen.

The Amazon guided view is not as good as Comixology, since the Kindle files force you to use a Portrait mode. It's better to read in 1/3 screen increments in Landscape.

[WillysJeepMan]

Originally Posted by nprentiss

I've been using Perfect Viewer for .cbz/cbr and (with a plug-in) .pdf comics. The reading was adequate on the original 7" fire; after about a week with the Fire HD, I see a significant upgrade, brighter and clearer, and just seeming BIGGER despite the 7" screen.

Thanks for pointing that out. I felt the same way but I thought it was just me.

[Jessica Lares]

8.9" would be better. I have to constantly use both Amazon's guided view and Comixology's panel view because the screen is not big enough going across.

With 5" x 7.5" manga you lose about one 1/2 to two inches, and that doesn't scale down well. The bigger comic book type comics also suffer from scaling issues.

[the_fog_26]

Thanks for the replies so far guys.

I am leaning towards a larger screen- the A1CS appears to have glowing reviews as a tablet. Does anyone have any experiences with it, and its quality as an ereader (comic books or otherwise) in particular?

Many thanks

[Anabran]

"I've been using Perfect Viewer for .cbz/cbr"

Hi I use both Perfect viewer and comic reader mobi for my ever growing CBR/CBZ collection.
I use perfect viewer in landscape mode on my first gen kindle fire as its auto navigation is perfect in that orientation.

I use Comic render mobi for those titles where the author failed to be conservative with the amount of text per panel.
this is because Comic reader mobi has a wonderful a proprietary text recognition "smart lens" technology that creates a magnification window over any text that you tap.

I personally found the Amazon included "comixology " to be rather useless by virtue of it being a Closed Garden" system.


Cheers

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by Anabran

Hi I use both Perfect viewer and comic reader mobi for my ever growing CBR/CBZ collection.
I use perfect viewer in landscape mode on my first gen kindle fire as its auto navigation is perfect in that orientation.

I use Comic render mobi for those titles where the author failed to be conservative with the amount of text per panel.
this is because Comic reader mobi has a wonderful a proprietary text recognition "smart lens" technology that creates a magnification window over any text that you tap.

I personally found the Amazon included "comixology " to be rather useless by virtue of it being a Closed Garden" system.


Cheers

Actually the big advantage of Amazon including "Comixology" is that it's the one stop-shop for people who actually want to buy current comics in digital format. It is the only place where you can buy all the major publishers except Dark Horse, and the only place where anyone who buys Marvel's $3.99 books can redeem the digital code.

[Sydney's Mom]

I saw this, and decided to buy the Walking Dead books. I had read a couple in paper form, and was unimpressed. Well, I just rebought the first 3 books, and I am in love! You get the best of both worlds - you can see the whole page, which is v ery bright and crisp, or you can use the panel view if you have old eyes like me. It makes it so enjoyable, I bought the other compendiums as well. Thanks for the question!

[Shack70]

I'm using Perfect Viewer on the Kindle 8.9 and love reading comics on it. My wife has the iPad 1 and comics on the 8.9 are sharper and brighter. Not one complaint to report. Two thumbs up for the 8.9

[Anabran]

I love perfect viewer in landscape mode on my first gen kindle Fire
it has gotten me into comic books as much as I was back in the 1970's as a kid.

I really love how the Awesome the Comic Art is now compared to the early 1980's when I stopped collecting and entered the military
Except now I have the advantage of them being all Digital so storage for my new collection is not an Issue.

[cb_reader]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

For me, the issue with 7" devices is that they so often come with the recommendation for reading in landscape and I hate that because you can't see the whole page at a glance, and for a number of artists the page structure matters.

I agree completely and this was my big hesitation with a 7" tablet. I don't read panel to panel and I don't read landscape by default to enlarge the content. I read with full page view on 7" HD tablets.