ComicFlow (2012) vs ComicFlow Today: Two Different Comic Apps With the Same Name

Two different apps have been called ComicFlow. If you found this page because an old review links to a ComicFlow that won't open, or because you remember a free iPad comic reader by that name, this is the short version of what is what. I'm the developer of the ComicFlow that is on the App Store now, so I have kept to things you can check yourself and linked the sources.

Disclosure: I make ComicFlow from Applestan. I didn't make the earlier app and I have no affiliation with its developer.

The Short Version #

• There were two apps with the same name. The earlier one is an iPad comic reader from Pierre-Olivier Latour. The current one is from Applestan.
• They are not the same app. Different developer, different App Store ID, different code.
• The earlier listing no longer shows up. Its ID, 409290355, returns nothing from Apple's lookup service as of October 10, 2026.
• Your comic files don't care. CBR, CBZ and PDF files open in any reader that supports them.

What the Earlier ComicFlow Was #

The details below come from the sources listed at the end of the post.

• An iPad-only comic reader. Ars Technica reviewed it in August 2012 as "made only for the iPad", with support for CBR, CBZ and PDF.
• Free and open source. Its description called it "the first (and only?) open-source comic reader for iPad". The source is on GitHub under the GPL v3 license, with copyright 2010 to 2014 in Pierre-Olivier Latour's name.
• Simple by design. Ars described it as keeping things simple so you can focus on reading, with USB and iTunes syncing and a plain library of thumbnails.
• Wi-Fi transfer. MakeUseOf's roundup, updated in 2021, says you could move comics over Wi-Fi with a web server or a WebDAV server, with that feature limited to 50 transfers before an in-app purchase. Syncing through Finder or iTunes stayed free.
• Updates. The same roundup says the app didn't get regular updates. The last tagged GitHub release is 1.4.3 from February 2016, and the repository is now archived and read-only.

The design goal in its own description, handling very large collections without becoming unusable, is a good one for any comic app.

What happened to the listing #

Apple's lookup service returns no result for ID 409290355 in the US, Dutch, UK, German and Japanese storefronts as of this writing. MakeUseOf's article still links to that ID, which is why people hit a dead page. I don't know why the listing is gone and I won't guess. If you need to know, the original developer is the person to ask.

What ComicFlow Is Today #

The current app is a separate project that I built in 2025 and released on the App Store on January 5, 2026.

• Where: App Store ID 6757245069, from Applestan.
• Devices: iPhone and iPad. It also runs on Apple Silicon Macs and Apple Vision Pro as an iPad app. It needs iOS or iPadOS 18.0 or later.
• Reads: CBR, CBZ, RAR, ZIP and PDF.
• Converts: comic archives to PDF at three quality levels, or to CBZ, one file at a time or in batches. It runs on the device, so nothing is uploaded.
• Brings files in: by opening them from Files, Safari, AirDrop or email, with watched folders on iCloud Drive, a network share or a USB drive, or with Wi-Fi Upload from a browser on your computer.
• Organizes: custom collections, star ratings, tags, notes, bookmarks and reading progress.
• Reading modes: paged and vertical scroll, with right-to-left support for manga.
• Price: $2.99 once. Pro is an optional $6.99 one-time unlock that adds EPUB export for Kobo, Boox, reMarkable and PocketBook e-readers, Face ID-locked private collections and saved reader presets. No subscriptions, no ads.
• Languages: 18.

Our ComicFlow 3.5 release notes cover the latest version, and why I built ComicFlow covers the thinking behind it.

Side by Side #

The table compares what each app lists, not how well it works. I haven't run the earlier app on a current device and won't say how it behaves.

If You Used the Earlier App #

Your files are fine. They were CBR, CBZ or PDF all along, so nothing about them belongs to an app. Copy them into Files or iCloud Drive and open them in whichever reader you like.

Your library structure won't transfer by itself. The earlier app treated a folder as a series, according to MakeUseOf. ComicFlow today uses collections that you create. Moving a big collection means setting those up again, or pointing a watched folder at the folders you already have.

Open source matters to some people. If that is why you used the earlier app, its source is still on GitHub under the GPL v3, so anyone can read it or build on it. ComicFlow today doesn't publish its source, and I'd rather say so than have you find out later.

You want a server or cloud library. Neither this ComicFlow nor the earlier one is built around that. Panels is the stronger choice for OPDS and cloud libraries, and our comic reader comparison lays out the trade-offs.

Telling Them Apart When You Search #

• Check the developer name. Applestan for the current one.
• Check the ID in the link. The current app is id6757245069. A link that ends in id409290355 points to the earlier listing.
• Check the title. The current listing is named "ComicFlow - CBR & CBZ to PDF".

Sources #

• Ars Technica, "Finding the best app for reading your DRM-free comics library on iPad" (August 2012)
• MakeUseOf, "How to Read Comics on iPad: The 10 Best Comic Book Reader Apps" (updated July 2021)
• swisspol/ComicFlow on GitHub, the archived source repository and its releases
• The Gamer With Kids, review of ComicFlow v1.0.5 (April 2012), which quotes the App Store description

Related Articles #

• Best Comic Reader Apps for iPhone and iPad. How the current options compare
• Why I Built ComicFlow. The origin of the current app
• Read Comics on iPad. Setting up an iPad for comics
• Comic Book File Formats Explained. What CBR, CBZ and PDF are