I really want to read the new ultimates spider man, and the xmen. I am just now getting into comics. These will be the first comics I read. If anyone knows where I can read them for free, please let me know. I am just too pour to buy comics at this moment.

Also, feel free to recommend any comics that you think would be good for me to read.

Barnes and Noble or Books a Million. They're like libraries, except you can't leave with the books!

Or he could just try an actual library. Over the past 10 years, local libraries have been pouring a ton of money and effort into expanding their comics holdings.

Reading them for free on the internet = theft my friend. Comic creators get paid pennies (not to mention your local comic book store owners), so the least you can do is go out and plop down your 6-8 bucks for a couple issues. You don't like 'em don't read 'em. You like 'em? Wait for the trade to come out.

However, the library is a great suggestion. I recently read pretty much all of Fables and started Preacher thanks to my local library.

Reading them for free on the internet: theft.
Reading them for free at the library: great suggestion.

The more you know.

Not entirely sure if you're mocking me on that one, but it's true. The library buys it's copies, an online source may or may not. It's like renting a movie (if that exists anymore) as opposed to downloading it. One is theft, the other isn't. It amazes me how some people have no desire to support an art form they enjoy, then get shocked when it becomes more expensive (and/or disappears) because everyone is stealing it.

I feel bad for the comic writers. They need to find better ways to support their work. I don't want to steal the comics, but I have to. I can't afford comics. That is more true when I don't like them as much as others. People download free music, free movies, free books, and a lot of other free things on the internet. They need to learn to please their fan basis. Instead, the comic book industry is failing, and might go out of business.

You can do it, but we can't tell you how.

Honestly, the best thing you can do is probably get a digital subscription with Marvel or DC. It's really not a lot of money for how much material you get.

And of course, if you're more open minded and don't care about reading only mainstream stuff, all you need to do is put the word "Web Comic" into Google and you'll have free comics.

But both have the same impact. You arent actually buying anything. So the net effect is the same. Unless the library has security footage that they review on a regular basis to see who is reading what for free.

You're focusing on the wrong element of the experience.

A book is a physical thing. With some exceptions, when someone purchases a physical thing they are free to lend that thing out to other people. That applies to power tools, shoes, cars, and yes, books. The library acquired the book through legal means, so now it can lend that book to others.

What's not legal is creating copies of the original thing. It's acceptable to lend out the original thing, but if someone wants to have their own thing permanently then they're expected to pay for it. That's what scanning a comic is... creating not just one copy of that thing, but infinite copies, none of them legally authorized.

If the comic was originally acquired in digital form, then that's another matter. Most digital publishers, like Comixology, actually sell you a single-user license to use their electronic content. If you proceed to share that content with everyone who wants it, then you've violated the license. If you don't agree with the license, then you shouldn't make the purchase.

The other possibility is that the online comic was created by someone with access to electronic content which was never meant for wider distribution, like a printer who has the electronic files for the comic. So if it's out there, the provider has probably violated some kind of agreement.

So if you read "free" online comics from pretty much any major publisher, and you aren't completely certain that content was meant for free distribution, then you can be pretty sure one of three things happened.

1) The comic is an unauthorized copy.
2) The comic is a violation of the provider's license.
3) The comic is a violation of some other agreement.

By borrowing a book from the library, you're engaging in an accepted use of a physical object. By seeking out these unauthorized copies, you're trafficking in stolen goods.

Some people are okay with that, I guess.

-J

Oh, I really should answer the OP.

First off, I agree that libraries should be a wonderful resource for you.

If you're willing to settle for "cheap" instead of "free," find out about comic conventions in your area. Even the smaller ones often have lots of relatively inexpensive stuff. Heck, some sell comics by weight!

You can also keep an eye on digital comics sites. Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited is an incredible value at around five bucks a month for access to thousands of comics. they won't have the newest stuff up, but there's still plenty there to keep you interested.

Also keep an eye on Comixology for their frequent sales. Marvel runs specials on Mondays and Fridays where you can get good runs for ninety-nine cents an issue. DC has very frequent sales, and other publishers kick in their own specials from time to time.

I know, those aren't "free" like you'd hoped, but they are very inexpensive.

Welcome to the fold!

-J

Thanks to all who has tried to help. I read all of my manga like bleach, and naruto online for free. I was just hoping I could do the same for comics.

If you have a friend who currently buys comics (hard copies) a lot of the newer ones come with a digital code. You could work out a deal with that person and get a whole bunch of digital codes AND if they're Marvel, the original seller gets about .50 per code redeemed! (Not for DC though, since they just charge an extra dollar for the books that come with a code.)

Neither of those examples are theft.
Copyright infringement is not theft. Copyright infringement is copyright infringement.
So says the United States Supreme Court.

For the record, I don't download comics at all, and buy a pile of physical comics, and think you should support the industry. But equating copyright infringement with theft is just factually inaccurate and unhelpful.

Bottomline:

Piracy is awful. It compels folks to create awful legislation like SOPA/PIPA to prevent it, which then compels the folks who precipitate government intervention to ##### about the fact that their freedoms are being stifled as they navigate thousands of stolen books/movies on torrent sites. Meanwhile, the creators don't get a dime. Don't be a friggin' pirate. It sucks, and they suck.

Library? Can't think of a better suggestion. Though the Barnes & Noble route is also a solid idea.

Now, while reading books at a bookstore may seem like "stealing" to some, I'm alright with it. The store bought the books, so the creators have been paid (at least somewhat); if the store wants to allow you to read crap for free, that's on them. I would say, however, that one should buy a coffee or something, so as not to be a complete parasite.