This is why people dont read comics anymore

[Sinreaver]

Let me start by saying I always loved comics when I was a kid and stopped reading because my primary series (x men) had become too convoluted and confusing, but I have always wanted too start back up again because I never lost my love for these things. Anyway I picked up an invincible iron man omnibus to get a fresh start in a newer series. I started reading and I loved it, then I got tup the part where thor shows up...okay its cause they were both in the avengers ill accept the small crossover. Then mr fantastic...okay ours not a big thing I'll excuse yet another marvel character showing up. Then spider man shows up...this is the point where I start to boil over, since it is not only another crossover but they start referencing civil war. I haven't read civil war but thankfully I know the general story out the book, but if I was a random person just stepping in with absolutely no background knowledge I would be confused and annoyed.finally the straw that broke the camels back is when I finished 5 nightmares and it skips over and says previously: here what happened.picking this book up I was under the impression that everything I needed to know was in the book. But apparently secret invasion happened in between the arcs. So I groaned ams went to sere how much that was on amazon and I tread somebodys review and they say this book isn't the back story though so if you want that go read this this this this and that and you should be good. Well forget that cause not only will u have ro spend 100 bucks for that I'm gonna need the back story to those back srories and so on. Is there anything in this universe that is standalone? I just want to suit down and enjoy a comic without fear that I'm missing something or feeling stupid that I didn't know something.

[Paladin King]

Let me start by saying I always loved comics when I was a kid and stopped reading because my primary series (x men) had become too convoluted and confusing, but I have always wanted too start back up again because I never lost my love for these things. Anyway I picked up an invincible iron man omnibus to get a fresh start in a newer series. I started reading and I loved it, then I got tup the part where thor shows up...okay its cause they were both in the avengers ill accept the small crossover. Then mr fantastic...okay ours not a big thing I'll excuse yet another marvel character showing up. Then spider man shows up...this is the point where I start to boil over, since it is not only another crossover but they start referencing civil war. I haven't read civil war but thankfully I know the general story out the book, but if I was a random person just stepping in with absolutely no background knowledge I would be confused and annoyed.finally the straw that broke the camels back is when I finished 5 nightmares and it skips over and says previously: here what happened.picking this book up I was under the impression that everything I needed to know was in the book. But apparently secret invasion happened in between the arcs. So I groaned ams went to sere how much that was on amazon and I tread somebodys review and they say this book isn't the back story though so if you want that go read this this this this and that and you should be good. Well forget that cause not only will u have ro spend 100 bucks for that I'm gonna need the back story to those back srories and so on. Is there anything in this universe that is standalone? I just want to suit down and enjoy a comic without fear that I'm missing something or feeling stupid that I didn't know something.

Your keyboard has an enter key. It can be used for paragraph breaks.

Funny you mentioned Invincible Iron Man. It was one of the series I started with when getting back into comics, and didn't feel lost at all.

So honestly, I'm not sure what the big problem is here. Can't relate.

[The Black Guardian]

I can't relate either. I've never really felt the fear of missing something. If there's a mention of something that's unknown to me, then it either piques my interest to learn of it or not. If not, then I just don't care. I don't see why the stress.

[Jer]

I'm here to help you.

Now, there's a little invention called google. Perhaps you've heard of it.

[Fringe Division]

I assumed it was generally understood that when one gets into an open-ended story somewhere after the first installment that there may be references to past events.

Heck, main characters in television shows have people from their past (previously unknown to the audience) show up and reference shared past events we as viewers haven't even seen, all the time. It helps to flesh out characters' backgrounds. I'm not sure how a random Thor or Reed or Spider-man appearance in an Iron Man book is much different from something like that, really.

I'm also not sure how this is a new enough thing that it could be a contributing factor to why people don't read comics "anymore." They were doing this all the time when I started reading in the early '90s, and they were doing it before that. I wasn't a year into reading the X-Men books before I was hit with the first of a multitude of semi-regular crossovers that usually encompassed a large number of books I wouldn't have otherwise read, and villains I hadn't read about before were always popping up making vague references to past altercations I knew nothing about. It's the nature of serialization, and it's been that way for a long, long time.

[DavidLiss]

I’m inclined to think that the issues you point to as the problem with continuity comics are actually the pleasure of continuity comics – big worlds full of living, breathing characters whose actions ripple out and have consequences. There’s always more to explore and learn about and enjoy. Isn’t that, in fact, cool?

There was a time when every issue of every Marvel or DC comic told you everything you ever needed to know in order to read that issue, but that kind of writing limited the kinds of stories you could tell. Now the big two do things differently. And yes, comics are a niche market. So, for that matter, are novels. Continuity comics are for people who choose to take the time and money to invest in a kind of story-telling that is a little bit demanding and interactive and who want the rewards of that kind of narrative.

I understand that a cumbersome continuity can be off-putting, but at the same time the rich universes they offer help keep comics alive. And there are plenty of non-continuity comics and graphic novels out there that don’t require any knowledge of a larger universe.

Marvel editor Bill Rosemann likes to say that comics aren’t a genre, they’re a medium. You can tell any kind of story imaginable in the medium, so if you dig graphic narrative, find the stories that are right for you.

[XPac]

You can always read Marvel Adventures.

That's all pretty much stand alone stuff.

[Prince Of Orphans]

There are books that don't require you to spend money on anything else to get the whole story, great book too, but very few and far between.

I understand the concern though. With characters like Iron Man and Spider-man, their title will eventually cross over into an event, or be radically influenced by one. It's what they want and in most cases helps Marvel, compelling readers to buy and buy until they get the whole stories.

[Oilking72]

You want stand alones? Image and DarkHorse say hi. Really, if you are actually saying that you want to read a book about one character or group of characters without seeing so much as another character from the same universe or any references to any past events then Marvel and DC just aren't for you.

Run away while you can.

There's plenty of other comics from different companies that are very self contained. Try and get into those.

Also, wiki is your friend.

[direction9]

not worthy of a thread

[K Von Doom]

This is not the reason why people don't read comics anymore.

[Jake V]

Take a long look at your local comic book store.

There. That is the reason people don't read comics anymore. Normal people don't want to go in there. Normal people don't want to have to find the place, and they don't want to go inside once they get there.

[Chiasm]

The avg person doesn't read anymore because of two factors:

1. Price
2. You have to put a lot of effort in finding a place that actually sells comics

[Cavemold]

The avg person doesn't read anymore because of two factors:

1. Price
2. You have to put a lot of effort in finding a place that actually sells comics

Not really. It depends where you live. Google is amazing tool and can show you comic stores in your area.

[Genki Sudo]

The avg person doesn't read anymore because of two factors:

1. Price
2. You have to put a lot of effort in finding a place that actually sells comics

Not really. It depends where you live. Google is amazing tool and can show you comic stores in your area.

Yeap, publishers like Marvel, DC, Image, etc all have a link on their site where you just type in your area code and bam you're taken to a page showing shops near you.

The digital age we live in