Comics for beginners

[tomsturge]

Hey Guys,

I'm a newbie to the world of comics and would like to get started with a good selection.

Could you guys give me advice as to which ones i should start with.

Kind regards

[genmasho]

Some of my personal favorites are in the way of Trade Paper Backs are,

Bone
Kingdome Come
Batman: Dark Knight
Watchmen
Batman the Killing Joke
Invincible (image comics)
Walking Dead


as for ongoing monthly comics

Green Lantern
All star Batman and Robin the wonder
the Boys
RASL
Kick-ass
Walking Dead
Invincible
Teen Titans Year One

theres a few others but i think thats a good list for now, if you want more help you could post this question on the IFanboys forum

[scigrex14]

Some comics to start off with would be Sin City, The Surrogates, and Batman: The Long Halloween would all be good comics to start off with. Though Watchmen is one of the best comics ever written, it's also one of the deepest and you will get more from it if you read some other superhero comics before you read it.

[decepticon]

Some great starters:

To get into genres other than superheroes, I'd suggest checking out these all of which can be found in trade paperback format;
The Walking Dead
Criminal
Scott Pilgrim
Box Office Poison
Bone
Blankets
Queen & Country
Preacher
Transmetropolitan
Fables
Ex Machina
Fear Agent
Scalped
DMZ
Sandman
Y: The Last Man

...That should start you off and give you a variety of genres to see what you dig.

As for books that are excellent for breaking into the superhero realm, and exploring what can make those books just as adult or valid as any other;

Batman: Year One
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman: Dark Victory
Batman: Hush
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
DC Comics: The New Frontier
Watchmen
The Ultimates 1 & 2
Captain America (The Brubaker stuff)
Daredevil (starting right at Kevin Smith's run and going all the way up to the current Brubaker stuff)
Ultimate Spider-Man
JLA (the trades of Grant Morrison's run)
Superman for All Seasons
Spider-Man: Blue
Daredevil: Yellow
Daredevil (Frank Miller's excellent run, if you can afford the Omnibus that's probably the best way to read it)
Hulk: Grey
Dr. Strange: The Oath
Astonishing X-Men
Invincible

...That should certainly get you started, and basically give you an idea of the types of books you're going to like, and you should be able to take it from there ;)

...And if you want to get right into monthly books that are going on now that, currently, I think are pretty good that I don't prefer reading in trades (so Cap and Dardevil aren't listed, because I enjoy them so much in trade/Omnibus formats that I won't go to issues!) here are some I'd recommend that I didn't list above;
Green Lantern
Batman
Detective Comics
New Avengers
Mighty Avengers
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Although to be honest I wish I would have just waited for the trades)
Booster Gold
All-Star Batman & Robin (Although this starts out TERRIBLE, but eventually you start to understand where Miller wants to take the character this time around...the Batman we initially see is almost un-readable, however)
All-Star Superman

Hope that helps!

[controversy187]

I'm also just breaking into comics. I'm the guy who hates coming into the middle of a story, so I started with The Surrogates, since it's only 6 issues. It was amazing. Then I started to check out the Marvel Ultimate universe. I tried Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men and I'm loving them. I just ordered the Ultimate Ironman and Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra trade paperbacks, since it's my understanding that they actually happen first in the chonology.

This could become an expensive habit...

[poltah]

Astonishing X-men by Joss Whedon (firefly!) is amazing for new people who wants to try out the X-men.

[robertnordberg12]

watchmen
The dark knight Returns
the walking dead
Girls
Ultimate X-men (first 30 or so issues)
ultimates 1 and 2 not 3
Batman : Hush
Spider-Man: Reign
X-men: Xecutioners Songs (if you can find the run)
Exiles

[applie]

As someone who just got into comics recently, I'd definitely recommend Runaways by Brian K Vaughan. It's about 6 teenagers who find out their parents are super-villians, and decide to rebel against them.
I've given it to quite a lot of my friends who don't read comics and they've all loved it. It's easy to read, but still has a great story and very likable characters. Also, since it's out in compact editions you can get them really cheap ($8 each).

All the lists above are great. I'd wait til you've read a few 'easier' comics before delving into Dark Knight/Watchmen, etc. Since the narrative of comics takes a while to get used to. (Or it did for me anyway)

If you like superhero movies I'd recommend Astonishing X-men, which only really requires you've seen the movies, and looked up wikipedia's entry on Emma Frost to basically get what's going on.
Also Batman: Year One is a pretty good place to start if you wanna get into Batman comics (Batman: The Long Halloween is a good place to go afterwards, Jeph Loeb intended it to be a sequel to Year One)

Hope that helps. Another piece of advice for reading comics is find friends who like them as well. It can be a very expensive hobby, so it's useful if you share the burden, and are able to recommend books to one another.

[gi_josh]

These are all great suggestions folks.

But, the more comics advance, I find this type of question harder and harder to answer. It's like someone saying "I'm new to movies, what should I watch?". Thats the great thing about comics, there truly is something for everyone if you just know what you're into.

[tomsturge]

Thanks for all your great advice.

I'm taking it all on bored and making a list of what i need to buy :)

I'll keep you posted as to what i think of what you've all suggested and my own decisions.

Many Thanks

[stubadub]

Why does no one mention Lucifer? Sandman is one of the most beloved series in the history of comics. Lucifer comes straight off the pages of Sandman and was one of Neil Gaiman's favorite characters. Gaiman has often said that Mike Carrey has done a better job with it than he ever could have himself. It received high praise from critics and several awards.

It has surpassed Sandman and Watchmen as my favorite accomplishment in comics. Those that I've gotten to read it have fallen in love with it quickly, but I can never find anyone else that has read it.

[hapkido-ka]

I'm on issue six of The Walking Dead and I'm enjoying it immensely.

I finally found the time to get caught up on Invincible and honestly, if you are interested in getting into comics in it's most cliche form (aka Spandex and Superpowers), I can't think of a better book to recommend.

:cool:

[gi_josh]

I'm on issue six of The Walking Dead and I'm enjoying it immensely.



Isn't the Walking Dead fantastic? I absolutely love that series, and thats coming from a dude who generally hates zombie flicks.

[hapkido-ka]

Isn't the Walking Dead fantastic? I absolutely love that series, and thats coming from a dude who generally hates zombie flicks.

Ha ha, yes! It's very well written and like any QUALITY zombie movie, the monsters are merely a plot device that allows the real story about how humans interact with each other during times of duress and how horrible and courageous we can really be, to come through.

I highly recommend it... since my last post I'm on issue 15, I can't put it down. :D

[gi_josh]

Ha ha, yes! It's very well written and like any QUALITY zombie movie, the monsters are merely a plot device that allows the real story about how humans interact with each other during times of duress and how horrible and courageous we can really be, to come through.

I highly recommend it... since my last post I'm on issue 15, I can't put it down. :D

I've read 3 trades now, and I can vouch for it being awesome at least up until that point ;)

[sugarsickness]

These are all great suggestions folks.

But, the more comics advance, I find this type of question harder and harder to answer. It's like someone saying "I'm new to movies, what should I watch?". Thats the great thing about comics, there truly is something for everyone if you just know what you're into.

Yeah. Someone at my work made a comment like "I tried to read a comic once but I didn't like it." I asked her what she did when she turned on the TV and didn't like what was on. She said she changes the channel. For some reason people can't approach comics in the same way as other mediums.

I just go to the store every wed and get the stuff I already know I like and browse around for any others that look interesting and pick those up (It's easy since a lot of comics now have "Part 1 of X" or "New story starts here!" on the cover, or any new mini series to start up). It really is that simple.

[gi_josh]

Yeah. Someone at my work made a comment like "I tried to read a comic once but I didn't like it." I asked her what she did when she turned on the TV and didn't like what was on. She said she changes the channel. For some reason people can't approach comics in the same way as other mediums.

I just go to the store every wed and get the stuff I already know I like and browse around for any others that look interesting and pick those up (It's easy since a lot of comics now have "Part 1 of X" or "New story starts here!" on the cover, or any new mini series to start up). It really is that simple.

Agreed, agreed, agreed.

[webnet]

Monthly
Ultimate Spider-man
Ultimates
Fantastic Four
Captain America

Trades
Pride of Baghdad
Y The Last Man
Watchman

*if you are getting into the mainstream marvel universe - Marvel Civil War Trade Paperback then pick up New Avengers

[-mk-]

Thought I'd drop a note here as this thread seemed appropriate. I'm scrounging around for PS3 cash and just posted a few trades and Absolute Editions up on eBay for those interested. I highly, highly recommend them all. Happy bidding! :D

Absolute Watchmen (http://cgi.ebay.com/Absolute-Watchmen-Hardcover-NR_W0QQitemZ170209083347QQihZ007QQcategoryZ35786QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Absolute Kingdom Come (http://cgi.ebay.com/Absolute-Kingdom-Come-SEALED-NEW-NR_W0QQitemZ170209084419QQihZ007QQcategoryZ35786QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Y: The Last Man Volumes 1 & 2 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Y-The-Last-Man-Vols-1-2-Vertigo-Vaughan-NR_W0QQitemZ170209089500QQihZ007QQcategoryZ77QQssP ageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Preacher Volumes 1-3 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Preacher-TPBs-Vols-1-3-Ennis-Dillon-Vertigo-NR_W0QQitemZ170209087635QQihZ007QQcategoryZ35786QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Batman Year One & The Dark Knight Returns (http://cgi.ebay.com/Batman-Year-One-The-Dark-Knight-Returns-TPBs-NR_W0QQitemZ170209091264QQihZ007QQcategoryZ17076QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

[gi_josh]

Thought I'd drop a note here as this thread seemed appropriate. I'm scrounging around for PS3 cash and just posted a few trades and Absolute Editions up on eBay for those interested. I highly, highly recommend them all. Happy bidding! :D

Absolute Watchmen (http://cgi.ebay.com/Absolute-Watchmen-Hardcover-NR_W0QQitemZ170209083347QQihZ007QQcategoryZ35786QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Absolute Kingdom Come (http://cgi.ebay.com/Absolute-Kingdom-Come-SEALED-NEW-NR_W0QQitemZ170209084419QQihZ007QQcategoryZ35786QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Y: The Last Man Volumes 1 & 2 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Y-The-Last-Man-Vols-1-2-Vertigo-Vaughan-NR_W0QQitemZ170209089500QQihZ007QQcategoryZ77QQssP ageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Preacher Volumes 1-3 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Preacher-TPBs-Vols-1-3-Ennis-Dillon-Vertigo-NR_W0QQitemZ170209087635QQihZ007QQcategoryZ35786QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Batman Year One & The Dark Knight Returns (http://cgi.ebay.com/Batman-Year-One-The-Dark-Knight-Returns-TPBs-NR_W0QQitemZ170209091264QQihZ007QQcategoryZ17076QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

You are shameless :)

[jdizzle429]

I've just started into comics as well and some of the first ones I read were Y: The Last Man, Invincible, Ultimate X-Men, and The Dark Knight Returns; All of which I enjoyed thoroughly. I've attempted to pick up Watchmen but like someone previously said, it's very deep and I didn't feel like I was catching on to everything just yet. I'm excited to pick it up soon though. :D

[-mk-]

You are shameless :)

Shameless....shameless indeed my friend! With sights on a PS3 and the taxman cometh (and this year, he cometh like a THIEF IN THE NIGHT) - I gotta spread the gospel of current eBay auctions. With that being said, you can't disagree with the quality of the offerings, especially considering I have other copies of all of these. ;)


As for the original topic of the thread, I only saw one Fables recommendation, but I feel the need to second it because I also find these trades to be very well done. A cool twist on something familiar.

[controversy187]

So I've been reading a few issues in the Ultimate imprint and I'm almost through Watchmen. I also just started watching iFanboy, which is pretty awesome. I'd suggest for anyone wondering which comics should be their first to check out ep.1 of iFanboy. They talk about their favorite must-have trade paperbacks. Also, ep.5 is the discussion of the Ultimate line of Marvel.