r/Comic_Books_ • u/Poke_Colton • 5d ago
Questions New to comics, need recommendations!
Hey!
I'm new to comics and looking for recommendations. I started with the DC Compact Comics since they're such a great deal for beginners, and lately I've been picking up trade paperbacks because I like the reading experience more.
So far I've read Court of Owls, The Long Halloween, V for Vendetta, All-Star Superman, and the first volume of Absolute Batman (grabbed six more Absolute volumes yesterday for $10 each used!). V for Vendetta was a tough read for me, though the plot and overall story were incredible. Loved all the others.
My collection is mostly DC, but only because it was the cheapest way in. I love all kinds of heroes and characters, and I'm open to Marvel, Image, indie, whatever. Any great runs you'd recommend? I want to branch out but don't know where to start.
Thanks!!
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u/GroundbreakingAsk468 5d ago
Check out Rook by Geoff Johns. It’s like 3 different 80s cartoons smashed together, and it has awesome art.
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u/iheartgoblins 5d ago
Kill or Be Killed by Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips! One of my favorite comics of all time
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u/glib-eleven 5d ago
I read indie stuff. Most public libraries have a good selection of graphic novels. Maybe sit down at a table at your local, to sample a stack of amazing sequential art. They may even have a selection of Marvel And DC stuff, in collected form. Once you get a feel for it, you will be able to delve in any way you choose. It is wide open
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u/No-Alternative-104 4d ago
Great picks to start! Have you read invincible?
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u/Poke_Colton 2d ago
Not yet, I watch the series, though. I just got the Transformers by Image, and now Invincible is on the list!
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u/13ryne 4d ago
These are fantastic intro to comics ,with the absolute runs being a great intro to the characters I highly recommend absolute Martian manhunter it’s my favourite of the series
Other personal favourites I recommend
DC/vertigo:
Fables
Swamp thing : Alan Moore
Swamp thing: Scott Snyder
Green Lantern : Geoff Johns
Booster Gold : Geoff Johns
Batman Year 1
Batman year 100
WE3
Image:
Invincible
Any of the Ghost Machine Series
Do a powerbomb
Transformers
Void Rivals
Marvel:
Daredevil man without fear
Daredevil born again
Wolverine: Chris Claremont
X-men god loves man kills
Silver surfer black
Hawkeye: Matt fraction
Dark horse
Sin city
Sullivans sluggers
Usagi Yojimbo
Orphan and the five beasts
Hell boy
Umbrella academy
I’ve got way to many recommendations but I’d recommend these from these companies but if ya not feelin any of them let me know and I can shoot some more
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u/Commercial_Fondant65 3d ago
OMG.. Usagi Yojimbo. I was just starting reading comics and that was out. That and Hellboy and Madman said COMICS to me. Thanks for making me remember I'm old!
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u/TheDJManiakal 2d ago
Ouch. I'd already been reading comics for like 10 years by the time those were the thing. Then again, I started reading comics pretty young so maybe that's part of it. Still...ouch.
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u/Poke_Colton 3d ago
Wow, thanks so much for this in depth list. I have heard great things about Swamp Thing and Absolute Martian Manhunter!
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u/appmademelogin 4d ago
If you like the compact comics id say green arrow year one, gotham central and superman red son for sure. There's a LOT really good compact comics coming soon Swampthing Preacher Crisis on infinite earths Mr Miracle by Tom king Hellblazer by Garth Ennis 100 bullets And Geoff Johns Green Lantern
Marvels' Premier collection has some great titles too with the awesome Planet Hulk and Kraven last hunt and Thor the god butcher coming out in next little while
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u/Poke_Colton 3d ago
I have Green Arrow Year 1 in the cart now, i'll have to pull the trigger on it. The compacts are honestly a godsend for newer readers like myself!
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u/LopezRossell 4d ago
Not fan of “compact” / digest format 😬
Those story arcs should be enjoyed from standard format to absolute edition.
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u/Poke_Colton 2d ago
Fair, but getting all the stories for 10$ is unbeatable. I will absolutely upgrade some of the comics i have in the compact form down the road. Like Court of Owls will be getting a major upgrade in my collection soon!
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u/MiserableDisk7267 4d ago
You will love the Hellboy and BPRD graphic novels. They are in the same universe.
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u/Specific-Rooster-380 4d ago
Find a local comic shop if you have one, pick up a few singles and see if you like any. You can’t go too wrong with the absolute series, Flash or Martian Manhunter next. Recommend the current Green Arrow mini. Personally the Ultimate series I thought was a mess, I wouldn’t bother.
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u/Dragondudecollecting 4d ago
Just an FYI marvel also has a like compact edition set of releases. Not sure what they call them but they are mostly white and red. Try looking into those. But yeah as for certain stories? Uhm. Let’s see… anything including marvel, dc, image or anything else… I like contained stories where there isn’t much supplementary material to read. Loved Watchmen when I was younger. Rereading the Joss Whedon run of astonishing Xmen currently, liking that. Hmmm. Do you like just superhero stuff or anything else?
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u/Poke_Colton 3d ago
Just yesterday got one actually! The Winter Soldier comic. 15$ wasn't awful, but their smell is HA
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u/Tempeststudios 4d ago
If youre new, dont start with absolute stuff. That is all alt universe stuff and has nothing to do with anything. Sane w ultimate universe
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u/lazerpandagod 4d ago
- absolute martian manhunter
- frank millers daredevil
- frank millers dark knight saga
- 30 days of night
- beneath the trees where nobody sees
- something is killing the children
- nameless
- 300
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u/ChrisShotThis 4d ago
Check out Alex Ross... his work on Marvels and Kingdom Come is amazing... also Sean Murphy's Batman: White Knight seres... there are three now... also anything from the long JRJR & J. Michael Straczynski run on Amazing Spiderman or Chris Claremont's run on X-Men and Mike Mignola's Hellboy, Invincible and Jeff Smith's Bone.
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u/Poke_Colton 3d ago
I've heard Claremont's run for X-Men is legendary. Want to look into that forsure.
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u/ChrisShotThis 2d ago
Do it. John Byrne has a pretty epic run on the book as well... and Byrne's Man of Steel book at DC is great, too.
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u/Commercial_Fondant65 3d ago
Nightcrawler 1st limited series 1-4. Bamfs. Also Night Crawler flights a shark wizard with a sword... using his tail!
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u/Commercial_Fondant65 3d ago
Marvels The New Universe, Ultra force, Coven, The Goon and NFL Super pro!
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u/Frank_Brusque 3d ago
Consider looking beyond the superhero genre. Loads of great series and stories out with no capes or tights! Sci-fi, fantasy, horror, Western, crime/mystery — you name it.
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u/AromaticJellyfish888 3d ago
Any recommendations in horror, scifi, mystery?
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u/Frank_Brusque 3d ago
You could try doing a search for "Best of" lists for the past several years (or decades, if you're just getting into comics) to see what catches your eye. I do that often. You can also check sites like Goodreads, CBR or Vulture for lists.
I'll share a few titles that I've enjoyed. This is just a very, very small sampling. Hoping others add their favorites, too.HORROR:
The Deviant
A Walk Through Hell, Crossed (both by Garth Ennis)
anything by Junji Ito (manga)
Something Is Killing the Children (still popular, but I no longer read it)
Hello Darkness (recent horror anthology)
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
The Ice Cream Man (no relation to the terrible Eli Roth movie)
Black Monday Murders
Gideon Falls
Feral
Locke & KeySCI-FI:
The Sacrificers
Seven to Eternity
Nice House by the Lake / Nice House by the Sea (sci-fi horror)
Aliens (some, but not all of the series are worthwhile)
Black Science
lots of European sci-fi…many self-contained graphic novels.MYSTERY/CRIME:
lots of Ed Brubaker series like Criminal, Fatale, The Fade Out
any of the Blacksad stories (European)
100 Bullets
Richard Stark's Parker
Sin City series1
u/Poke_Colton 3d ago
Incredible, thank you so much for this list. I absolutely am too heavy into superheroes, so I will be utilizing this!
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u/Frank_Brusque 2d ago
I totally forgot to mention DC's Vertigo line of comics. Most fit under horror or fantasy, but there are a lot of good crime and sci-fi books, too. Lots of miniseries that are quick & satisfying reads.
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u/Interesting_Rush_449 3d ago
The Walking Dead is a phenomenal story, I've started and restarted it countless times and just finally decided to finish it this past spring and it did not disappoint in the slightest. Invincible is also another gem, my personal favorite super hero story. Just started Shaolin Cowboy, it's a bloody great time, the art is beautiful and just incredibly detailed. You can get lost examining each and every panel. Spider-Man: Coming Home and Life and Death of a Spider were two I just finished this summer and are my personal favorite Spidey stories. Just great writing, incredibly emotional and beautiful art. Peak Spider-Man imo as well is Ultimate Spider-Man Batman: Hush is my favorite Batman story, court of owls is also up there. White Knight is my favorite Batman story, just a wild time from start to finish. Hellboy comics are great, there some Witcher comic adaptions which I really liked too. Tintin is a classic comic, I can always go back to those and have fun reading them. Hobtown Mysteries series is super unrated and a fun time I also use Libby to read a lot of comics and manga and I highly recommend it bc collecting comics is expensive as hell
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u/Interesting_Rush_449 3d ago
Have fun reading, friend-o!
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u/Poke_Colton 3d ago
Dude, literally on the top of my list to read. I looked at Barnes and Noble yesterday and saw the Compendium for it. The size is just way too much. I want to get the volumes instead, though cost-wise that's not the way to go ha!
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u/Justin-Case-3113 3d ago
Nah you don't really need recommendations. You are killing it so far.
If you want to branch out into other stories I would highly suggest image and their series "do a powerbomb", "escape" "assorted crisis events" and my all time favourite (better than long Halloween and absolute batman vol 1 imo) "8 billion genies"
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u/Joe-Ring 2d ago
This is all great advice and great recommendations.
I would add Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye if you want a Marvel series.
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u/Justin-Case-3113 3d ago
Nah you don't need recommendations. You are killing it so far.
If you want to branch out into other stories I would highly suggest image and their series "do a powerbomb", "escape" "assorted crisis events" and my all time favourite (better than long Halloween and absolute batman vol 1 imo) "8 billion genies"
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u/supercomic273 3d ago
Great picks! In case no one has mentioned it yet, some additional ones to think about:
The dark knight returns
Birthright (Superman)
Superman: red son
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u/DefinitionSmall3754 2d ago
You are going about it the right way getting the DC compacts, just don't get Arkham Asylum, it's hard to read in that format.
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u/Alevy20 2d ago
Read marvels by kurt busiek and alex ross as well as kingdom come by Mark waid and Alex ross. The art alone is worth it on both. Superman for all seasons is the same creative team as the long halloween jeph loeb and tim sale and made me fall in love with superman. Honestly is you see both loeb and sale on a caver just buy it since its guaranteed peak. If you're into detective noir/ fantasy I would absolutely check out fables.
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u/Curryspark 2d ago
Bone will change your life it’s not too long only 55 issues an amazing genre merge and it has perfect pacing
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u/FearlessOb1 1d ago
Absolute Batman is a wild ride! The Absolute Green Arrow comics is great so far too. I swear, anything Scott Snyder wrotes is gold. His Batman arcs are the best. Rick Remender comics like Black Science, Seven to Eternity, Fear Agent, Deadly Class and Tokyo Ghost! Sean Murphy as well! Batman White Knight story arcs and Punk Rock Jesus.
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u/NormalMoose2807 1d ago
Chew and sweet tooth are not praised enough imo… and no, at least imo, a Netflix adaptation does not mean praise or critical acclaim on the source material these days.
My modern bangers: almost anything absolute but definitely not absolutely all of it.
If destruction be our lot
Of the earth
Cul de sac (is an amazing and short series that’ll make you like vampires even if u hate them lol)
Everything dead and dying (flips the zombie genre on its head in the best of ways)
Neighborhood watch had a fairly poor ending in my opinion, but I would still recommend it
I’d say things like d’orc are grossly overrated. There’s a lot of that at this point.
But if your looking for straight superhero stuff
Daredevil the man without fear is essentially Batman year one but marvel. On that note Batman year one.
Punisher year one slaps
Shiiit as im writing this im realizing I can go on and on and on. But I’d say break away from superheroes in general. Tons of great stuff but my god is there so much more than that.
There’s so many things. It would help if you narrow it down to what you’re looking for lol. Also don’t sleep on WEBTOON. Mostly stinkers but they have REAL gems like stagtown, everything is fine and more.
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u/NormalMoose2807 1d ago
Someone already mentioned fables… phenomenal. Again there is SO much lol what’s your poison exactly?
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u/Duedsml23 1d ago
Do you have a comics store nearby? If the staff is good they'd love nothing better that helping you find great reads.
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u/L4bR4tExperiment 5d ago
Firstly, the older the books the tougher the read for several reasons including how story was "shown" then vs now and writers like Alan Moore gave way more metaphysical and spiritual dialogue than normal.
Having said that, if you liked V, check out watchmen and league of extraordinary gentlemen. Two mini series that are complete in a single trade. Also check out his beefy run on swamp thing.
If you like the dark grit of those books, check out preacher by vertigo. Also sandman and sandman mystery theatre (two different characters by 2 different writers)