[Batman]

So, what do you all think should be in the comic book fan's starter pack?

My picks:

Watchmen
Batman: Year One
Killing Joke
Dark Phoenix Saga
The Dark Knight Returns
Kraven's Last Hunt

I love all of those books, but they aren't my very favorites ever, nor the most important or influential comic books ever.

But they are the books that defined modern superhero comics, and from there one can reach backwards to their inspirations, or forward to the books they later inspired, as ones tastes may dictate.

What do others think should be in the starter pack?


mta: Killing Joke. Jeeze, how'd I forget that one?

[murgen]

I think that the first arc of Morrison's JLA run (the white martians) should be included in there, just to give them a taste of how cool the League can be.
Also, I would include Byrne's Man of Steel. A great introduction to Supes.

[Ultimatejobber]

How far back are wanting to go?

I just picked up Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys. I love it waaay more than Kraven's Last Hunt. But then I am a Spidey Freak and love the super famous events in his life. I would probably add V for Vendetta and Maus. Those are 2 of my favorite graphic novels.

[Batman]

Well, I was making the argument that the books in the 80s that deconstructed the super-hero genre are a great starting point for a new fan.

But that doesn't mean that anyone else has to agree. None of your picks fall into that (one Silver-Age book and two non-Superhero books) but that's fine. Make a case for whatever books you think a new fan ought to be introduced to.

Oh, and welcome to my house of comics!

[The Canadian Content]

Simonson's Thor run.

It's the reason I think Watchmen might be the best.

[The Canadian Content]

Also, Miller + Batman = awesome.

[Batman]

Unfortunately, that's not always true:

[Deadly]

I've read Watchmen and Batman: Year One. I have Dark Knight returns but haven't read it yet.

[The Canadian Content]

Sorry, Serge, I gotta do it...

[The Canadian Content]

How is that not awesome?

[Batman]

I know I've ranted about this before, but:

That would be absolutely awesome if it is somehow revealed in the end that Wolverine killed Batman and took over his costume or something. (No, that would still suck.) That just isn't Batman.

[Stu]

I think Watchmen works better as something you read AFTER you're fairly used to superhero comics, and you see how different it is from the more conventional stuff of that genre.

Eh, aside from that, stuff I would give to someone with their noviceness in mind:

Batman: Year One and DKR
Batman: The Long Halloween
DC The New Frontier
Preacher
Ultimates 1 and 2
Ultimate Spider-Man
Millar's Ultimate X-Men

and I personally love the Goddamn Batman

[OpTard]

yeah, i really don't get why the batman wouldn't say "goddamn."

my starter pack would be (in this order):

preacher
bone (if they're willing to read a "kiddy" book. otherwise i skip them right to...)
the walking dead
batman year one
the watchmen
bendis' daredevil
the ultimates.

if they make it to the ultimates, they're in the club.

[Dr. Muerto]

I'm not sure this si a starter pack, per se, but here's what I would have in the pack for someone, like me, who came back to comic books well into adulthood and was looking for something with a bit of substance.

That volume that collects Alan Moore's DC stories
Planetary
Runaways
The Goon
The Sandman
Watchmen

All of these have great stories, well written dialogue, and avoid ( or play with) the clichés of the comic book genre. The only sad thing is that once you've read these, a lot of other stuff starts feeling like it's not quite living up to its potential.

[salmonjunkie]

starter pack:

The Sandman
Fables
Ultimate Spider-Man
The Ultimates
Batman Year One
Batman The Long Halloween
Return of the Dark Knight
Bendis' Daredevil
Claremont and Miller's Wolverine
Maus
The Walking Dead
Preacher

I'd probably give a newbie 5 of these at time.

If they've gone that far, I will then send them to Watchmen and Bone

It kind of depends though. I started my ex-girlfriend with Sandman. She loved it and then read all the Death books, too - but she never really cared for any super-hero stuff. I started her brother on... fuck, I don't remember the name of the book. Something-boy. It was an image book, I think. I started my sister with Gen 13 and then Ultimate Spider-Man. She ended up finding Spiegelman on her own when she took a Comic Books as American literature class in college. I wish there was such a class when I was in college.

[eoghann]

Lots of good suggestions already in this thread. It's hard to pick a generic starter pack though because even the best books won't appeal to everyone. Even Watchmen has its detractors.

Some that I think could win over new fans are:

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (I know you listed it, but it got me into comics for the second time)
Daredevil: Born Again (Miller was on a roll back then)
Grant Morrison's New X-Men (This one got me back into comics for the third time)

If I was picking current stuff to attract new readers:

Captain America is the best it's ever been I think.

Fables probably has the potential for more crossover appeal than just about anything else on the market. Which explains why its direct market sales are so poor. I despair of comics fans they're in as bad a ghetto as wrestling fans.

[OpTard]

well my philosophy is to ease people into the superhero stuff. preacher never seems to fail. i've had no less than 5 friends who wont touch a comic with a 10 foot pole read preacher and love it. born again is great but i feel people really gotta get used to the medium they gonna go near the spandex. i think the best way to get people to accept the concept (once they've gotten through preacher and one other non-superhero book) is either watchmen or batman year one. due to it's acclaim, people are willing to give watchmen's superhero factor a pass and give it a try (and the upcoming movie isn't hurting either, as alot of people not normally into comics are looking to read the source material before the movie hits). batman year one works because it's batman (and everyone likes batman) and it's short. after that it wouldn't be too hard to get them to read born again with the line "it's done by the guys who did year one."

but they have their whole life to read great stories, and right now we're interested in turning them into a fan. for that reason i'd go with bendis' daredevil over born again at this point. it's more street level than your average super hero book, but it's still a super hero book. and it's long form, something they haven't had in the super hero genre yet.

then i end it off with the ultimates. it's takes the super hero stuff off of street level, but it's still got a sense of realism. i think if they make it through that and are still liking it, you got yourself a reader and now you could give them anything from sin city to green lantern and they'll read it as long as it's good.


thai, personally i'm with you on the sandman call. but i leave it off the list because the gothy nature of the book i find tends to turn people away before they read it.

[BFG]

I just picked up "The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes" and "Preacher: Gone To Texas"....which should I read first?

[Batman]

I just realized I left out Killing Joke from my list. Fixed.

[Batman]

OK, that's weird that we were both inspired to add to this three-days-quiet thread at almost the same time.

My vote goes to Preacher. I never "got" Sandman.

[BFG]

I remember being interested in Sandman back when I was going crazy trying to collect of the X-Men and Spiderman books. That really took me out of the monthly comic book trips.

Now, thanks to getting The Watchmen as a gift, I go grab a graphic novel every once in a while. I planned on getting the first two Preacher books, but as the shop didn't have the 2nd Preacher book I picked up The Sandman....mostly because I couldn't pick out a new Batman book. Dark Victory and Year One are at the top of my list, but I've also heard good things about The Killing Joke (yeah, I almost posted I had the killing joke the same time as Serg suggested it) and Hush. I should just get Dark Victory anyways, as from what I've read, it's a sequel to the Long Halloween and I fucking loved that book.

That being said if Preacher is the better book I may save it. I still have Essential X-Men #3 to read from Christmas, and have a feeling it's going to be a letdown as I'm certain the Essential series is right in to the X-Men universe that I first got in to with Classic X-Men back in the day. So it'll be good to have something good to look forward to.

[salmonjunkie]

Sandman is my favorite comic series of all. There was a time where that was the only book I was reading.

Start with either. You can't go wrong. Preacher is more sarcastic and has more comedy. Sandman is darker - and Preludes nad Nocturnes is pretty much a horror book. I'd say Preacher's first TPB is easier to take in than Sandman's first TPB. Sandman becomes crazy awesome by Season of Mist and all the one-issue stories that hardly contain Morpheus

The Kililng Joke is a must read. Dark Victory is the sequel to Long Halloween and is really cool. I love the way Robin is depicted in it. Year One is certainly a must read, too.

As far as why I wouldn't put Watchmen on my list... Well, it's very dense. I wouldn't have anyone just getting into comics read Alan Moore immedeately - except maybe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

[OpTard]

well as overall series, i have a hard time picking which is better. i always say the #1 series of all time is preacher, bone and sandman.

as far as which is a better book one... i might give that one up to preacher, though i think it's mid book 2 that both series really grasp their hooks into you.

[BFG]

I think Watchmen is a great way to get people BACK in to comics. Or at least it was for me. As much as I love X-Men and Spiderman, I need something with more weight behind it. But I agree...it may not be the best launching ground for comics.

[Batman]

operationretard said:

as far as which is a better book one... i might give that one up to preacher, though i think it's mid book 2 that both series really grasp their hooks into you.

I very much agree with that in regards to Preacher. But I happened to start with book 2, so I'm biased. I've always felt that the second book and the last are the very best parts of Preacher.