Noob: Comics or Bust

Hello everyone, I'm relatively new to comics but have been reading some older material for sometime. I really want to start reading some newer stuff but the one key problem... I have no idea whats going on.

It seems like there's always something crazy and world breaking that's going on nowadays in comics and I don't want to be plopped into a setting where I have no idea of what's going on and am completely confused and therefore pushed away from the comic.

So I guess I'm looking for a good comic series that I'll be able to hop into with only the basic understanding of what had happened before. I don't know if that's a lot to ask, but its worth a shot.

Thanks

Basically both DC and Marvel had a soft reboot so hopping on now is as best a time as ever.

@boopityboppity

First off, welcome to the Vine and comics!

Secondly, I always tell new readers to not be worried about understanding everything at first. Mainstream superhero comics have huge universes and a long history, and most fans will learn overtime. Just read and enjoy yourself, eventually the blanks will start filling themselves in.

As for comic recommendations, it kinda depends on what you enjoy or what preferences you like. Is there a certain character that you're interested in? Do you like gritty noir crime, horror, science-fiction, cosmic heroes, fantasy, or just regular superhero fare? Do you like superheroes or do you want to try alternative genres or indie books?

Here are just some general recommendations (mostly superhero stuff):

• Hellboy Vol. 1 Seed of Destruction (The first volume of the Hellboy series, a great simple tale of a demon investigator. This is the start so it's easy to follow, and the art is wonderfully Gothic. From the Dark Horse universe.)
• Iron Man Extremis (The inspiration for Iron Man 3, a great tale covering Tony Stark's origin and his role as a futurist in the modern Marvel Universe. Realistic art and a grounded story gives this a real-world feel. From Marvel.)
• X-O Manowar Vol. 1 By the Sword (Great new series about a Visigoth who steals an alien armor and returns to Earth in modern times. Loud chaotic action. From the Valiant universe)
• Punisher MAX Vol. 1 In the Beginning (The start of Garth Ennis' seminal Punisher run. This is a more real-world Punisher, there are no superheroes, it's just the skull-wearing vigilante going up against crime. Violent with lots of profanity, but arguably the best rendition of the Punisher. From Marvel.)
• Moon Knight Vol. 1 The Bottom (My introduction to comics, you don't need to know much about Moon Knight. A crazy vigilante whose days of glory are long over, this story chronicles MK's return to superheroics. Dark and bloody with gorgeous art from David Finch. From Marvel.)
• Aquaman Vol. 1 The Trench (New reboot of Aquaman. Fun, gorgeous-looking superhero books with just straight-up action and great writing featuring everyone's favorite underwater superhero. From DC Comics.)
• Invincible Vol. 1 Family Matters (Fan favorite series, it's basically a cross between Spider-Man and Superman. Heart-warming with awesome art and lots of fun. From Image.)
• The Boys Vol. 1 Name of the Game (A CIA team has one mission: to stop superheroes when they get out of line. Fair warning that this story is ridiculously violent and can get pretty disgusting at points. But it's a smart deconstruction/parody of the superhero genre, and has a lot of heart underneath its sick humor. From Dynamite.)
• Superman & the Legion of Super-Heroes (Great for new readers, a heart-warming tale of Superman meeting his friends from the future - the Legion - this story really illustrates what makes Superman super. From DC.)

@veshark: Oh my gosh, this has got to be the most useful reply I've ever seen (For anything)... ever!

I've read a bit of Invincible before and I liked it because of its mix of action to story to action to story and I've been thinking of getting it but I think I'm still on the fence for that one.

I've also thought of getting Hellboy as I enjoyed the movies but i always thought that the whole demon, gothic, creepy biblicalness (What?) would make it somewhat hard to follow but hey giving it a try won't hurt.

Finally The Boys sounds appealing even if it is graphic, but I have 2 problems 1) Many of the other people I know have spoken of it and they all say that I'm a bit to young (Early teens) and my question is... Is it really that graphic? I don't really mind things being that horrible but it might be just too graphic. 2) Is it a good blend of action and story? Like I said about Invincible it had a good mix and does Boys do that? I guess when I hear about that much gore I just think that there has got to be so much violence that there couldn't be much story.

Thank you so much once again, your post was amazing!