Are you a fan of visual stories and an insatiable reader of manga, manhwa, graphic novels, comic books and webcomics? Then, check out Webtoons.com. You can read webtoons using your browser or, even better, download the free Line Webtoon app to read on your mobile and subscribe to free webtoons.
Line Webtoons is one of the most well-known webcomics platform with millions of readers worldwide. New episodes are published daily by creators on the “Originals” and “Canvas” sections. The featured webcomic series from Originals run on a weekly schedule and have seasons, with breaks between them, just like anime and TV series. Popular Webtoons include: The Gamer, Siren’s Lament, Unordinary, I Love Yoo, True Beauty, Dice, Space Boy and Sarah’s Scribbles.
Webtoons with clever storytelling and appealing art were noticed by other media streaming platforms. Beloved webtoons were serialized into Korean dramas (“Love Alarm”, “Cheese in the Trap” etc.) and the streaming service Crunchyroll has adapted some of the most successful webtoons into animes: The God Of HighSchool, Tower Of God, Noblesse.
Here is a selection of tips on how to use the Webtoons app and scroll down for a list of 30 free webcomics to browse at your own pace (bookmark this page for quick reference).
Daily featured Originals via Webtoons.com
After you download the Line Webtoons app from Google Play store and log in, you can browse Daily Original webtoons to choose from popular webcomics. You can easily subscribe to your favorite comics series and you will be notified when they upload.
True Beauty by Yaongyi via Webtoons app
The webtoons series that you subscribed to, show up in “MY” Webtoons section. A green alert will show up when a new episode is available.
My Webtoons subscription via Webtoons app
Connect on Line Webtoon With Independent Artists
Line Webtoon is a South Korean service where you can find original webcomics in English, many of them translated by fans. It has gathered a large community of independent artists with loyal fans, that follow them online and in person at comic cons.
After the manhwa industry collapsed between 1990 and 2010, JunKoo Kim came with the idea that revolutionized the comics format. He predicted that mobile-optimised comics are the next thing and envisioned wecomics that are vertical and scrollable, to be easily read on the Internet. He searched for a way to give a voice and financial support to comic creators and partnered with Naver.
Line Webtoon was launched by Naver Corporation in 2005, after JunKoo Kim convinced them that their Naver search engine (similar to Google, but in South Korea) will be a bigger attraction if online visitors used their Naver service to read digital comics online. He named these webcomics “Webtoons” – they are published on a vertical strip, drawn in color, some have music or animation, and can be easily read on mobile phone, by scrolling down in a browser or using Webtoons app.
Line Webtoon expanded, launching their service in U.S and worldwide in 2014. Since then, numerous international artists uploaded their comics on their site, including famous ones. Webtoons are available in various genres: drama, fantasy, comedy, action, mystery, slice of life, superhero, thriller, sci-fi etc.
Independent artist from all around the globe, as young as 13 years old, self-publish comics on the “Canvas” section, where their art gets likes, comments, and Patreon supporters. Many webcomic artists take time to look over the comment section and respond to the feedback.
Canvas series via Webtoons app
From the “Canvas” section, the Line Webtoon team selects popular and promising webcomics to be showcased in the “Originals” section, so independent comic artists get a chance to be featured if they gather a lot of fans, views and likes. The most popular webtoon artists that are showcased in “Originals” are paid a monthly wage. They are working closely with an editor that coaches them to pace the story for weekly publishing.
All artists that publish on Line Webtoon have access to the Patreon feature, where they can be supported financially by fans. In addition, creators that gather on the Canvas platform 1K followers, 40K monthly US views and publish at least one time per month are eligible to apply to the add revenue sharing program to cash 50% revenue from ads displayed on their series. Based on their performance they can qualify for Creators Rewards program and get extra 100$-1000$. This is one of the best legit platforms for reading webcomics, if you want to support independent artists to keep illustrating their stories. It offers quality content and thousands of webtoons available to choose from.
Just starting out with Line Webtoons? The webcomics that we recommend are:
30 Webtoons To Read
Romance:
Down To Earth by Pookie Senpai
Drama:
Da Yomanville Gang by Jason King
Action:
The Gamer by Sangyoung Seong and Sang-A
Comedy:
Cursed Princess Club by LambCat
Slice of Life:
Superhero
Sci-fi:
Matchmaker Hero by Madeline Ince
Fantasy:
Steam Dragon Express by R. Merryweatherauthor and Porforever
House of Stars by saltacuentos, Lion Illustration
Supernatural:
Mystery:
Sports:
Heart- warming:
Short Stories:
Falling in the Blue by SimzArt
Explore the Originals and Canvas sections for more genres. Webtoon Canvas brings thousands of webcomics at your fingertips.
If you have artistic skills and always wanted to publish webcomics, this service is awesome for an independent artist that wants visibility, with a free publishing platform. You can learn more about how to publish comics on Canvas here:
Read Creator 101 tips here:
You can read about Canvas and Originals here:
Do you know multiple languages? Be part of the community that translates Webtoons here:
Fan Translation via Webtoon app
Want more? You can follow your favorite Webtoon artists on Instagram, Twitter and Patreon.
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