Welcome to the new regular column where I answer your comic book questions. This aims to be a place where no question is stupid and one that hopefully people can find the answers they desire. For out inaugural “Your Comic Questions Answered” I answer questions about The Flash, Batman and whether you need to keep up with a comic book series.
If you have a question of your own you would like to ask you can get in contact with me via the contact page or if you wish to stay anonymous you can ask via Tumblr.
Q: I’ve been reading comic books for only 4 months but I think that I’m not enjoying reading because I don’t buy latest issues. I cannot relate to forums about the current happenings and I only buy comic books published in the past, particularly limited series. I cannot decide if I should be following one series or multiple series. Could you help me decide? Thanks!
A: I don’t necessarily think you need to be up to date with comics in order to enjoy them. If they are good comics then you should enjoy them regardless of how old they are. Although, if you want to keep up with forums and chat with other comic book readers about recent comics then you will probably have to read recent comics.
As to whether you should follow one series or multiple series, I think it will all come down to your budget, personal tastes and the kind of stories you find interesting. I suggest starting with one or two comics that you think you will enjoy and then if you are enjoying comics, and your budget can allow it, you could always pick up more titles.
As to which titles you might want to read will depend on your tastes. Although, if you want to start a series from the ground floor Marvel has a variety of new series launching and jumping on points (labelled with a “.NOW” next to the number) from late December through to April. Also keep your eye out for Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics, who do some great comics in a wide variety of genres, as they regularly launch new series. Keep your eyes peeled to the site as we will try to cover as many of these as possible.
For our second question works within the context of a preview we ran some time ago for Batman #21.
Q: Finally got into comics starting with this Batman arc. I’ve got two questions if you wouldn’t mind. I’d like to start reading Flash comics. Do you know a good jump on point? Also, since I’m jumping in on issue 21 of batman, what should I do to find out what has already happened? Is it worth it to find all the old issues or is there somewhere online where I can get a summary?
The best place to read the Flash would be the current series of the character, which started with the New 52 initiative. Currently, it has been collected in two volumes, with a 3rd due in February and the 4th due in August. (DC are a little slow on releasing collections.) Alternatively, all the issues are available digitally. Francis Manapual and Brian Buccellato have done some great work on the character and is definitely worth checking out, especially for the great page layouts and the logical reinvention of certain characters.
Also worth checking out is The Flash #26, which came out late December and is a stand-alone story by Christos Gage and Neil Googe. I think it works well as a good introduction to the character and it is not bogged down in any continuity. Neil Googe’s art is great with some interesting panel constructions and is able to capture Flash’s speed well.
Keep an eye out for Flash comics in April as there is meant to be a new creative team on the title. At the moment it hasn’t been announced who it is but we should know within the next few weeks.
As Batman #21 starts a storyline that is set in the past it is not essential to read the previous issues, although I would recommend you checking them out as they are really good. Batman has been one of the most consistently well received titles from DC and worth your time, especially if you enjoyed issue #21.
The opening arc, The Court of Owls, is highly regarded and infuses a great understanding of Batman mixed with elements of horror. Not so much horror in the sense of monsters but more so in the tone that the book has and the levels of suspense. Later down the track we also get a Joker-centric story that is also well received and just as frightening.
Some of the earlier issue will probably be harder to track down now so I suggest either checking out digitally or picking up the collected editions of which there are currently three released.
Have a question for Your Comic Questions Answered?
If you have a question of your own you would like to ask you can get in contact with me via the contact page or if you wish to stay anonymous you can ask via Tumblr.
I have a Booster Gold #1 with the words ” Complementary Not for sale” stamped on the cover.
I think.it might be a giveaway from Capital distribution.
Does this make the book more or less valuable? Or rarer?
In early to mid eighties there’s this sci-fi comic that I think was about a mass exodus while battling pirates and robbers (in motorcycle shaped vehicles?) in space. I remembered a mothership resembling Brian Stableford’s Hooded Swan spaceship. The story even had the same “Promised Land” theme as I remembered an old character pointing and screaming at “Terra!”. Does anyone even remembers this lol, any of you guys know this elusive comic series or title? Cheers!
I am looking for an old comic book where one story is about a guy who hates spiders. He picks up a girl in a bar who is actually a “human spider” who later catches him in her web and says “So you hate spiders? Well, spiders can hate too!” I think this goes back to the 1970s. Do you know what comic book and issue this is? Thanks!
Years ago I read a Norwegian reprint of the horror-comics from the 1950’s, and one story I remember particularly, but I can’t find it back – and don’t know what it is called.
It is about a man who inherits a pocket watch, that stops at a date when he is 99. He understands that he is going to live that long.
Knowing how long he will live, he begins as a stunt-show-artists, continually pushing the boundaries.
One day his stunts leads to several bystanders being killed. And then one relative wants to avenge his loved one.
The man doesn’t die, but loses his arms, legs, sight… and will remain in a bed for 69 years … while the doctor who operated on him, clicks the watch and says, strange watch… it always stops tomorrow night. Then the man in the bed thinks: How unfair…You will die tomorrow, but I must lie like this for 69 years, until I am 99… 99… 99… 99.
Can you help me find the story?