The Comic Book World, Where To Begin?

[dbungus2000]

I have been wanting to get into the american genre of comic books (as opposed to manga) and I was wondering where I should start for each one, or at least the main ones like Iron Man, Batman, etc. I've noticed that there are so many versions of each and I was wondering where you started or should have started, and which are your favorites!? Doesn't matter if its Marvel or D.C. or whatever else there is.

 

[AWDMANOUT]

If you want some good graphic novels, I recommend Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell.

 

[Aulleas123]

I personally enjoy the Marvel universe, even before all of the movies came out, just because of its connective world.

A good place to start would be with reading Avengers: Disassembled, basically a story about the Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, etc.) facing a bit of craziness from within their own superhuman family. Next, for more insanity, you could read House of M then read either Civil War or X-Men's 198. All of these stories I've enjoyed and they are all continuing now.

Also, for a reference, check some stuff out online. I like to go to www.comicvine.com for character info (from almost any comic universe), plot story lines (for getting info on past stories from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's), and comic news (reviews, movie info, etc.)

Personally, I enjoy western style comics much more than Japanese comics and animation, but to each their own.

 

[sheic99]

Arkham Asylum: A serious house on serious earth By Grant Morrison. It is an excellent comic and I will plug it for a long time. If you want a total mind fuck, I would suggest Black Hole by Charles Burns. But to really get into comics, just show up at a local store and pick up a couple of books that look interesting. That's the nice thing about comics, if you don't end up liking the series for whatever reason, you only waste 3-4 dollars depending on the size of the book.

 

[tmujir955]

V for Vendetta is a good one.

 

[TheDustyBanana]

I'd suggest Sandman or Hellboy.

 

[DRESSMYSELF]

I think Watchmen would be a great place to start. You just really can't go wrong with it and it's a classic.

 

[busterkeatonrules]

Try Transmetropolitan!

An entirely self-contained series of 10 volumes (plus a bonus one), Transmetro has a unique, in-your-face attitude that pretty much allows you to decide whether you like it or not just by browsing through a few pages.

The story is a grotesque, worst-case-scenario take on American culture in the near future. Technology has become extremely advanced, but society as a whole has gone horribly, spectacularily wrong as greed, perversion, corruption and so forth have grown to nightmarish proportions.

Enter our hero: Spider Jerusalem, gonzo journalist extraordinaire and the only human being insane enough to try and make life in America just a little bit more tolerable. His choice of weapons for this purpose: The truth, the whole truth - and a gun that makes people crap their pants!

 

[Hollock]

Damn I forgot free comic day!

pick up watchmen.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

The best thing is to not be afraid. Loads of people worry about picking up on decades of continuity, but you've got to start somewhere. I suggest you pick up some Trade Paperbacks of whatever characters sound the best to you. There are usually many collections for some of the more popular characters that tell stand alone stories that only require the most basic of background knowledge.

Trying things like Watchmen (which I cannot recommend enough) is great, but since it's not an ongoing story you aren't really "getting into" the main Marvel/DC continuity.