I think that for a lot of people, they watch something like Iron Man or The Dark Knight, and they get curious about comics. However, even now with superheroes being part of the zeitgeist of our times, comics for a lot of people are a daunting step further into the superhero genre that people are less willing to take. Some of that is because the amount of content for comics is daunting. That’s what I’m hear for, to give you a jumping off point into comics, not just superheroes but any type.

I would say that there are two types of comics. The first being the shared universe comics, by that, I’m talking about your Marvel, DC, or Valiant Comics to name a few. The shared universe is going to have characters crossing over from one book to another and shared world events at times. Think about how there’s an Iron Man comic, and he’s part of the Avengers, plus, he might show up in another characters book as well. Or there will be events like Age of Ultron in Marvel or Flashpoint for DC to name a couple.

The other type is going to be your comics that are stand alone. Something like Saga, Umbrella Academy, Powers, or Locke & Key. They aren’t part of something larger and while their publisher might do a crossover event at some point in time, they are really meant for stand alone stories. Because of that, you don’t end up with sometimes as generic stories because they don’t have to play nice with what’s going on in the other comics. Or, I should say, it allows them to be more consistent, because you can have a mapped out story from the start and not need to worry about how you might affect another story if you have a world altering event or even world destroying event.

So that’s a little bit about how comic book companies work, but when getting into comics, that’s generally not the issue. And even stand alone style comics can be hard to get into if they’ve been going for a long time, like The Walking Dead. There’s just so many issues or trade paperbacks (TPB) or compendiums to pick up and for those you need to pick them all up, so how do you decide where to start?

For the stand alone, you almost need to start at the beginning, some of them, American Vampire, for example, do have arcs so you’re able to jump into them in the middle because the cast of characters will primarily be different and they’ll explain what you need to know for that arc of the story. But for some of them, Saga being a prime example of this, you need to start at the beginning because otherwise you won’t understand what is going on as issues and TPB’s build upon each other.

For the shared universe, you generally have more jumping off points. Firstly because they do resets on the universes every 5-10 years. Because you’re in a single massive universe, things grow and get crazier and crazier and eventually you’re dealing with Dark Phoenix almost destroying the universe, of Flash running through time. These massive events allow the comic book companies to create a launching off point for new characters getting comics, and now stories in the universe and undoing some of the old stories in the universe. The reason that they do this because both Marvel and DC have been doing this for over 80 years. That’s way to long to sustain characters having a single story arc throughout the whole thing. So instead, they restart with Peter Parker being a highschooler again, and while Uncle Ben won’t die yet again to do an origin story, they’ll tell stories in the comics that make more sense for a younger Peter Parker. And finding those things, the New 52 or Rebirth for DC as two examples, it gives you a spot to start from the stories in a fresh easy to jump in place.

Now, with some idea of where you want to start, you can head into a comic book store and pick up the stories that you’re interested in. However, right now, that’s not a possibility in a lot of places, or maybe you don’t have one around. There are some options for you still.

Firstly, if there is one around that you can get to, I recommend using a comic book store. It’s a small local operation, and supporting them is great, plus you get face to face interaction and they can set-up what’s known as a pull list for you. That’s going to be books that when they order, they get extras and set them aside for you so that you know you’ll get a copy of the stories that you’ve been following. Plus, they are also able to give you recommendations for other series that you won’t as easily be able to get form other sources.

You can also subscribe to services or sites that will pull and send comics directly to your place. Places like Things From Another World (TFAW) will allow you to pre-order comics that are coming out in the upcoming weeks. I’m not sure that they do the pull list, didn’t spot it easily on their site, but there are places out there that will allow you to set-up what comics you need. This is great if you want the physical copies, don’t mind getting them a couple of days later than their release, and don’t live near a comic book store.

The final option I want to talk about is digital comics. Again, you can set-up a pull list and get what you want or order a-la-carte from somewhere like Comixology. That’s going to allow you to get digital versions of new comics as they come out. Or, if you don’t mind not having the newest comic in your hand right away from Marvel, you can get them on Marvel Unlimited. That’s what I’m using now, mainly because I’m fine reading through older stories, like Age of Apocalypse from the 90’s and because it gives you all the books at a flat fee versus having to purchase each issue individually.

There’s a lot to digest in here, as I go from the different comic book story types down to where you can pick them up and where you might want to jump in. I wish that I’d had some of this information when I started as I accidentally doubled up on things between TPB and comic book issues themselves.

What was your introduction to comic books? Are you more of a superhero fan or more interested in some of the stand alone stories?

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Powers is a Brian Michael Bendis comic which I might have talked about him before, but he’s one of my favorite writers. His comics tend to be wordier than most, but not too wordy. In fact, I’d probably say that Powers is my favorite comic, though it isn’t one that is too lighthearted.

Powers follows around a pair of detectives, one who used to have super powers and another who never did, as they work in the super power crime division. They struggle through cases that show how the world of super powers and the regular world often butt heads. It also looks at what comes along to those who are considered heroes and paints them in a human perspective as well. The cases are tough, and the two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim grow and change throughout the series in very interesting ways.

For me, the world and the characters are what really drive it. The art by Michael Avon Oeming is good and fits the story well, but isn’t the standard art work that you see in comics these days. But the simpler art style works well, and the interspersing of news paper pages throughout the comic really helps you fill out the feel of the world.

Just to talk some more about the world, I’ve touched on it, but with Christian Walker having previously been someone with Powers you start to see into the world in interesting ways. His story is very interesting as now he’s almost a bad guy to some people with super powers, obviously the police are bad guys to the villains, but to the super heroes, he sometimes is the bad guy who enforces the laws, versus letting them deal out justice like they would hope. Deena is also an interesting character as she’s new to the world of super power crimes, but as a bright up and comer with a chip on her shoulder, it’s a balancing act for her between the world she wants the police force to be and the world as Walker sees it.

Now, let me quickly, before I put in my disclaimer, talk a bit about why I like it beyond what I’ve already said that pertains more directly to the comic. What makes it work for me is that you take a super power society and really change the focus from those with powers to those without and see how they interact within the world. In Marvel and DC comics you basically always see the heroes saving the day, you don’t get to see the more mundane grunt work that the police would be doing around super powered people as well. It also does a good job of showing the divide and the life that you would guess would be happening for super heroes, because they are heroes, that you only kind of get to see with Tony Stark (Ironman) and the problems that he has. This takes it to a grittier spot, but does so well.

Now the disclaimers, I mentioned that I won’t be posting pictures until probably a later time because you have to be careful with what you find for Powers. Powers, like Saga, has that blend of violence, sex, and language, so like Saga, I would recommend it for a more mature audience. Clearly for me that doesn’t take away from the comic books themselves, but it is going to be an issue for some, so be aware going into that. There are panels that sometimes seem like a bit much, but for the most part, it really does tie directly into the story, so it isn’t just language, sex, or violence for their own sake.

So just to end this on a nicer point, I do think it’s well written. It creates a really good story and a very involved world. Bendis really does a good job with his comics and I highly recommend this work of his, but also basically anything he’s done for Marvel and now for DC. Even if Powers isn’t your cup of tea, definitely check him out.

Let me know if you’ve read the series and if you’re enjoying it? Who are some of your favorite characters? Let us know in the comments.

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However, there is one series that I still read when I get the chance. And that chance comes fairly regularly because it’s a series that both Kristen and I like. So once a year or so we’ll pick up a new trade paperback, so we’re behind a bit, but we are making our ways through the comic’s run.

Saga is an interesting comic because it isn’t your standard super hero comic, like people most often think of. In fact, there are no super heroes in the comics at all. Saga is a sci-fi comic about a war that has been going on for a long time, and two people who fell in love across the lines of that war and had a child and who are now on the run. Along with that, you get the story of the bounty hunters and those who are trying their best to chase them down.

Saga is not a happy comic series, the characters go through a ton of struggles in their lives, finding some peace, losing that peace, finding some improvement in themselves and then losing it. I don’t know that I would really call any of the characters in the books good, they are all just various shades of grey. And honestly, for most of the time, that works well. I am only going to say most of the time, because sometimes it comes across as depressing for depressing’s sake, versus for the furthering of the story.

Saga is also not a comic that is for kids. There is nudity and language and a lot of violence in the comic series. With the backdrop of a war, you kind of expect to see the violence and then language in there, but there is a lot of nudity and sexual situations that are shown in the series. In fact, there’s enough so that I’m going to wait until a later time when I’m not on a shared computer to get the images into the post. It would be awkward for everyone around me if I searched them, most likely. I put this out there, that it isn’t for kids, not as a detractor, but so that people realize what they are getting into. I don’t think I’d call much of anything about the nudity, language, and violence as not needed in the story, I think it helps with keeping all of the characters a shade of grey.

Since this is a comic, and I’ve talked a lot about the story that Brian K Vaughan is telling, I do need to talk about the artwork. The art is in a number of ways fairly standard comic book art. It hasn’t dropped into a more realistic style than you see in most super hero comics, which works well, because you’re dealing with odd looking aliens in the story. I will say that Fiona Staples artwork though does vary from the classic comic look, because the story is told much more in pastels and muted tones than the bright flashy look super hero books can have. This makes the artwork fit much better with the story. It’s not the heroic punching story, it’s people with problems on the run and trying to survive. The colors shouldn’t just be bright and happy, they should match the mood, and they do well.

This is a comic I clearly enjoy, and I would most definitely recommend. The storytelling is good in the comic series, though at times I think it bounces around a bit too quickly for the main characters. The art makes the book, and the overarching plot is very good, it the plot hiccups are at a lower level. Again, remember that it’s probably not one you’re going to watch a kid to get their hands on, so be aware of that.

Let me know if you’ve read the series and if you’re enjoying it? Who are some of your favorite characters? Let us know in the comments.

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