Monday, October 29, 2012

Special Edition Post: Trade Pics For Newbies?





Today I had a worker at the local Starbucks I go to ask me "Hey did I hear you talking the other day about how you read comic books?" I told her I read them a lot and asked if she did too. She told me that she used to years ago but stopped and had no idea what she would even read. I told her I would bring some stuff for her to check out, but after doing so, I also realized I don’t have much of a good collection of trades that I could give to someone new to comics to sample. This made me wonder, what 3 - 5 trades would you give a person new to comics as your "ultimate sampler" to get them interested again in comics? Please leave your picks in the comments section below! For me, I picked:


The Sixth Gun Vol 1
Freak Angles Vol 1
Ex Machina Vol 1
I Kill Giants


23 comments:

  1. Planetary Vol 1
    Y The Last Man Vol 1
    Fables Vol 1
    Hate Vol 1
    Wonder Woman: Hiketeia

    I feel like my list is out of date compared to yours!

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    1. Oh all good pics. the only one im not familiar with is HATE. is it this one?
      http://www.amazon.com/Nextwave-Agents-H-A-T-E-Vol-This/dp/0785122788

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    2. That's a good one, but I was talking about Peter Bagge's Hate! It's the book I credit as the one that got me back into comics! When I was 20, my roommate lent me the first 3 trades and after I read them I went straight to the comic shop!

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    3. Oh So this one?

      http://www.amazon.com/Seattle-Complete-Bradley-Stories-1990-94/dp/1560976233/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351560022&sr=8-1&keywords=Peter+Bagge

      I havent really read any of his stuff sadly. Ill have to get some of those myself now!

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    4. That's it! I haven't really been a fan of Bagge's other work, but HATE is pretty awesome!

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    5. If you're not reading HATE you're missing out! Buddy Does Seattle and Buddy Does Jersey are classic!

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    6. I ordered the first volume. A couple people on twitter said that would be one of their pics too. Sounds like a "must have" in a starter pack!

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  2. Batman:Year One or Dark Knight Returns (classic)
    All-Star Superman (relateable and gorgeous)
    Local (non-superhero + strong female character)
    King City (weird and cheap)
    100% (it will blow minds)

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    1. I think those are all great, but it would be very person dependent. King City is the kind of book that people brand new to comics would either hate or love it. Id have to think about that one.

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  3. Great question and some great books already. I am definitely with you on the Sixth Gun and Keith's choice of Year One and All-Star are the best of superhero books.

    Y the Last Man(I bought this for my teenage sister and the whole family ended up hounding me for more)

    Grandville/Blacksad (both excellent, both have anthropomorphic animal Detectives which seem to be an easy way in for people but the stories are layered and exciting and beautifully drawn)

    Super Dinosaur (For anyone under the age of 10 this could be the raddest thing ever)

    Locke & Key (this one turned my girlfriend from sporadic comic reader to the stage where she's buying her own copies and it's amazing and probably not what many people would think a comic would be)




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    1. Oh yeah! Blacksad is a great idea. Im not familiar with Grandville but I just looked it up, looks amazing!

      I wasnt even thinking kids books, but you are completely right about Super Dinosaur, I have a few other all ages books, but thats a great thought, hopefully some other people have some other all ages books to throw in.

      Locke & Key, great choice, one of my favorite books and you are completely right.

      y seems to be a popular suggestion another one of those books so burned into my reading past I didn't even think of it, but totally a great starter book.

      Thanks for the feedback!

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  4. Reed Gunther vol. 1
    Ultimate Spider-Man (Bendis/Bagley) vol. 1
    Invincible vol. 1 (Family Matters)

    Those trades got me hooked and wanting MORE MORE MORE!!

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    1. I hear nothing but good things about Reed Gunther, I still need to check that out. The other two are great choices!

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  5. Invincible - Superhero stories without having to worry about decades of "continuity."

    Lock and Key - Horror story with young protagonists.

    The Walking Dead - Drama and Horror

    BPRD - For people that like monster movies.

    Watchmen - Good for literary geeks with misconceptions about comics.

    Batman: The Killing Joke - Psychological Thriller

    Batman: Year One - Gritty book without over the top villains

    Batman: The Long Halloween - can you tell I like Batman?

    Get Jiro - Good for foodies like my younger brother who has never read a comic in his life but has every single Anthony Bourdain book autographed.

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  6. Getting people into comics is tricky business. I find it's best to get a sense of what movies they like and pick from there. However, I understand that is not the point of the exercise. So here are the books I've had the most success introducing to new readers (it's about what you'd expect):

    Y: The Last Man volume 1 - Always a big hit.
    Bone volume 1 - Even my most adamant non-comic-reader friend loved Bone
    Fables - Fairy tale riffs are so hot right now
    Runaways - More BKV. And just a hint of superheroes.
    The Walking Dead - If they like show, it just makes sense...
    Locke & Key - Cinematic, you can use the "Stephen King's son" angle if it helps.
    Local - If you want to shatter their expectations of what comics are.

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    1. All great suggestions, and you are right, what you give someone depends on who that person is, but this helps build that "stockpile" of books you can pull from and tailor to the person you are giving them to. Great way to approach it too!

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  7. Personally I'd go with:
    Sandman (Obvious choice)

    Books of Magic (the original mini and on-going. Great series about growing up and dealing with massive responsibility)

    James Robinson's Starman (I've actually pulled quotes from it and people thought it was an novel. It's so good and great for people who want to get into superhero stuff without being too continuity based)

    Mouse Guard (I've yet to meet a single person that didn't like Mouse Guard. It's amazing and beautiful)

    Battlepug (This concept is just so hilarious and fun, everyone seems to love it especially if they have a pug)

    Unwritten (best story for the literary crowd. It actually USES literature as it's playground and it's so brilliantly written)

    iZombie (fun take on Zombies, Mummies, and were-terriers)

    Scott Pilgrim (The best series for the geek in all of us. it is filled with video game references that any child of the 80's and 90's will easily get. Plus it has a nice diverse cast)

    Time Bomb by Jimmy Palmitti and Justin Gray (This has the feel of Inglorious Basterds, only slightly more insane and fun. Time traveling and Nazis. Win!)


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    1. WOW those are great suggestions. Very true about all of those. All great add's to the "starter box"

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  8. Top 10
    Y: The Last Man
    Fables
    Locke & Key
    I Kill Giants
    Sweet Tooth
    Superman: Red Son
    Luther Strode
    Echoes
    New 52 Wonder Woman
    Chew

    Please check or gift these.

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    1. All great suggestions. Echoes Is the only one Im not familiar with, ill have to check that out now. Chew is a perfect general audience suggestion too. Red Son is great, especially for someone who left comics because they got burnt out on super hero stuff. Thanks!

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  9. My girlfriend hated comics for many years and I eventually decided it was time to change that! Books that she liked as a newbie:

    - Rachel Rising - the first trade is out and it's ongoing now... "Why do I have to wait a month?!"
    - Y: The Last Man
    - Ghost World (Clowes)
    - Underwater Welder

    Books that I wouldn't start her out with but have given to male friend newbies:

    - Preacher
    - Hate! (Buddy Does Jersey)
    - Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits

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    1. Oh yeah all good suggestions. Ghost world is especially a grabber for people, read it a while ago so fell off my radar for this. Great list!

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  10. Hi

    Came across this while googling comic book collections

    I find trades are easy to suggest in the terms they are a finished work and also there are so many classics available - any thoughts on what monthly comics you would suggest as I find most current lines to be quite boring and samey or am I being really harsh :(

    Any way love the robots :)

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