Nicely-designed comic book reader with built-in online store

Graphic.ly is a special software platform for buying, downloading and reading comic books and graphic novels online, as well as making friends with other comic fans.

Based on Adobe AIR, Graphic.ly features a nicely designed user interface, with tabs on top to browse the program’s different sections: the main area in Graphic.ly is Home, where you can check your inbox, learn about new releases and see what your contacts are up to; My Collections takes you to all the comics you’ve bought so far; and finally the Comic Store is where your collection can increase.

Graphic.ly is free to use, but obviously the comic books you download are not. Prices are quite reasonable, usually around $2, and you can also find some free comic books to give the app a try without spending a dime. Payment methods include all major credit cards and also Paypal.

In general terms we see a lot of potential in Graphic.ly: it’s well designed and easy to use, it’s got basic social networking functionality and it deals with an increasingly popular topic: digital comics. On the downside, it really needs to fix the download manager: it’s so buggy that it totally ruins the whole experience.

Graphic.ly is a great platform to buy, read and manage comic books, and also meet other comic fans.