I need some help guys...

[FatClint]

So I was into comics as a young kid, not many but I would pick a few up here and there, and I guess I grew out of them. However, at my job a few of my friends are in love with comics, and the stuff they talk about really interests me, but I'm not too sure on where to start out again.

So I guess i'm asking what I should look into if i'm just starting out reading comics again. My knowledge of marvel universe is very limites, I know very little so thats why I came here, I want to find a few comic series I wouldnt have a problem picking up and reading with limited knowledge before hand.

I really do want to get into the Civil War Series, but i'm not sure if i'll be able to understand it.

Any help would be great.

[bulbasteve]

It's easy to understand, this isn't DC afterall, there isn't 30 year of continuity you need to know, in fact...there isn't any really...

[Bat_Fan2232]

i was at the same place sorta
(only read batman comics) and i picked up

Civil war
yesterday
along with civil war front line

and found it good although some parts left me ??? clueless im planning on picking up civil war captian america and spider man next time i head into town ...

[FatClint]

ok...cause I was going to head out before work today and pick a few up. with civil war, should I get the ones the lead up to it? I did some research and it looked like there were a few series before hand that gave some back story.

[Brad Barton]

You can glean the main plotline just by reading the Civil War series itself, but if you want to get in on all the side-plots, you'd have to start getting the x-overs.

IMO, the Civil War series by itself was good, but pretty bare. You'd really have to read all the crossovers to get a sense of how epic the story really was...

[FatClint]

Are they hard to find? Like would any normal comic book store have them?

[Brad Barton]

Are they hard to find? Like would any normal comic book store have them?I dunno about any comic-book store, but most of the bigger ones probably would.

If you're really serious about catching up on it, and have a few bucks you're willing to spend, my advice to you would be to either:

a.) Look online (ebay, online comic-stores, etc.)

or

b.) Wait for the TPB's (Trade paper-backs), some of which I believe have already been released...

[FatClint]

Ok, So I ended up picking up

Idenity Crisis
Ultimate Spiderman Vol. 1
First three issues of Ultimate Power.

I'm not sure how I feel on these Ultimate things, I figured it's a good place to start on the marvel universe however because it's all the retelling and I can get some back story, but I just don't know.

[Dorsai]

When I finally got back into comics, I was quite a bit behind is current events. Still, with some of the big recent changes, you shouldn't need a lot to catch up on.

I would begin with the trades for The Road To Civil War and Civil War. The first one will give you an idea of the Illumanati and the second was the main Civil War mini-series. The Illumanati is a rather central issue to the upcoming World War Hulk.

Next, I would take a look at Prologue to World War Hulk. That will get you started on the upcoming Marvel event.

Other than that, I would really just suggest Wikipedia for further background on individual characters or what happened with the specifically during Civil War.

If you like the cosmic and space based heroes, you might want to see what Marvel has to offer in the hardcovers for Annihilation. In my opinion, that was a much better event than Civil War. There is a follow up to that event called Annihilation Conquest which will be starting shortly. However, as I mentioned, if you aren't really into cosmic heroes you may not enjoy this as much.

[Strannik]

So I was into comics as a young kid, not many but I would pick a few up here and there, and I guess I grew out of them. However, at my job a few of my friends are in love with comics, and the stuff they talk about really interests me, but I'm not too sure on where to start out again.

So I guess i'm asking what I should look into if i'm just starting out reading comics again. My knowledge of marvel universe is very limites, I know very little so thats why I came here, I want to find a few comic series I wouldnt have a problem picking up and reading with limited knowledge before hand.

I really do want to get into the Civil War Series, but i'm not sure if i'll be able to understand it.

Any help would be great.

Personally, I think that reading Civil War without prior knowledge may actually make the story more enjoyable, since you're entering it without prejudging the characters involved.

As for the Ultimate line, it's great because you can read it from beginning to end via trade paperbacks, either by getting them from a library or buying them at the retailer of your choice. If you try doing the same thing with Marvel Universe, you'd probably find yourself forking over quite a bit of money in order to get all the relevant back issues.

Of course, your millage may vary.

[seeso]

Ok, So I ended up picking up

Idenity Crisis
Ultimate Spiderman Vol. 1
First three issues of Ultimate Power.

I'm not sure how I feel on these Ultimate things, I figured it's a good place to start on the marvel universe however because it's all the retelling and I can get some back story, but I just don't know.

The Ultimate Universe is a completely different universe than the mainstream Marvel universe. Although Ultimate Spider-Man is one of the best titles Marvel publishes, don't pick it up if you're trying to get the back story to the main Marvel universe. Do read Ultimate Spider-Man if you're looking for a great title that isn't weighted down by decades of continuity.

If I were you, I'd pick up the titles that exist on their own, more or less. The books that don't require you to know years of continuity. I would recommend (Marvel and otherwise):


Runaways - An energetic, fresh take on a teen team.
Invincible - Superman + Spider-Man.
The Ultimates - Avengers as a big budget action movie.
The Walking Dead - Zombie comics done right.
Alias - Ex-superhero turned private eye investigates Marvel universe underbelly.
Powers - Two homicide detectives investigate powers-related deaths.
Girls - Small town vs. big threat.
Criminal - Crime comics done right.
Supreme Power/Squadron Supreme - The Justice League of America, retooled and twisted.
The Boys - Just read it.
Y the Last Man - All the males on earth die save one.
Ex Machina - Superhero turned NYC mayor. Like "West Wing" for comics.
Welcome to Tranquility - Retired golden age superheroes.

[seeso]

Double post.

[FrogMan]

Make sure you try to track down EVERY single back-issue of NFL SuperPro you can find. A true classic!