Comics: where do I start?

I hope I won't be laughed at because I am a complete newbie :D

So, I really want to get into the comics world, but I really don't know where to start. I do get that there are two teams, DC and Marvel, I am somehow familiar with their heroes, but I don't know which one to choose. But first things first, where do I get started? I really want to master all the history, I want to read older issues in order to understand the history of a character, and for that probably I should read issues that go way back in time.

Given this facts, I really hope someone can help me, perhaps guide me into this wonderworld of comics. Thanks!

Which characters interest you? It's hard to suggest something to you without knowing your interests, because there are so many different characters and so many different comics. You don't have to narrow it down to 1 or 2 characters, but having a general idea of what you want to read about would be really helpful.

DC started a complete reboot of their universe in August of 2011 called the New 52. You can start with DC from their. No need to go way back in time. Marvel recently started a relaunch of most of their ongoing comics called Marvel Now in December in October of 2012. Just look into all the Marvel titles under "Marvel Now", and all the DC titles under "New 52" and you should be fine.

@andrewnizzle: First you should decide which characters interest you. Anyone you really are interested in or not interested in?

And by reboot you mean like erasing all the previous character history or something like that? And thanks for answering!

Well, I like Deadpool, Spiderman, Batman, Thor, Iron Man, Flash, Green Lantern, Captain America..and that is all I remember now. And thanks for answering!

@andrewnizzle:

DC completely erased their characters previous history. Marvel didn't erase their history, but they added a lot of new reader friendly comics.

First off you should read every characters wiki page on comic vine (just type their name in the search bar). This will tell you about their allies, powers, origin, recent activity , and anything else you want to know about the hero. I only read DC comics and prefer it over Marvel but that is my opinion. You should look at pros and cons of both. My overall favorite hero is Batman so I enjoy everyone in the bat family ( research every member because they have a bunch of them). But DC has other great heroes like Superman, Green Lantern , Flash, Wonder woman, Justice league, Teen titans, ect. The villains are also great. plus they make every character look like a Bad Ass. Marvel has spider man, the avengers, xmen, and so on. I don't know the good Marvel comics but these are the best DC comics out right now

1.Batman

2. Aquaman

3.Green Lantern

4.Green Arrow

5.Wonderwoman

6. Nightwing

7. Animal Man

8. Detective comics

9. Superman unchained

10. Justice League

@andrewnizzle: Deadpool currently has a Marvel Now series that I've heard great things about, Batman's New 52 title is my favorite book right now, Thor: God of Thunder is supposed to be great, The Flash is a fun series with the best art in comics, and Green Lantern is supposed to be good. I'm not sure about the other characters at the moment.

There aren't two "teams". DC and Marvel are just the two major publishers. There are plenty of other publishers as well.

BB

I don't know that much about Marvel stuff, but concerning Batman, you could start with the beginning of the new 52 comics which would be The Court of Owls storyline which is available in trades or you could start with the current story arc which is Batman Zero Year and started with issue #21 (the latest issue is #22).

As for Green Lantern you could start either with the current issues - beginning with #21 - or you could go back and start with Geoff Johns' run in which case I would recommend starting with Green Lantern: Secret Origin (you can buy that in softcover/hardcover format). The reason I recommend the Geoff Johns run is simply that it had some really amazing story arcs that - if you are really interested in Green Lantern - you shouldn't miss out on (e.g. The Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night).

Well, thank you all for answering. I think I'll start with Batman's New 52 from DC. If anyone has any advices or suggestions please leave them in a comment, you help me a lot! :D

The storyline is really important for me so if anyone could point me to the first "start" of a char that would be great. Thanks @Kraya !

For Marvel there is called the Essential X-Men, Essential Avengers, and so on. It covers pretty much whatever character you're into since the beginning. It has between 15-20 issues in each collection, but it's only in black and white. There is a color version as well but it has fewer issues and is more expensive. DC has the same thing but I don't remember what it's called.