Google has updated its Play Books service to be a better resource for comic book readers.
The default Android ebook reader enabled you to download and read comic books before this latest update, but it wasn’t a particularly sophisticated or fluid experience. Considering that comics are one of the most popular categories on the Google Play Store, this was a bit of an omission.
Now Google has added a new vertical scrolling system in landscape view, which lets you smoothly scan down through the story with small vertical swipes of the screen.
In addition to this updated comic book reader, Google has updated its Google Play Store to be more comic book savvy. It now offers properly curated series pages, gathering together volumes, issues, and other editions. You’ll also now get recommendations based on previous comic purchases.
To celebrate these comic-focused improvements, Google has made a bunch of top comics free for a limited time.
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All of these new features are rolling out in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, India, Singapore, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa now. They’re also coming to the iOS Google Play Books app soon.
Of course, comic book fans have had ComiXology to sate their digital desires for some time, but for Android users there’s nothing quite like a nicely integrated Google solution.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.