Ever since I was young, I loved reading comics; indeed, my obsession with Marvel and DC superheroes almost began in-utero. From as young as I can remember I have kept up with adventures of Batman and Spider-man, and as I have got older my tastes changed; I moved away from superhero comics, except for Moon Knight, and found a whole other world of comics and graphic novels that have nothing to do with superheroes at all.
My first foray into this world came as I started reading Bill Williamson’s Fables, which still stands as my personal favourite comic series ever, a series in which classic fairytale characters find themselves in our world in the present day. What makes the comic series so superb is that it manages to merge the silly wimsey of fairytales with the grittiness of real life; to a fantastic end.
So the subject of today’s post is how to get into, and hopefully love comics. In recent years a lot of people are getting into comics thanks in no small part to the mass success of the MCU, but there are so many different comics it is hard to know where to start. Ultimately it depends what you’re looking for if you’re trying to get into Marvel or, DC then every few years they will have significant events that restart the in-comic universe and make it more approachable for new readers. Failing that you can always find older issue of any series you want to get into at any good comic shop. If you want to get into non-superhero comics, then it’s even more accessible, as most of the time these series don’t have hundreds of back issues to sort through. As well as this most major comic publications have online services where you can read all of their comics for a fee.
How I handle reading comics is, I don’t try and keep up with every series from a particular brand, Marvel, DC, Boom, Dark Horse; instead I find authors I like and stick to their runs, exploring maybe one or, two other comic series a month. I believe this makes keeping up with comics way easier.
The reason everyone should try and read comics is not only because comics are cool, but also because so many of them have something different to say, and show the world from another viewpoint. To me, comics are the most original medium, as the creators are only really bound by the limits of their imagination, especially if they’re writing for an independent publisher. You can go from reading a comic about vampires across time to one about people who freeze time when they orgasm, the amount of variety and creativity is unlike anything found elsewhere.
To conclude I think everyone should give comics ago, yes it’s not going to be for everyone, but you might just read something that captures your imagination and engrosses you, and for some of the characters and worlds alone I think you should pick up a comic book today!
Another Millennial Reviewer 