How to start getting into Comic Books
- Ryan M. Brady
- Jun 2
- 4 min read
A welcoming guide to comic book fandom
Hello there. As I call myself the Prince of Comics (for reasons), I take much of the comic book world for granted. I understand how comics work, the big crossover events and having to jump between titles to follow a story. However, I realize this is not the case for some of you. Take for example, this amusing anecdote: I told my wife that I wanted to check out a local comic book store because they had “a lot of back issues”. She replied: “Why? What happened to their back?”
Get it?
If you understood the joke, you might be a comic book geek. If you are like my wife and worried about spinal injury, you’re in the right place.
First and foremost, I want to say “WELCOME”. I know that comic books can be daunting and some members of this world are less than welcoming. How many times have you been scoffed at because you didn’t read issue #111 of Secret Crisis of Infinite Endgame? I get it. There are some elitists and honestly it’s enough to turn anyone away. I also know how daunting it can be to walk into a comic book store. They’re usually dimly lit with wall-to-wall books, tables of long boxes and there’ll be one old guy behind the counter silently judging you. But I’m not going to do that to you. We’re cool here.
COMIC BOOK LINGO
Now let’s go over some terms together before we dive into the heart of the matter.
The Big Two: Marvel and DC
Marvel has Spider-man, the Avengers, X-men, and Fantastic Four
DC has Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League
Issue: a single comic book, usually 20-24 pages in length
Back issues: Issues you missed but are still in print and available to you
Trade paperback: several issues of a comic book collected in a series, usually covering an arc or a creator’s run.
Run: describes the time a writer/artist spends on a single book, usually telling one overarching story. I.e. Bendis and Bagley’s run on Ultimate Spider-man lasted 100+ issues
Arc: a storytelling term that describes a character’s progression over time
What’s a good jumping on point?
Now superhero comic books have been going since 1938, so there’s decades of stories to contend with. Jumping in is like jumping into a fast moving river. I suppose that’s one reason why manga is so popular: you can just start at vol 1 and go from there. But I’ll let you in on a little secret about comic book characters: eventually everyone returns to the status quo.
Bruce Wayne will always be rich, Peter Parker will always be down on his luck, and the X-men will always be persecuted for being mutants. Nobody stays dead (except Uncle Ben).
Meaning if you start a story in the middle and it’s chaotic, give it a few issues and things will kinda reset. You’ll pick things up as you read and the more you read, the more you’ll pick up.
As I said, superhero comics as we know them have been going since 1938. DON’T START THERE. You do not have to start in the “Golden Age”. The art and storytelling was very different then and it might turn you off entirely. By all means, visit the Golden Age after you’ve developed a love for comics and you want to learn more about the history, which is just as interesting as the fictional histories in the comics.
I would start by deciding which character you have an interest in. Maybe you really liked the Moon Knight show. Maybe you’ve always liked the idea of Superman but never picked up a book. That’s ok. Just ask yourself: who’s your favorite superhero?
Mine’s Batman. Tell me who yours is in the comments. (Is it Darkhawk?)
Once you figured out which character or team you’re interested in, find a trade paperback. These are a collected series of issues telling a sequential story and will give you at least five issues of your character. You can either buy them in print or digital (I prefer print), and check them out. If you like the writer, find more by them. If you like the art, do the same. This might put you on the path to different books!
Obviously, you won’t be an expert in the character after one paperback and that’s ok. I think we as comic book geeks love to put an emphasis on how well you know a character, when all that really does is gatekeep it from anyone new showing an interest in it. And because of the internet, every geek is ready to give you their opinion before you’ve even formed one.
That said, if you want comic book recommendations, I’ll happily do so in the comments.
I hope this has helped begin your journey into comicdom!
Welcome, fellow comic book geeks!
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