Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: I Want To Get Into Comic Books, But Where Do I Start?
An anonymous reader writes: Hi fellow readers. I don't recall reading many comic books as a kid (mostly because I could not afford them), but of late, I have been considering giving that a shot. I wanted to ask if you had any tips to share. Do I start with paperback editions, or do I jump directly into digital? Also, could you recommend a few good sci-fic comic book series? Thanks in advance!
What do you mean, "you people"?
What are you interested in? Are you looking for short (comic books) or long (graphic novels)?
My recommendation would be Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
I'm a latecomer too. Moved to digital, reading deadpool. That way I can read when I have time.
Ummm.....in a comic book store?
Usually, I start with the first page. Beware, though, some Japanese titles might start with the last page.
Transmetropolitan has everything for a SciFi fan. There is no reason you have to start with superheroes. There are a lot of beautiful limited-run story arcs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Dead trees or electronic?
You're asking strangers if you are more comfortable reading a screen or paper.
Casper the friendly Ghost might be a good place for you to start.
The Sci-Fi TV series is from the comics of the same name. The TV series went bad with the last season and ruined it, deviating from the comics. If you find a copy of The Death Of Superman (1st run) cheap... grab it.
I really like the app and use it on my phone and tablet to read comics. It is only $69 a year for an annual subscription.
https://marvel.com/comics/unlimited
Westerners tend to read from left to right; however manga traditionally starts from the rightmost cover. ;)
mnem
I find that CosPlay is generally the most fun aspect by far of any comic I've ever actually enjoyed.
You want to get into comic books now, but later you may want to be say a fireman or a fighter pilot or even an astronaut.
And then when you hit puberty and hair starts growing in places you've never seen before, you are going to start thinking of girls or boys or both.
But keep in school, study hard, and you'll know what you want to do later on.
Stan Lee was an outlier, btw. There will never be another comic book author/publisher who ever be that successful again.
They sell really nice anthologies in bookstores of comics.
Things like "The Essential Marvel" series are bound reprints of the old comics, with 20 or so per volume.
A good book store or comic shop will have those.
They'll let you catch up with the backstory, they're relatively cheap, and you don't need to invest in the collector's stuff.
If you just want to read some of the old stuff and the like, those books are probably a good start, and they're pretty commonly available.
When the Wind Blows
Maus
I've enjoyed reading Star Power (http://www.starpowercomic.com/), it's solidly in the Sci-Fi category.
Also Schlock Mercenary (https://www.schlockmercenary.com/), which has been running for a very long time. The art has imporved much since the beginning.
Girl Genius is kinda sci-fi (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/newreaders.php) though not in a futuristic setting, which I have found interesting.
So much shit is being printed now. Even the "limited edition" prints aren't limited.
I'd suggest to start by going into a comic book store and striking up a conversation with a staff member. Unless you are spectacularly unlucky, they will be more than willing to recommend a few starting points based on your personal preferences. Then, after you read a few titles, you should have a much better understanding of what appeals to you and move on from there ("Hey, I tried X, Y and Z... I didn't like X, the art style of Z didn't appeal to me, but I liked the humor in Y... do you have anything similar to Y?").
Our local library has a graphic's novel section as well, cheap way to test drive a few titles.
If you aren't sure what you like just yet I would recommend checking out your local library. They usually have a pretty good selection that you could sample and see what you like.
There are numerous classic series, and numerous classic storylines within those series that have been collected as trade paperbacks.
If you don't know what you want, maybe get a Comixology account, and browse through what's available. Read reviews on comic book web sites (like cbr.com) and see what people have to say. If something strikes you as interesting, you can buy a single issue online, and see if it grabs you. If it does, you can catch up with back issues at your leisure.
If you're going to binge read, getting an online account on something like Marvel Unlimited for $12 a month or whatever it is now is likely going to be a lot cheaper than shelling out $3 an issue to read 50 issues in a row.
ComicsExplained:
https://www.youtube.com/user/f...
Anything you'd ever want to know about Marvel, DC and everything in between.
Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
Go to your local librarian, and spend the afternoon at the library and see what you like.
Note that there is hardback comics, like Tintin etc.
Superhero comics often require a certain knowledge of the backstory.
I thought this (4 page take from a robot in a similar situation as yours) was an interesting take on the status of comics today although I'm a webcomic guy, never been an actual comic BOOK reader, so I don't know if its accurate or not. You could also cast a wider net, and read some reviews and other discussion by searching for 'comic book reviews', 'comic book blogs', or other similar searches on your preferred search engine. Perhaps there may some sort of community on reddit, facebook, or another community site where people who are specifically into comics may have insight if nothing turns up here.
Here are some sites that may have interesting info:
https://comicbookroundup.com/
https://www.cbr.com/category/c...
https://comicsverse.com/
http://comicbook.com/
http://www.denofgeek.com/us/bo...
Seriously, just don't.
If you must, go for the indie authors and limited series. Pick already complete series, or ones by creators that will end their series.
Marvel and DC have rebooted, reset, rehashed, and redone their series so many times that you will never stop being disappointed and disgusted by the garbage they've come up with for this year's 'special'. They never end, never progress, so you will never be able to stop spending money - you'll have to give up, disappointed.
Comic books are something teenagers read. Yes I know there are adults who read it too but that's mostly for nostalgia because they used to read it when they were kids.
It's like skateboarding. Virtually every adult skater does it because they've been doing it since they were small. Nobody turns 35 and then thinks "hmm I should take up skateboarding even though I've never tried it before".
I had a huge stash of 80's and 90's Marvel comic books that I've collected since I was 11 (it's mostly gone now, given away to various people). A few years ago I read em again, and aside from nostalgia I found them unreadable. They were obviously written for a middle-school audience and completely beneath my current level of intellect. They were fine when I was 11-15, not so much now.
Go for it!
transmet is a delightfully bonkers sci-fi/political thriller epic; the series has completed and is available as a (ten? iirc?) volume collection via amazon et al.
News for Geeks in Austin, TX
Individual Titles:
The Watchmen
V for Vendetta
300 (get the hardback, the movie is a perfect rendition of the original comic)
Series:
Sin City
BlameBillCosby.com
Not sci-fi but fantasy but worth it. Great artwork, great story.
If you have any interest in Sci-Fi, then 'Saga' is the easiest answer.
As for the format, that's personal preference. Go to your local comic shop, you may like the people, it may be easier to get exposed to some cool stuff.
On the other hand, all those comics may pile up after a while, and that may become a pain. It may be easier to find back issues on digital.
And remember, most 'graphic novels' would not exist without people buying 'regular' monthly issues of comics.
If you find a series you like, buy it every month. That let's the writers, artists and publishers know they are on the right track.
Schlock Mercenary. 15+ years of daily comics, and still going strong. The first 5 years of art was pretty rough, but it's much better with that much practice now.
Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
Submitter, what are you trying to write?
xkcd and Joy of Tech have been going strong since 2000 as web-only image files.
Marvel and DC Comics have so many titles reserved that it's hard to create a hero without their help.
Political cartoons are all over the web and print... see if your local newspaper can find a slot for you.
Graphic novels and comic books are a medium through which to tell a story. There are really good ones that take a long time to work through and keep your attention well. There are horrid ones where you find yourself flipping back and forth between adjacent pages because you feel like there was a printing error and they forgot five or six pages. Starting out is like starting out with fiction, or movies, it's reasonable to just pick a couple well-reviewed pieces which are materially different from each other so you can get a sense for what works for you, then narrow things down going forward.
"The Watchmen", and "The Killing Joke" (Batman) are both considered top examples. The HellBoy series is fun, as is "The Tick".
Good luck!
After years of reading comics, there's a distinct difference between European (mainly French and Belgian) and American comics. To get a good understanding I recommend the Preacher, 100 Bullets, various Batman renditions and Sandman (which I personally don't like) to get a feel.
On the European side I think XIII is a must-read (based on the Bourne books), followed by Tintin, Asterix and maybe Bruno Brazil.
Do you have lots of disposable income that you have no better use for?
;-)
If YES: Go right ahead and dive into comics collecting. Be warned you won't have that disposable income for long, though.
If NO: Walk away now. It'll likely bankrupt you in the long term.
Go to a comic book convention and talk to the dealers there, ask them how they got started in the comic book selling business.
They'll tell you they started out as collectors.
Find your local comic shop and check it out. Look around, see what you like. If they are good shop, they have a current issue for each comic to check out the inside versus just seeing the cover art.
If you like a few things, see if they have what is called a "Pull List" or "Subscriber List". This is where they set aside the comics on your list every week so you can ensure you get them and pick them all up at once, often at a % discount. A good shop will not charge you for "bag and board". This is the cardboard backer and sleeve your comic gets put in to protect it. Usually made from acit free materials, often by BCW. If they aren't doing this, or are charging you for this, maybe look into a better comic shop.
Every month, there is put out a "Previews" catalog that shows what is available in the next two months. It's like $5. If you find yourself getting into comics heavily, picking one of these up monthly is the way to stay on top of your game.
Lastly, you'll want to pick up a short box or long box to put your bagged and boarded comics into to protect and store them. Most shops should carry these cardboard boxes for a couple bucks.
Some good series I like:
Anything with Superman
Anything with Batman
Flash
Star Wars Darth Vader
Star Wars Thrawn
Green Lantern Corps
Black Betty
Walking Dead
The Boys (finished several years ago, but the graphic novels are available, amazing series)
Locke and Key
Most of the Marvel stuff should be avoided until they are done cleaning out the SJWs that tanked their sales. They just aren't good, unless you are into that. Give it 6 months or so to see if the ship is righted.
IDW has hits or misses, but they are seriously hurting after taking a severe left turn and losing 91% of their sales, just fired their president for shens, and could be losing the Hasbro licenses this year.
Image has hits and misses as well. Both are worth checking out for some good stuff hidden among the dying SJW tripe on it's way out.
As always, check out the indie titles for great stuff.
The very best place to start if you want to get into comics is your local comic book store. You will find people there who will be glad to make recommendations, and better still, they'll show you what they're recommending so you can try them on. You'll be able to see the artwork and decide which worlds you want to visit. The people in those stores are generally nice, and weird, and sometimes really great. They have time to talk to you and they truly love the subject. There's no better way to get introduced to something than that. Don't feel the need to take the recommendations though. Let the books speak to you and decide where you want to go.
Plus, you'll be supporting a local business and you may make some new friends. Those are good things.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Read books, not comics. Go to a library or bookstore to start. I read comics as a kid. Wham, pow, thin plots. Really, you can do better. I never post anonymously, but I know if I don't I'll invite a storm of haters.
EC produced groundbreaking science fiction comics in the 1950s. Look for Weird Science, Weird Fantasy etc. These titles featured the finest artists ever to work in comics, and the writing pushed cultural boundaries to the extent that publisher William Gaines was called to testify to the Senate on charges that comics led to moral decay (which resulted in the formation of the Comics Code Authority). Original copies are rare, expensive, and pretty much museum pieces. Luckily there's a great variety of reprints including hardcover anthologies from Dark Horse, and my favorite, reprints in their original comic book format, produced in the 80s and 90s by Russ Cochran. Long out of print but they're easy to find and cheap.
do it. Draw comics. Put 'em online with some banner ads and a Patreon account. Run a few kickstarters to get some print runs done. If you really want a following maybe do a Twitch channel of your drawing sessions. Once you've got some samples and a following use that to break into the industry. That's what the 8-Bit theater guy did.
Oh, and make sure you have a thick skin. You _will_ have trolls who's only join in life is telling you how much you suck. And worse than the trolls are legitimate critics. Ignore them. Ignore everyone and draw.
It's 2018. The best way to do it is to do it.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
You can read the whole (ongoing) series here: http://atomic-robo.com/
But I'd recommend getting the trade paperbacks
Check out your local library. Libraries now have a really decent selection of graphic novels, and I'm not talking about YA manga crap. Our library has everything from Spiderman, Batman, hero type stuff to indie stuff. Go and check out your library and try a bunch of different graphic novels!
Trade paperbacks are the way to start. In terms of Sci-fi: Ex Machina, and Y-The Last Man are two I really enjoyed. Fables is another good series to dive into but isn't sci-fi. The nice thing about TPBs is you can pick them up relatively cheap, and if you don't like the story, no need to grab the next one.
I'd go with the graphic novels / compilations rather than try to start with individual comics, as with a compilation you're more likely to start at the beginning of a story arc.
As to which titles to read, that's a very individual choice. I can tell you what titles *I* liked, but your mileage may vary. Wildly.
I hadn't really followed the DC universe very closely in the last couple of decades, but ended up picking up the Supergirl: Power and Supergirl: Identity compilations a couple years ago and really enjoyed them. Kara is a more complex and tragic character in these stories than I'd remembered her being.
The first two Marvel: The Ultimates compilations are pretty good. Each is a complete story, of the "what if super heroes existed in the real world" type that Watchmen started in the 1980's. Extremely violent, character deaths, creepy in parts.
Just about anything by Neil Gaimen. Sandman, Coraline, Stardust, "How to talk to girls at parties", American Gods.
Pretty much any of this century's Green Lantern Corps compilations. Well written, engaging characters.
Alan Moore's Miracleman (Marvelman) compilations are finally available, after being in legal hell for a couple decades. Well worth reading. Start with "A dream of flying". It starts out as a straight superhero story, but rapidly takes a really dark, science-fiction turn.
In my opinion, Marvel had a good thing going with the Ultimate universe (Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, The Ultimates, Ultimate Iron Man) until Marvel apparently got bored with the universe and destroyed it. The early Ultimate graphic novels were mature, interesting and lacked all the decades of baggage that their regular titles had.
And finally, I have to put in a word for Schlock Mercenary, a "comic space opera" webcomic that starts out a gag-a-day but over the years has become a complex and compelling science fiction story in a very plausible, scientific framework. The online strips are available as softbound compilations. Also recommended is the Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries, the beat-up edition filled with handwritten notes from the Schlock characters who had previously owned it.
Also check out the Pibgorn webcomic. Start with "the girl in the coffee cup".
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Go paper
Start with Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge. Do not mess with that and take only barks, don Rosa , and van horn stories
Good bit of fantasy
Reluctant hero
Allegorical
Some great humor
Easy to get started with before you dive into Neil G. et al.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage_(comics)
Fred In IT
> I Want To Get Into Comic Books, But Where Do I Start?
The country of the Rising Sun. Comics published in magazines or on the web are called manga in Japan or tankobon, if published in book(let) format. Fan-written manga are called doujin-shi. These is so much of these produced that one could literally cover the island nation head-to-toe in torn manga pages. On the other hand, only the covers are colourful, content is usually grayscale, probably to give people a reason to rewatch when a story gets a TV adaptation?
TV adaptations of manga are called anime, their start credit music is called OP and the end credit music is ED. There are various genres of anime, but you probably want to avoid ecchi, eroge and hentai. Fan service cannot be avoided, it's rampantsu. Slice of life / CGDCT / Iyashikei are essentially the same genre and probably too boring for a generally hyper american population, but YMMV. Anime also has SF, sports, military, fantasy, etc. genres.
Some invariables of anime-manga: the world is 95% populated by schoolgirls who wear seifuku uniform (sailor's blouse with miniskirt) and their thigh is visible (it's called ZR). Girls are cute (kawaii) and they often have litle fangs and pop-out cat ears. Showing flashes of their pantsu and tits (oppai) are called fan-service, it's one of the stupidest aspects of the whole ecosystem. Some machinery, be it giant bi-pedal combat robots, battle tanks or venetian gondolas simply refuse to be piloted by anybody but neon-haired schoolgirls. Use of magic, especially kabballistic alchemy is common even in historically-positioned stories. The japanese hierarchy of seniority system (sempai-kohai-sensei) and honorifics (-chan/-kun/-san/-sama) features heavily in most stories. Being female-focused, there can be a lot of cheesy and silly meodrama.
Most feature-lenght anime go direct to disc or web, but some like those of Hayao Miyazaki make it to the silver screen. Another, more current name to watch is Makoto Shinkai, though some say he is the Murakmai Haruki or Umberto Eco of anime, i.e. over-hyped.
Manga and anime are sometimes based on Light Novels, which are short story book franchies and often really badly written. In other cases they are ingenious but violate established literary devices so muc that they can be a really painful read. Generally speaking, the longer the LN's title the more you want to avoid it!
People who have a keen interest in anime / manga call themselves otaku or hikikomori, others call them weaboo / shut-in. Mini figurines of characters are called nendoroid and can be really expensive, just like the DVD / Blu-ray special editions which fans are expected to purchase. Honestly said, most TV anime don't sell more than 6000 discs, so the market is a niche even in Japan itself and "lawless activity on high seas" is very common.
That's probably enough for starters. Hollywood is out of much ideas nowadays, so they are buying many anime / manga rights but often butcher the actual adaptation for western audience's tastes.
If you are interested in super-hero comics, Invincible is a great place to start, especially if you go digital and start with issue 1. It does a great job of introducing you to that universe bit by bit and has a good mix of character, action, and humor.
Try 'LOW', excellent book with fantastic art.
'East of West' is another good series.
For more fantasy/scifi, try SAGA
If you do, and your library has a subscription, check out Hoopla. You can borrow digital editions of physical comic books, allowing you to try before you buy.
Spoiler: Any of the choices out there are good ones, it's up to you to figure out how much time you want to devote to enjoying them.
Inheritance is the sincerest form of nepotism.
I know Humble Bundle (humblebundle.com) will occasionally have a Comics bundle, so that could be a good way to try out half a dozen digital comics for a buck total.
for example (and sorry for the long link): https://www.amazon.com/Invinci...
I think it was this one that my friend lent me, and it had something like 4 separate story arcs between the covers.
I'd suggest checking out V for Vendetta, a full length graphic novel.
Move into your Mom's basement.
If you have a library account you can link it to a app called Hoopla which lets you check out digital comics for free. Sandman, Locke and Key, Transmetropolitan, Y The Last Man and Saga and Chew are some of my favorites.
Alan Moore, without a doubt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
Cryptofeces Lepidoptera Creimerus infestation is a serious problem. Not only are they capable of reproducing asexually like amoebas, they can also lay eggs hermaphroditically in unexpected places. They can disguise eggs as something useful to fool the unaware, sometimes pretending to be a haiku author, blogger, vlogger, or IT closet cleaner.
Very dangerous. They can seemingly reproduce out of the cosmic background radiation, even if you step on twelve of them, there's always one you miss.
Don't be fooled by the C. Lepidoptera Creimerus's innocuous, rolly-polly [youtube.com], and almost friendly appearance; despite its great size, stupid demeanor, and bedraggled toothless appearance, they have the hardiness of a tardigrade.
Only a concerted, targeted downmodding campaign has been shown effective in controlling this dangerous pest.
Experience shows that stopping such a campaign leads to C. Lepidoptera Creimerus returning within days.
Don't let it happen again!
Wizard Magazine put out a list a few years back of the 100 greatest graphic novels, that could be a good starting point.
Get Marvel Unlimited. It's just $10 a month and gives you access to decades worth of archives, and you can read all you want without extra cost.
Then just check out something related to movie characters that sound interesting, browse the app's own suggestions, or try something at random.
And if at some point you find yourself interested in how some situation came to be, or where a character came from, just google for it and you'll quickly find wiki pages telling you exactly which issues to read.
I would recommend trying out a subscription to Marvel Unlimited. It's an app that has decades of digital back-catalogs for Marvel comics and newer comics on a six month delay. They also have a number of guided reading options, like "Read everything with this character" or "What to read before you watch Black Panther" and that sort of stuff. They also have offline reading options, so you can download a whole ton of comics before you get on a plane or something.
Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. https://jayandsilentbob.com/ca...
You could try Humble Bundle.
They have a new comic bundle out as I type this. They are inexpensive and tend to be eclectic; so not a bad place to start since you are just starting out and do not have specific preferences yet.
I feel the paper editions are too pricey these days, especially when bought individually. Digital comics read well on tablets. I think it is a good idea to stick to digital until you find a series you really like.
You should visit your local library as well and sample around. Mine offers both paper and digital versions.
Hey Msmash, when Beau is done sucking off your fake cock, can you ask him to how to suck dick for cock, and how/where to get started?
It's fucking stupid shit like this that gets you all in trouble..
totally fucks your credibility in your own community..
Obviously falls a bit out of the "comics" OP refers too, but Akira is a roller-coaster ride everybody should take themselves to. Never mind its age - lmost 30 years old does not take away from most of its still up to date themes. And it does get you a cheap, premium 35th anniversary box that is not only super complete and polished, but very inexpensive when you do the per-volume math.
Or, you know, get the "free" digital version.
If you go the digital route, periodically check out Comixology (for sales) and Humble Bundle Books.
Also note that many of the second-tier publishers (Valiant, IDW, Image) provide DRM-free PDF/CBZ downloads for backups; others -- notably Marvel and DC -- do not.
creimer sock puppet post to build up his karma!
CREIMER' SUBMISSIONS UPDATE: /. so make sure to go to:
Note also that creimer is trying to regain karma by getting his submissions published as articles on
https://slashdot.org/~_sharp'r...
https://slashdot.org/~crreimer
https://slashdot.org/~cdreimer
https://slashdot.org/~criss69
https://slashdot.org/~Anonymou...
https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
https://slashdot.org/~ILoveFat...
https://slashdot.org/~IHateFat...
https://slashdot.org/~IAteFatC...
https://slashdot.org/~ITapeFat...
https://slashdot.org/~IApeFatC...
https://slashdot.org/~IPrayFat...
https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
and mod down his submissions as well. The great thing is that you don't even need mod points to mod down a submission, just click on the "minus" icon!
Yes, believe it or not, creimer owns all the above sock puppet accounts. It is a mystery why Slashdot management tolerates it!
creimer wrote:
I don't bother with mod points. I'm doing something much more sinister. It took ten story submissions ? I'll have to double check the number ? to move cdreimer's karma from neutral to excellent without ever being exposed to the capricious mods. Mmmmmwwwwahahahahahahaha!
https://slashdot.org/comments....
Danger, Will Robinson, Danger! Creimy is posting more than 2 posts a day. Hurry! mod down otherwise /. will go to hell again!
Note: you can mod down even if already at -1 to lower karma and to prevent lost /. users to accidentally mod up.
creimer wrote:
All you need to do is find a website with a permissive TOS, say, Slashdot, create a Python script to scrape your own comments, sprinkle Amazon affiliate links in various posts, and then re-post past links whenever possible. Won't be long before you start making "coffee money" each month.
https://slashdot.org/comments....
C.D. Reimer is a renowned Slashdot collaborator, as he puts it himself; "Because of the quality of my posts and my article submissions, I'm a highly rated commentator and moderator."
But does anybody ever wondered what "C.D." stands for? Well, it stands for Creimy Dumpty of course!
Creimy Dumpty sat on the wall,
Creimy Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses
And all the king's men
Couldn't put Creimy Dumpty
Together again.
Creimy's siblings video and theme song, very realistic, especially the pants, just like Creimy's:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
With "Vice President Pence Vowing US Astronauts Will Return To the Moon", we are sure they will need miracle workers up there, here is what it would look like. Note that Creimy takes care of bringing a lot of food to the moon as depicted below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Creimy's real pictures:
Before the sex change:
https://ibb.co/cc7Ddw
After the sex change:
https://ibb.co/gVad65
Creimy's "enterprise-level" chair, he ta
with Calvin & Hobbes.
Read any or all of Scott McCloud's books on comics
After a quick search, I'm horrified that no one bothered to suggest Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan series. It's Fear and Loathing, but in the ~future~. It goes from being hilarious to soul crushing to insightful to everywhere in between.
Ellis also did a short series called Interplanetary, which is less Scifi, but is an amazing reimagining of some of the most well known superheroes.
Wait, you dodged a bullet but now want to volunteer to jump in front of one? Did you also never live in your mom's basement and would like to try that now? Just because you're on Slashdot you don't have live like the rest of us. There's still hope for you!
Who cares what a powerfaggot watches in his 400 square foot Fortress of Solitude?
First off you'll want graphic novels / trade paperbacks / tankobon, rather than individual editions, as an adult your time is an issue and your weekly allowance isn't, and they look far better on the shelf.
As for recommendations, The Incal, it sits at a strange confluence of talent that ties together Dune, Alien and The 5th Element, also it's by Moebius who is graphic arts royalty, and Jodorowsky, who is the kind of madcap visionary genius comics work best for.
But if so, anything by Junji Ito.
First of all, I agree with most others that Graphic Novels (Trade Paperbacks) are much better than individual issues.
I would suggest picking up a series that has actually completed and well regarded. There's so much fantastic works out there that you shouldn't waste time on trying something that you haven't heard of.
Also, when I read novels, I love science fiction. For some reason, in comic books, I tend to read a lot of fantasy. Prepare to be interested in genres that you would not otherwise like.
Some of my favorite Trade Paperbacks:
Lucifer by Mike Carey - 11 volumes, totaling ~75 issues of the series.
Fables by Bill Willingham - 22 volumes, totaling 150 issues of the series.
Batman by Jeff Loeb
Justice League by Grant Morrison
Justice League International by Keith Giffen
Justice League: Identity Crisis by Meltzer
New Avengers (the first or second run) by Brian Michael Bendis
New Avengers: Illuminati by Brian Michael Bendis
Blue/White/Gray/Yellow by Jeff Loeb
Deadpool by Daniel Way
Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman
Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
In my strongly held opinion the greatest comic book creator of all time was Carl Barks (aka "The Good Artist") creator of Uncle Scrooge. He both wrote and drew his stories.
Steven Speilberg was a fan and some of the Indiana Jones stuff was inspired by things in Barks stories. A patent was applied for for raising sunken ships and rejected because there was prior art in one of Carl Barks's stories. Other comics artists have continued to write comics using variations of his characters in various countries; here in the USA the most notable was Don Rosa. Do an internet search for Barks and/or Uncle Scrooge or read about them in the wikipedia.
In theory, theory and practice are the same; in practice they're different. (Yogi Berra & A. Einstein)
Go back and collect the classic greats. Individual titles have good days, and bad ones. You've already been told about tDKR. Here are some more recent great titles you might want to pick up:
- Identity Crisis (Infinite Crisis is drivel, though)
- Green Lantern: Rebirth
- Hush (best Batman arc, IMHO)
- Astonishing X-Men (Joss Whedon)
- Marvel's Civil War
- Marvel's The Ultimates series 1 & 2
There's one publisher that is an absolute delight; only published for a span of 3 or 4 years before going defunct: CrossGen. It's long dead now, and you can pick up all of it for pennies to the dollar at a used comic or book store. They went bankrupt by packing their comics with the most gorgeous art I've ever seen (Greg Land's pencil work for Sojourn is stupid good). The stories are great, too; especially Negation. Check it out.
Try the YouTube channel called: ComicsExplained.
It's awesome.
I would think that simply starting writing and drawing is the place to start. If you don't have the talent then there's nothing to pursue. Likewise if you can't maintain the interest and discipline.
There's an old saying, "Writers write." Everything else is secondary to that.
Questions of digital, or publishing, or meeting people are secondary. If you develop some material you can start to develop answers and contacts. And none of that matters unless you have material and skill to show to people.
The Bone series is rightly lauded.
Anything by Daniel Clowes is bound to be great.
I was really into Stray Bullets for a while. V good.
I'd suggest growing out of it. Seriously.
Let me guess--you think the current never-ending stream of comic book movies are fantastic?
I stumbled across this adaptation on Comixology recently. Holy crap, I am hooked. It would make for a good first step. On one hand, it is an excellent adaption of an excellent sci fi book. On the other hand, it is a comic. Sorta like the movie you will never get.
Comic books are first and foremost books because they are telling a story. So you need to have an idea of what sort of story you want to read. Scifi, in it's broadest sense, covers almost the entire superhero genre, as well as "traditional" future-placed, technology driven stories. The format (print vs on-line vs ereader) isn't just a matter of preference, but also has an effect on the presentation and delivery of the story. I prefer comic books over graphic novels or on-line. I loathe ereaders for any books, but comic books especially. But I am also bias as a child of the 70s and the news print-era comic book look and feel and smell and weight.
I strongly recommend you go to a comic shop and not just look around, but dig. Dig through the "new this week" as well as the back issues (most of which will be priced less than the new ones), along with the graphic novels. Find a format that "feels" right, and then ask the owner/manager on specific genre's or titles. Experiment. Take a flier on the $2 back issue of "A Distant Soil" or "Shade the Changing Man" before you drop twenty bucks (or more) on a graphic novel or $50 or more on that 1950s back issue of "Strange Adventures"
There's a lot of really good stuff out there (and another 90+% of horrible crap, but the good stuff is enough to keep you busy for a while):
Naver has been betting strong on infinite-canvas style, both eastern translated works and english-original ones (check the page out, there's A LOT of webcomics there, a bit of everything for everyone)
Girl Genius got most of the Hugo awards for graphic story in the first years of the category
uhm, I'm a bit busy at the moment so I'll just list a bunch of webcomics I liked below, if you look at what the authors of each of those recommend you'll find lots more, and these cover a fairly wide range of styles, themes and tones:
http://www.samandfuzzy.com/new...
http://www.johnnywander.com/
http://www.egscomics.com/
http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/
http://flipside.keenspot.com/
http://www.somethingpositive.n...
http://oglaf.com/latest/
http://www.happletea.com/
http://www.errantstory.com/
Einar Petersen is doing a very interesting indie published scifi comicbook series called Reckoning on Patreon that on top of aiming for 3D immersability features freely available 3D Printable models from the series and pages that will be readable by visually impaired it is a really interesting project check him out at https://patreon.com/einarpetersen Michael Dolche does Secrets of the Sire and multiple other comics http://mikebooks.com and then there is Matt Kund who is just now in the process of doing Multi Larceny he's at http://mattkund.com Dan Ekis is doing his Soul of the World on Kickstarter and his site is http://danekis.com there are a ton of creators out there
Try again dumbass.
Forget superhero stuff. Go Euro.
Bande Dessine , Anything by Franquin. Franquin Black pages.
Asterix, Lucky Luke, Tintin, Spirou
More modern: Yogoslavian Enki Bilal,
Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt.
Crumb. Minimum Wage. Peter Bagge's hate series. There's a huge volume of 90's underground stuff.
Just don’t bother with DK2.
for just crazy fun I would have to recommend Atomic Robo:
http://www.atomic-robo.com/
And for a wise cracking, atomic powered robot designed by Nikola Tesla punching nazis in the face you can start right here:
http://www.atomic-robo.com/atomicrobo/v1ch1-cover
tcj.com
gives you a varied view into the world of comics, and learn about the legends.
Comixology has an unlimited subscription that got me into a lot of series I wouldn't have spent money on. If you have any kind of tablet digital is the way to go. I only get a physical copy if I really liked it and knew I'd read it again. As far as comics go, Locke and Key is one of my absolute favorites and it's a limited series. I really liked Scott Pilgrim as well. I used to read a lot of DC, but I haven't liked anything they've done in a while.
I also couldnâ(TM)t afford comics as a kid. In my 20s I started reading Uncanny X-men and followed that plus all of the extended books through Age of Apocalypse. You can figure out that was about 20years ago, give or take. A couple of years ago I wanted to check out what had been going on in comics and downloaded the Marvel apps. First I started buying the digitals, but I found the Marvel Unlimited app was nearly as good and less expensive in the long term. With an annual subscription I read all I want, any Marvel title they offer.
Others have suggested specific books that may or may not be very good, I donâ(TM)t know. However Iâ(TM)d advise looking to one of the big publishers, Marvel is my choice, as they have been doing this forever, offer a wide selection of titles, and have the digital presence to make consumption painless.
The first thing is to make sure you've never actually seen a woman's pussy. The rest will take care of its self.
All the kids these days are reading Archie comics. It can be a little raunchy but it's worth checking out.
Oh wait, I'm thinking of Hustler. You should read that.
Preacher, Fables, Bone
They are all great series.
Q: What's the difference between a comic and a graphic novel?
A: About 20 bucks.
TY,IHAW,TTSP
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
You should first get a nice super hero costume
The US comics houses have this whole silly superhero thing where mutants in funny clothes commit vigilante crimes in the name of justice and worry about their origins. This is deconstructrd slightly in Watchmen.
UK, Canadian and European comics don't come from that tradition. Mobius, Giraud, Dave Sim's Cerebus, and others associated with Metal Hurlant are a little more mature. Angus McKie's So Beautiful and so Dangerous is the best science fiction punk rock graphic novel. On the web, Oglaf and xkcd are essential. Of the American newspaper strips, Trudeau and Waterson.
I believe it won a Hugo. So the community of SF Worldcon members believe it is sf.
(BTW it's sf. Without the sf elements the stories would fall over. And it's a worthy award winner)
My suggestion is to look up "Comicstorian" on YouTube. He recaps comics and gives you some idea of what's going on so you can pick up from there without needing to read, in some cases, hundreds of back issues. See if there are any you like then head to your favorite comic shop.
That is all.
EOM
That's what I do.
I don't have an ebookreader or tablet though so I haven't read them.
But I for sure do buy them. Lots of them.
Online/torrent would also be an alternative but on HB you get 30-60 issues for $15 or something so ..
Start in third grade. They won't keep your attention much after that.
Who cares what a powerfaggot watches in his 400 square foot Fortress of Solitude?
Manga is read, anime is watched.
Free online, though you can pick up print if you want. Totally worth reading. I used to have a $20 a week comic book habit back in college, but gave it up when Marvel did the Onslaught storyline. Just got tired of spending too much $$$. But Atomic Robo is the only comic I go out of the way to buy (and have most of the trade paperbacks now). (can't believe I took the bait and replied to this post)
Gotta pay the bills somehow until you build your vast following.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... Then anything with jim starlim, mike mignola, frank miller, neil gaiman, and the best, alan moore
Many of the books people have mentioned are good. I was a 'late-bloomer' when it came to comics. Two things helped me. First, I picked a book that had been used to make a movie I liked. Mine was V for Vendetta. The move acted like a 'bridge'. Second, I made friends with some knowledgable comic book people. I joined a comics book club. I have one last piece of advice. Comics are a unique are form. I found the book "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art", by Scott McCloud - ISBN: 978-0060976255, very helpful in understanding comics 'work'.
Just a note to mention that comics, as with other mediums cover a wide variety of genres. You can get biographical, journalistic, political, western, action, mystery, abstract, etc etc
If we narrow the options just to sci-fi which op mentions, then there are still many options. I would especially note that sci-fi from diferent countries has its own distinct flavours.
French artist Moebius has been hugely influential in the world of sci fi. Try The Incal
The UK is famous for 2000ADs judge Dredd, but a better place to start might be Alan Moores Halo Jones.
The Eternaut by Héctor Oesterheld is a Latin American,institution.
Options in the Japanese market are incredibly broad, but Ghost in the Shell is seminal.
I would finally add that as with other media, it soften best to find a creator whose work you enjoy rather than slavishly follow a particular character.
I'd recommend a comixology account and play with some of the titles that interest you.
A good online never comic is a nice way for a quick escape or dip into a larger narrative, without sitting tight for video/audio, or trying to read prose on a screen.
I can pull up a comic on my laptop, get engaged in a story, even read all the meta discussion on the latest issue to get my bearings or missed context if I really want to soak up the story for days after.
I agree with many folks here that the big name superhero ones can be hard to step into late - but there is lots of other stuff out there that is compelling.
The only comic I currently make time for is IDWs Lost Light - a literal hasbro transformers comic, but just full of clues and references, humor, and awesome (usually) art and characters.
Marvel Unlimited is definitely a great way to start at a reasonable cost.
For DC Comics, there are archive volumes for many of the series which are available for much less than the cost of the comics individually. You can still find these on Amazon
Who cares which hand you use to masturbate, Chris? Can you even still get erections?
Start at the library, especially if cost was once an issue and might still be.
Saga by Image Comics, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, is pretty awesome.
Up to 8 trade graphic novels now and not stopping soon.
Forbidden love, intergalactic warfare, child rearing advice, Gender issues, In-Law issues, bounty hunters. A heart-tugging story! What more do you want?
If you ever get your comics (or "graphic novels") signed at a con, make sure you get it signed by the real artist. There are these people called "tracers" that can be a bit sketchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epHCMiCtt3M
Get the long Halloween, dark knight or batman year one.
Do it the way we did it - sample for yourself and see how you feel. This is one of the weirdest, most passive "Ask Slashdot"s I think I've seen.
An ongoing serial webcomic which has spawned 4 related books, all by K.B. Spangler and all of which I recommend: http://agirlandherfed.com/main?i=1&p=archives.
I want to get into collecting thimbles, where do I start?
Equivalent question, dumbass.
Is actually not too bad of an idea. Usually sells what was popular at the time and it's quite fun. Especially for girls it's fun to recall how pathetic teens can be.
There's a hell of a lot of good stuff available from french or belgian authors. I'm quite sure you'd find translations at least for the more common ones, if needed.
Think of classics like Tintin, Asterix, Spirou, Valerian for the extremely well knowns. There are so many others.
I would suggest finding something more useful to do with your time.
I got into comics pretty heavily about 5 years ago and have fallen in love with the medium, the power of pictures and words is something that is overlooked by many (including many comic writers). It is an extremely expensive hobby though, so here are some tips to manage that:
Use the library: I first started getting into comics though libraries, they are fantastic and you can get a huge selection. Plus it's a great way to explore the genre, grab a bunch and if you don't like something, no sweat, move on to another book. In Canada (at least where I am in Canada) they separate the adult graphic novels from the all ages stuff, which is great cause some of those adult books can get very sexually explicit and violent. But it's also a way to help you sort for stuff you like, if you want biographies and mature content you have a separate section than the all ages which is where you will find most of your Marvel and DC content (though both have some adult content too)
Bargain bins: Most comic stores will have bargain bins were you can get graphic novels for about $5 or floppies for $.25-$1. Those are a good place to sample new stuff and I have found most of my favorite books in those.
Piracy sites: I won't be specific here cause I don't want to advertise any sites but I do pirate a lot of stuff, especially all the new series from Marvel/DC. Not many have the money to buy every new number 1 from Marvel DC to find the new good series, nor do I think a person should have to buy a book to sample it. There is also the problem that Marvel has been relaunching books once a year, this is a terrible business practice and should NOT be supported. So I usually pirate the first couple issues and if I like it I will buy them.
Marvel Unlimited: This is a good way to get old comics. It's a digital subscription service that allows you to read a TON of the back catalog. I find that the 80s and the early 2000s are two extremely good era's for Marvel and there is lots of good stuff on Marvel Unlimited.
It took me a while to hone in on the types of books I really like and it took a lot of experimenting with new types of books and a lot of just straight up gambling with random books from the bargain bin. But I feel I have a pretty good grasp on what I like now. As for science fiction here are some good ones to start on:
Ocean/Orbiter by Warren Ellis: collects 2 stories, he is known as one of the best comic writers and these two stories are my favorite. Orbiter is an uplifting story of a dystopia that finds it's love for space again
Orbital by Sylvain Runberg: (yes, can get confusing with the above comic) European comic and a bit Star Trekian in it where it's attempting to solve conflicts between species with politics. Not 100% successful cause then there would be no action, a nice blend of action and politics.
Star Trek Broken Mirror: Speaking of Star Trek. Takes place in the Mirror TNG Universe where the Federation Empire has been pushed back to earth. Oddly, Barclay is one of the main characters.
The Metabarons by Jodorworsky: If you want a weird space epic this is the best of the best. It follows a lineage of Metabarons as they become the most powerful warriors in the galaxy and how the traditions have come to be. It is mythical and beautiful.
The Nikopol Trilogy by Enki Bilal: Distant future and Ra has returned to earth because he needs to procreate so his lineage is preserved. There was a weird movie based on it call Immortal, half animated and half CGI character but before they could do that properly, so it's very visually weird but very well made.
There is also TONS of Marvel sci-fi, with stuff like Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy. Too much for me too list. But I hope this starts you off well. Oh, at some point you should read Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, it is one of the only good analysis's of the comic medium and is a must read for fans of comics. Happy reading!
Hey don't forget we're supposed to believe this is a 30 year old woman and not cdreimer so please use proper pronouns for his sockpuppet
Want to get into comics?
Ask your doctor if Euthanasia is right for you.
I would highly recommend these "starter" books:
Topic: Math & Logic
Logicomix: An epic search for truth
https://www.amazon.com/Logicom...
Topic: Super heroes
Watchmen
https://www.amazon.com/Watchme...
Topic: DnD
The Bag Wars Saga
https://www.amazon.com/Knights...
Sci-Fi in the modern day, full of nostalgic references and a pair of young teen friends swearing at each other. If you can look past that (if you need to - South Park fans may not notice), you'll also find some serious heart.
Pick up the "Big Book" and you get to read slightly more than the original series. With some in color.
In your mother's basement, with the rest of your toys and your mom's famous Hot Pockets.
Has Slashdot become LMGTFY now? What kind of garbage question is this?
I can't believe no-one's mentioned The Invisibles yet as far as I can see. Trying to give a plot summary is a mug's game, but dip in and enjoy. It's an acid-drenched adventure through pop-culture, consciousness and philosophy that's simultaneously a comic and a magick sigil. Kinda like if Philip K. Dick had been born in Liverpool, and had written the X-Men, in the 90s, after falling in love with a transexual Wiccan Domme, on an ayahuasca trip, whilst binging Lovecraft and vintage Bond movies in a really high-class Moroccan opium den. Still one of my favourite reads full stop.
Here are some suggestions.
The Big Bang Theory - The Girls go to the Comic Book Store
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...