(Yet another) New to comic books - where to begin?

Hi all :).

I apologize for what must be a very familiar question here, but being totally lost I'm, well, hoping for some wise advice haha. I'd like to see if I can get into comic books. I know *of* some of the bigger ones (Marvel/DC stuff) and some of the basics of the backstories of the bigger ones, but not the (to me at least) more intricate stuff - I didn't know Bane was a villain until The Dark Knight Rises came out, and even then, I didn't know that Bane broke his back haha.

I really enjoyed the Dark Knight trilogy (the Nolan movie one I mean) and I think I might want to get into Batman (I'm enjoying playing Arkham Asylum on PC) but I don't know if this is a good starting point? Like, I know DC has rebooted their entire lineup, but what with there being multiple Batman series, which ones am I supposed to look into? What about stuff from other publishers?

In general, I'd prefer to have it "all at once" and read it that way, rather than having to wait each week/month for the new one to come out. I think that going digital may work better for me (due to physical storage space). The thing is, though, I tend to prefer stuff with great character development. This is really big to me. I like the whole "trying to rise above the odds/difficult circumstances" and I'd like for it to be relatable - doesn't need to be realistic, but as long as I can relate, that's good for me.

Does anyone know where I can start? Thanks so very much for any assistance. Also please don't infer anything from the Batman references - I just use them becuase that's what's been in my mind as of late.

@snowbell: Welcome to comics. If your interested in Batman Scott Snyder's run has been awesome, you can start with the New 52 Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls which is an awesome story arc. There are 2 other volumes available to New 52 Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls, and New 52 Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family. Vol. 4 comes out this year which is the Zero Year story line that is awesome so you could pick all 4 of those up to get current on the new Batman then either wait on the trades or get the monthlies. I would also recommend reading some older DC (pre 52) material, here is a list of some great TPB (trade paperbacks) you can pick up.

Batman R.I.P. (one of my favorite batman stories)

Batman and Son

Return of Bruce Wayne (you get to see a freaking pirate batman what more can you ask for lol)

Batman: Hush

All-Star Superman

The Last Son of Krypton

Superman/Batman (there are 12 volumes of this)

Batman: The Black Mirror

There are just a few of DC's TPB titles you could pick up. You could also look in to Marvel and Indie Comics.

Here are a few of the new Marvel NOW titles that are worth a read.

Thor: God of Thunder (one of my favorite books right now there are 3 volumes out i think)

All New X-Men

Hawkeye

Ironman

Superior Spiderman

Deadpool (no real character development but its fun and funny)

Now for some Indie titles I HIGHLY recommend Saga it is by far one of my favorite comics out right now, if you like character development then pick this up I promise you will not be disappointed. Also Valiant is putting out some great material right now so you should look in to them also.

Hope this helps, and remember read what makes you happy.

Thanks so much for the reply - it is immensely helpful: the recommendations especially :D. I've a few questions to lead on from your answers though.

1 - If the Zero Year TPB comes out, would I need to read that, then read the Court of Owls arc?

2 - For the pre New 52 material - can I just jump into one of them, then go from there? Basically: how important is it to be chronological in terms of the story?

3 - How do tie-ins work? I remember hearing a friend several years ago raving about The House of M and it being split across different comics - if you get a TPB say, does it include those issues outside of the regular ones? How do you know which one you read next?

4 - In general, how often is stuff published?

@snowbell:

1. No, zero year doesn't have to be read first.

2. Yes. You can jump into any New 52 titles at issue 0 or issue 1.

3. Tie-ins aren't usually necessary to understand the plot. They just add more to it.

4. 95% of the time issues come out monthly. TPB's come out a few months after Story Arcs are finished

@snowbell: here is a good reading order for the pre-52 batman stuff

Batman and Son

Ressurection of Ra's al Ghul (optional)

The Black Glove (Deluxe edition inlcudes Batman and Son) - recommend starting here

Batman R.I.P.

Final Crisis (optional but I enjoyed it)

Batman and Robin vol. 1-3

The Return of Bruce Wayne (occurs at the same time as Batman and Robin)

Eh, Morrison's stuff probably wouldn't be the best thing for a new Batman reader to start out. I would - at the very least - start out with

• Batman: Year One
• Batman: Long Halloween
• Batman: Dark Victory
• Batman: The Killing Joke
• Batman: Hush

You should get more familiar with the character before tackling Grant Morrison's run. It's pronominal, but not very new-reader friendly at all.

Welcome to Comic Vine, by the way.

You obviously haven't read the older Deadpool series, unless you were specifically talking about the current series. If you were, sorry in advance.

OP:@batman922 has good suggestions for Batman

Marvel NOW! is basically a number of series that are designed to be jumping-on points for many different characters. There are already two trades out for many of them.
The current New Avengers is a good Marvel NOW! title. It has it's second trade coming out this week, and it has a very interesting story. It can be confusing to some though.

Deadpool has substantial character development in his old series. I'd recommend Deadpool Classic 1-5 by Joe Kelly. #1 collects his first two mini-series which are okay, but also issue #1 of the actual series. The further the series goes on, the more complex it becomes. Joe Kelly's run was mainly about Deadpool having an existential crisis.

Sheltered just came out with its first trade. It's an indie series about a somewhat large number of families are preparing for the apocalypse, when there own children turn on them under the leadership of the villain Lucas. It's a great mystery as you try to figure out what his end goal is, and whether or not the end of the world is actually coming or not.

Ultimate Spider-Man is my favorites series. It is quite large, though. It is a reboot of Spider-Man starting with his origin set in the "Ultimate Universe." The Ultimate Universe was basically a way to reboot big characters for modern times while still keeping the older books canon. It has a lot of tragedy in it, and it focuses a lot more on Peter Parker rather than his alter-ego Spider-Man.

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As for publishers:
DC: They are more about iconic characters, and there are hardly any current books not about the "Big 7" (Aquaman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman.) You can still find Pre-52 series that are about lesser known characters, though.

Marvel: These typically focus more on more realistic characters. It's still about superheroes, but focuses on both the crime-fighting factor and the character development and personal life. There are also a lot more books being put out about smaller characters.
Image: This is the big one as far as independent comics go. They date a little ways back and their series don't share universes. Their titles can range from completely silly to violent and gritty to horror.

Valiant: This is a somewhat new company. They have only a few titles and you should be able to catch-up on any of them pretty easily.

Vertigo: This is a publisher owned by DC, but isn't in the same universe. The titles here are still creator-owned and don't share universes. These can contain more adult stories than DC but don't always do so.

Yeah I was just talking about the current series, and NP

@batman922: NP
NP

No P
No pr

I would pick up Batman Year one it is still the go to Batman origin. Then I would pick up Long Halloween and Dark Victory since the both deals with a lot of basic Batman characters some development (for instance Two face). You most likely won't like Hush because the main character in this series motives (I won't spoil) very uninteresting and stupid. Prey is a very good story that deals with a lot o psychology and an enemy is trying to take over his role as Batman. It is collected with its follow up story that takes place sometime after the story both stories a very good. Then there is Batman: Venom that shows what batman is like on Venom also an story placed early in his history. Arkham Asylum is another story with great characterisation. Batman goes to Arkham that has been taken over by the Joker he goes around the Arkham and needs to be back at the Joker within an hour or he will kill a hostage. Batman then goes from inmate to inmate and meets is own inner demons and fears. Knightfall is what Dark Knight Rising is based on (or at least some of it). Here bane breaks Batmans back and he needs to get back into the game - might also be something you like. The dark Knight Returns is a story where Batman has stopped his carrier and is forced to return (this aspect was used in the movie Dark Knight Rises).

Another character to you might like would be Daredevil. I would suggest you read The Man with out fear that is the go to origin story. Then I would read Born Again is a story whit great character development where Daredevil is put in the worst possible situation and needs to get out of it.

If you have more question just ask.

Here is a list of really good "indie" comics:

• Invincible
• The Walking Dead
• Unity
• Eternal Warrior
• Bloodshot and H.A.R.D.CORPS

For DC I recommend:

• Earth 2
• Green Arrow starting at issue 17, it was crap before 17

@snowbell: Welcome to comic vine! But yes if you want to start reading Batman, go with Batman: Year One or Batman: Hush from there I would to The Long Halloween, Dark Victory and Haunted Knight. And if you want to read Catwoman, then read Catwoman: When in Rome!

Hi all, and thanks so much for the replies! As a slight update, I've started reading Batman: Hush, and Batman: Year One. I'm further along in the former but am really enjoying both - this is really awesome haha. They're also really well written and despite being really short somehow just get you sucked in... Thank you so much for all the help - much appreciated...

@snowbell: Glad to hear you're enjoying them. :)

Hush and Year One have to be two of my favorite Batman stories. I hope they help kick start your love of comics.

New 52 and Marvel NOW mate.

I'm just going to recommend to some trade paperbacks/hardcovers from Valiant. I think everyone should read this publisher's books because they have never released anything bad. They are consistently excellent. Plus, the stories and characters are great, much better than most of Marvel's and DC's. Check them out.

• X-O Manowar Volume 1 Hardcover (Collects issues 1-14 for a great price)
• Harbinger Deluxe Edition Volume 1 Hardcover (Collects issues 1-14 for a great price)
• Bloodshot Deluxe Edition Book 1 Hardcover (Collects issues 1-14 for a great price)

They have plenty of other stuff too. Look into them or just ask if you are interested.

Again thank you for the recommendations :D. I'd like to ask one thing though -well, more than one haha.

1: So, is Bane supposed to have pipes running through him? He seemed to be wearing a muzzle or something in The Dark Knight Rises.

2: I know they kind of reprise the stories (origin stories especially) for Batman - what about the other characters? Like, do we get to re-find out how / why Poison Ivy / Harley Quinn / The Penguin etc came to hate Batman?

3: Are there any good, "definitive" even, major arcs that feature any of those 3? I like them haha. Oh and Scarecrow.

@snowbell:

1. In some stories the pipes are meant to pump Venom into him. It is a type of chemical that grants the user super-strength. It features in the Batman and Robin film and Arkham Asylum game if you've ever seen those. I think nowadays he's off it, though as he got addicted (don't follow current Batman much so forgive me for any mistakes.)
2. For New 52, there was a special month called villains month, where it'd have issues that concentrate on a single villain. It'd often either/both show the villain's motivation and origins.
3. Batfans could probably tell you better stories but some of the villain's month issues are good. Also for Penguin, look for Penguin: Pain and Prejudice. It's a mini-series that revolves around the Penguin.

@maccyd said:

Haha I'm actually playing through Arkham Asylum and noticed he has the pipes. Currently stuck at that bit...

That's awesome :D. I looked into Villains Month, though, and got even more confused :(. I ended up finding this (below) and like, it seems to be sort of what I'm looking for (the ones with the covers I mean) but again it's spread out across all sorts of different titles and a lot of them seem to be once-offs, so is there any chance there might be a TPB of them so I could read them?

http://batman-news.com/2013/06/07/complete-list-of-all-56-dc-villains-month-titles/

Thanks for the title! :D.