How to keep up?

So I've been really considering buying some new comics, but I don't know what to get. I don't want to buy incredibly old comics, my goal here is to keep up to date with some of my heroes. I'm not even sure if there are new comics for heroes I want to read about or if they are cannon. If any of you vets could give a viner some help that would be much appreciated.

I want to buy comics for:

Doctor Strange

Avengers

Captain Marvel (Shazam)

Black Adam

Black bolt

Hulk

Justice League

Blade

(list will be updated if I think of more)

Like I said, any advice/help would be much appreciated.

So comics that will bring you up to speed with what your favorite heroes have been doing?

Well Doctor Strange has been in New Avengers lately. He's always been a member of the Illuminati, and the book is great, so I'd definitely recommend it. Same thing with Black Bolt.

The new Shazam has a trade coming out soon. His stories were told as backups in Justice League, so they'll be collected in one book. Black Adam's in it.

Hulk has a new title now and is an agent of SHIELD, last I checked. Pretty good reception so far: Indestructible Hulk.

Justice League has their own series with the new origin and all. Starts at Justice League Vol. 1 Origin.

Blade? Um...haven't heard about him in a while actually.

@omnibeast: Which Avengers are your favourite? There are multiple Avengers titles going out so knowing your favourites might help in picking which title you want.

Justice League (new 52) also has Shazam back ups, art by Gary Frank.

@lvenger: Fair point, well my personal favorite avengers are the original (IM, hulk, thor, Cap, etc) and the new avengers.

@veshark: Much appreciated! What is the book called, and also would it actually be sold in comic stores or should I just buy New Avengers comics?

New Avengers Vol. 1 Everything Dies. The hardcover should be coming out soon!

@ccraft: What do you mean by back up?

Update: (7/7/13)

Nova (Sam)

X-men

Illuminati

Iron Man

Hawkeye

Dr. Fate

Kyle Rayner (White Lantern)

(As always the help is much appreciated!)

@omnibeast: You know how some comics have a separate story at the end? Well in Justice League (new 52) they have a back up of Shazam's origin and how he got his powers in the new 52

@ccraft: Ah!, thank you. Much appreciated!

@omnibeast

Sam Nova has his own ongoing series, should be collected in trade soon, and I believe he'll have a role in the upcoming Infinity event, so look out for that.

X-Men have largely been split between Cyclops' renegade on-the-run group, and Wolverine's school. The former has Cyclops, Emma, Magneto, and Magik recruiting new members while avoiding the government. That's the Uncanny X-Men series. Wolverine's faction has guys like Beast, Iceman, and Kitty Pryde meeting up with the original five X-Men via time-travel. That's the All-New X-Men series.

Illuminati is in New Avengers, as I mentioned earlier.

Iron Man has an ongoing series now, starting in trade with Iron Man Vol. 1 Believe. Hawkeye has his own series too, though be warned, it's not exactly superheroish.

Dr. Fate is in Earth 2, and has been put to another universe.

Kyle Rayner's still in Green Lantern Corps, I believe.

Ah jeez, My budget is about to explode. I got so much to read... Quick question though, will I need to be caught up with all past Marvel events to read these? I have been keeping up for the most part but I've missed some events I'm sure and I'm not fully diversed in them either. I.e. The "Fear Itself" event, I know the general plot and some broader details but not the more specific details. Will this hinder me?

@omnibeast

I think you should be able to understand or follow most things easily. Fear Itself isn't that important, the only event I'd suggest reading up is maybe Avengers vs X-Men. You don't need to read it, just get the general plot online so you can follow Uncanny X-Men ;)

@veshark said:

Well, I read about AvX ... Insane stuff, really, but I'm confused on one thing. I don't recall who hope is, probably because I stopped reading comics for so long but still, I always thought Jean Grey was the phoenix force?

Hope is the first mutant born since the events of M-Day (where a crazy Scarlet Witch used her powers to depower many mutants, reducing the mutant population massively). This makes her especially important, and Cyclops considers her to be the 'savior' of the mutant race. Because of her importance, Cyclops' son Cable has to take her to the future, away from any enemies. This happens in the Messiah Complex crossover event.

Basically in AvX, the Phoenix is returning to Earth, and Cyclops believes that the new host is Hope, and that it will allow a rebirth of the mutant race. This puts him in conflict with Captain America, who only sees a world-destroying threat. The Phoenix is not just Jean Grey, it's actually a cosmic entity of death and rebirth.

@veshark: Ah, I see. Okay cool, that actually clears up a lot! Thank you! :p