If I were to start reading comic books, where would be a good place to start? I ran into an op-ed going on about how comic books are a whole culture, separate from regular books. I want to try this culture out.
The simplest answer is: don't start with comics. Many of the best stories within comics are collected in what are somewhat inaccurately referred to as graphic novels. I would suggest starting with some or all of the following list. If that whets your appetite, go to a comic shop - preferably an independent one - tell the proprietor what you liked, and ask ”What next?"I am not going to recommend jumping straight into the main Marvel and DC continuities, because that is expensive and you can waste a lot of time and money before you find what you want.Probably the best way to start is by reading some of the best authors and expanding out from there. Here are some of the best, and their best known works. I've skewed towards work outside the mainstream, but referenced a few definitive examples with well-known charactersAlan Moore - Watchmen, Miracleman, V for Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Frank Miller - The Dark Knight Returns, Elektra: Assassin, Sin CityNeil Gaiman: Black Orchid, Sandman, Miracleman Grant Morrison: start with Arkham AsylumWarren Ellis: start with TransmetropolitanGarth Ennis: Preacher, his run on The Punisher (Jason Aaron's run, which followed it, is also very good)Ed Brubaker: Sleeper, Fatale, his run on Captain America Bill Willingham: FablesMike Carey: Lucifer (a spin off from Sandman), The Unwritten Brian K Vaughan: Y The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways Robert Kirkman: The Walking Dead, Invincible It's also worth looking at a couple of long-running series that a lot of authors have worked on as it's a good way to pick up different styles. Hellblazer, about a morally ambiguous magician, has featured several of the authors above and many more. Likewise Crossed / Crossed: Badlands / Crossed Plus 100 (though it's very gory and, for my money, not a patch on The Walking Dead).
Where to start reading DC comics?
I've always been interested in DC comics, love Batman and all that... but I just wouldn't know where to start reading them. I obviously don't want to read them all, and more recent ones would be ideal (I'm not saying that they have to be from like 2000-present, they can be before that). Plus, knowing all of the heroes' stories from the beginning would be great for me. Basically, I'm interested in Batman, the Robin variations, Superman, The Flash, and maybe some more. Where do you recommend I start?
Should I start reading comics(Marvel/DC)?
Yes I recommend that you do read the comics. I mean that's how I got into the genre. I'm not the biggest Marvel expert because the heroes seem to be fighting each other more than fighting super villains. When I first read Civil War I thought it was cool. Siege was okay...and AvX seems to get alot of hate so I'm waiting for that to blow over before I jump back in. So I suppose you could pick up Avengers vs X-men since that is the big crossover event.I've heard that Ultimate Spiderman is amazing but...that one doesn't have Peter Parker because he's dead. Comics have the stereotype of when a hero dies they come back to life.In Ultimate they stay dead. A good X-men story arc is Age of Apocalypse. You could probably find that in trade(collection of comics put together usually by story arc). I'm more of a DC guy at the moment because their reboot made it easy for me to jump in. I love Batman and Aquaman. Batman that story has a talented writer and beutiful art work. Aquaman...they made Aquaman a badass. Other Comics from DC I've been enjoying are Green Lantern Corps and Green Lantern New Guardians. These might be a confusing if you don't know some tidbit info on the GLs. Demon Knights is a cool fantasy story. I also highly recommend Nightwing(the First Robin),Animal Man and Swamp Thing. The last two you'll enjoy if you're into horror stuff. Now you won't hate the good comic book movies for reading them...you might dislike the Nolan Batman franchise after reading due to Bruce being more of a quitter but I think it's unlikely you will. If you liked Fantastic Four,Elecktra,Punisher or Spawn and then read their comics you'll probably dislike the movies because Jessica Alba didn't do Invisible Woman justice and Doom wasn't being his mastermind master of science and magic self,Elektra acted out of character and Stick was her teacher when he was Daredevil's, Punisher they gave him super strength when he's just the guy with a gun. But if you read comics you'll love Avengers,Iron Man,Captain America,Batman and Hulk so much more because they give us easter eggs for us. For example in the Avengers after credits they showed use on of the best super villains of all time Thanos; the man who killed half the universe. You wouldn't know who it was if you didn't read comics. Or Captain America in the Stark Expo the Human Torch was in a class case. Or how in Batman they made a Killer Croc reference in DKR.
I want to start reading Batman comics where should I start?
I know there are lots of mini-stories and series' and different time eras. Which one would you recommend to me for someone who has never read comics before? Also, I love the Joker. He's my favorite supervillain. I watched Batman: The Animated series as a kid and I love him and Harley Quinn. Is there a series that has a lot of the Joker in it?
How to start reading marvel comics?
Both Marvel official Website and Comixology offer online comic books. You can enter either website and check out the submission fees. As for where to start- I don't know much about the Hulk or Iron Man, but as far as Spider-Man goes I reccomend you start with Ultimate Spider-Man. I don't like the Ultimate Universe or Spider-Man but Ultimate Spider-Man just won me over. It's the best Ultimate title, period. Oh... if you don't know what Ultimate titles mean, it's a entire universe of Marvel that started in the year 2000. Basically, it takes the heroes and updates their stories to modern times. Instead of Spidey growing up in the sixties, he grows up in the 2000's. Captain America wakes up in the 2000's and the Avengers and X-Men are formed in the 2000's, etc. It's specifically for new readers... but I personally think most characters come off as jerks in the Ultimate Universe. Except for Spidey. And since it tells you everything from the beginning, you don't need to know anything to understand it. Deadpool you can read from Cable & Deadpool. It's a 50 issue series that is made of pure awesome. You don't really need any previous knowledge for it. The characters pretty much introduce themselves. Another hero I can recommend is Thor. Read from his 2007 series written by J. Michael Straczynski. It's so amazing. You don't need any previous knowledge for that, either. The story begins right off with reviving Thor and introducing all of his world's characters. It has a fantasy overtone, though, so if you don't like fantasy, it might not be for you. I do think it's brilliant, though.
I wanna start reading Deadpool comics, should I start reading from the very beginning or what do you recommend?
Deadpool being the character he is, I feel that you can just start from wherever because in Deadpool comics, the plot takes a backseat to the execution, i.e. all the humor and antics that Deadpool comics are known for. So basically, just read what everyone says is good? :)