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!
