Oh Green Lantern…I love you but I’m probably going to make fun of you at least one more time before this is through.

No I’m not giving out free comics. There’s already a holiday dedicated to it on the first weekend of May. Perhaps you heard about it…

There’s never a more perfect time to get into comics, especially when they’re free. And that’s what I’m here to tell you about today. Lets look at that more understood method of storytelling, the comic!

I can already hear the excuses because I worked in a comic store for many years: Who reads comics?  I’m too mature for them. I read things off the Bestseller list or what Oprah recommends.

That’s just bologna. Millions of people across the world read comics, and many of them are adults. Comic books are a wildly diverse medium these days, featuring everything from classic spandex clad do-gooders fighting for God, Country and the Common man to worlds dominated by zombies who eat the good guys for breakfast…literally. 

Please note I’m not challenging the judgements of the mighty Oprah. Woe be to those who displease her.

Her gaze turns men to stone!

Recently my good friend and archnemesis Chuck Wendig asked for help with comics. Being a helpful sort of villain I obliged him with my baseball bat of good picks. As I rattled off my shortened list of comics I’d recommend, it got me thinking: Is there anyone else who is interested in comics? I used to make my living helping people spend their money wisely, so I’m here to offer my services to the internet!

Yay! I’m a 4 Color Prostitute! 

So lets get started by answering some fears people might have about comics.

I wouldn’t know where to start.

 Tackling the big one here. If you walk into your local comic store (or well stocked chain book store) you will notice the huge amount of comics there. There’s your Batman comics, your Superman, even your Green Lantern…for starters. Here’s a pic of one wall from Von’s Comics back when I worked there.

ONE wall.  One.  Of Four potential walls and that’s not including the rows of back issues we had.

Comics are pretty daunting especially if you are a complete novice to them. Some of them have over 80 years of history to them, and their back stories have been rewritten, retconned, or left in editorial nightmares for many years. (Looking at you, Hawkman.) This doesn’t include guest appearances in other comics, big cosmic events they may have taken part of, and character deaths. Just FYI: Get used to characters coming back to life frequently in comics if they were at all popular.

So how do we overcome this? Two ways come to mind. First, you can just dive in feet first and take it as a newbie and get it over with. This way everything is still a mystery and brand new to you and if you really get stuck, you can buy more issues to catch up on the story. For those of you who have to have the answers and want some prior knowledge to the comics, you can turn to our old standby and best friend the Internet for answers!

Comic fans *love* Wikipedia. I’m not making a broad generalization here; each Wednesday the comic book related entries are in a state of flux as fans hurry to update their favorite heroes page with what happened next. If Green Lantern is revealed to have an unhealthy fixation on squirrels it’ll appear.

Sometimes the Lantern IS a squirrel! (See? Told you it would happen!)

In the end it’s going to be best to go with what you think you will like. If you have fond memories of the Hulk comics from your childhood I recommend starting there. If a friend recommends a comic to you feel free to take them up on it. You are bound to find some comics you don’t like (Mine is the Boys) but eventually you will find something you love. 

Superheroes are boring!

SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

Err, sorry about that. That wasn’t fair. I was only kidding baby!

Truth be told, superhero comics can get pretty boring. There are only so many times you can watch Superman beat up Lex Luthor before it becomes old hat. The problem with superheroes is the same thing that can occur in other genres where they literally start to lose focus and their stories get repetitive. But fortunately those who aren’t interested in superheroes still have options with comics.

Comics weren’t always about guys in leotards fighting villains with doomsday devices. Some of the first comics included horror comics featuring Frankenstein and Dracula. Gritty detectives would have shoot outs with crooks by the docks and in space monsters would devour spaceships whole while their crew struggled to escape.

Would it surprise you that comic books were once considered so violent and pornographic that Congressional hearings were held to determine their effect on our nation’s youth? Comic books were held back for decades when the Comic Authority code was passed and comics became very formulaic and cartoonish. That’s a rant for another day though.

Every genre is available for comics these days. 

Horror: Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman
Science Fiction: Dan Dare by Garth Ennis
Comedy: Invincible by Robert Kirkman. K, this is a superhero comic but the comedy is the real center of this comic.
Philosophy: Action Philosophers! by Fred Van Lente. Seriously, if you need to study  for a Philosophy 101 class check out Action Philosophers! It’s funny and educational!

And yoooooou thought I was kidding! Where’s my $5?

I only like (Insert Writer Here.)

Fair enough. I’ve heard this one several times before.

I know some people who follow certain people religiously. They follow their favorite writer on twitter, they’re a fan of their Facebook page, and they own just about everything they’ve published. I do the same thing. I like Neil Gaiman and I find what he does interesting. The problem comes when I hear people who absolutely refuse to hear or read anything else.

I used to have a customer at Von’s who came in each week asking for the latest thing by Warren Ellis. He’d stand there and trash other comics, frequently pointing out how gay superhero comics covers were. If Warren Ellis wrote an article claiming the sky was neon pink instead of blue the guy would challenge people to honor duels defending that fact.

When I would try to show him something else he’d flat our reject it in favor of what he knew. No other writer could hold up compared to his favorite so why would he try?

While there is such a thing as comfort, this can stifle comics in my opinion. Warren Ellis is a fantastic writer! I have a hard time thinking of anything bad about the guy. But when I hear someone flat out deny the rest of the medium in favor of just one writer it annoys me.

So lets assume that Joe Schmoe prefers to read comics just by Garth Ennis. Garth Ennis is a guy who makes very action oriented, gritty comics. His version of the Punisher executes bad guys in a very messy, graphic style and his comic the Boys focuses on how flawed superheroes are, often making caricatures of famous pop icons and giving them some dirty secret like pedophilia or sex addiction.

For Joe, I’d recommend he try out Mark Millar for a while or Mark Waid.   Mark Millar did the popular Kick-Ass series, which delivers on the graphic violence Garth Ennis is known for and tells it’s own version of comic superheroes administering street justice. Waid’s series Irredeemable features a world where their version of Superman goes completely nuts and we’re introduced to what made him fall.

So there you go, true believers!  I just hope that some of you took something from this thing today. If you need any recommendations feel free to ask, I’ve read so many comics that I know more than a few good ones.

Leave your comments in the comment section if you want to know more about comics!  I’m always willing to help.  Get yourself to your local comic shop post haste!