New to comics...need suggestions.

Hey folks,

Over the weekend, I walked into a comic book store intent on getting into reading them again. I was a little overwhelmed to say the least. I hadn't actually stepped foot into a comic book store in about 25 years. Hoping some of you can point me in the right direction.

Here's some things I'm looking for/interested in:

A) Characters I've liked

1) I like the movie version of Gambit.(X-men Origins: Wolverine)
2) I like the portrayal of Rorschach in the Watchmen movie.
3) I like the backstory/powers/look of Wesley Dodds.
4) I like mind/force powers akin to Prof X+invisible girl.

B) Art

1) I found X-men Noir in the bookstore I was looking at. I really enjoyed the dark/subdued colors of the comic.
2) Don't like cartooney colors etc. Prefer gritty realistic colors/moods.

C) Setting

1) I'm a huge fan of 1920's - WWII. I enjoyed the Captain America movie for this reason. Plus I like his traditional/patriotic style.
2) I hate anime, Japanese art/cartoons, etc.
3) Prefer semi realistic settings akin to Watchmen, where Superheroes are a rarity, and are both flawed and vulnerable.
4) Don't like Magical/God characters like Thor. Prefer science based/natural characters, etc...things that could exist in the world we live in...if the laws of physics were stretched a bit.

I'd like to get into about 3-5 comics. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm going to go with:

Supreme Power
Marvel 1602
Superman: Secret Identity

Watchmen would be the obvious choice.

Twenty-five years? See if your local library system has trades of The Sandman.

If you're looking for ongoing comics to dive into, your best bet might be Captain America & Bucky for patriotic nostalgia, and maybe Iron Man for sci-fi that's somewhat grounded in modern reality. The current run of Daredevil is also quite enjoyable while maintaining some of the gritty semi-realism you said you like. I haven't read any of the X-books in a while, but Deadpool and X-Factor were both pretty good last time I checked.

If you're more interested in collected trade paperbacks, then maybe something like James Robinson's Starman series or Sandman Mystery Theatre will float your boat. (The latter is literally a more mature and dark retelling of the early years of Wesley Dodds/Sandman, while the former is about inheriting the legacy of another Golden Age hero.)

WOW, if you liked "Gambit" from "Wolverine: Origins," then you'll LOVE this character in the comics.

The Gambit in the movies, I thought, was a ****** bag. And sort of misportrayed. Gambit doesn't make his cards float and move on their own accord.

Gambit has always been a favorite of mine since the X-men cartoon in the 90s.

He's had his own title a few times....but I haven't been collecting nor keeping up with the comics since the early 2000s. Money reasons =/



Mr. True Shot.

Back in the day, I used to enjoy Green Lantern and Flash from DC and Guardians of the Galaxy from Marvel. I still enjoyed the popular series like X-Men, Avengers, Superman, Batman, etc but those are the ones that stick out in my mind.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy was because it was a futuristic look on the Marvel Universe. I've always had this desired of "seeing beyond your years" and it was interesting to me what was going on in the future - how the concept of being a hero evolved, what happened to the modern day characters, how their legacies lived on - things like that.

I used to love collecting comics. I probably did from like 1988 - 2001, give or take.

Comics are so bloody expensive these days. Between $2.99 - $4.99 an issue? And then they have all of these multi-book events going on. It's like you need a second job to be a comic fan. Trade Paper Backs have made things a little better, but in my opinion takes away from things that made comic collecting fun - going back to the story every week to see what's new, the anticipation of what's going to happen next, speculating with other fans about what will happen.

Okay, so I digressed a little...

tl;dr

Green Lantern
The Flash
Guardians of the Galaxy

They were always my favorites.

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I would suggest getting the TPBs of Planetary. Probably my favorite comic down in the last 15 years. Great stories, and John Cassady's art simply cannot be beat.

I'd actually recommend against The Boys if he enjoys that Captain America type character. The Boys has some good moments but Ennis' utter distaste for superheroes makes the arcs where they hunt down Degenerate Superhero #437 seem drawn out and unnecessary compared to the ones that are actually relevant to the overall story.

I thought the enjoyment of Captain America came primarily from the WW2 setting, rather than the character himself. I overlooked the "Plus I like his traditional/patriotic style." bit. Maybe better to hold off on The Boys for a bit, then.

And I won't even suggest The Pro!

Given your predilections, I wholeheartedly and unreservedly recommend James Robinson's "Starman".

I'll recommend Irredeemable and Incorruptible from Boom! Studios. While they don't fit with all your criteria, you might enjoy them. They've pretty much single-handedly kicked Marvel and DC off my reading list.

Thanks to everyone for the responses!

1) CaptainFomerang - Thanks for the suggestions. I like the look and interesting twist of Marvel 1602, so decided I will purchase it. I also am intrigued by the Superman one as well. I couldn't figure out what Supreme Power was though. Care to elaborate?

2) PRAF68_EU - I have the movie, but will be buying the comic when I order all these other suggestions. Thanks.

3) Dumpleberry - What do you mean, trades?

4) Hazmatter - I will take a look at Cap, Ironman, and Daredevil. I particularly like what you have to say aobut Starman and Sandman Mystery Theatre. I will definately grab them both.

5) Olantern - Thanks.

6) Mr_True_Shot - I'm glad you mentioned this. I suppose I should clarify: Gambit is an absolute badass in the comics from what I could tell. And he's also interesting in that he doesn't really follow the archetypal standards of superheroes. The guy is a scrapper, street fighter, gambler, and ladies man who fights with a stick charged with kinetic energy while he theoretically has one of the most powerful inherrent abilities in the universe. The man can "convert potential energy to kinetic energy" which means he could potentially alter the laws of the universe. It would be akin to Wolverine being able to shoot nuclear blasts out of his claws, while maintaining the ability to regenerate and kick ***.

Most of my excitement for him in the film stemmed from the fact that I'm from New Orleans and I recognized the areas where the action took place during his bar scene, etc. I also liked the costume design, and just the giddy feeling from seeing him portrayed in film. I agree that the portrayel of him was off by a long shot. Particularly when he was fighting. In the comics he comes across as a guy who's been around, and knows how to take care of himself...confident and not to be triffled with. In the movie he seemed like a goofball who just kind of stumbled into his powers and really didn't know how to take advantage of them.

I did want to ask though...is there a comic series with just him taking center stage? Or do I have to read strictly X-men comics?

7) SolarSentai - I loved Green Lantern on The Super Friends, lol. I vividly remember pretending like I had a power ring with my friends when I was a little boy. But Dear Lord, did that movie suck.

I will check out Guardians of the Galaxy. Sounds interesting.

And fyi, I too was shocked at the current price of comics...$3.99 at the bookstore.

8) Ultraamann - Check out Planetary comics on wikipedia...art looks amazing. What are TPB's?

9) Attercap - Wow. The Boys looks gritty indeed. Very cool...added to my list.

10) Captain Foamerang - My like of Captain America I think stems from both the recent movie that I really enjoyed, and I think the fact that there are so few movies these days that aren't afraid to be outright pro American. It was a nice change to see a guy in a red, white, and blue uniform talking about doing the right thing, etc. Even though I'm a big fan of the antihero, it was nice to get back to roots and see a dude representing my country without making up excuses for his actions, or apologizing for what we stand for.

Plus for some reason, I like the thought of a superhuman person using something archaic like a shield. I mean the guy is shooting machine guns, but wading into battle with an item from the middle ages.

11) Attercap - Yeah, it's mainly the WW2 era, but like I said earlier, I enjoyed the unabashedly pro American mood of the movie. I really liked the "heart of gold guy who dislikes bullies" spin as well. Because I dislike them as well.

12) StormDevil - Sounds cool...on my list, thanks.

13) Starflier - Looks cool...both on my list. Thanks.

Got a good list going here. Keep em coming. (And fyi, I know this is adding up. I've set aside $150-$200 for this.)

Based on your statement about the 1920 - WW2 I'd recommend Lobster Johnson and Hellboy if you are not dead set on superpowered characters.

To answer the questions "what are trades/TPBs?" They are the collected versions of various comics. Stands for Trade Paperbacks and they are usually one complete story, 4 - 6 issues in length. Often a cheaper alternative to getting some of the older issues of titles that have been recommended, like Starman or Planetary.

I'm not 100 percent certain but I thought I read that there is a new Gambit series coming from Marvel soon. And I was right - http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/0...it-comic-book/

Supreme Power is like an Ultimate version of Squadron Supreme, Marvel's lesser known equivalent to the Justice League. It's a limited series that takes place outside the standard Marvel universe and it's intended for adult readers, as it contains graphic violence, nudity, and adult language. It mainly revolves around Hyperion, a Superman-like alien refugee turned superhero. However, it has a darker twist in that he's shaped from the get-go to turn out like a superhero. Things get really interesting when he starts to question whether or not he wants to keep taking orders. J. Michael Straczynski, Babylon 5 creator, gives it a sci-fi and gritty slant, but it's got its fun moments, as well as good art provided by Gary Frank. You'll notice some similarities to Secret Identity, but I think Supreme Power is a tad better.

Going to have to add my vote for Planetary.

Transmetropolitan is iffy. I personally think its one of the best things ever, but its not a superhero book per se and it doesn't hit most of the OPs viewing points. Still, I always toss that out there: the Chair Leg of Truth compels me. And it is gritty.

Twenty five years goes all the way back to 1987. That's close enough that I have to throw The Dark Knight Returns in there just in case.

If you like meta (fourth wall referencing stories) Morrison's run on Animal Man is an interesting read and fully collected in trade paperbacks.

Ennis' run on Hellblazer, primarily because I think the story arc Dangerous Habits is the definitive John Constantine story, and far better in print than what managed to find its way into the movie.

The Authority, particularly volume one.

In terms of being pseudo-realistic, where superheroes are flawed and vulnerable, albeit explicitly not a rarity, I can also recommend Powers.

MrBones, you seem to be looking for an old-fashioned setting, muted color effects, and noir-like stories. With that in mind I'm going to point you at Will Eisner's The Spirit. The movie was terrible, but the books are amazing stories with lots of noir fun, by one of the best comic book artists ever.

If you don't mind stretching your boundaries a bit to include some ridiculous, over-the-top settings and scenarios, you might try Eric Powell's The Goon. Wonderful art with subdued, nuanced colors. The story is a noir parody, with heroic gangsters fighting zombies, communist octopi, and giant radioactive monsters. It's also supposed to be a movie soon.

On the superhero side, you *might* enjoy The Punisher. I don't know enough about that book in its current form, but it's the most noir-like, gritty superhero book I can think of.

Maybe The Question, who was the inspiration for Rorschach in Watchmen. But the Question doesn't have his (or her) own book anymore...