I finally decided to read a comic book. I always held on this because it was just too darn confusing, knowing which comic book to start on considering how many there are. I'm 17 so I'm not too late I hope. I read Immortal Iron Fist Origin of Danny Rand and I really enjoyed it. I'm planning on reading the whole series of immortal iron fist. I wanted my first comic book to be about a character I don't know much. So I'm wondering what are some other good comic series for me to start that won't be too confusing? Hopefully not too huge. I don't mean something like "Avengers" please direct me to a particular series since there are so many for each franchise. It doesn't have to be mainstream and it doesn't not have to be mainstream either. Thanks :).
Just read my first comic book!
Do you want to jump into trade paperbacks (the collected books you are reading) or ongoing series (single issues released every month)? Either way I'm going to recommend a lot of Valiant, one of the best publishers out there. Valiant are better than Marvel and DC imo. So here are my recommendations:
Trade Paperbacks:
- Thor God of Thunder: The God Butcher (Marvel)
- Thor God of Thunder: The God Bomb (Marvel)
- X-O Manowar Volume 1 Hardcover (Valiant) (This is a steal. $28 on Amazon for the first 14 issues. HIGHLY recommend)
- Quantum & Woody: World's Worst Superhero Team (Valiant) (Comedy series; very awesome)
- Batman Year One (DC)
Ongoing series:
- X-O Manowar (Valiant)
- Deadly Class (Image)
- Green Lantern (DC)
Like I said, if you want a bang for your buck and are willing to try out some epic indie superhero books, check out Valiant. They have a couple of awesome Volume 1 hardcovers out right now.
The new Moon Knight series by Warren Ellis. Its only on #5 right now so it should be easy to catch up on. I wouldn't recommend it if you don't like standalone stories though.
@purplevortex13: I'm fine with that but is the new one like a new volume? If so do you recommend I catch up on the previous volumes too? Moon Knight looks interesting.
Shoulda mentioned this in my post, but I'm straying on just keeping to Marvel for the time being.
Oops, I posted before I read this. Pick up the Thor God of Thunder trades then, all of them. They are insanely good.
Thanks. Thor isn't a character I'm very familiar with so it should be interesting checking out.
@bluexram: Well, you could buy one of the Hulk Paperback volumes from a book store. They might have the first volume, so you could start from the beginning.
Try Blue Marvel, maybe. If you like magic themed books, try Doctor Strange or Ghost Rider.
Have you ever tried reading the X Men vs Avengers comics?I'm kind of new when it comes to comics too. I prefer the older (70s-80s) Hulk comics. They were great. Maybe you could try reading Captain America's older stuff too. Those books were great as well.
@bluexram Its pretty much a reboot. You don't need to read any of the previous volumes to understand the current Moon Knight. But you might want to look up his origins just to be sure.
@jedixman: Really want to but I took a look at all of the series and it left me confused. If you could leave me some tips on what series of X-Men to read and in what order I'd really appreciate it.
I won't be able to help with the newer stuff. But I can give a list from 2000 to 2010.
If you're interested, send me a PM.
@bluexram: Welcome to the comic book fold! Have fun. And above all, don't rush it. There's a lot of great stuff out there and all it takes is some light digging to find something good. If you're looking for self-contained, easily accessible stuff - it's out there, but you might have to do some more digging.
Here is where I would start with some of the major superheroes:
Batman: Jeph Loeb's The Long Halloween (A lot of folks would say Year One, because that's the origin story. I would say Long Halloween though because it's still a tale from Batman's early career and does a better job featuring his rogues gallery. You'll understand eventually that reading everything chronologically isn't really important. Superhero comics are like movies, they're constantly remaking themselves.)
Spider-Man: Michael Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man run (Technically the Ultimate universe isn't "canon," but this run started because the mainstream Spider-Man books forgot what Spider-Man was all about. Sadly, this is something that happens to characters often when they've been around so long. This run of books are considered by many to be the quintessential Spider-Man though.)
X-Men: Grant Morrison's New X-Men run (Morrison is considered by many to be the finest writer in comics right now. He does have his haters though. I haven't read a ton of X-Men myself, but this is one of their most celebrated stories and I thought it was damn fine read. It's smart, wacky, fun. And reads pretty well as a complete story.)
The Avengers: Mark Millar's The Ultimates (Not much to say here - just read it. Maybe my favorite superhero team book ever, and very easy to get into. If you like your heroes to be flawed but badass at the same time, this is the book for you).
One last thing. There are a ton of great non-superhero books out there that are worth checking out. Keep an open mind and try to experiment a bit based on word-of-mouth or reviews. You'll be glad you did. :)
Just wanted to congratulate you on entering the world of Comics - hopefully you enjoy your time reading them & learning more about the wonderful words and characters contained within.
Also - 17 isn't too late to start, I started reading/collecting comic books on my 18th Birthday after my best friend bought me Flash: Rebirth.
AllstarSuperman. Its a 12 issue limited series. A must read and the best superman story ever told.
Kick-Ass. Cause its well kickass. And cause Hit-Girl is like the best new character in the 2000s.
Anything to do with Jason Todd. Under the Red Hood especially.
Well everyone already gave good recommendation but I will just say it is never too late. I started reading comics when I was 30.
Maybe try hopping on the newer titles from Marvel NOW, like She-Hulk. It's a fun, light series but it brings in several other characters of the Marvel world so you can get a feel for them. I would suggest Moon Knight as well but that book is more insulated, so if you don't mind not seeing other heroes, it's a great choice.
I want to push my favourites at you, haha, but I won't. I would pick up Thor: God of Thunder, for sure (and Elektra...).
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