Brutally Honest: New To Comics?

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The obvious one missing from the list is Sandman.  
  
I'd also probably recommend Marvels. And pretty much any Essentials or Showcase of characters the newcomer is interested in, haha.  

 Same boat Babs. I've read the ultimate series before due to the franchise of comic book movies, but by junior year I became die hard and started off with Batman and Nightwing (this was after R.I.P. which was a bad idea to start off). However, it made me look back at the previous crisis'.

" You think it's weird that you didn't get into comics until high school?  I didn't get into comics until college, how about that?  BTW, why did you put Watchmen in the non-superhero category?  I mean, it's not part of DC's main canon, but it's just as out the wazoo with superheroes as anything. "

" @iLLituracy said:

" @aztek the lost said:

" @Babs said:

" @aztek the lost said:

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Works for me. What are you using? FFX? "

yeah...could be the Internet connection though, it was having problems earlier today "

Nah, I got the same issue. "

hmm, well oddly enough it loads for me on the videos page (very slowly mind you) but not on the forum page "

Great list Sara!  One thing that I think doesn't get emphasized enough is just telling someone to jump in in the middle of what's going on now.  Sure, it's a little confusing at first but that's part of the fun is backtracking and learning about these characters which is much easier now with all the online resources (like a certain comic website that I like to visit, I think it's called "something-vine".  I don't know, it'll come to me later.  ;p

" @iLLituracy said:

" @aztek the lost said:

" @Babs said:

" @aztek the lost said:

" loading? "

Works for me. What are you using? FFX? "

yeah...could be the Internet connection though, it was having problems earlier today "

Nah, I got the same issue. "

hmm, well oddly enough it loads for me on the videos page (very slowly mind you) but not on the forum page "

I started reading comics recently, as well. I used to collect them when I was young, but I never really started reading and enjoying the stories until about five years ago. Though, I literally just jumped in and bought whatever looked good, though I had such things as the DK's Ultimate Guide to Spider-Man and Superman and handbooks to help me through.

I would recommend Brian K Vaughan's run on Runaways (vol 1 & 2) for new and young readers. It's brilliant, and gives a good "in" to the Marvel superhero world. It introduces you to major elements and hints at continuity without bogging the reader down in it.
 
Seeing as it follows a group of teens finding out they're part of the larger world while still feeling like a personal journey, I think it's a great introductory point into Marvel.
 
Of course, the series nosedives after Whedon's run when Terry Moore takes over, and it has an awful Civil War tie in but we'll ignore that fact.

Like those choices Babs, but I would probably say just start reading about a hero your interested in.  Also, read Watchmen; Isn't like the law now or something :)  Other than that, I would suggest the non-comic book books that cover Infinite Crisis, Crisis on Infinite Earths, etc... They are very well written and cheaper than getting the graphic novels, also they do a good job of summing up the story quickly and in a very coherent way.

Great video! 
 
A couple of things I would personally suggest since I was new again to comics only eight months or so ago: 
 
Superhero 

• Geoff Johns - Just read anything this dood writes, as his stories have a unique quality of being able to explain past events pretty well in a loose sense without demanding you to go back and read a ton of back issues to know what the hell is going on.  At the same time, he'll make you want to go find a bunch of back issues and read up on stuff because he pulls from some interesting stories.
• Grant Morrison's Batman saga - Starting with Batman & Son, as I've found, is actually a really good jumping-in point for current Batman stuff.  It's not a perfect place, but Morrison again works his way into the Batman stories by giving you everything you need from back reference in a loose manner without completely overwhelming you.  Also, the saga is EXCELLENT!
• Superman: Birthright - Mark Waid wrote a pretty damn fine series on this, and it's a good jumping-in point to learn some good stuff about Superman.  I'll also say that JMS' current run on Superman feels like a good place to be jumping-in for Superman as well, despite the criticisms some people have.
• All-Star Superman - Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's book is one of the best Superman books around.  You owe it to yourself to read it.

• Joe The Barbarian - It's an eight issue limited series from Grant Morrison that still has two issues left as of this writing, but it's an absolutely great story with gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS art by Sean Murphy.
• Mouse Guard - I have to mirror Babs' comments on this, and I am incredibly thankful that she showed it to me.  Personally, it makes me think so differently about the kind of threat something like an owl or a snake or a bear can honestly be.  It's also one of the few series that keeps me frothing at the mouth for anything new coming out from it.
• Gunnerkrigg Court - Thomas Siddell's webcomic is collected in volumes by Archaia, and it's probably one of the best series I've read.  It's amazing how rich his world is, how the simplistic art is simply stunning, and how much you care about these characters after a while.  The first chapter or two may make you go "well, this doesn't seem very interesting"...but once you get into it, you get INTO it.
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Eric Shanower does an amazing job of capturing the language that L. Frank Baum used in his original classic, but that language wouldn't work quite as well if it weren't for the breathtakingly phenomenal artwork of Skottie Young.  There is also their translation of the second Oz book, The Marvelous Land of Oz...and starting in the fall, they will be continuing with the third Oz book, Ozma of Oz.

• Ed Brubaker - If you want good mature reading, this is the name to look for on a book.  He writes Criminal and Incognito, which are two of the best books on the market IMO.  He also happened to have amazing runs on Daredevil and Captain America, which led him to be dubbed "the man who killed Steve Rogers".
• Y: The Last Man - Quite possibly one of the single greatest series I've read!  It's got action, it's got comedy, it's got drama, it's got sex, it's got violence, and more importantly, it made me break down in uncontrollable sobbing in the last volume!!!
• Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis can be dense stuff to read, but Transmetropolitan is something that demands to be seen, read, and experienced by anyone and everyone.  Spider Jerusalem redefines the term "lovable a-hole".  Seriously, you are denying yourself greatness if you don't read Transmet.
• Daytripper - This 10-part series from Vertigo is one of the most unique books you'll find on the market.  Not only will I buy all of the single issues, but I'll be buying the hardcover when it comes out as well.
• Scalped - Jason Aaron's writing is stark, the atmosphere that R.M. Guera creates is bleak, and the situations that occur are something that clearly defines the meanings of the word "mature".  It's not a book to be taken lightly, and it's probably one of the best books that's ongoing right now.

I didn't get into comics until college as well :)

Good list!

I don't think highschool is an odd time to start reading... it seems that comics pretty much target that age group or older.  I really can't imagine letting younger readers read some of mainstream comics today as their first comic book experience.
 
Highschool is when a lot of the science fiction/powers starts the gel, the soap opera drama becomes compelling (whereas relationship stuff could be uninteresting filler prior), the antihero speaks something earnest to the rebellious teen's heart, the curvy superheroines and buff heroes suddenly have another dimension to them unappreciated in your youth, and the other mature elements are acceptable material... at the same time, one is young enough to "get away with" reading something as derisively viewed as "juvenile".  I imagine a lot of people get into comics in HS/college nowadays, especially since that's when you also have some disposable income without the burdens of adulthood just yet. ;-)
 
So you're completely normal in a good way. ^_^

The Phoenix Saga is actually still on my list to get, i haven't gotten around to getting it yet. Im very new to reading comics and for Marvel i started at Avengers Disassembled and the Secret War and have gone forward from there. I just finished reading the entire Civil War story arc and am moving on to Planet Hulk and World War Hulk now. When it comes to DC I'm still a little lost. My DC collection isn't quite as big as my Marvel collection...yet. 

" Star with somethin easy, like batman. ...huge joke, people, don't do it. "

I won't be the one who berates you for not including things. All good choices here. Believe it or not, Maus is one of my required summer reading books for this summer. Finished it last week. I can tell it's a classic and it's definitely unique and important, but it was a bit boring to me. To each their own I suppose. This video is going to subliminally invade my brain the next time I'm looking at trades in the comic book store and it will burn a HOLE in my pocket. At least it will fill that hole...with awesome.

If you are getting new to comics it's obvious the best way to go are the current issues of the series and/or character(s) that you are interested. And to collect the previous issues either trade paper backs, ebay, comic shop browsing, borrow from friends & etc.

To start off from the right foot I recommend try getting started on some mini-series, one-shots; but not more than 3 in total. If you want to get in on the big series Green Lantern can't go wrong. Spider-Man was doing well until recently but hopefully it will get better. Andif you like Batman there's like 5-6 titles going on of Batman. A little more mature? try Secret-Six, Deadpool, Thunderbolts. Really you can't go wrong if you follow your taste. Good Luck collecting.

Just to prep you guys looking to get in to Sin City. The books are expensive, but damn, once you've got all of them, completely worth the read and the cost. I know from experience. First full set of a comic I've ever assembled.

I never really thought about it before, but you're absolutely right, the Dark Phoenix saga is completely irrelevant to today's X-Men stories. There's nothing about that story that resonates with any of the characters any longer. It never gets referenced by the writers.  The story really has no bearing on the X-Men's current state. It's kind of strange to think that a story that was such a huge deal, all those years ago, with far reaching ramifications for the characters & the series, would be so superfluous now. On the other hand, the much smaller 'Days of Future Past" two parter is still, largely, the rudder by which all of X-Men continuity is steered by. 

Oh my God, I loooooooved Daredevil Yellow.  As far as art, story, and a hero I really care about, that story encompassed everything I love about comic books. 
Heh, I feel proud that I've actually read the majority of the books here.  I guess I'm not as much of an utter newb as I thought I was. 
Good video.  Thanks, Babs!

A pretty good list. I'm still fairly new to comic books, and some of those are ones I read to start out. Origin stories are always good ones to get into because they don't tend to change too much the more different ones that come out. I think the first comic I ever read was X-men: children of the atom. When I started really getting into it this last fall, a friend lent me Green Arrow: Year One and Frank Miller's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear.  
 
Something that I would recommend in the non-superhero line would be The Walking Dead. I just started it and think it's an amazing story line, even after only having read 6 issues. 

I've only read Batman year one and The long halloween But I also read the dark knight returns and Flash rebirth.

If you aren't able to watch the video, please refer to the video page:
 
 http://www.comicvine.com/brutally-honest-new-to-comics/112-1116/

I thought this BH was going to be about current issues that non-readers could jump into easily, as opposed to pointing them in the direction of trades. That would be another useful BH because non-readers may be hesitant to plop down the bucks to get a trade but would be more willing to grab a few issues of what's currently on the stands. Once they find out something they like, then they can start digging in the archives for past stuff. Like me, I just got back into comics after many years away and I didn't feel the desire to go read up on the history. I especially didn't know much about the DC world (Batman has a kid? What?), except that there was this BN/BD event going on. I took a chance on Birds of Prey and I love it so far.

I got back into comics a couple years ago and I found the Ultimate universe was a pretty good place to start. I started before all the ultimatum stuff, so that may bias my opinion a little but I enjoyed that a lot. 
 
But the first two graphic novels I read were the watchmen and the dark knight returns. Maybe not the best starting place for younger readers, but they're great books and classic stories. 

for me the thing that really branched me out into the Marvel Universe for the first time was getting everything that was included in the Onslaught Saga which was like everything Marvel published those couple of months...I'm not saying that they should go get that saga (you really should though) but I think that doing that gave me a good overview of all the titles that Marvel was publishing at the time and once the arc was over I kept reading the titles that I liked and dropped the ones I didn't....I did the same thing when I was trying to get into DC with Infinite Crisis...I had read a little of DC before that but was always daunted by trying to spread out into other titles besides the few self contained titles that I had read before....so what i'm saying is that I think the best place to start is with a huge crossover event and fork out the extra cash for a few months and pick up all of the tie in's and then read the books with the characters you liked and drop the books with the characters that you didn't

I actually learned about comics through Wizard and I started reading Comics when I was like six. lol

Thanks for the list Babs! I'm fairly new to comics myself, just recently started looking to get into them. Definitely seems a little late being nearly 24 years old and all. Maybe I'm not alone though.
 
I plan on checking out several of these. =)

i started reading comics about 2 years ago. i mostly bought any batman trades.if i wanted to read something else i would read vine to know info on a certain character and if i like them i would read an event where they came out.Vine helped me out on deciding what to read.

• Civil War by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven - since it established the Marvel Universe's instability that it is now
  
• One More Day by JMS and Joe Q - The story that is at fault as to why Spider-Man is not married anymore

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• Joe The Barbarian - It's an eight issue limited series from Grant Morrison that still has two issues left as of this writing, but it's an absolutely great story with gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS art by Sean Murphy.

Nice list! I've never read Watchmen, not even because the movie came out and stuff, and most people I know say it's beyond great, but won't it have that same effect The dark knight returns has? like at the time these books came out, they were unique and pushed boundries, but now, they're not that impressive because comics are soooo much more serious now than they were in the time these books came out? 
 
Anyway, It's a good list (and im glad you managed to squeeze some GL into it!). I'm not much into marvel, but i may check some of these out, just 4 the hell of it!

I started reading comic about the same time in my life as Babs. I started out with New Avengers which had just started up at that point.

loading...loading...loading...loading... 
 
It's toying with my emotions o.O

" loading...loading...loading...loading...  It's toying with my emotions o.O "

If you want to jump straight into DC's current continuity and not be confused, read anything from Batman since Batman: Hush to today. And anything Green Lantern from Green Lantern: Rebirth to today. Pretty much it for DC.

Great lists.. Some stuff there I'll definitely be checking out...
It's really interesting to see what books and story arcs attract the 'older' person into comics (I am anyone over 17 years old) for the first time.  It is really hard to predict just exactly what will grab your attention and hold it for that monthly hit of art and story.... 
Anyway... great video... always interesting to see/hear peoples perspectives in this area.

I don't know if you missed anything, but I have some comics of my own,
Maus, my comic art teacher was surprised I haven't read it yet.
Green Lantern Emerald Dawn 1 and 2
Batman Year One 
the Dark Knight Returns 
Long Halloween
Dark Victory
Fourth World (Kirby's epic he made all by himself)
Marvel Masterworks Spider-Man
Marvel Masterworks the Fantastic Four
Kingdom Come
Justice League International
I could go on, so I probably will.
 The Tick
New Frontier
Madman (and if you get Gargantua then you have a lot of issues right there)
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Astonishing X-Men
JLA/Avengers 
Superman: Secret Identity was pretty fun
Wolverine: Weapon X
Oh, yeah, Starman by James Robinson
Allstar  Superman, I loved that and was sad it was over.
and I have more but I'll stop.
 
These are more like comics I read and loved. 
 
I have Watchmen, and I have tried to read it but I just can't.  Its so dark.
 
I got into comics at an earlier age, but I had no real sense of what was good I guess.  I bought anything, I would find something at a grocery store while I was shopping with my parents and get it.  I got Cap Wolf (where Captain America turns into a Werewolf) part 3 of 4 and never got the other issues.
I gave comics up thinking I had to, and got back into them when I saw sketches by Alex Ross of Earth X characters.
After that I started following the artists and here I am, knowing artists and writers and having favorites.

Where's the Spider-Man love, Babs?  I like your list quite a bit, though.  These are all good comics to get into especially the Batman stuff.  Though if you can stomach the stomach churning violence and debauchery of Preacher then that's the undisputed heavyweight champion of the comics world.   I was among the lucky brats that got to read Maus for school credit back in 7th grade.  Oh man did I feel cool.  And I know I'm among the minority but I never liked Kingdom Come outside of the spectacular art.  For me the book is merely a showcase for Alex Ross.  The story is a bit of a letdown for a guy as talented as Mark Waid.