What Comics Should I Read?

Hey peeps,

I've just started reading comics and I was wondering if some of you guys can give me a list of the best comics to read, I already have a collection of Thor, Iron Man, Hulk and the Avengers, but I want to in time read everything but wanted to know what the best and must read are.

Thanks

Theo

You may want to add something from DC to your list. With the new 52, it's fairly easy to get up to date on pretty much any character. Based on your interests, I'd recommend:

• Justice League (new 52) - it starts off with a bang and stays strong for quite a bit.
• Invincible - Also a lot of people like "Invincible". I read some, wasn't for me, but I can see the appeal.

One of my favorite currently running comics is Green Arrow by Jeff Lemire. He started with issue 17 of the current series, but the next issue is going to be his last one.

@theo1612: The answer is whatever you like right? Horror? Military style? Cape Crusaders?

@theo1612: First of all: Welcome to Comic Vine. :)

I second @quickfingers26's Invincible suggestion. The series isn't perfect, but it has been one of my favorite titles - as if the avatar wasn't a giveaway. I'd urge you to at least pick up the first couple trades.

And though they aren't exactly in line with your interests Batman, Hawkeye and Deadpool are all pretty good reads.

Congrats for getting into the comic craze.

First up, you wont read everything. Unless you are rich and don't have to work a day in your life, there is just too much out there, so it's time to start figuring out what you like. Are you interested specifically in super-heroes or are you willing to try independent books? What kind of stories/heroes do you like? Human masterminds? Gods? Mystics? Techies? There a niche for everyone in comics, and I'm just talking super-heroes at the moment. Best advice is try a little of anything that sounds good to you, and work from there.

There's a lot of options. It sounds like you are a big Marvel fan, and a lot of people like sticking to one universe so you can feel very immersed in that world. Assuming you are interested in modern comics, I'm not the best guy to ask because I'm more a DC guy and read mostly retro modern age comics, but I'm sure you'll get some people more knowledgeable than me. As a Marvel guy, you should probably check out some of the other mainstays of Marvel like The Amazing Spider-Man and X-Men. Beyond that, I'll leave bigger Marvel fans to give you advice on modern comics. If you want some retro stuff, one of my favorite Marvel series is Exiles, a series about mutant heroes who jump from alternate universe to alternate universe fixing problems. There's a lot of crazy fun stuff in there, and you can find used trades for super cheap especially at Hastings book stores. Another great one is Runaways which features a group of teens who discover that their parents are super-villains. It's one of the more original takes on the teen heroes book I've seen with great chemistry, and you can usually find some fairly cheap trades. Start from the beginning on that one.

With the other main comic company, DC, you have lots of options. The Batman comic actually named Batman has been very popular since the DCNU; it's not my personal favorite, but it's good. Superman really hasn't had a great long term writer in quite awhile, so I have no solid recommendation on that front...except perhaps adventures of Superman which features a rotating cast of writers and artists creating Superman short stories. You get some cool stuff there. . Wonder Woman has been kicking ass in the DCNU, so check her out. Justice League has been solid. Eight months ago, I could tell you more, but I haven't been following modern comics since then, so again, other people can probably give you more help. With retro DC, my favorite is Robin. Tim Drake as the Boy Wonder was one amazing ride as he learned how to be a hero without the benefit of unlimited skill or powers, and I'm sorry to see that series gone. I'm generally a fan of Batman, but really, I like lots of things. I've found some oddball series I like recently like Hex, (cowboy goes to distant dystopain future) Hourman (android with time powers fights crime and learns what it means to be human in lighthearted adventure stories) and Checkmate.(international spy agency uses a wide cast of B-list characters to form a politically tense thriller that's a little more down to earth than typical super-heroics. Batwoman was also fantastic before the recent writing change. (I haven't read it much since) It might still be good, but her old issues at the beginning of the DCNU and in Detective Comics before the reboot were top notch.

I'm not a big indie comic guy either, but I still have a few recommendations. Locke and Key is a fantastic adventure/horror/suspense/mystical/comedy series about a group of kids who move to their father's childhood home after a tragic death and find many interesting things. The Walking Dead is good if you enjoy zombies and survival series; it differs significantly from the TV series, so don't think it's a rehash. I only read the first issue of Invincible, but that was enough to make me feel confident it is an excellent series. (Warning: None of these series are for kids) Frankly, most long term comic experts will tell you that though they love the old superheroes, the best stuff for quality story telling is coming from indie comics. Since they are not corporately owned and endlessly serialized, writers can actually fulfill their vision and take chances as DC and Marvel would never do. Batman can never die, but Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead is just a writer's whim away from being written out of existence permanently.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I do enjoy Marvel but then who doesn't enjoy a bit of Batman.

@batwatch Thanks for the lengthy reply dude. I think I'll try the main stream characters from DC before heading into the oddball stuff, but thanks.

Also I completely forgot that The Walking Dead was based off a comic.

@quickfingers26@battle_forum_junkie Thanks for the suggestions, I think before I start reading the JL comics I would like to read the individual character comics to get more of a back story.

Anytime. Let everyone know what you picked up and what you liked. =)

Uncanny Avengers (But I would skip the first arc with the Red Skull). It's the most consistent book in the Avengers titles.

@humanrocket Thanks dude, I'll look out for them.

@quickfingers26 Thanks. Have you read the Civil War story line?

@theo1612: Yep. I liked the fight scenes but overall I felt too many heroes behaved outside of their normal character. A little over 100 issues with all of the crossovers and such.

Have you read it?

@quickfingers26 I have not, I would love to as I've heard good things about it, just wanted someone's opinion on it. I do enjoy the cross overs more though.

@theo1612: no prob. Hope you find a few series' you like. :)

@theo1612: blue beetle new52 is also interesting with 16 issues justice league new52 has the history of shazam and is still ongoing with 31 issues, a x is very interesting, uncanny avengers 21 issues main story started at #5, nova marvel now is also interesting and ongoing, injustice gods among us year 1 is through with 36 issues and year two is ongoing with 14 issues, green lantern new guardians is ongoing with 31 issues, and teen titans( i dont really enjoy it) is ongoing with 31 issues

@theo1612: I agree with looking up Green Arrow at around issue 17, before that isnt that great, if you download and read for free its okay, but i wouldnt pay until the Lemire run, unfortunately its coming to an end and i'm not sure how it'll be with the new guys, but trying to get lemires and sorrentinos(artist) comics or collections is a good idea as the art is incredible

I'm also enjoying Justice League, Justice league United(Canada) and New 52 Futures end but futures end is weekly and it would be better to already know if you want to keep getting it or not

In marvel since I'm pretty new i've had trouble trying to catch up to lots of things, miles morales is new in ultimate universe and is the new spiderman and its decent and not too hard to get caught up on, same with the new run of iron fist

I've been questioning some of the things I've seen marvel's been doing lately but i prefer dc anyways

No problem. I tend to babble on when I'm writing naturally, and with such an open ended question as, "What comics should I read," I could probably write an essay.

As far as The Walking Dead, there's a lot of stuff based on comics these days. It seems to be everywhere. Not that I'm complaining.

Regarding your ideas on getting to know the individual characters first before reading Justice League, that's cool, but don't forget that you're sitting on the best resource for character data you'll ever come across. ComicVine links every character in every comic book and gives you a biography on them, so if you ever have a question about who a guy is or what's happening, you can almost surely find that info on ComicVine. With the greats, like Green Lantern, Flash or Aquaman, you'll find thousands of words detailing their history at every point in continuity.

ComicVine rocks...when they have their technical aspects working correctly...

Civil War was pretty entertaining if you just focus on the main narrative, but it wasn't the best coordinated effort when you look at all the crossovers, and it's definitely one of those stories that attempts to change everything up while having almost everything go back to normal in short order. I will admit Secret Avengers was fun while it lasted, but so many big changes were swept over in no time. There were also character inconsistencies. For instance, I'm annoyed that they portrayed the conservative Iron Man as the guy who wanted to register metahumans. There is definitely a side of the political spectrum that wants all martial powers registered and under government control, but it's not the conservative crowd.

@theo1612: a x is through with 18 issues and is the combo of avengers n xmen working together...if you like them...

Well, I'd recommend reading it then. =) It was a monumental event that affected nearly everyone in someway.

I'm guessing you read Planet Hulk and World War Hulk then? World War Hulk had some fun crossovers.

Can't speak for older books, but there's a few ongoings you might want to check out;

• Ms. Marvel
• Captain Marvel
• Magneto
• Black Widow
• All-New Ghost Rider
• Uncanny X-Men

You should read Uncanny Avengers (great plot), and All New X-Men (great character interactions) many people say it is uneventful but the character interactions are great

If you want older stuff go check out Bendis run on Ultimate Spider-Man, those are the best spiderman comics you can find

I'd say:

Justice league(lots of crossovers thought)

Aquaman

Original Sin

Green Lantern(personal fav of mine)

Chew, Nextwave, Astonishing X-men, Seven Soldiers of Victory, Promethea, Earth X, some Sandman, Old Man Logan, Punisher: Warzone, New X-men, All-New X-men, Secret Invasion, Superior Spider-Man, Second Coming, Thunderbolts (not the current team), and Transmetropolitan are all that come to mind right now. I'll post if I think of any more.

Batman. Cause well look at me. Lazarus from Image has been good. Also really enjoy Superior Foes of Spider-Man and Daredevil from Marvel.

It really depends on what you like. I'm into hard science fiction, dark/horror realistic themes, and crime noir, so some of my favorite comics are Transmetropolitan, Criminal, Sin City, V for Vendetta, Violent Cases, From Hell, 100 bullets, Powers, Sandman (Even though Sandman is pretty wild fantasy, the 24 Hours comic from volume 1 is simply brilliant as a piece of dark horror), etc.

I like a lot of superhero comics too, obviously, but there are many people on this site who'll tell you all about those, too many of them to list. If you're a fan of crime noir/hard sci-fi I would suggest Punisher Max, Iron Man (Matt Fraction), Daredevil (Frank Miller, Mark Waid), Batman (Long Halloween, Year One, Arkham Asylum, Killing Joke, Legends of the Dark Knight, etc.), Watchmen, and Judge Dredd for a start.

Ad then there's the traditional comics, of which there are many great ones like Ultimate Spider-Man, Astro City, Astonishing X-Men (by the creator of Firely and the director of the Avengers), Kingdom Come, All Star Superman, Red Son, Invincible, Authority, Marvels, New Avengers, etc. etc. etc. But pretty much everyone on this site can probably tell you about those.

Since you seem to be more of a Marvel guy i'd say don't start with any of the current books because you might get a bit confused. Unless youn don't care about history or continuity and stuff and just want to have a good read:) In that case i don't have much to suggest since i don't read modern comics but a few exceptions. One such exception is Thor God of Thunder. An excellent book and a good starting point. But in case you do want to start from something more classic i'd suggest you start with books like Avengers Forever and X-Men:Children of the Atom (both highly recommended) and then see where you get from there. I hope that helped a bit:)

@theo1612: I'd recommend you start reading New 52. I'd suggest you read Justice League and every Batman comic.

Whatever you do don't start reading New 52.

I think it is the opposite way, current Marvel Now and All New Marvel Now books are great jumping on-points and you can have a good read without getting confused

Don't waste time on the New 52 or Marvel Now, the vast majority of those titles suck. If you're really new to comics, you should be spending your time building a love of the medium and reading the best, most compelling stories it has to offer, not reading relatively mediocre trades.

For anyone that is relatively new to comics, I recommend reading Bone by Jeff Smith. Without any doubt, one of(if not The)best pieces of writing in comics.

If you are into horror, I recommend pretty much anything from Zenoscope(their adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales are especially great).

If you prefer superhero comics, I recommend starting with something like All-Star Superman.

I can also recommend:

The old The Phantom comic

The original Starbrand comics

Lucifer

The Endless

Alan Moore's run of Swamp Thing

V for Vendetta

I could probably keep going for a while, and keep coming up with new titles that anyone should read, but this should keep you going for now.

If you're only going to pick one of the titles, I recommend Bone, above anything else.

I've heard the opossite actually. But i won't insist since i haven't followed much of the Marvel Now to form a complete opinion for myself.

Marvel Now was specifically made to attract new readers, they renumbered most of their series so new readers could keep up with the titles, the only thing that could be confusing for new readers may be Hickman´s Avengers, everybody knows he makes some damn complicated storylines

Read Valiant! They are an awesome, underrated publisher. I seriously haven't read one bad book by them. They are consistently awesome and have something for everyone. My 3 personal favorites:

• X-O Manowar (Sci-fi)
• Harbinger (teen superhero team/drama)
• Quantum & Woody (Comedy)

@sagejonathan:

Ever read some old school Valiant? There's some good stuff in the mix. Archer and Armstrong was good, but I paid a dollar for twenty issues of bloodshot the other day, and after reading them, I can say I definitely paid too much.

I haven't actually. But I know Valiant is in the process of making classic omnibuses, so I will be picking a few of those up. I've heard great things.

I'd suggest Hawkeye and Mark Waid's run on Daredevil.

@theo1612: Detective comics starting from #30, you won't be disappointed.

INVINCIBLE and of course the GLOBAL DEFENSE FORCE....I stay away from Batman. shudders

@theo1612: What are your favorite Heroes, then maybe we could lean more towards books that have them in it.

But regardless of that i'd recommend. I'd recommend anything associated with the Death of the Family New 52 Storyline. So try Batman, Detective Comics, Batman and Robin, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Catwoman, Batgirl, Suicide Squad, Nightwing & Teen Titans (My least favorite but had to read to keep up to date with death of the family. Also try Batman: The Killing Joke.

I found Irredeemable very compelling from Boom Studios

I enjoyed IDW's Teenage Mutant Turtles and am currently reading them. Very light-hearted a nice change of pace.

Dark Knight Returns, Watchmanm, Arkham Asylum, Killing Joke, Kingdom Come, Swamp Thing, Batman Year one, Flash the return of barry Allen.