Comic Books — Where Should I Start?
Five comic book recommendations for beginners
A friend of mine asked the other day: “I want to start reading comics — where should I start?” If only he would’ve asked something simpler, like “What’s the meaning of life?”.
After meditating on the question for a bit, this was the best I could come up with. I’ve tried to keep the list down to a few classics, and not to include too many books that are similar in theme and tone, in order to give you highlights of a cross-section of comic book genres.
Furthermore, I’ve consciously picked books which require little to no background knowledge of the main characters. As long as you know that Bruce Wayne is Batman you’ll be fine — and if not, I’m sorry for the spoiler.
With that said, here they are — my top five comics recommendations for new readers:
Watchmen (1986)
Pretty much anything by Alan Moore is worth reading, but Watchmen stands out as his strongest work to date. At the time he wrote Watchmen Moore had a few books under his belt and was ready to flex his creative muscle — and it shows. Watchmen is a tour-de-force so chock-full of layers of visual and thematic allegories it sometimes feels like a feat of complex mechanical engineering.
The titular Watchmen themselves bear special mention — for being costumed heroes they feel firmly grounded in reality: The vigilante obsessed with fighting crime turns out not to be a billionaire playboy in disguise, but a homicidal psychopath with questionable personal hygiene. Dr. Manhattan — a being so powerful he can annihilate entire cities in the blink of an eye — becomes progressively more estranged from the ordinary people he is supposed to protect. Others struggle with alcoholism, insecurity or just plain old megalomania.
Coincidentally, as with many other classics, it can feel a bit slow at times. Pacing issues aside, Watchmen is a definite classic by a master of the medium, and definitely a good place to start reading comics.
The Dark Knight Returns (1986)
In a dystopian near-future, an ageing Bruce Wayne comes back out of retirement to defend Gotham City one last time. The Dark Knight Returns was a defining moment in comics history, the definite transformation of the campy 1960s Batman into the dark and brooding vigilante we know today.
Frank Miller’s trademark noir-style dialogue and rough imagery are the perfect vehicles to tell the story of a crimefighter past his prime, his self-doubt and ailing health every bit as dangerous as any Two-Face or Joker.
Picking just one of Frank Miller’s works to highlight is tough, but if I had to choose just one to save from a burning comic book library it would be The Dark Knight Returns. Also, if you want to see who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman before Dawn of Justice hits theatres, this is the book to pick up.
Preacher (1995)
Jesse Custer is a minister in a small town, struggling with his identity, his calling and his faith. If that sounds like a synopsis for a two-hour, black & white Ingmar Bergman movie, don’t worry — after the initial setup, Jesse becomes infused with a power known as Genesis, killing his whole congregation in the process.
Another side-effect of the fusion is that Jesse gains the “Word of God”, an ability that allows him to command anyone to do anything — which is quite handy when everyone else is trying to kill you. Feeling it’s time to do some serious soul-searching, Jesse embarks on a quest to (literally) find God. He is soon accompanied by his ex-girlfriend turned professional assassin, a hard-drinking Irish vampire and the character affectionately known as “Arseface”.
Preacher has got everything you’d expect from a Garth Ennis comic — drama, romance and ultra-violence — and is a classic comic serial. There have been numerous attempts at a Preacher miniseries, but now it looks like it’s finally happening; the pilot episode is scheduled to run on AMC in 2016.
Sandman (1989)
Neil Gaiman’s Sandman tells the story of Dream, ruler of the realm of dreams. Even though he’s one of the Endless he still makes mistakes, the most recent one leading to his capture and incarceration by a mortal. Human lives are short, however and Dream — well — he’s got nothing but time.
As can be expected of a story of an immortal personification of dreams, Sandman is usually quite contemplative and philosophical. However, Gaiman doesn’t shy away from delving into horror or fantasy when the mood strikes. The Sandman format has allowed him to tell him stories that would be hard to write in any other medium — or to read for that matter.
Be warned though — the art in the first couple of issues is a bit rough, but by the second volume it’s significantly better. By the third book Gaiman really hits his stride, so even if you don’t like the first two I’d advise you to stick it out until the third volume.
Maus (1980)
Art Spiegelman’s Maus tells the story of the Holocaust through a series of dialogues with his father, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps.
Adjectives like “good” or “best” seem both inappropriate and inadequate when talking about accounts of such a horrible tragedy, but I can safely say that Maus is by far the most gripping portrayal of the Holocaust I’ve ever read. Make no mistake, Maus has its bright moments as well — it’s full of vivid portrayals of love, compassion and happiness. However, this provides a contrast that serve to make the horror of the camps even darker.
This contrast, the story’s incidental events, the small details in Spiegelman’s conversations with his father — all of these things give the story a sense of realism and a palpability that would be hard to achieve in any other medium.
And there you go, five excellent options for getting into comics. All of these are available from Amazon, but you can also check your local library — they might have a comic book section. If you prefer reading on your tablet there’s also the excellent Comixology app. Good hunting!
