Uh, Actually…
Getting into comics isn’t all that hard! It’s a beautiful artform that is so impactful to modern day pop culture. Some people look at comic books as a form of kids reading, or the stuff that loosely inspires the movies they see just to have an excuse to get a Buncha Crunch and a Coke slushie. Comic Books at their heart are the same as any other type of literature, with inciting incidents, climaxes and characters. But comics have superheroes.
I’m a huge fan of comic books- especially superhero books. But these modern mythos are seemingly impossible to break into, especially comparing to any manga where your answer is “Where do you start? Issue one!” ask a comic fan, your answer is something like “You want to start comics? You could start at issue one, but not volume two, and avoid this event and when you reach issue twelve, switch to the team run”
It’s hard, but not impossible, and it’s what I’m here to help you do.
MARVEL COMICS
The best way in my opinion is to read “The Marvels” By Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross (A lot of people’s definitive comic book artist). The five-issue anthology following the different eras and ideas of the grand mythology of the Marvel Universe is a outstanding read, with a incredibly deep storyline following reporter Phil Sheldon, asking questions like “What is a human’s place in a world filled with Superheroes?” and accompanied with beautiful art, you couldn’t get a better introduction to the vast world of Marvel.
For further reading, find a character you find interesting and do research in what YOU want to see in your comic. I’m going to go over some recommendations for some characters and teams that most readers will commonly start with:
SPIDER-MAN
For the amazing, spectacular, friendly neighborhood wall-crawler- I’d recommend starting with Jeph Loeb’s “Spider-Man: Blue”, a timeless, exciting, and bittersweet tale centered around the Web-Head. It follows Peter Parker reminiscing about his whirlwind romance with Gwen Stacy, his first true love.
THE FANTASTIC FOUR
Marvel’s first family are the intrepid adventures that kicked off the heroic age, and have countless stories that are near perfection. If you are interested in older books, Stan Lee’s original 1961 “The Fantastic Four #1” is a fun, family-oriented sci-fi read, and a perfect way to get into The Fantastic Four.
For more experienced readers looking to get into The Fantastic Four, the most recent ongoing by Ryan North has been very promising…
THE X-MEN
The X-Men are not characters for the brave of heart- but I believe in you. I’m putting 85% of my heart into you and you’re gonna convert it into pure will power.
The “X-Men: Grand Design” mini-series by an unnamed writer is a good introduction to the characters, but can get convoluted. Morrison’s “New X-Men” and Whedon’s follow up “Astonishing X-Men” are both good starting points as well. Good Luck! (You’ll need it.)
THE AVENGERS
“Captain America: Mythos” is part of the ‘Mythos’ anthology series from the early 00’s, with Captain America being a true standout and a good introduction to the Avenger’s leading man.
For the team themselves- 2018’s “Avengers” is what I started with comic-wise and I turned out fine.
DC COMICS
DC Comics and Marvel are similar, but it would end up that DC is much harder than Marvel to get into: DC is entirely fictional for the most part, and where Marvel has the benefit of the doubt that you can just kinda go to your Local Comic Book store and hop on for the most part, DC isn’t really built for that. DC has deeply intricate storylines that go all through their five-hundred billion different timelines, universes, and worlds.
But to make it easy, I recommend starting slow and finding a storyline from your favorite character, as DC characters are known as THE heroes and pretty much America’s modern mythology for a reason.
For the DC Universe, Alex Ross and Jim Krueger’s “Justice” is meant to be the one-stop-shop for newcomers to the DCU, and has a justice league story featuring almost every major corner and character, surrounded by a fun dive into what the difference between hero and villain is, and why the rivalries are so iconic.
SUPERMAN
Metropolis’ big blue boyscout, and the most iconic superhero of all time. If you are looking for an origin, I’d recommend “Superman: Birthright” by Mark Waid, DC’s resident Superman-man. It’s a modern retelling of the classic origin with charm and a whole lot of heart.
Jepf Loeb’s “Superman: For All Seasons” is my favorite comic of all time for a good reason. A standalone story that takes place in Superman’s early years, and tells a must-read tale. “Superman: Red & Blue” is an anthology that got me into the character. I can’t say anymore because some of these stories take you on an emotional flight to Krypton and back. These are both books that you’re just going to have to trust me on.
BATMAN
Bruce Wayne. Batman. Coolest superhero ever.
“Batman Year One” by Frank Miller is the modern reinvention that changed comic books forever. It’s a gritty mystery following the early days of The Batman and it’s truly special. “Batman: The Long Halloween” and it’s sequel “Batman: Dark Victory” by Jeph Loeb, are a similar mystery that first combined the dark and gritty nature of Gotham’s dark knight with the fantastic nature of the 70’s and 80’s caped crusader. If you like these I’d also recommend “Batman Ego” by Darwyn Cooke for a retro-style mystery.
OTHER BOOKS
DC’s pretty big, so I’m going to have to start listing books and hope you stick with me.
- “Wonder Woman” by George Perez
- “The Flash: Rogues War” by Geoff Johns
- “Swamp Thing” by Alan Moore
- “Booster Gold” by Dan Jurgens
- “New Frontier” by Darwyn Cooke
CONCLUSION
Hey! You made it to the end of Uh, Actually’s first article.
Comic’s are difficult to get into, at least for the main continuity which is why the major comic labels have been making new and improved artistically-inclined universes like Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, DC’s Absolute Universe, and Image’s Energon universe. (Articles coming VERY soon)
We’re still a work in progress- but we hoped you learned a little and had some fun along the way! Have a good morning-noon-afternoon-night! Woo-Hoo!
