FREE/BARGAIN — Comics

[cc_in_oh]

This bundle looks interesting - any comments?

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/european-sci-fi-and-fantasy-comics-from-cinebook-books?utm_content=cta_button&mcID=102:626984a0889d cf19e917f9fdt:5e98f1df76488a0eff5e1b19:1&linkID= 626984a1124b9640837bbed9&utm_campaign=2022_04_28_e uropeanscifiandfantasycomicsfromcinebook_bookbundl e&utm_source=Humble+Bundle+Newsletter&utm_medium=e mail

Edit> My link insert didn't let me name the link - has something changed?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

This bundle looks interesting - any comments?

European Sci-fi and Fantasy Comics from Cinebook

Edit> My link insert didn't let me name the link - has something changed?

Let me rename it.

I've always wanted to read Valerian and Laureline. I though the movie was terrific. A real shame it bombed. The bundle is worth the $25 asking price just for those.

I've also often looked at those Leo books (Aldebaran, Antares, Namibia, Distant Worlds).

I've not heard of Orbital, but I like the looks of it. I enjoy serious storytelling combined with slightly cartoony characters. The Sixth Gun had that and it was one of the bits I most enjoyed.

Word of warning: You don't get CBZs. You get access through something called izneo. If I would have known that, I wouldn't have bought the bundle. But I don't wanna be a dick, so I'll let it go. Odds are I will never read these.

[cc_in_oh]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Let me rename it.

I've always wanted to read Valerian and Laureline. I though the movie was terrific. A real shame it bombed. The bundle is worth the $25 asking price just for those.

I've also often looked at those Leo books (Aldebaran, Antares, Namibia, Distant Worlds).

I've not heard of Orbital, but I like the looks of it. I enjoy serious storytelling combined with slightly cartoony characters. The Sixth Gun had that and it was one of the bits I most enjoyed.

Word of warning: You don't get CBZs. You get access through something called izneo. If I would have known that, I wouldn't have bought the bundle. But I don't wanna be a dick, so I'll let it go. Odds are I will never read these.

Thanks - I think I'll grab it too...

[hemisphire]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Let me rename it.

Word of warning: You don't get CBZs. You get access through something called izneo. If I would have known that, I wouldn't have bought the bundle. But I don't wanna be a dick, so I'll let it go. Odds are I will never read these.

Yes, between this and the last TokyoPop bundle only redeemed through ebooks.com I'm going to start looking at how Humble Bundle is doing each bundle. I know cbz files aren't hard, and that's all I want.

[salty-horse]

Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell is $7.99 on Amazon.com
This is a Green Lantern story.

Acclaimed, award-winning author N.K. Jemisin (The Fifth Season, The City We Became) makes her comic book debut with bestselling artist Jamal Campbell (Naomi) as they thrust you into a stunning sci-fi murder mystery on the other side of the universe! For the past six months, newly chosen Green Lantern Sojourner "Jo" Mullein has been protecting the City Enduring, a massive metropolis of 20 billion people. The city has maintained peace for over 500 years by stripping its citizens of their ability to feel. As a result, violent crime is virtually unheard of, and murder is nonexistent. But that's all about to change in this new graphic novel that puts a unique spin on the legacy of the Green Lanterns!

[salty-horse]

Cross-posted to SF/F
Nimona by ND Stevenson is $1.99 on Amazon.com

Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from ND Stevenson. Featuring an exclusive epilogue not seen in the web comic, along with bonus conceptual sketches and revised pages throughout, this gorgeous full-color graphic novel has been hailed by critics and fans alike as the arrival of a “superstar” talent (NPR.org).

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

[ZodWallop]

Amazon's closure of Comixology had really killed my interest in comics. I had stopped collecting for decades and had to toss my paper collection when a water pipe burst. Comixology managed to revive my interest. I don't read superhero comics (never really did), but I was tracking creators I liked and subscribing to their series. I'd check in a couple of times a week to see what was on sale. Comixology had become my comic shop.

Amazon frittered all that way for seemingly no reason. There's still a couple of graphic novels I'll buy. But I don't collect comics, again.

[GlennD]

I didn't even realize they'd closed it; I've been buying graphic novels as Kindle books from Amazon because they're simpler to back up. But I can see how if you're interested in subscribing to a monthly comic that it would be less appealing.

[Cactus Chef]

The most frustrating thing about Comixology merging into the Amazon store is how much *worse* the interface it. The old Comixology app made it easy to see what individual issues of something were included in a collection, and vice-versa (i.e. I could pick an individual comic issue and see what collections it appeared in). That was crazy useful if you wanted to follow a particular arc and wanted to save some bucks by looking for a collection or an omnibus, since those were usually cheaper.

Now the Comixology app is just some filters on top of the Amazon Kindle app. It's not tailored for the enthusiast at all. And if you get suckered into buying the same comic multiple times in different collections, all the better for the business, right?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Amazon's closure of Comixology had really killed my interest in comics. I had stopped collecting for decades and had to toss my paper collection when a water pipe burst. Comixology managed to revive my interest. I don't read superhero comics (never really did), but I was tracking creators I liked and subscribing to their series. I'd check in a couple of times a week to see what was on sale. Comixology had become my comic shop.

Amazon frittered all that way for seemingly no reason. There's still a couple of graphic novels I'll buy. But I don't collect comics, again.

Ugh, yes. The new Comixology app is pretty much Kindle with a different label. The old app was well organized and easy to browse. There were more options for reading settings as well. Plus, I really liked how they provided DRM-free CBZ backup options if the publishers allowed it (e.g. Image Comics).

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Plus, I really liked how they provided DRM-free CBZ backup options if the publishers allowed it (e.g. Image Comics).

Looking at it another way, now they provide even more DRM-free options than before.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

Looking at it another way, now they provide even more DRM-free options than before.

To me, the backups made with DeDRM tools aren’t as good as the native CBZ files.

The CBZ had much higher quality images compared to what you’d get from azw3/kfx. To get high quality Kindle backups, you had to manually extract the HD images from the azw6 files (downloaded using Kindle for PC) and combine them together.

[GlennD]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

To me, the backups made with DeDRM tools aren’t as good as the native CBZ files.

The CBZ had much higher quality images compared to what you’d get from azw3/kfx. To get high quality Kindle backups, you had to manually extract the HD images from the azw6 files (downloaded using Kindle for PC) and combine them together.

I'd be interested in the resolution of the images you got from the native CBZ files. I convert the kindle file to epub in calibre; use kindle as the input profile and tablet as the output profile, that way the images don't get resized. Then I have a batch file that does the work of converting the resulting epub to a CBZ. (If anyone is interested in more detail, feel free to send me a note, we're probably stepping over the bounds of this topic as it is.)

The most recent ones I did were some Moon Knight collections, I ended up with each image file being 1248x1920 resolution. Does anyone have a CBZ backup they could check for the resulting resolution?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by GlennD

I'd be interested in the resolution of the images you got from the native CBZ files. I convert the kindle file to epub in calibre; use kindle as the input profile and tablet as the output profile, that way the images don't get resized. Then I have a batch file that does the work of converting the resulting epub to a CBZ. (If anyone is interested in more detail, feel free to send me a note, we're probably stepping over the bounds of this topic as it is.)

The most recent ones I did were some Moon Knight collections, I ended up with each image file being 1248x1920 resolution. Does anyone have a CBZ backup they could check for the resulting resolution?

Moon Knight is a moot point since that's Disney/Marvel and has DRM.

There's a file size limit for JPG so I'm attaching azw3, azw6 and cbz samples of the same page in a zip file.

On an iPad Pro 12.9" (2732x2048), the difference in quality between the azw3 and cbz is especially noticeable. The compression artifacts on the azw3 version is very obvious on the large iPad.

The azw3 image was extracted using KindleUnpack so there should be no additional quality loss due to recompression. The azw6 image was extracted using a python script I found in these forums.

For what it's worth, the total size of the image repacked CBZ from Monstress #1 (source comic) are as follows:

15.02 MB Kindle azw3
66.72 MB Kindle azw6
123.82 MB Comixology cbz

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by GlennD

I convert the kindle file to epub in calibre; use kindle as the input profile and tablet as the output profile, that way the images don't get resized. Then I have a batch file that does the work of converting the resulting epub to a CBZ.

The most recent ones I did were some Moon Knight collections, I ended up with each image file being 1248x1920 resolution. Does anyone have a CBZ backup they could check for the resulting resolution?

Save yourself a step. Don't convert at all. Import the .azw to remove DRM. Open the .azw file with the Calibre book editor and pull the images from the file that way. Same 1248X1920 resolution.