I've gone 29 years having never read a comic book. Ever. I've been in a comic book shop once or twice, and only because the one near my house growing up had extremely sour gum that was popular in the early nineties. And I feel like I'm missing out on something.I truly enjoy superhero movies, and a string of Pavlovian drool hangs from my mouth each time I see an ad for The Dark Knight. I've been laughing my ass off to the Kyle Piccolo shorts, and once paraded around my backyard in red underwear and a blue T-shirt pretending to be the man of steel. But I've never cracked open a graphic novel.
It's that time again. The time that I ask for a favor. (This site is free, you owe it to me.) I need a recommendation on a comic book to read. I have a few stipulations. First, I don't want to start reading a book halfway through the storyline. No one wants to waste their time trying to figure out who's who. I want to start the story fresh. Also, I want some action. Fights, explosions, etc... Finally, let's avoid the strange-ass nudity books. I'll more than likely be reading this on the subway and don't want awkward glances from my fellow passengers. That's it. Let 'em rip in the comments section.
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Hard choice, depends are what you are into. IF you like zombies pick up walking dead, they have a trade paperback of the first 6 issues or so. Anything that is on the stand right now is going to be hard to get into so your going to want to jump into some of the collections that are isolated stories. Since Batman is coming out you might want to pick up "HUSH" one of the best Batman stories in a while.
Good luck
Not sure if this meets your criteria, but there's several series that have been bound together as graphic novels. The nice part is that you then don't have to wait for another issue. I like my stories a little darker (like the Dark Knight series), so I'd suggest The Watchman, V for Vendetta, or Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns. As a bonus, they're working on a Watchman movie, so you can start drooling over that soon.
For now at least stay away from the gigantic comics like Xmen, spiderman etc cause there is just tons of info to digest if you are new to the series. instead try some short ones to whet your appetite. i'd recommend stuff by Allan Moore or a guy that goes simply by Jason also there is a free online comic book called Freak Angels that so far has like 10 issues.
also The Pirate Bay + a program called CDisplay are your friends
WATCHMEN!
Do yourself a favor. Pick up Ulimate Spider-Man Vol. 1. It's been running for about 123 issues so far, and on the whole, very well written. I honestly have all the trades (up to 18 so far). If your not into Spider-Man then i suggest Green Arrow : Quiver. Written by Kevin Smith ( yes, Silent Bob) and bringing back Green Arrow to life, it does so by explaining his backstory quickly and perfectly. Also Kevin Smith writes some awesome Batman moments in there too.
Those are my two i can suggest to a new reader, hope you enjoy.
having read comic continuously for 39 years (seriously), I can definitely agree with the 'Watchmen' recommendation. But the problem there is, once you've read it, that's the end, so if you want something in a similar vein, but that extends across a few books, try Astro City.
Plus, if you're feeling dangerous and want something more off the wall, pick up Jimmy Corrigan.
Both the last two are contained on a list I made a couple of years ago, which can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Dreams-of-Scaramouch/lm/2LDQ8RPHLXQ4A
those look very nice Scaramouch i'm gonna check 'em out.
I haven't read comics regularly for about 15 years, but I agree with JB's suggestion of Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns." It was a breath of fresh air when it came out (1986 or so?), and pretty much ignited the whole trend in mainstream pop culture of moving Batman back towards his darker roots. Really holds up well, too.
If you want one you can pick up, read, and put down, and be done with it then I suggest getting the graphic novel: "Kingdom Come." It's a Superman/DC Universe comic. It's a one shot deal, you don't need to keep buying tons more while they stretch the story out. And it's, frankly, one of the best comics out there. The art is nothing short of fantastic, and the story is excellent.
Then you can say you've read a comic book.
Oh, and Superman #75, the "Death of Superman" from 1992 -- I've got 15 or 20 extra copies if you want to buy this excellent, totally-not-done-just-to-cash-in piece of comic book travest...uh, history. Make me an offer -- still sealed with the collectible black armband intact!
Transmetropolitan.
Uncle Scrooge.
You think I'm kidding. Nope.
Tran-sexual Man.
I'd actually go with Superman: Secret Identity...
It's not at all connected with the ongoing Superman series, so there's no worry that you're jumping into the middle of something.
It's written for adults, but it's not like kinky weird nude stuff, so you're in the clear.
It's one of the most impressivly well-written graphic novels that I've ever read.
Watchmen is greater, yes, but it's not an opener for a rookie. Secret Identity is more of a gateway drug. Watchmen is closer to heroin.
I'd stay away from Kingdom Come for the same reason. The story is self-contained, yes, but it's a much, much richer read if you know the history of the characters and can get the thousands of hidden references.
Dark Knight Returns wouldn't be a bad choice, but it's much darker in tone than Secret Identity.
If you want comic books that don't have people in tights, try Pride of Baghdad or Fables. Both are outstanding. Fables is an ongoing story, so you'd have to start with volume one, but Pride of Baghdad is totally self-contained, so it'd be a solid start and finish in one sitting. Amazing artwork, great story.
I've actually blogged about this very topic a couple of times...
http://idtmi.blogspot.com/2007/09/comics-that-match-theme-of-blog.html
http://idtmi.blogspot.com/2007/10/comic-books-for-comic-fans.html
The Walking Dead series is fantastic. You can pick up the trade paper backs right now and catch up fairly quickly. Its well written, adult story. Yes, it has zombies but the story is not about the zombies, but about the people. Rarely have I had a "OMFG!" moment in a comic and Walking Dead provides many of them
I'd check out Fables. Its a great book and you can find them all in trade paperback form. Its about fairy tale characters that are real and livei n New York. Sounds a little girly, but it rocks faces. And it does contain quite a bit of violence. I also recommend Batman:The Long Halloween which is quite possibly one of the greatest books ever written. DMZ is another favorite that I highly recommend.
If you want to go for a self-contained story in one novel, then I've got a couple. They're all non-superhero stuff:
100% and Heavy Liquid both by Paul Pope. They're both set in a near-future NY, with wonderful artwork (also by Pope). Two of my favourite books.
Nightly News by Johnathan Hickman
The Filth by Grant Morrison
Godess - Garth Ennis
Ocean - Warren Ellis
I'm trying to remember some more, but most of my comics are being shipped from Scotland to Australia, where I now live.
Given that Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns have already been brought up, I'll suggest Y: The Last Man and The Sandman series.
You want big action, fights, explosion, etc.?
I'd recommend Warren Ellis' or Mark Millar's runs on The Authority. Easy enough to find in trade paperbacks.
Plenty of fights and things blowing up, but the book still delivers with strong storytelling and compelling characters.
I was glad to see Kingdom Come mentioned in the earlier comments. That is one *beautiful* graphic novel! I'd recommend reading it more than once; the first time just to drool over the artwork and well-crafted story, and the second time after you've gotten familiar with comics in general so that you begin to get all the subtle touches.
And if you're not opposed to free, online comics, you could do far worse than going over to BigHeadPress to check out "The Probability Broach" and "Roswell, Texas" by L. Neil Smith, and "La Muse" as all three are wonderfully drawn, well written, and just plain great. BHP has several other titles available on their website as well.
I hope this helps,
Vila
there were a lot of good suggestions, but if you're looking for something that's easy to jump into, and has good pace to it, I couldn't recommend any other series than Y: The Last Man. It's got pretty much everything you're looking for. A little boobage here and there, but nothing you'd get awkward stares at.
Also as it's been said before, either of Robert Kirkman's books "The Walking Dead", or "Invincible" would be great titles to start off on. Walking Dead has good amount of TPBs out, where as I'm not sure what's been released for Invincible.
I really wouldn't recommend starting off with Watchmen though. It's a fantastic book, no doubt, but not what you're looking for as someone who wants to jump into the genre. There's a reason they give you "Go, Dog, Go" before tossing Macbeth at you. Anyways, I hope you enjoy your reading!
I am in the same boat. Until about a month ago I had never picked up a single comic book. However, I kept driving past this little mom and pop comic shop and I really wanted to make sure that such a unique community asset thrived. The very fact that it existed in my neighborhood made me feel good. In any event, I stopped in to lend them my support and bought what I have since learned to be called a "trade paperback" of Fables, ie. four or five comics bound into a long form. I haven't bought any other issues yet but I was really engaged by the narrative format and conceit of the series. The action component was subdued but the story telling was pretty rich. The writing is sometimes awkward, but overall a good read.
The Watchmen is going to dominate all the suggestions hands down. However, Watchmen will probably be the first and last comic you ever read because it is quite simply the be all end all of all comics. I would recommend Elektra:Assasin, Ronin, X-Men:Days of Future Past, Kingdome Come, Preacher, Hitman and just for fun throw in Milk and Cheese and The Tick before tackling The Watchmen.
Talk about an out-pouring! I sincerely appreciate all the suggestions. (I had an amazingly crazy night, most of which was spent in an emergency room waiting room reading over/approving all your recommendations.) I decided, as was the consensus, to go with "Watchmen" as well as "Hush" "Kingdom Come" and Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns." I'll let you know how they pan out.
Thanks again!
Jimmy Corrigan "The smartest kid on earth" is awesome. Buy the hardcover, you can stare at the cover art for days before you even crack open the book. Good reco, Scara.
I recommend Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. I went 25 years without picking up a single comic book- this was the first comic I read, and I couldn't put it down through the entire series.
If you want to go a different direction, I really like Bone Comics. http://www.boneville.com/
my favorites (this is coming from a non-comic girl married to a comic-rabid boy):
y: the last man (which is rocking my face off)
watchmen
sandman
fables, if you're into the whole fairy tale deconstruction sort of thing
bone is sweet (not "rock! sweet!" but "awww, sweet!"), but takes a while to get into
Y: The Last Man
Precher
The Walking Dead
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preacher_(comics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_the_last_man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead
Must-have classics:
Watchmen
V for Vendetta
Dark Knight Returns
Sandman (all trades)
More:
The Invisibles
Hellraiser
Bacchus
Transmetropolitan
Eightball
Fables
One-shots:
Blankets
Fun home
Persepolis
Pride of Baghdad
Current:
Y: The Last Man
Ex Machina
DMZ
Scalped
Avoid 99,9% of all super hero comics. They have so many conventions and foibles that die-hard fans do not see, but that severely undermine the enjoyment for non-afficionados. It's almost weird that they're still around post-Watchmen and Dark Knight, to be honest.