Learn Spanish with comics, read aloud in Spanish
This is not a list of comics written in Spanish. LiveComics takes an English comic you own and performs it again in Spanish: every speech balloon and caption is translated and read aloud by the same voices, and with Subtitles (CC) on, the Spanish line you are hearing shows under the art. The lettering drawn on the page stays in English, so the English is in front of you the whole time, and you can switch the narration back to English at any panel. The Spanish is a one-time purchase for each issue, and you see the price before you buy.
What do I hear and see in Spanish?
Every line of dialogue and every caption is spoken in Spanish, each in the voice it had in English, in reading order, one panel at a time. Turn on Subtitles (CC) and the Spanish line being spoken shows under the art. The balloons drawn on the page keep their English lettering, because the art is never redrawn. The sound effects and soundscapes play just as they did.
How do I hear a comic in Spanish?
Add the comic with voices first, because the Spanish is those same voices performing again.
- Make a free account at livecomics.to, or get the app from the App Store, Google Play or the Microsoft Store.
- In your library, press + Add Comics and pick an English comic you own: a CBR, CBZ, PDF or EPUB file.
- Choose Voiced, pick Español under Listen in, and press Add. The Spanish is made once the English voices are done, and billed separately.
- Already added it? Press the gold + on the issue in your library and pick Español under Read it in another language.
- In the reader's settings, Narration language switches between Original, the English, and Español at any panel.
A free account holds 1 GB, about 20 single issues, with no card. Voices come with a monthly plan or a top-up, and you see each price in credits before you buy.
App Store · Google Play · Microsoft Store · How to open CBR files · PDF comic reader
Why hear a comic you know in Spanish?
Because you can follow it from the first page. The pictures show what is happening and the English is printed in the balloons, so when a Spanish word is new you can work out what it means and keep going. Comic balloons are short lines of everyday speech, so each one is a small piece to listen to. How much it helps depends on your level and how often you read, and nobody can promise how fast you will learn.
Can I slow the Spanish down?
Yes. Voice speed, behind the speaker button in the reader, slides from half speed up to three times normal, and the reader keeps your setting for the next comic. Pause in the middle of a panel and Replay panel starts it over from its first line. Step back a panel and it plays again.
Can I learn French, German or Japanese the same way?
Yes. An English comic can be bought in 16 languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Polish, Turkish, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Thai, Hindi and Arabic. Each language is its own purchase for that issue, and once you own more than one, Narration language moves between all of them.
What does it cost?
Adding your comics and reading them is free. Having an issue voiced comes with a monthly plan or a top-up, and the Spanish is a second, one-time purchase for that issue, priced by how much dialogue it carries. You see each price before you buy, and after that the issue plays in Spanish on every device you sign in on.
What won't this do?
It will not redraw the lettering: the balloons on the page stay in English, and the Spanish is spoken and shown in the subtitles. It works on comics on your own shelf, not on the free streaming shelf, which plays in the language each comic was published in. The Spanish takes minutes to make, because the whole issue is translated and voiced before any of it plays. And it is a translation made for your copy, not a published Spanish edition, so read an odd line the way you would read a film's subtitles.
Straight answers
Can I learn Spanish with comics?
Comics can be one part of your practice: short lines of everyday speech, with pictures that show what is going on. Here you hear an English comic you own performed in Spanish, read the Spanish in the subtitles, and keep the English in the balloons. How much it helps depends on your level and how often you read.
Does it translate the speech balloons on the page?
No. The art is never redrawn, so the lettering stays in English. The Spanish is spoken aloud, and Subtitles (CC) show the Spanish line being spoken under the art.
Can I switch between Spanish and English?
Yes, at any panel. In the reader's settings, Narration language moves between the original and every language you own for that issue, and your place stays the same.
Can I hear the free streaming comics in Spanish?
Not today. Languages are sold for the comics on your own shelf. The free streaming shelf plays in the language each comic was published in.
How much does the Spanish cost?
It depends on how much dialogue the issue carries. Each language is a one-time purchase for one issue, paid in credits from a monthly plan or a top-up, and you see the price before you buy.
Does it work with manga?
Yes, with manga in English too. Choose Manga as the reading type when you add it, and the panels run right to left, the way it was printed, while the voices speak Spanish.
Do I need to own the comic?
Yes. You add the comic files you own, as CBR, CBZ, PDF or EPUB, to your own private shelf. A free account holds 1 GB, about 20 single issues, with no card.
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