FB2 → CBZ/CBR
Going from FictionBook (.fb2) to Comic book archive (.cbr, .cbz, .cbt, .cb7) is a routinely useful direction for this kind of file — a comic archive is a page-ordered image bundle that comic readers page through properly. Going from FictionBook to Comic book archive does raise extra questions worth thinking about: you lose clickable table of contents and chapter navigation; adjustable font size and screen-based reflow. Below we explain in detail how FictionBook becomes Comic book archive and what to watch out for, and the page ends with a converter that does the job right in your browser — nothing is uploaded, the file never leaves your machine.
What is FB2?
FB2 (FictionBook) is an open e-book format based on XML. Text, metadata and illustrations all live in a single file, with images embedded as Base64, so one file distributes completely and you never end up with the text present but the images missing. Its structure is simpler than EPUB and therefore easier for readers to implement, and it is most popular in Russian-speaking regions. The drawback is that it supports almost no complex CSS, so it suits text-plus-illustration books rather than titles that depend on fine layout. Read the FB2 format guide
| Extensions | .fb2 |
|---|---|
| Typical use | Russian-language e-books; single-file distribution where embedded illustrations and full metadata matter. |
What is CBZ/CBR?
A comic archive (.cbz, .cbr, .cbt, .cb7) is really just a set of one-image-per-page files packed into an archive under a different extension: .cbz is ZIP, .cbr is RAR, .cbt is TAR and .cb7 is 7z. It has no text layer, so it can be neither searched nor copied, and page order comes entirely from how filenames sort — which means the names must be zero-padded (001.jpg, 002.jpg) or page 10 lands right after page 2. It suits comics, art books and page-scanned volumes: it is a collection of images, not a text book. Read the CBZ/CBR format guide
| Extensions | .cbr.cbz.cbt.cb7 |
|---|---|
| Typical use | Comics, art books and books scanned to images; fundamentally an image bundle rather than a text book. |
How to convert FB2 to CBZ/CBR
FB2 is a single XML file with Base64-embedded images. Parsing must handle the XML namespace and <binary> nodes; ignoring them silently drops every image. Base64 also makes the file roughly a third larger than an equivalent EPUB.
Converting to a comic archive really just packs images under ordered names; all text is discarded. Zero-pad the filenames (001.jpg, 002.jpg) so sorting works, and note that .cbr needs RAR tools while most readers handle .cbz (ZIP) best.
Reflow is lost: the target freezes the layout, so readers can no longer change font size or line width. Long novels become zoom-and-pan on small screens — the most common reason a conversion ends up harder to read. Unless you need print or layout-critical delivery, keep a reflowable copy for reading.
The target is image-only: all text in the source is discarded (or survives only as pixels). If your goal is content that can be searched, copied or read aloud, this direction is wrong — pick a text-preserving target instead.
If you still want chapter navigation inside the CBZ/CBR file, a novel reader such as Tide Reader can split it automatically by recognising explicit chapter-heading lines in the text.
Convert FB2 to CBZ/CBR
FB2 → COMIC
The conversion runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded.
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