Hey, That’s My Cape! – Enter a New Universe With Artifacts
One of the biggest complaints from people who don’t read comics are they’re too hard to get into. The Big Two have 75 years of history behind them and can be quite intimidating when trying to jump in for the first time. Hundreds of characters, retconned origins, multiple universes, out of continuity stories, well, it can even be confusing for lifetime fans sometimes.
That’s why it’s much easier to introduce new readers to comics by directing them to the smaller, indie publishers first. These companies haven’t been around nearly as long and, on the whole, don’t have their own interconnected universes. Titles from publishers like Archaia and IDW can easily be picked up without worrying about having to read six other titles to figure them out. One younger publisher that took its cues from the Big Two and chose to birth a brand new universe is Top Cow Productions.
Take a look at my journey into the Top Cow Universe with the help of Artifacts, their recent crossover title I say is the perfect jumping-on point, in this week’s Hey, That’s My Cape! at Newsarama.
It's like watching a TV series 1/2 way through season 2. If it piques your interest and you get hooked, you usually pick up most of what you need along the way. Or the author does the Marvel X-Men trick of introducing every main character on page 1, "and the woman known as Storm, Ororo Munroe, wields the power of the elements, calling the weather itself to strike down her foes….." and so on.
…and Happy New Year Jill.
My intro to the big 2 was 52. A entire year worth of comics that had nothing to do with any other portion of the universe. Now that I'm reading other books (still mostly DC) I find myself gravitating to the characters I first read about in those pages.
I disagree. I reckon you can introduce new readers to the big 2, you just have to be careful about what you pick.
There are enough standalone trades out there that act as introductions to the characters and the mythos, good introductions can be done.
But I would say that, I have a whole blog doing just so ;)