Are weekly comics too hard to start?

[pazy]

As someone who is just starting to get into comics (beyond some as a small child) I found it very hard to approach weekly comics. Especially the weekly issues of a Batman or Superman etc. since I don't know all the continuity or whether or not its a continuation of a previous comic (Like a lot of the mini-series like Civil War is a continuation of different issues of different series as far as I know).
For me I had to start reading "complete" stories just to get the "comic vibe" again like Watchmen and Maus (though of course that isnt a superhero comic) but still haven't managed to figure out how to get into reading mainstream heroes on a weekly basis.
So heres the question for you guys, do you feel weekly issues of mainstream characters are too hard to get into? And if so do you think there is anything that can be done to make that process easier?
The only thing I can think of is that, for example, Marvel releases a large book of stories which cover the pivotal moments of a character/team (assuming they can be covered in a single story) with an encyclopedia part to it with reference's to where to read the full story, though that surely requires to be updated often so its not the best idea.

p.s. This isn't a request for "What story to read first?" since there is a sticky that covers that quite adequately and its been asked so many times with the same answers.

[johnthrax]

i say just dive right in, otherwise you'll just keep holding back. what i did was find the beginning of new story arc's, or wait for an arc to end, and then pick it up the new arc of that particular title. that way you're not starting in the middle of a story, and in my experience it wasn't hard to adapt, and pick up the continuity. most of the time, you end up not needing too much background (if it's written well). and if you do, you can always head to the internet for a quick answer/clarification, and make note to pick up an older trade for more background/continuity at a later time.

that's just my two cents

John

[ahunley]

I read trades for almost 6 months before I could even muster up the courage to step into a comic book store. I only bought my trades from Borders and Amazon. During that time I watched iFanboy religiously getting suggestions and finding out what I liked and disliked. I think that I was very lucky when I chose to jump into issues. It just happened to be the week the new BATMAN and ROBIN came out, Dark Avengers was only a couple in, prelude to Blackest Night began, Captain America 600 followed by Rebirth.

I'll admit I was very discouraged by the thought of issues, but now I'm addicted and loving it.

[racemccloud]

If you want to read weeklies, just read weeklies. Jump right in. You'll get used to it very quickly and wonder what it is you had been worrying about.

If you really feel like you can't get into a story in pieces, that you need a whole arc at once... then stick with trades. Lots of people do.

[ladytartan]

Like the advice above I say just jump in head first. That is what I did and you catch on pretty quickly. If it's well written then you should just be able to enjoy the story and pick up bits of history/continuity along the way. And like johnthrax said, the internet is always there if you have a quick question about something. Wikipedia is your friend! :)

[winthewonderboy]

I'm in just dive in school of thought. I mean most of the mainstream superhero comics aren't that hard to follow. Good big strong guy/gal beats up bad big strong guy/gal. thats pretty much the majority of superhero comics.

[rustyautoparts]

I am also of the mind to just jump right in, but do it responsibly. I just started reading monthlies in April. Before then, I had read a handful of 'essential' graphic novels, and virtually no 'mainstream' superhero comics. I too was lucky in that books like Flash: Rebirth #1 and Irredeemable #1 came out on my first trip to the store. I also bought Amazing Spider-Man #590, the first issue of a new arc, and Savage Dragon #146, the second issue of an 'arc.' I was able to pick up what was going on in all of those issues, because all of them were 'written well.'

I'm of the mind that if it is written well, you should have no problem jumping in at any point, with a few caveats. I would suggest not buying the later issues of a miniseries without having read the earlier ones. Writers tend to assume that if you're reading the last issue of a miniseries, you've been around since the first issue.

With that said, I would look for 'established' writers first. Names like J. Michael Straczynski, Matt Fraction, Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Mark Waid, etc. I could suggest series you may want to check out, but the iFanboys do that every week on their podcast, and I don't really know what your interests are. I will suggest picking up the first few issues of Batman and Robin, which shouldn't be too hard to find.

Hope that helped. Best of luck to you.

[mharrison]

I recently started buying issues again after about a 15 year absence, I bought a lot of trades at a convention to catch up, and that combined with Wikipedia has been a great help. I also have a Marvel digital comics subscription so I can read a lot of old issues that will help catch me up (as well as a bunch of 40 year DVD collections I bought before they stopped making them).

With DC in particular, I find I was able to catch up by reading the key crossover titles, starting with Identity Crisis, then Infinite Crisis, 52, Countdown, and Final Crisis. A good starting point as well is Green Lantern Rebirth, followed by the Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. For Superman, I've recently been reading all the Geoff Johns trades (Last Son, Legion of Super-Heroes, Brainiac, World of Krypton vol 1 and 2). It seems to be easy to jump on when a new writer starts in on a title, I find.

[uncommoner]

It depends on the comics you are talking about. As a new comics reader, I tend to be drawn more into the DC universe, mostly because I'm more familiar with the characters themselves. Even though I am not generally in tune with the various characters' comic back stories, I don't feel lost reading the titles I do now. I am reading Blackest Night, and two of the tie-ins (Superman and Titans) and am loving them. I am also reading the Superman family of titles, which also are great!
I read less Marvel titles currently, however, I wouldn't be surprised if that changes. I am reading Amazing Spiderman, and I love the current story. This is a great example of a book that is enjoyable to read without a full understanding of the character's history. I am going to try with the X-books next month, and I'll see what happens...
Independent comics are easy to start reading in monthlies because they each have their own little worlds. I know that I'm inexperienced, but there are constantly number ones that offer a great read for newcomers. Sweet Tooth was great recently. Unwritten is an amazing book too. Reading these titles in the monthly format is not a priority for me because I feel that they will read better in trade. I cannot wait for these to come out; I know I will enjoy the experience of reading them more in trade format.
Anyway, the point of my post is that I believe, through personal experience, that a book will be good enough to hold your interest regardless of the sometimes convoluted histories of the character and their universe. If the art is good enough to keep your eyes satisfied and the writing is exciting enough to keep your attention for an arc, I don't think you need to know everything that came before. I am now curious about the "big two's" histories, so I have a few trades on order, and I am very much looking forward to reading them. However, this is secondary to my enjoyment of the monthly comics that I already buy. It it is not necessary to be a historian first. I think you should be able to dive in and enjoy.

[abrahamsamable]

Honestly, I think it is decently difficult to get into weekly super-hero titles, especially ones from Dc or Marvel.

Just one character like, Batman or Spider-Man, has over a life
time of history and "family" characters to deal with. It is like a huge
inside joke that everyone else gets but you, and where the hell have
you been BTW, kinda of thing.

To me, it is the responsibility of the comic industry to help new readers
or returning fans catch up on what they missed.

I mean, the FF Issue this week for instants, at the end
some creatures show up and i have no idea who they are. I can look them up online so
no big deal, but what if i couldnt? Or if i didn't want to put that much effort into my
books. Go buy a continuing book series in novel form and there is almost always a
glossary of characters, characters from the past books who appear in the current one, with a brief explanation of who they are and why they are important.

Back issues and trades work, but nobody wants to spend that much money just to be entertained. So make it easier and cheaper, then come the new generation of weekly fanboys. Which Im not sure about DC, but i know marvel has the digital comic subscript. that is pretty fare, from what i have read.

[siraim]

...I mean, the FF Issue this week for instants, at the end
some creatures show up and i have no idea who they are. I can look them up online so
no big deal, but what if i couldnt? Or if i didn't want to put that much effort into my
books. Go buy a continuing book series in novel form and there is almost always a
glossary of characters, characters from the past books who appear in the current one, with a brief explanation of who they are and why they are important. ..

With respect to the FF #571, I don't think it's terribly relevant to know exactly who appears at the end of the book. It's important to understand that the Council of Reeds has the power to effect change across the multiverse and literally reach INTO stars and fix them. All the while, there is a force in the universe so big, so scary and so powerful that the Reeds are worried.

Comics are pretty much that way. When I jumped back into comics a year and a half or so ago, I had no idea who anyone beyond the major players were. 18 months later, I'm still figuring it out. I don't think I'd have enjoyed anything I disliked now that I know the backstory, but rereads of the books has become richer.

Back to FF, when we first saw the leaders of the Council of Reeds, the meaning of the scene was pretty epic but the underlying tone was lost on me. Having figured out what those gloves were, I've come to appreciate the impact more.

[abrahamsamable]

It just through me off a bit. I sitll havent looked up who the Celestials are. Im really hoping the next issues will give me the gist of who they are and why they are important.

On a side note in regard to the main posters question: Established characters like Batman, Superman, Some X-men books and there characters; If you are at all familiar with the characters. You can catch the start of a run, read some wiki sites or whatever and get the just and hop right in. But I'd still like to see a glossary page...wonder what the cost differents to add Two more pages. 26 to 28 pages, Letters pages and a Gloss.