How to get into comics without getting confused

21 Dec, 2025

So, you watched the Marvel movies, you liked them, and now you want to read some superhero comics, but you don't know where to start. Some series like Spider-Man have something like 600 issues. Then there are spin-offs, alternate realities and… Wait, why is there a Superior Spider-Man? Is it the same as normal Spider-Man? Is it related to the Spider-Verse? How many spiders are out there, exactly? Will spiders crawl in my mouth as I sleep or is that just an urban legend?

Deep breaths. Superhero comics can be A Lot, I know. but worry not: I will be your guide. I got a DEGREE in comics. It’s utterly useless, but it allowed me to write this article. YAY.

We’ll start with the Big Two publishing houses, Marvel and DC, since they are the most popular and confusing. I’m mostly comfortable with Marvel series, so I’ll use those as examples, but I assure you DC comics works in the same manner. So if you want to read Batman, follow the same steps. After superheroes, we’ll look at the rest of the American market, and then give a brief glance at the rest of the world.

HOW TO GET INTO MARVEL AND DC COMICS

1) CHOOSE A CHARACTER

I know, I know: you watched Avengers, so now you wanna read the comic with all the Avengers. DON’T.

Ensemble books like Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men or Avengers are full of characters you don’t know and big world-altering storylines. Moreover, they are often the cardinal points of mega-events and crossovers, which can be even more bewildering for the non-initiated.

Try to choose a single character you really liked from the movies. You find Rocket Racoon adorable? He has his own comic! Scarlet Witch? Loki? Silver Surfer? They all got multiple series as well. If Morbius, the Living Vampire has his own mini-series (which was better than the movie, btw), I’m sure even your favorite minor character got one.

2) LEARN THE CONCEPT OF "RUNS"

Marvel and DC hold the right of a bazillion of characters; to keep storylines cohesive, they assign each series to a different creative team for a period (usually around 2–3 years). It’s like a temporary adoption: a couple get a child to coddle for a while, treats them well, and then gives them back. That adoption period is called a run. Runs are often called using the writer’s name, because the artist rarely stays on board for the whole run.

Sometimes, the artist and the writer work together for the whole run, giving the series a strong visual identity. More often, though, the artist can change multiple times for production-related reasons (tight schedule, accidents, multiple series to juggle, etc).

Writers often introduce their own supporting characters, enemies and storylines during a run. They then close every dangling plot before the series get assigned to another team, so the new folks can start with a blank slate. This means that if you read a run from start to finish, you get a cohesive, self-contained story with a definite start and an end. Suddenly the idea of reading something as long as Spider-Man or Thor doesn’t feel so daunting, right? You just have to discover where to start!

3) COMBINE YOUR NEWFOUND POWERS

Next step is figuring out which runs of the character you like are the ones you should read.

Different writers mean that all those 600+ issues of Spider-Man will have different tones, storylines and characters, and some will be more akin to your tastes than others. Characterization can also vary wildly from author to author, and some heroes you like might get unrecognizable when written by a different pen.

There is no rule of thumb for deciding which runs are the best: bother friends, read forums and blogs, ask on Twitter, browse 4chan’s comics board. Chance are if a run gets often praised by different sources, it’s good. (If the idea of dipping into 4chan doesn’t appeal to you, give a look to this handy collection of recommendation guides made by users! It was my bible when I started reading American comics).

4) BUY THE COMICS

American comics are called floppies: monthly, very light, 22-pages long. Floppies get later collected in trades — thicker books containing many issues. All runs eventually get collected in trades, so if you know which authors you like, it’s easy to find out which volumes you want to buy. If you’re from another country, things get trickier: imported comics often gets collected in different editions; the names and numeration can be different from the American market. The trick is to open a volume and check the first page or two: among the editorial fluff, you should read something like “this issue contains the comics originally published as this and this”. That’s the tidbit you need. When in doubt, go to a comic book shop and ask the owner! Not all shops are shady nerd traps: I’m sure you can find one around your area that is owned by nice people. If you prefer to buy your comics digitally... I honestly don't know where people buy them now that Comixology is dead. Please let me know.

5) KEEP GOING!

Have you found some comics you like? Good! Check who made them, memorize the names, and see if the team made other comics that could appeal to you. Databases like Comic Vine help you track an author’s bibliography and decide what to read next.

OUTSIDE MARVEL/DC

Here’s the good news: all this clusterfuck only applies to Marvel and DC. Comics from other publishing houses are much less complicated to read. While superhero comics from other publishers follow the same rules, most other series are creator-owned: it means that the creative team came up with the idea, owns the right and will stay on the series until its end. Just start from issue #1. That’s all.

Image Comics is the publisher to check if you want to get into creator owned titles. Creatives working for the big twos often publish their pet projects with Image — so if you found some authors you like while reading superheroes, it’s time to check their more personal stuff and support them!

THREE TITLES TO CHECK: Locke & Key, Hellboy, I Kill Giants

OUTSIDE AMERICA

The American comics book industry is actually pretty small compared to other markets! All countries have their own comics,with their own different rules and idiosyncrasies. Here’s a quick overview of the biggest markets and their quirks:

FRANCE

The French market is very posh. Their comics are usually hard-covered, 48-pages long and feature lush artworks. They’re the only industry that still prefers watercolors to digital techniques. This is a very time-consuming process, so each series usually get only 1–2 volumes a year!

While the most famous series all got an English translation, many are not translated or just difficult to find — even illegal scans are sometimes hard to come by, because who would want to tear apart a costly book to scan it?

THREE TITLES TO CHECK: Blacksad, the Metabarons, Skydoll

ITALY

Italian comics rarely get translated, with one big exception: Disney comics!

Disney Italy produces loads of Disney comics that gets translated and distributed all over the world. Along with classical Donal Duck and Mikey Mouse stories, they made more experimental series like Witch (magical girls!), Mickey Mouse Mystery Magazine (a noir) and Duck Avenger (Donald Duck is a superhero and he fights aliens now). Disney authors are obliged to follow a rigid house style, so there’s little space for personality here: focus on characters, not creators. Most stories are either self-contained or small sagas published in trades, so it will be very difficult to get lost.

THREE TITLES TO CHECK: Duck Avenger, Monster Allergy, Dylan Dog

JAPAN

The Japanese comics industry has crazy rhythms: every week, an author is expected to produce 22 pages in black and white! That’s why many famous mangaka (an author of manga) work with a plethora of assistants who draw the backgrounds, put screentones and letter the pages.

Thanks to this hectic schedule, series quickly gets very long — but since they’re always written by the same person, start with issue 1 and you’ll be fine. Also, remember to read them right to left! This can be confusing at first, I know.

Chapters are first published in thick magazines and gets later collected in volumes. Magazines follow a strict classification: shounen (adventures and fights, aimed at young males; shoujo (romance for girls), seinen (more mature mangas).

Though most famous series get translated, fan scanlations are sometimes the only way to read the most obscure/experimental works. Always support the creators when you can.

THREE TITLES TO CHECK: Berserk, Monster, Chainsaw Man

See, it wasn’t that hard! Now go and read some comics.

(Originally posted on Medium)