Reading
The Reader plugin turns BackIssue into a full in-browser comic reader — no separate app needed. It reads your owned CBZ/CBR files directly, remembers where you left off, and keeps everyone's history separate.
Opening a comic
Any owned issue shows a read button (▶) — on the issue rows and in the issue's information panel. Reading state appears right on the rows:
- ▶ not started · ◐ in progress · ✓ finished
Open an issue and the reader takes over full-screen.
Reading shelves
The top of the Library greets readers with horizontal cover shelves — pick up where you left off without hunting:
| Shelf | Shows | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Continue reading | Issues you're mid-way through, newest first, with a progress bar | on |
| Next up | The next unread issue in each series you've finished one of | on |
| New in your library | Recently-added issues you haven't read yet | on |
| Read later | Your saved-for-later shelf | off |
| Recently finished | Issues you just completed | off |
| Start a new series | The first issue of owned series you've never opened | off |
| Bookmarks | Bookmarked issues — opens at the saved page | off |
Shelves are per user: hide one with its ×, and turn any on or off under Profile → Reading shelves. A shelf with nothing to show simply doesn't appear.
Reading modes
- Paged — one page at a time (the default).
- Double — two-page spreads, with an adjustable spread offset so covers sit right.
- Webtoon — continuous vertical scroll, for long-strip comics.
- Right-to-left — for manga; page turns reverse.
- Plus zoom/fit controls, white-border trimming for scans, and a data-saver mode that downscales pages.
Guided panel reading
Press G in the reader to read panel by panel — the view zooms each panel in reading order with everything else dimmed, and admins can hand-correct any page's layout in a built-in editor. See Guided panel reading for the full story, including the shared layout cache.
Progress, resume & bookmarks
- Resume — the reader saves your page as you go; reopen an issue and it picks up where you stopped. Finishing an issue marks it read.
- Continue reading — a sidebar entry lists your recently-read, unfinished issues with a thumbnail and progress, so you can jump straight back in.
- Continue on a series — a series page shows a "Continue #N (x/y read)" banner that opens the next issue to read.
- Bookmarks — mark any page and jump between marks.
- Mark read / unread — set an issue's state by hand (handy for backfilling series you read years ago).
Per-series reading profiles
Your mode choices (paged/double/webtoon, RTL, fit) are remembered per series — so a manga series stays right-to-left webtoon while your US books stay single-page, without re-setting anything.
Reading defaults
Profile → Reading defaults sets how comics open when a series has no saved profile of its own:
- Default layout (single / double / webtoon), page fit, and right-to-left.
- Eye comfort — a colour filter: invert (dark), grayscale (e-ink), or sepia.
- Data saver (lighter pages) and trim page margins (crops white scan borders).
- Keep the screen awake while reading — stops the device dimming mid-page. Needs HTTPS (browsers only allow it on secure origins), so the toggle appears only where it can work.
- Always read incognito — nothing is recorded (no progress, history, or stats) until you turn it off; the header's incognito button flips the same switch.
- Count as read at — when an issue latches as finished: the last page (default), or 95/90/85/80% — so skipping ads at the back still counts.
Reading stats
The sidebar's Reading stats shows your personal totals: pages read, issues finished, pages this month, a reading streak, a 30-day activity strip, and your most-finished series. Each account sees only its own numbers.
Offline & install
The reader works offline for issues you've opened (a service worker caches pages), and BackIssue is installable to a phone or tablet home screen as a full-screen app.
Reading lists
Sidebar → Lists — personal, ordered lists of issues, private to your account.
- Build a list by hand — from any volume page, select issues (or the whole series) and "☰ Add to list". Reorder items with the up/down controls.
- Import a ComicVine story arc — search ComicVine story arcs (e.g. Infinity Gauntlet, Blackest Night) and import one: BackIssue pulls the arc's issues in cover-date reading order, across every series involved — ideal for crossovers that span multiple titles.
- Items you don't own show a download button; items whose volume isn't in your library yet show "+ Add series" to add it. A list tracks how many of its issues you own.
Reading lists are per-user, so your lists and their order are yours alone. Two people can work through the same imported arc independently.
Reading on other apps (OPDS)
Prefer a native reader like Panels or Chunky? BackIssue also serves your library over OPDS — see OPDS.