so, sometimes I wonder about the audience for this LJ...

[ratcreature]

I've started to wonder whether anyone is actually interested in reading me ramble about comics. I mean, these posts get even fewer replies than when I talk about watching tv, which of course doesn't mean automatically that I bored my audience to death, but it does make me wonder. So here's a poll:

[Poll #1015992]

Comments

[ratcreature]

Oooh, a newbie in reach of comic fandoms clutches! *makes grabby motions*

I still remember when I started reading superhero comics. It was very confusing (still is actually, I'm still reading with online encyclopedias on hand). Personally I find mini-series, specials and AU versions and such a good way too start, because they don't expect you to know a lot of stuff, but then I love AUs anyway. Do you have any particular heroes you are interested in? Maybe I can help out.

[purelyironic.livejournal.com]

Maybe I can help out.

That's very nice of you. Be prepared for newbie questions, because I have no clue what I'm talking about. And don't feel like you have to answer, just because you offered. I haven't tried to inform myself (because I really have no time at the moment), but when I see the chance to take a shortcut into a new fandom, I take it :-)

You buy comics at comic shops, right?
If I remember correctly, you live in Germany too. Are there any online shops, delievering here? Or is buying comics in an online store a no-no?

Do you have any particular heroes you are interested in?

Sorted by interest (as far as I know now):
Batman, Superman, (Spiderman)

but then I love AUs anyway.

Just to see that I understood this correctly: There are "canon" AUs? They take their own characters and; what? set them in a new universe?

This is very, very confusing.

I'm still reading with online encyclopedias on hand)

Maybe you could point me to them, too?

I'd like to get into reading Batman, do you maybe have any recommendations for that?

Did you draw your icon yourself? It's adorable :-) And I suspect very much true (like with books, dvds, yarn) *sigh*

[ratcreature]

I buy my comics in my local comic store, but I have bought back issues in online stores as well, and many stores will deliver through an online shop as well, and I never had a problem. I've bought directly from US stores as well for some issues that I couldn't get through German stores, but that is often more expensive because of the shiping and import taxes. If you want to buy online rather than in a local store you should compare which stores offer the best currency conversion rates, and once you decide to want to buy monthly titles usually it gets cheaper the larger your subscription list is. Also, you can buy tradepaperback collections simply at the German amazon.

Also, if at some point you want a large number of back issues and can't find them as collections there is the less legal option to download comic scans. Personally I don't like reading comics on a computer screen much because you can't really look at the whole page comfortably, but it is an option especially for issues hat are older or hard to find or not collected. Also, considering comic prices, you may want to sample artists.

And yeah, there are AU comics. DC calls them "Elseworlds" and Marvel has a "What If...?" line. Marvel's AUs are usually of the branching-off kind, i.e. "What if Aunt May died not Uncle Ben?" and such, and DC has some of that kind (like "what if Kal-El had been found by the Amish?" that's the JLA: The Nail Elseworld or "what if Superman grew up in the Soviet Union?" that's Superman: Red Son) but also completely random ones, like Batman as a pirate or a samurai or a vampire or a werebat or a cowboy... and far weirder stuff, for more examples see my post about Batman Elseworlds here).

I don't read a lot of Superman, but I'd recommend the Superman: Birthright maxi-series for new readers, I think it's collected in a tradepaperback too. The Superman: Secret Identity miniseries was good too. I don't read a lot of mainstream continuity Superman though.

I have a hard time deciding for where it would be best to start with Batman, and I'm still out of the loop with current continuity. Way back I did a post on New Year 2004 looking back at my first months in Batverse comic fandom, A Newbie's Journey into Batverse Comic Fandom, where I talk about getting into comics, but I'm not sure how helpful that would be for you, because I got into it through being into Nightwing/Dick Grayson at first. If you are into interpersonal relationships, the Batman: Gotham Knights series was good for that, if you are into origin stories, I started a geeky series of posts, and have a list of Batman comics dealing with his origins here(which probably have been retconned and/or expanded since then yet again), but I think I need to think about what would be best to get into Batman comics some more.

For Spider-Man, if you can get into classic 1960 comics, I'd recommend the Essential Spider-Man collections from Marvel which collect the early classic Spidey comics in b/w at a very reasonable price, or if you prefer modern ones, get the trades of the current Amazing Spider-Man run starting when JMS takes over the writing.

As for reference sites, for most of the basic stuff, i.e. when you find yourself lost because you have never seen that team name or that superhero before, wikipedia is actually a good start, for Marvel I seldom use more. For DC there's:
The Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
http://www.dcuguide.com/
and
The Unauthorized Chronology of the DC Universe
http://dcu.smartmemes.com/
and of course wikis just for DC like the DC Database Project:
http://dcdatabase.wikia.com/Main_Page
and many more specific sites for characters.

And yeah, I draw my icons myself.

[purelyironic.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this.

What I did: I looked up a local comic store and if I can find the time, I'm going to go there Saturday... And then I'll try to get a compilation of what you recommended re: Batman and what the owner recommends, so I'll hopefully be well prepared (and still confused :-)

[ratcreature]

If you like stylized art, I'd recommend Tim Sale's Long Halloween. It's a collection of a series standing on its own, and a good, long story:
http://dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=1283
The sequel (Dark Victory) is also good.
http://dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=1241
Though I admit I'm biased as I'm a fan of Tim Sale's art.

Of course Batman Year One is a classic:
http://dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=1287