Hey all, new to comics, give me a push in the general direction?

Hi all,

I made a in the welcome thread a few days ago about why I'm wanting to get into comics.

Thing is, I'm a comic rookie in every possible way. I know NOTHING, literally NOTHING.

And this is one big overwhelming world, that's for sure.

Anyway, here's my question.

The comics I want to read are (in no particular order other than Spawn being the most important)

Spawn, Green Lantern, X-Men, The Avengers(Both the comic and the individual characters from the film, Thor, Iron Man. Captain America. Don't like The Hulk), Spider-Man and The Flash.

That brings the score to 9 series I have 1 slot open for suggestions (10 is more than enough I think). As you see I'm highly influenced by the films, because I like those characters and I want to get to know them better.

Anyway as I said, this is an overwhelming world, and I was hoping you guys could push me in the general direction.

That means, what are the different series from the characters (I know Spidey has a ton of different series to his name),

Which are related to the film, which are good even though they are not film related, which are mandatory to read to understand the background a bit more, etc.

I know this is a big question, and I hope you guys can help a nerd out.

Best of regards, Yai-Kai

I think spider-man has only one ongoing series right now (TASM). It has two spin off's tough - Scarlet Spider and Venom - which are both awesome. The new Marvel NOW event is starting right now so a lot of Marvel tittles are going to be renumbered, like the first new Iron-man comic has came out and all new Uncanny Avengers came out about a month ago.

P.S. I can give you some background about spidey - I've read a lot of it's issues.

EDIT :

http://marvel.com/marvelnow - Check out this, so you know all new Marvel NOW titles. You can start reading from them, as it's going to be a perfect jumping on point.

If you don't read Scott Snyder's Batman, you're really missing out. His run is good enough that you don't need to be a major fan of the character to enjoy it.

Nice to see another Flash reader though. That book has been rock-solid since the New 52.

• Spawn; Spawn: Origins
• Green Lantern: Geoff Johns' run. Vol. 4.
• X-Men: Claremont's run, Grant Morrison's New X-Men and Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men
• Avengers: The Ultimates Vol. 1 & 2
• Captain America: Ed Brubaker's run.
• Thor: Walter Simonson's run (issues #337-355, 357-382 of Thor, the page shows you the trades) and Straczynski's run (issues #1-6 of Thor and Thor Giant-Size Finale, you can get them in trades too. And the upcoming Marvel NOW! title Thor: The God of Thunder
• Iron Man: The Invincible Iron Man
• Spider-Man: Ultimate Spider-Man
• The Flash: Just start with Geoff Johns' run with The Flash: Wonderland or the first omnibus.

BB

I would suggest comics that are coming out currently. Green Lantern is great right now, but you would have to do a LOT of reading to find out what the hell is going on. The Flash is a fantastic story that I feel is easy for new readers. Plus of course, Marvel NOW! is launching. They are coming out with all new #1's for many of those characters you said you are interested in. However, since I am not a huge Marvel fan, I am not sure how easy something like Avengers, for example, will be for new readers. Like always though, don't be afraid to just jump in! Waiting for a new arch is of course ideal, but that is not always easy to find out when that will happen for a newcomer. You can always just pick up the one with the prettiest cover, and learn as you go.

Concerning Green Lantern: I recommend going back to the beginning of Geoff Johns' run. It's a long trip but worth the effort, especially once you reach Sinestro Corps War.

Concerning Flash: You can start with The New 52 volume, since it's new reader friendly. There's also Geoff Johns' run, which has been collected in three Omnibuses. Highly recommended.

Concerning Spider-Man: You have three options with Spidey; start all the way back with Big Time and work your way up (it's a shorter trip than with GL), start with Superior Spider-Man (the Marvel NOW title), or read Ultimate Spider-Man, which is an updated, modern version of the character.

Wauw thanks for the response, I did NOT expect this at all!

I'll follow your advice @Billy Batson, that's an incredible helpful post right there, I assure you I'll put it to good use!

@Reignmaker I'll give it a go, but my interest in batman has never awoken before the Dark Knight film and the Arkham Asylum game.

But I've seen there's a comic series about The Dark Knight, you have any more info about that series in comparison to the Scott Snyder's Batman series you recommended? Why is it better/worse etc.

Thanks again! I'm really glad the Marvel NOW! launched not too long ago, makes it easy to jump in :D

More recommendations for my 10th series are always welcome, I've had a look in the NOW! 52 series, and Demon Knight caught my attention, any info on that?

OP should read everything that BB wrote. Excellent list right there.

@yaikai:

No problem. The series that I listed are new reader friendly and critically aclaimed/fan favorite as well.

SmashBrawler made a nice post too.

If you don't mind reading series that aren't current, CBR has made two top 100 comic book runs of all time list (in '08 and '12, they slightly differ from each other but mostly have the same series), both having great reading suggestions.

2008: http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/04/18/the-top-100-comic-book-runs-master-list/

2012: http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/10/07/2012-top-100-comic-book-runs-master-list/

BB

For a tenth series, try Green Hornet!!!

What about some justice league dark? Good team book/constainte book and only 14 issues out if you wanna go back to the beginning but I'd just start off from where jeff lemire started which is issue 9. Green lantern your gonna have to go all the way back to reborn but it is worth it for a epic run and its still running in the new 52. If you go for batman there is 5 ongoings at the moment and i would either read batman and robin or batman as they are both amazing runs. batman and robin is more about Damian killing and the father son relationship between them. Batman is about him taking on the court of owls for the1st 11 issues and now it's about the return of joker.unbelievable story telling and art all the way threw. Hawkeye is always a run read good art and funny action packed book. The flash I have only read the new52 stuff and the art was holding it up in the 1st arc but now the story is good and the art is to good for words!

@yaikai said:

More recommendations for my 10th series are always welcome, I've had a look in the NOW! 52 series, and Demon Knight caught my attention, any info on that?

I'd highly recommend Hickman's run on the Fantastic Four, and later FF. Some of the best Superhero work of the last few years.

@yaikai said:

More recommendations for my 10th series are always welcome, I've had a look in the NOW! 52 series, and Demon Knight caught my attention, any info on that?

Demon Knights is one of the best current series from DC. It's got amazing characters (and dialogue), an entertaining plot and a great, enjoyable fantasy setting. Highly recommended.

For X-men; I would highly recommend the trade of Chris Claremont's run on X-men, starting from Giant Size X-men (especially the Dark Phoenix Saga- if you're looking for pure awesome story-telling). New X-men by Grant Morrison, Messiah Complex/Second Coming.

(As well Days of Future Past/God love Man Kills). Also, the new All New X-men series launching next Wednesday looks extremely good, and it uses the original five X-men ...so it would be a good stepping on point. Wolverine and the X-men is also consistently good/and the recently finished Uncanny X-men (but to a lesser extent).

A lot of the Marvel Now! titles are great to hop onto; the Avengers title looks promising, plus the art by Jerome Opena looks awesome. The Hawkeye title (Matt Fraction) is simply brilliant and I would highly recommend it.

As for DC, I can highly recommend Batman by Snyder, Flash and Wonder Woman. Justice League Dark is also great...and Green Lantern.

:D

You're lucky because this is a great time to a comic newbie like you to begin with. you should try Marvel now relaunch of some of their major characters like Thor, Iron man, Deadpool, Fantastic four, and avengers.

As for your 10th issue recommendation, i suggest you try Batman Incorporated. only 4 issues has been out for now so you still can easily collect them all. and you will never get bored in it.

For the 10th issue go with Hawkeye by Fraction. Only 3 issues in IIRC, easy to get caught up and very enjoyable read. 

@yaikai: Billy Batson's comment is straight up legit, except I'd replace Ultimate SPider-Man with "Amazing Spider-Man" under Dan Slott's pen. Also, I'd look into the NOW! Series if you desire to keep up with these characters on a weekly basis.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions.

I'm going to put this the most complicated way I can.

Where to get comics.

First, let me tell you that new comics release on Wednesday every week, and each issue of a respective series usually releases once a month. http://www.comicshoplocator.com/Home/1/1/57/575 will help you find the closest comic shop to you. http://www.mycomicshop.com/ and http://www.midtowncomics.com/ are the two best online stores where you can by back-ordered, new and used issues and graphic novels.

Marvel NOW!

Marvel NOW (a sort of reboot of the Marvel universe) just started last month, so there is a great opportunity to jump on some series from Marvel. Iron Man, Deadpool, Captain America, and a shit-ton of Avengers and X-Men. The majority of the Avengers teams and X-Men teams are unlike those in the movies, so your going to have to pick which specific members you like the most and follow that team.

Understanding heroes and big events.

I recommend visiting ComicVine's character pages to get a scope on the most important stories for each individual character you want to follow. Now, to learn the origins and/or history of each character, you can either read their early comics or just read Marvel and DC's Wiki Databases. My recommendation is to buy what are called Trademark Paper Backs. They are a collection of one story that covers the span of several issues (i.e. Batman: Death in the Family - Batman Vol. 1 #426-429). Reading these will help you become familiar with the character's attitudes, rules, powers, history, etc. You may find that some are vastly different from their movie portrayals (i.e. Bane from the Batman and Robin movie).

Different Types of Comics.

There are several different categorizations of comics books.

On-Going Series - Is the basic series of any one super-hero, villain, or team. It is planned to go on for as long as the character remains popular and sells well. There are different volumes for each character, which essentially means the on-going series was rebooted (or cancelled and brought back on a later date). There also may be a variety of on-going series for the more popular characters, with each series serving a different purpose. For example Batman currently has Batman, Batman: Arkham Unhinged, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman and Robin, and Detective Comics. Each serves their own purpose for telling the Batman mythos, usually each from a different perspective. Examples of an on-going series: Punisher: MAX, Amazing Spider-Man, Action Comics, Secret Avengers, etc.

Limited Series - Also known as mini-series or maxi-series depending on the number of issues. This is when a character is given a cohesive story out of the realm of continuity of his or her on-going series. There is a set number of issues that will be released as opposed to an on-going series. Examples for a limited series: Daredevil: Redemption, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Civil War, Watchmen, etc.

One-Shot - A one-shot can take place in or out of an on-going series, and is a self-contained story that takes only one issue to complete. Examples of a one-shot: Slayride (Detective Comics #826), The Killing Joke, Moon Knight: Silent Knight, etc.

Crossover - This is when a story is told using various characters, and can be told through a one-shot, on-going series, or limited series. Each character has the ability to meet with others and tell their respective side of each story. These can take place in one universe or over several universes. Examples of crossovers: Avengers vs. Justice League (limited series), Batman/Spawn (one-shot), Night of Owls (on-going series), etc.

My biggest suggestion is to not give your hopes up after reading a few comics. When I started reading comics I was extremely used to reading in prose. I was disappointed with the first two graphic novels I read, and began to think that comic book just weren't for me, but after some time I got used to the style and became familiar with the way comics were supposed to be. Enjoy.

@dmkicksballs13 yeah that's a pretty good way to put everything.wish I had that he when i just started!