Just getting back into comics
 

Well, first off, Hello! I have been out of the loop for quite some time, and I was wondering if you could help me get back in. I really enjoyed the Swamp Thing, Daredevil, X-MEN, and Captain America stories. Is there a current series of monthlies I should start with for each, or should I just look to trades and larger collections to catch me up? I am currently reading the Marvel Zombies series, Watchmen paperback, the seven Sin City paperbacks, and the Joker Hardcover by Brian Azzarello. I will be heading to my LCBS sometime through out this week, and any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Welcome back to comics, cmphotonj. I just got back into them last Sept after about 10 years of being away. I've gone the way of getting the collected books (mainly due to my LCBS being over 45 mins away). That way you can get a better idea of where the stories are going. I've mostly went the way of collecting the older series of collected works like the Omnibus, from when I use to read.

Some online places like instocktrades.com and dcbservice.com for Omnibuses you can get per issue costs really cheap around $1-$2 pre issue. tfaw.com has a nick & dent section where everything is 50% off and in most cases they are better condition than you'll find at a bookstore. Then from this site, dvdtalk, and amazon you can find out which books are worth getting. Also with the prices of single issues going up (read the Marvel jacking up newsstand editions to $3.99 thread).

Hope this helps.

Re: Just getting back into comics
 

I think the smart way to go nowadays is TPB only.

I highly recommend Y: The Last Man, The Losers, and The Walking Dead.

Re: Just getting back into comics
 

I got back in via trade as well. The price per page for the old stuff I read is what did it. I think if you poke around some of these threads, most of us agree that TPBs are the way to go right now, both from a cost and a story perspective. E.g., the Astonishing X-Men or Brubacker Captain America (assuming those aren't the ones you're already reading) would be nice pickups.

LCBS are a source of discussion too. I like to support mine when I can, but paying cover price for trades is painful. I bought some the other day when they were having a 40% off sale (Savage Sword 3, this new JLA/Avengers TPB), which I know kind of defeats the point of supporting them, but it made me feel a little better.

Re: Just getting back into comics
 

Hey BUS maybe you can help me. I was never into comics. I am a huge zombie fan as well as my son and recently heard about the Walking Dead comics. I want to start collecting them. Where and how should I go about starting and what is TPB?

Re: Just getting back into comics
 

TPB = Trade PaperBack, it's a collection of issues in a softbound edition. Normally you can get 5-6 issues's worth of a comic book series in on TPB.

Re: Just getting back into comics
 

To add to the confusion, Walking Dead has three different kinds of collections:

The regular tpbs, which contain six or so of the individual issues each.
The hardcovers, which in general collect two tpbs into each hardcover volume.
The omnibus, which collect about two hardcovers into a single huge hardcover volume. The first one may be hard to find now, though.

In addition to the monthly (?) comic. The tpbs are probably the best way for you, and you can see if you like it by getting volume 1 first (which is only 10 bucks)

Here are the collection ISBNs and the issues they collect (WARNING: don't scroll up on the linked page , as it contains spoilers)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wal...ead#Softcovers

Re: Just getting back into comics
 

Thx for the info. Do you think it would be too hard to collect the actual comics from #1 to #58 so far???

Re: Just getting back into comics
 

There's a ton for sale on ebay, so I'm sure you can find them cheaper on the web.

Re: Just getting back into comics
 

Yea I noticed that thx.