Comics you can hear
A comic is a wall of small print inside small pictures, which is a hard thing to hand to someone who cannot comfortably see either. This reader takes the same issue and performs it: every line voiced by a full cast, drawn sound effects that really sound, and a score under the scene. You can follow the whole story with your eyes shut.
One panel at a time, filling the screen
Instead of a full page shrunk to fit your display, the reader crops to a single panel and blows it up edge to edge, then moves to the next one on its own as the scene plays. For a low-vision reader that is magnification you do not have to drive: no pinching, no hunting for the next balloon, no losing your place halfway down a page.
Built to be navigated without a mouse
The library, the store, the menus and the reader controls all work from the keyboard and report themselves to a screen reader. Inside a comic the narration is the content, so your screen reader tells you where you are rather than reading over the performance.
Panel descriptions, when you want the art too
Voices carry the dialogue, but a comic says a great deal in pictures that nobody speaks aloud. Panel descriptions add a short spoken account of what each panel shows, played just before the lines in it, in the narrator's voice. Turn them on for an issue and the art comes through as well. They can also be read as on-screen text instead, for anyone who wants the words without the extra audio.
What this does not do yet
There is no braille support today. The spoken performance is the content channel, so a braille display gets your position in the comic and not the script. Panel descriptions are a per-issue addition rather than something every title in the catalog already carries. Both are things we would rather state plainly here than have you discover after signing up.
Straight answers
Can I read comics here if I cannot see the page well?
Yes, and it is the whole point of the reader. Every line of every comic is voiced by a full cast, so you can listen rather than read. The reader also shows one panel at a time, blown up to fill your screen, instead of a whole page shrunk to fit it. Both of those work on every title in the library, with nothing to switch on.
Does it work with VoiceOver, TalkBack or NVDA?
The library, the store, the menus and the reader controls are all keyboard and screen reader navigable. Inside a comic the spoken performance is the content, so your screen reader announces where you are, such as page 3, panel 5 of 40, rather than talking over it.
What are panel descriptions?
A short spoken account of what a panel actually shows, played just before that panel's dialogue, so the art reaches you and not only the words. You can add them to an issue and have them read aloud in the narrator's voice, or shown as text on screen. They are something you turn on per issue rather than something every title already carries.
Which comics can I listen to?
Every issue on the streaming shelf is fully voiced, start to finish, and so is anything you bring to your own shelf and have voiced. Panel descriptions are the per-issue addition on top of that, so turn them on for the issues where you want the art described too.
Is there braille support?
Not today, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. The spoken performance is the content channel right now, which means a braille display gets your position in the comic but not the script. Serving braille properly is a deliberate build rather than a switch we can flip, and it is on the list.
Does listening cost anything?
No. Reading and listening never cost anything once an issue is on your shelf, and every account gets 500 MB of hosting free, about 20 issues, with no card. Panel descriptions are priced per issue and the price is shown before you buy.