Hello and welcome to Comic Drake, where I talk about comic books and my name is Drake!
Superheroes make up some of the most popular characters and multimedia franchises of all
time and I think that their source material, comic books are sometime criminally underrated
and this is a question that I am asked constantly.
“Drake, where do I start reading Marvel and/or DC Comics?” and I completely understand
why that’s the case since I was actually in the same boat as well.
I thought that comic books seemed really outsider unfriendly and I thought that they were really
difficult to get into.
I enjoyed the characters in the movies, the TV shows, the video games, etc., but I completely
ignored comics for most of my life and it is a big surprise to me that they are now
my favorite entertainment medium of all time and the basis of my entire career.
So that’s pretty neat.
I’m going to give you guys some of the advice that I wish that I would have gotten a long
time ago so I could have enjoying comics way sooner.
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO KNOW EVERYTHING!
This is HANDS DOWN the single biggest thing holding people back from trying out comic
books and honestly, it was my largest barrier as well.
It makes total sense.
Like I can’t comprehend trying get into a movie or video game franchise on the fourth
entry in the series and it’s an even bigger problem for me of all people since I am a
lore sponge and I go out of my way to try and learn every little detail about a franchise.
You are NEVER going to know everything that has ever happened in the Marvel and DC universes.
So please get over it.
The best part is that the more books you read, the better they all get since you pick up
on little details as you go.
Also, when you're a lot more versed in the lore, it ends up being a lot of fun to go
back and reread the books that you started on since there is a REALLY good chance that
you’ll notice some new details the second time around.
So great, you’ve decided to get over knowing everything, but where do you start?
Generally, I say pick a character that you like and just go from there.
There are LOADS AND LOADS of recommended lists all across the internet so those are generally
a good starting point.
Or you can honestly just pick up a book and start reading.
I have a general rule for comics that has proven to be pretty true.
If you need to know something for a story, even if it’s decades prior, the book tends
to mention it.
After all, even if you’ve been reading comics for years, you’re bound to forget a few
things and might need a refresher.
If I’m going to be honest, I actually haven’t read a whole lot of older comics simply because
I have a harder time getting into their writing styles.
Not being as familiar with them has barely affected my normal reading experience.
Plus, if there’s a reference or something that you absolutely think is a call back to
an older book and you feel like you NEED to know what it is then just look it up online.
There are tons of databases maintained by nerds that can help you find out about just
about anything that you want in comics.
However, I wouldn’t recommend jumping right into the middle of a storyline.
Generally, issue #1s that begin new story arcs or collected volumes with a number one
on them are going to be your best starting points.
But where can you get comics from?
Well there’s multiple places.
Most bookstores and resale stores like Half Price Books tend to have a section for collected
volumes of comics.
However, if you’re a fan of digital books like myself then there are websites where
you can purchase them, my favorite being Comixology.
Both Marvel and Comixology have digital subscription services that give you unlimited access to
A LOT of books.
So especially when you’re starting out, that’s a good option.
If you’re working on absolutely zero budget though then every single library that I have
ever been to also has at least a few comics that you can check out.
Of course, the number one place to purchase books is the most infamous, your local comic
shop.
This ties in nicely to one of the other questions that I get a lot, “Aren’t people going
to make fun of me for being new?”.
No.
They’re probably not.
Stereotypical elitist comic snobs are what we like to call “assholes”.
These types of people pop up in every single fandom so don’t let a few bad eggs turn
you off from the medium as a whole.
In fact, you’d actually be surprised by how many nice comic fans there are out there
that just want to help share the medium that they love.
“But what about all those reboots and confusing timelines?” is probably another question
that you might be asking.
Honestly, it’s really not as bad as people make them out to be.
Marvel has never once rebooted their main universe and DC has only done it twice with
Crisis on Infinite Earths and Flashpoint.
Now both companies have had smaller continuity restructures and retcons with events like
Secret Wars 2015 and Infinite Crisis, but like I said, nothing matters unless it’s
brought up.
If you absolutely feel like you need to know more, then just like reading recommendations,
there are handy guides online and videos that go into more detail about all of the crazy
nonsense that makes comic books well... comic books.
A good example would be here on Comic Drake.
Hint hint.
Honestly, outside of giving you a dedicated list of books that you have to read, I think
that the advice of this video is some of the best that I could possibly give.
Comic book fans are generally a really welcoming community and we would love to have you.
But if you like this video then why not consider subscribing or even watching another one?
In fact, I used to have this series back in the day of actual reading recommendations
for specific characters.
They didn’t get as many views as I would like so that’s why I haven’t been making
them, but if you guys highly demand that they come back, I wouldn’t be opposed to making
a new one every now and then.
Anyway, I hope you learned at least a little something new and maybe, I’ll see you next
time!