r/comicbooks

I recently got into comics this year and have been really enjoying it. Looking at my monthly pulls I’m spending about $200-250 CAD a month. Is this a lot? How much are y’all spending a month? Sorry if this is frequently asked.

Edit: def feeling a lil excessive with my spending, I’ll probably look to cut down a few books but it’s really hard with FOMO aghhh. Also, thanks a lot for the responses!!

I was having this discussion at my LCBS today, and here’s some things I think can help increase the wider market —

Mainly, reduce the cost of comics by bringing back the cheaper paper, 3rd party advertising, and newsstand sales. This, as a second order affect, will increase the cost of comics later down the line, as if less of them last because reading them has a higher chance of damaging them, and thereby people are more encouraged to roll them up and put them in their back pocket.

Treat every comic like it’s someone’s first. I just read FF 381 and I, within the first few pages, knew exactly what was going on, who the relationships were with, and the wider story, without having read a book 100 issues either side of this one in a decade. Hard to get what’s going on in Iron Man #5 from this year if you didn’t read the first 4, even more so with some other titles.

Start targeting kids again. Comics were clearly targeted at kids and teens until the 2000s. Every ad was for kids toys, movies/tv shows, and story’s were less serious. The Batman Adventures comes to mind as a great kids comic with the TV show tie in. Put kid focused stories in front of kids at grocery stores so the read base grows decades from now.

I’m sure there’s a million reasons why all these can’t be done, but what do you think? Looking for other ideas for & against!

I (20F) have always liked Marvel media and am interested in starting to read comics, but an experience I had recently has left a sour taste in my mouth.

I went to a local comic and collectible store. I didn’t have a specific run or anything like that in mind so I really was just flipping through what they had to see if anything caught my eye. While I was browsing a guy approached me. I don’t know anyone who reads comics personally and don’t have many friends who are interested in superhero media in general, so I’m always up for a friendly discussion with someone with similar interests.

The first thing he said to me was “who’s your favorite hero?” I told him that my favorite is Captain America and asked him his, but instead of answering me he just said “I bet you don’t even know his real name.” I laughed awkwardly, told him that of course I know it’s Steve Rogers (Like seriously??? Why was he asking me this???), and tried to pivot back to asking him which heros/series he was interested in. He continued to ignore my questions, and just kept talking about things that he “bet I didn’t know.”

It became clear that this was not going to be a friendly conversation. It seemed like he just wanted to belittle me or make me feel like a poser. I felt so angry in that moment but also a little sad and embarrassed, I had never experienced anything like this before. After he finished what was basically a monologue about the world’s most basic Marvel lore, I left the store with my tail between my legs.

I want to be able to shop for comics in person and meet people who share my interests, but I have yet to go into a comic shop again because remembering that moment makes me feel like I’m not welcome in a space like that (whether it’s because I’m a girl, new to comics, or whatever).

Has anyone else experienced something like this while first trying to join the comic community? Is it common for longtime fans to act this way towards people just starting out? Any advice on meeting comic fans who are not like that guy?

Simply put it I want to get back into reading comics and I want to start with old reliable, how should I start reading some of the newer Batman runs. Thank you