So as happens, it’s a Monday after a wonderful Spring/Summer weekend which included Father’s Day here in Canada, a BBQ with friends, dinner out with another family of friends, and plenty of running around in preparation for everything before finally enjoying family time and the comforts of home, or bed.  That being said, someone has to get a blog article ready, and get it up on time, and that often falls upon the guy who is running the whole thing, as blog authors are known to be a cowardly and superstitious lot and I forgot my Batblade costume at work last week.  So no scaring up someone else to do an article for me, and I just never got around to doing one up properly.  So, where does that leave us for a Monday article?

Follow me after the jump to see what we discuss on a Monday morning….

So recently a friend asked me about a recommendation for some comics to read.  Not only that, but when I suggested he pick up a trade he asked me what the heck a trade was, and suggested I maybe expand a bit on what I take for granted when I talk about some of the nerdy things I like to proclaim to be well-versed in.  So without further ado, here is a bit of a brief on the hobby I have been passionate about the longest; reading and collecting Comic Books.

I guess the first thing to do is to take a quick look at what Comics are; they are a visual medium for telling stories that range from the humorous and childish to the mature and adult.  Comics vary in range from genres such as the Superhero, Horror, Romance, Erotic, Historical, Western, etc.  Over the course of 28 to 32 pages, a monthly title will usually tell a story of a main character or team that is self-contained within that character’s “Universe” or reality, and can sometimes have multi-part stories or cliffhanger endings that will be resolved in the following issue/month.  For the most part comics are sequential and released monthly, though some have more or less frequent release schedules, depending on the company and writer’s ability to submit work on time.  From my understanding of the comic book industry, a writer is responsible for plot and dialogue and will either submit a full script detailing exactly happens in each panel of every page for the book or a loose plan that allows the collaborator to then work on the art.  The artist or penciller of the book then works off of the submitted work to layout the panels on the page, make sure the writer’s action and message is conveyed visually on the page and in a set amount of space.  Once the writer and artist have agreed on and finalized the art, it gets sent to an inker who goes over all the pencilled work and adds the darker shadows, inks, and background stuff the artist does not flesh out.  The work is then sent to a colourist to have all the colours added to the entire book.  Then a letterer gets the work and adds in all the dialogue in the text bubbles, any text boxes that represent thoughts or narrative, and any other text that the writer needs in the story.  There is also an editor involved, and I may have the order incorrect after the writer and artist complete the art for the book, but that is essentially what happens to make a comic book.

Now the next point that seems to hamper people from getting involved in comic books tends to be the overwhelming amount of history available, and the sheer number of titles to choose from.  The good news is that now is a great time to get into comics, as both of the MAJOR players, DC and Marvel, have recently re-started all of their titles with new #1’s and are currently at pretty low numbers if you were to go back and collect a specific title from #1 to present.  Some Marvel books like daredevil haven’t even hit 30 yet, and the DC reboot books are all sitting around 21 issues currently.  What this means, and this is really key, is that you do NOT have to have any prior knowledge of a character or history to start reading a title.  If you are a fan of Spider-man, then by all means see what is going on in Superior Spider-Man from issue #1 to present and start reading.  Some things may strike you as odd or different with the character, but the character and reboot has happened so you can get caught up quickly.  A fan of Batman or Superman?  Then grab the last 21 issues of either the main Batman title or the Superman book, or pick up the brand new issue #1 of Superman Unchained which debuted last week and start to read.  Most of the main stream characters have a wealth of backstory and history that you can essentially disregard and begin enjoying the current run of their books without any shame or guilt.  Should you fall in love with a character and catch the collecting bug, you can decide which issues and what titles of the older work to collect and start from there.  If not you can just stay current and enjoy reading them as they release, or in another, compiled format I call a trade.

 

A trade is a collection of comics that have been reprinted in either a hard cover or soft cover format and sold at less than the cover price of the monthly titles.  It is a nice cheap way to read a bunch of comics at once and get caught up on a story line or character without having to spend gas and time searching around for back issues of a particular title.  Now as much as I want everyone to support the local comic shop in their part of the world, I won’t be ignorant of the fact that you can get trades pretty cheap at some online places like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  I am in a rough spot because to keep the industry going I want you to buy monthly issues and support the local Brick & Mortar store in your area, however if it means you don’t ever buy a comic and get exposed to this amazing industry then I guess I am okay with you looking at an online vendor to get your fix of something great.  A balance of the two methods is really ideal, and what I myself espouse.  I get my 15 or 20 monthly titles from the local hobby store, Heroes World, and occasionally buy trades of things I am curious about or have a passing interest in but don’t want to wait for the store to order in from Amazon.  Ultimately the decision is up to you however keep in mind that you need to support the companies producing the comics with purchases if we want this medium to continue long into the future.  But I digress….  My favourite format is the Trade Paperback collection which usually collects 4 to 6 issues of a title in one place, usually completing a story arc or couple of story arcs all in one volume for you to enjoy at your leisure.  Unlike the monthly issues TPB’s look great on a book shelf as you add to the collection and can often be a centrepiece of a collection or even nice reading to leave on a coffee table.  Not just great works of fiction and prose, the art itself can be so amazing in some books that you just can’t help but have it out to impress your guests.

So how does one go about getting into comics?  It’s pretty easy, really.  Pick your favourite character or the book that was recommended by a friend, and make a decision about how much you want to devote to this hobby.

Are you going to just try something you hear a lot of good things about and don’t care what format it comes in?  Check for some trade paperback versions of the book, which will usually be numbered sequentially, and buy #1 and 2 to get a feel for the series.  Many series these days may seem to have a few issues that you aren’t that taken with, but then really get interesting after 6 to 10 issues.  This can be because a new combination of writer and artist are still sorting out the kinks of working together for the first time and haven’t hit their stride yet, or because the pacing is more cinematic and across multiple issues the writer is building up to something big and exciting.  I would say 15 issues is the right number to read to really get a good feel for a book and decide if you like it or not.  Writers, artists and the people working on a book change with time for a variety of reasons and the key is to see if you like the character and the art and the writing before making a decision to continue or to halt.  In trades this can mean 2 to 3 trades before making a final decision on a series.

Are you a fan of a character or team and have made the decision to collect the series monthly?  By all means talk to your local game or comic shop and get on their “pull” list for monthly titles and see if they have back issues in stock for you to rummage through or if they can order you in older issues you may be missing.  A “pull” list is usually a list of titles that the store knows their customers are collecting and will buy, so they ensure they have the issues on order and also set them aside for you in some form of storage until you come by and buy what they have for you.  Most stores will do this, though they may require a membership fee or some form of commitment from you before they agree to do it for you.  Just don’t expect to walk in off the street and get preferential treatment, be sure to mind your P’s and Q’s and make sure you pay for what you ask the staff to get for you.  Travel to a comic convention or show and take the time to go through some back issue bins to get the issues you are missing for your collection.  This can be a lot of fun, and there are often deals to be had, however make sure you have a list or file on your electronic device with what issues you are missing.  Organization is key to avoid buying multiple copies of the same issue or to miss key pieces in your collection when you go to a con.

 

So whether you are new and interested in sharing the wonderful world of comic books with family and friends, or you are just a person interested in a new form of entertainment that doesn’t require more than 15 minutes to read, to the seasoned veteran who has long boxes stacked to the ceiling in the basement, I hope this has at least been a bit informative for you.  Sometimes a bit of a primer is all the push you need to get started on something, and I hope I have accomplished that in some small way with this article.  A bit of how it’s done, a bit of what you can get, and a couple of pictures is likely the easiest way for me to start.

If anyone is interested in some reading suggestions, please let me know and I can do my best to point you in the direction of some great reads.  Leave me some details on what type of reading or art you are looking for (horror, superhero, noir, western, fantasy, sci-fi, etc) and I will see what I can suggest.  I make no claims on being all-knowing or even all that well read, but I can assure you I take my comics seriously and am passionate about the subject.  Also if you have a special book or series you read or enjoyed and want to recommend it to readers, feel free to do so and let us know what you enjoy.

For now I am going to leave you with the following recommendations of books I am enjoying or have loved for a long time:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

May all your blades be sharp,

– NB