Hey everyone!
Welcome to Top 10 Nerd.
The channel where we talk about everything nerdy, especially comic books.
While a lot of our fans on this channel are seasoned comic connoisseurs, we wanted to
put together a list for those newer to the industry, or those who want some new suggestions
about what comics they should definitely read, if they haven’t already.
If you’ve ever been curious about picking up a comic book and giving it a read, but
were too intimidated by the DC or Marvel multiverses, fear not, we’ve selected some iconic comics
that are the perfect segway into these universes.
While there’s plenty of fantastic comics we could suggest, the ones on this list we
felt were some of the strongest introductions into the universes of some of the most beloved
and iconic superheroes, all while still telling sensational stories.
So with that in mind, lets jump into our list of the top 10 superhero comics for new readers.
10 New 52 justice league Back in 2011, DC reset it’s continuity,
completely wiping away all previous storylines – minus a few select few – and began writing
the stories of it’s iconic heroes with a clean slate.
While some saw this as an attempt to revise timelines that had gotten real messy over
the last few decades, others saw this as a great entry point for new readers.
And Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s Justice League served as a great introduction to many of
the companies staple heroes – The Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Wonder Woman,
Batman and Superman.
9 Spiderman Brand New Day Speaking of clean slates, Spiderman issue
546 Brand New Day is exactly that.
It’s a great way for readers who are interesting in the relatable hero to jump into his story,
without having to worry about what was previously considered canon in his continuity.
A lot of things have been reset – no one remembers that his identity is Peter Parker,
and characters who had been killed or drastically altered during the previous run returned.
8 Spider Gwen Spider Gwen, an offshoot of the Spider-Verse
story arc that occurred back in 2015, gives us an alternate earth in which Gwen Stacey
is bitten by a radioactive spider as opposed to Peter Parker.
Starting from her origin as the hero, it’s not necessary for readers to be overly familiar
with whats canon in the Spider man of Earth 616 (Marvels main earth timeline), even though
it does feature many notable Marvel characters.
And Gwen has proven to be a fan favourite character, appealing to younger and female
audiences alike.
7 Rat Queens For those with an affinity for D&D, Rat Queens
takes place in fantasy world that is chalk full of humour.
The story follows a rowdy party of four adventurers, a diverse cast of women that some have described
as Lord of the Rings meets Bridesmaids.
There’s a rockabiliy elven mage, a hipster dwarven warrior, an atheist human cleric and
a hippie Halfling thief and a transgender orc warrior.
The series has 17 issues in total, with a sot reboot that contained 5 issues.
6 Scott Pilgrim Scott Pilgrim is a hero in his own right.
A series of graphic novels that have been noted by critics to be a bit of a love letter
to Toronto – RIP Honest Eds – Scott Pilgrim follows the story of a young man whose a bit
of a slacker and kind of shitty despite being incredibly charismatic.
He falls for a girl named Ramona, and has to fight off her seven evil exes before he
can truly be with her.
With hilarious writing and fun, detailed eccentric art, Scott Pilgrim is more than just an entertaining
read.
And it’s film adaptation by Edgar Wright is so very worth watching after you finish.
And it’s contained within 6 graphic novels.
5 The New 52 Wonder Woman Helmed by Brian Azarello, this take on Wonder
Woman is critically accalaimed, and features some stunning art to boot.
For those of you interested in jumping on the Wonder Woman bandwagon since her recent
cinematic popularity, the new 52 Wonder Woman delves into her past right off the bat, re-acquainting
or introducing readers to the world in which she grew up in – it not only presents her
as a fierce character with strong women surrounding her, but introduces us to the Greek gods who
manipulate that world.
4 Thor: God of Thunder – Jason Aaron A series that started in 2012 under the Marvel
Now branding which served as a relaunch of many Marvel titles, Thor God of Thunder follows
three different timelines during Thor’s life – the past, present and future, all
of which are told co-currently as unravels the mystery of the God Butcher and provides
enthralling character development.
Hailed for its stunning art work, it also leads into the storyline of the female Thor,
Jane Foster, after its 25th issue.
3 Saga Saga isn’t your traditional superhero comic
– it’s much more of a sci fi, featuring characters capable of extraordinary feats,
but also unusual characters who live in a very extraordinary universe.
Described as Star Wars meets Game of Thrones meets Romeo and Juliet, the story opens with
Alana and Marko, a wife and husband who have just had a child, despite their extraterrestrial
races being long at war.
They’re fleeing the authorities of both while trying to keep their daughter Hazel
safe, who narrates the series as an adult.
If you enjoy stories that explore themes like the portrayal of ethnicity, sexuality, war
and gender roles, all wrapped into a compelling story set in space, with plenty of mature
subject matter.
2 Dark Knight Returns Perhaps I’m a tad biased here, but its undeniable
that Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns is one of the best series in comic book history.
It largely rejuvenated Batman as a darker character, ushering him into a new wave of
popularity in the late 80s that ditched his campier silver age roots entirely.
And it’s the comic that personally got me into comic books, among many other readers.
It’s more than just a Batman story; Miller plays with the psychology of an aging Batman,
from his own mortality, his ethics, his relationship with Robins of the past, his masculinity and
his views on the increasingly overwhelming nature of technology, subverting many notions
we had about Batman and the superhero genre as a whole.
Plus, it features some fan favourite characters that are recognizable despite being new to
the canon.
1 Watchmen Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen
is one of the more iconic pieces in the comic book industry, not only for how it deconstructs
the role of the classic superhero archetype, but for integrating social and political conflicts
into the mix, making it feel like a little more like real life.
Watchmen follows an alternate history where superheroes emerged in the 1940s, with their
presence changing many important historical events, like Vietnam.
Taking place in 1985, the US is on the brink of nuclear war with Russia, with the death
of one of the heroes spiralling into a series of events that pull the now outlawed vigilantes
out of retirement.
Aside from being iconic, the story is the first introduction of these characters, and
is pretty contained, despite DC’s efforts to now integrate it into the mainstream DC
multiverse.
People have written theories based on this text, ranging from the omnipotent Dr Manhattan’s
stance as an ubermench and the ethical repercussions of his power, to the way masculinity and women
are portrayed via the Nite Owl and Silk Spectre characters, both generations of each.
And it features some of the best artwork in the medium, with each page consisting of a
symmetrical 9 panels.
There we have it friends!
Let us know if you’ve ever read these comics – I’m sure a lot of you seasoned fans
have, so in that case, let us know which are your favourites in those comments below.
And if you’d like a part two of this list, give us a shout about that too.
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In the meantime, Ive been Kelly Paoli and this has been top 10 nerd.
I’ll catch you all in the next one.