I Want To Get Into Comicbooks. Wut Do?

I'd like to start reading comic books. Every once in a while someone will post an image scanned from a comic book on one site or another that just blows my mind. For instance this was the OP image for a thread on 4chan a few minutes ago...

I mean.... c'mon, thats just bad ass.

So anyway, yeah I'd like to start reading some comics. But I have no clue where to start. I've got almost no experience in the longterm stories of the characters. I watched the 90's Batman & Spiderman cartoons religiously as a kid, thats about it. I get the impression that many of them have decades of swirling, spiraling backstories, references & allusions connecting them in a huge lattice work within their universe.

So where the hell do I start?

If it helps at all I think I'd like to read about Iron Man. I just really enjoy the character, or at least the Robert Downey Jr. & Jon Favreau representation of him. I'm also interested in Deadpool. I've heard nothing but good things about Deadpool, but I'm otherwise almost totally unaware of his context. Batman wouldnt hurt either, but seeing as he's the character I know the most about, the idea of reading more about him doesnt really interest me yet.

Dont suppose theres been an Iron Man comic that kind of picks things up from the beginning?

Well I'm more of a Marvel fan myself but DC just rebooted their whole universe a couple years back so it might be easier to get into that.

Start reading DC comics, since they just rebooted not even 8 months ago you can pick up every issue of a run and be up to date on just what is going on with each character. The new 52 has a bunch of pretty good runs, Wonder Woman and Action comics are good, Animal Man is the best comic run I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time, get it NOW. And some of the other runs are good as well. Demon Knights is wickedly funny, and Neves art style is very much like the images posted above. Stormwatch kicks some serious ass, and Ressurection Man should be read by all. Justice League isn't bad, and its slowly building to be getting better so I have high hopes, its also what you should read first because it begins prior to all the events of the current continuity and helps explain the universe. Aquaman is pretty good, but Aquaman is usually decent to at least pretty good. Batman and Detective Comics are must reads, and Batwoman is AMAZING. The Green Lantern books are also great but, I love the Green Lantern universe so im a little biased . Avoid Hawk And Dove (Liefields art is horrible and the story is sexist and incomprehensible) and Batman Inc is a bit of a cluster of bad, but it was like that before the New 52. The Relaunch is great because it made it much easier to dive into a lot of really interesting characters and storylines without having to have read comics for yeaaaars (like me).

Marvel I would suggest getting into some of the initial Ultimate books, since you can easily find trades of the first runs at half-priced books stores, or a local comic shop. The Ultimate universe is really IMO much much better than marvels "Normal" Continuity in 616. A good first is as always, Ultimate Spider-man. But I would also suggest the Ultimates, and Ultimate X-men. Sprinkle in some Ultimate Fantastic Four in there if thats your thing. Getting into Iron man the BEST runs I would say to start with is Ironman: Extrimise. For 616 I HIGHLY recomend Daredevil Vol. 3. The last run was about a decade of just, BRUTAL stuff, not that good of a plot. But the run with Waid and Rivera is Phenominal, one of the only times I ever cried reading a comic was in this run, HIGHLY recommend it. And yes my friend, ANY Deadpool run you can just pick up and read at any time, and other than the lackluster Deapool Corps. are all wickedly funny. But other than that there isn't much from 616 I can suggest simply because I honestly don't read all that much of it, with limited funds and the fact that well... Ultimate and DC are quite honestly better. Image kicked ASS last year as well.

I also would say check out Vertigo Comics as much of their stuff is really good, and some is even phased into traditional DC continuity. Fables is a good read (Though I hate Bill Wilingham, thats a personal issue that I just can't get past.) and Indestructable is a neat little universe in itself. Hellblazer (Constantine) is a lot better than the damn movie made it look its just hard to get right into because its been going on for a while. Just browse around The Vertigo Luine-up really because I could spend all day going over how much I love it and still not cover enough. Vertigo is filled with the best Graphic Novels around. Not just the comics. 100 Bullets is amazing, and you should buy and read it NOW. Also I sugest checking out Oni Press, they are a nerds comic paradise, with Scott Pilgrim being their big seller. But The 6th Gun is my personal favorite of the current runs.

Image is home to my FAVORITE comic right now, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode. Buy it, Right now.

And yea, I like to think myself relatively well versed in the comics industry so, anything you're curious about or wish to learn more about just ask I will be more than willing to answer, its always a pleasure to bring another fan into the fold.

Originally Posted by frozenprince

Start reading DC comics, since they just rebooted not even 8 months ago you can pick up every issue of a run and be up to date on just what is going on with each character. The new 52 has a bunch of pretty good runs, Wonder Woman and Action comics are good, Animal Man is the best comic run I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time, get it NOW. And some of the other runs are good as well. Demon Knights is wickedly funny, and Neves art style is very much like the images posted above. Stormwatch kicks some serious ass, and Ressurection Man should be read by all. Justice League isn't bad, and its slowly building to be getting better so I have high hopes, its also what you should read first because it begins prior to all the events of the current continuity and helps explain the universe. Aquaman is pretty good, but Aquaman is usually decent to at least pretty good. Batman and Detective Comics are must reads, and Batwoman is AMAZING. The Green Lantern books are also great but, I love the Green Lantern universe so im a little biased . Avoid Hawk And Dove (Liefields art is horrible and the story is sexist and incomprehensible) and Batman Inc is a bit of a cluster of bad, but it was like that before the New 52. The Relaunch is great because it made it much easier to dive into a lot of really interesting characters and storylines without having to have read comics for yeaaaars (like me).

Marvel I would suggest getting into some of the initial Ultimate books, since you can easily find trades of the first runs at half-priced books stores, or a local comic shop. The Ultimate universe is really IMO much much better than marvels "Normal" Continuity in 616. A good first is as always, Ultimate Spider-man. But I would also suggest the Ultimates, and Ultimate X-men. Sprinkle in some Ultimate Fantastic Four in there if thats your thing. Getting into Iron man the BEST runs I would say to start with is Ironman: Extrimise. For 616 I HIGHLY recomend Daredevil Vol. 3. The last run was about a decade of just, BRUTAL stuff, not that good of a plot. But the run with Waid and Rivera is Phenominal, one of the only times I ever cried reading a comic was in this run, HIGHLY recommend it. And yes my friend, ANY Deadpool run you can just pick up and read at any time, and other than the lackluster Deapool Corps. are all wickedly funny. But other than that there isn't much from 616 I can suggest simply because I honestly don't read all that much of it, with limited funds and the fact that well... Ultimate and DC are quite honestly better. Image kicked ASS last year as well.

I also would say check out Vertigo Comics as much of their stuff is really good, and some is even phased into traditional DC continuity. Fables is a good read (Though I hate Bill Wilingham, thats a personal issue that I just can't get past.) and Indestructable is a neat little universe in itself. Hellblazer (Constantine) is a lot better than the damn movie made it look its just hard to get right into because its been going on for a while. Just browse around The Vertigo Luine-up really because I could spend all day going over how much I love it and still not cover enough. Vertigo is filled with the best Graphic Novels around. Not just the comics. 100 Bullets is amazing, and you should buy and read it NOW. Also I sugest checking out Oni Press, they are a nerds comic paradise, with Scott Pilgrim being their big seller. But The 6th Gun is my personal favorite of the current runs.

Image is home to my FAVORITE comic right now, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode. Buy it, Right now.

And yea, I like to think myself relatively well versed in the comics industry so, anything you're curious about or wish to learn more about just ask I will be more than willing to answer, its always a pleasure to bring another fan into the fold.

Does Ironman: Extrimise handle the origin story at all?

Originally Posted by jsktrogdor

Does Ironman: Extrimise handle the origin story at all?

Its the re-imagining of the origin story, it basically was maintstream iron man for a few years. But in short yes, yes it does.

Originally Posted by frozenprince

Its the re-imagining of the origin story, it basically was maintstream iron man for a few years. But in short yes, yes it does.

Is it supposed to be a "Motion Comic"? I've been looking around on the intrawebs and every reference I've seen to it seems to be about the "Motion Comic".

Originally Posted by jsktrogdor

Is it supposed to be a "Motion Comic"? I've been looking around on the intrawebs and every reference I've seen to it seems to be about the "Motion Comic".

No man, the trade paperback is a hard copy. No motion. I think it may have a "motion" edition (im not sure) but I own the trade and its a traditional format comic. I think the digital edition is on comixology.

Originally Posted by frozenprince

Start reading DC comics, since they just rebooted not even 8 months ago you can pick up every issue of a run and be up to date on just what is going on with each character. The new 52 has a bunch of pretty good runs, Wonder Woman and Action comics are good, Animal Man is the best comic run I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time, get it NOW. And some of the other runs are good as well. Demon Knights is wickedly funny, and Neves art style is very much like the images posted above. Stormwatch kicks some serious ass, and Ressurection Man should be read by all. Justice League isn't bad, and its slowly building to be getting better so I have high hopes, its also what you should read first because it begins prior to all the events of the current continuity and helps explain the universe. Aquaman is pretty good, but Aquaman is usually decent to at least pretty good. Batman and Detective Comics are must reads, and Batwoman is AMAZING. The Green Lantern books are also great but, I love the Green Lantern universe so im a little biased . Avoid Hawk And Dove (Liefields art is horrible and the story is sexist and incomprehensible) and Batman Inc is a bit of a cluster of bad, but it was like that before the New 52. The Relaunch is great because it made it much easier to dive into a lot of really interesting characters and storylines without having to have read comics for yeaaaars (like me).

Man no kidding I frigging HATE Liefield's art style...its so bad that I cant read anything he draws. Id toss in Justice League Dark too, really like it. And yep on the Batman titles, Batwoman is probably THE best female superhero book out there.

Oh and for people who dont know why alot of people hate Liefield I give you Captain America!

Image is home to my FAVORITE comic right now, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode. Buy it, Right now.

And yea, I like to think myself relatively well versed in the comics industry so, anything you're curious about or wish to learn more about just ask I will be more than willing to answer, its always a pleasure to bring another fan into the fold.

Image is really great comic company especially since they support/deal with creator owned books. How long you been reading comics?

Originally Posted by danzig

Man no kidding I frigging HATE Liefield's art style...its so bad that I cant read anything he draws. Id toss in Justice League Dark too, really like it. And yep on the Batman titles, Batwoman is probably THE best female superhero book out there.

Oh and for people who dont know why alot of people hate Liefield I give you Captain America!

*snip!*

HUSH! We do not speak of those days. Cap has ALWAYS been from WWII and ALWAYS been frozen (except when bucky was cap but, that didn't last long), we do not SPEAK OF THOSE DAYS! Liefield and his ilk nearly killed comics, the Dark Ages still haunt me. I meen I understand that his dividends from the 90's must still attract publishers because thats the only way I see him being able to get jobs anymore. He cannot draw hands and feet, honestly its hard to read anything he ever does due to everything being so... just hideously ugly.

And yes Batwoman is by far the best female comic character, she always has phenominal writing. And yes I meen I had REALLY high hopes for JL: Dark, but I just could never get into it.

Image is really great comic company especially since they support/deal with creator owned books. How long you been reading comics?

I loved image last year, had a lot of good runs. And I have been reading damn near my entire life. I stopped for about three years between 00'-03' but I picked up USM #1 just because I thought the art was pretty and fell absolutely in love with them again. Have a metric ton of friends and aquantinces in the industry as well so I try to keep up with a ton of things with no money . I tried to find some basic reading for him but yea, there is so much that is REALLY great about the industry right now that its hard to just suggest any few books. But there are tons of jumping in points now so its not nearly as hard as it used to be.

Originally Posted by frozenprince

HUSH! We do not speak of those days. Cap has ALWAYS been from WWII and ALWAYS been frozen (except when bucky was cap but, that didn't last long), we do not SPEAK OF THOSE DAYS! Liefield and his ilk nearly killed comics, the Dark Ages still haunt me. I meen I understand that his dividends from the 90's must still attract publishers because thats the only way I see him being able to get jobs anymore. He cannot draw hands and feet, honestly its hard to read anything he ever does due to everything being so... just hideously ugly.

Im still amazed he can get work especially since on top of his ugly art he has been accused numerous times of stealing design/look from other artist too. The 90s really were a pretty bad decade for Marvel.

And yes Batwoman is by far the best female comic character, she always has phenominal writing. And yes I meen I had REALLY high hopes for JL: Dark, but I just could never get into it.

What annoys me no one else can capture what makes BW work for other female characters. Yes BW still has some T&A elements but strong storylines, character development makes it a great book. Hell DC doesnt even treat her as the token lesbian character in the universe *cough* Marvel. But then Marvel pretty much sucks at handling female characters.


I loved image last year, had a lot of good runs. And I have been reading damn near my entire life. I stopped for about three years between 00'-03' but I picked up USM #1 just because I thought the art was pretty and fell absolutely in love with them again. Have a metric ton of friends and aquantinces in the industry as well so I try to keep up with a ton of things with no money . I tried to find some basic reading for him but yea, there is so much that is REALLY great about the industry right now that its hard to just suggest any few books. But there are tons of jumping in points now so its not nearly as hard as it used to be.[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by danzig

Im still amazed he can get work especially since on top of his ugly art he has been accused numerous times of stealing design/look from other artist too. The 90s really were a pretty bad decade for Marvel.

Agreed. The 90's were a bad era in general for most mainstream comics.

What annoys me no one else can capture what makes BW work for other female characters. Yes BW still has some T&A elements but strong storylines, character development makes it a great book. Hell DC doesnt even treat her as the token lesbian character in the universe *cough* Marvel. But then Marvel pretty much sucks at handling female characters.

I think a good amount of it (not saying all) is that, yes, she isn't just a token character. Its what made this Wonder Woman run FINNALY get it. That she isn't a WOMAN super hero, just a super hero. You don't have to write females as their own specific archtypes in order to make compelling art. Batwoman is a good character because there is more to her than just the fact that she is a woman, or a lesbian, or a superhero. The best writers always make a good character seem like a genuine person, not just archtypes. Unfortunatly there are many comic writers right now (not gonna name names *cough*diggle*cough*) that just like T&A and "witty" one liners and "Blowing up real good". As opposed to a coherant narrative .

Though I do agree that Marvel REALLY sucks at writing female characters.

My advice would be to get to your nearest comic store and spend at least a day finding something you like. I did that many years ago and discovered Electra Assassin, Watchmen and Akira as well as lesser known stuff like Rank Xerox.. The comic book world has a lot more to it than DC/Marvel..

Superheroes are meh. Go find old EC Comics, you will thank me later.

I didn't really read many comic books as a kid. I mostly bought comic cards (that I still have today), played outside with action figures, and watched comic-based TV shows. There are a few I'd recommend, however. They should be obvious ones.

Watchmen: A fantastic read and an interesting take on superheroes. Plenty of interesting, well-developed, and flawed characters. The ending...well let's just say the film actually improved on the ending.

The Dark Knight Returns: A story of an old and not-giving-a-flying- Batman. I like the setting and even though I didn't really appreciate the little girl in it, it's still pretty awesome. I was no fan of the ending but everything leading up to it was good. You've got an unwanted and retired Batman and Superman who's a tool of the US government. They don't really get along and that...leads to some awesomeness.

Batman: Year One: Obviously, it's about Batman's first year of crime-fighting and so you get to see how he learns to do what he does. Gordon's first year is also highlighted and you see how he had to deal with crime and the deep-seeded corruption within the Gotham police force. There are obvious parallels to Batman Begins.

Batman: The Long Halloween: Also set early in Batman's career, this comic introduces some of Batman's most well-known villains.

Batman: The Killing Joke: Ever wanted to know Joker's (supposed) origin? This takes on that question that we all have wondered about. If you've played Batman: Arkham City then you'll see the similarities in portraying his origin.

I now notice all but one I've mentioned are Batman comics. I've read a lot more but those are the ones I've read most recently, what I remember the best, and what had the most effect on me.

If want to read Iron Man start with Demon in Bottle tradeback or Extremis. You also might want to jump in to Civil War TB which basically features two factions one let by Stark vs one led by Captain America over forced registration for every superhero.

DC is ALOT easier to jump into now because as mentioned they did a reboot. Tell you right now the Batman books in the DC reboot are absolutely fantastic, especially the current Night of the Owl storyline.

There are tons of good independents to read too. Y Last Man, The Boys, Morning Glories, Hack/Slash. Dont bother tracking down comic issues, a) its a hassle b) you indicate you want to read not collect so trades are best bet. You get full storyline from start to finish in one nice book.

Just boatload of good stuff out there, yeah it can be overwhelming to try and get into it but both major companies have been pretty good with creating jump in points. If you really dont want to deal with it you could try Marvel's Ultimates line.

The main thing that might be confusing is multiverse books, no non comic book fan could ever jump into Crisis books so be wary of them, Xmen as well can be quite a bit messy.

Superheroes are meh. Go find old EC Comics, you will thank me later.

^^ thats actually a good suggestion too. There are quite a few good recent horrorish comics out there too. The Crossed, The Waking, Hellraiser, Sandman, Hack/Slash and if dont like superheroes try zombie superheroes! With Marvel Zombies.

Also check out the graphic novel compilations of 2000 AD. ABC Warriors, Slaine, Nemesis are all classics.

Try Spawn.

Im also more a Marvel fan than DC fan. BUT there are lots of awesome Batman comics. Batman in my opinion has the best comics among the superheroes. I would also suggest to start with some cool Graphic novels like Arkham City. If you want to mix things up I would also suggest The Walking Dead comics which are great although a totally different genre!

I'm not really a comic book guy, but I'd start by finding your local (or nearest) comic book store and chatting with the guys there. They're usually extremely friendly, and I'm sure they'd love nothing more than to get you into the hobby and recommend some stuff to start off with.