3/13/09:

Last week I suggested you start reading comic books, and if I did my job right (or if you’ve been to see "Watchmen"), you may have wondered where to begin.

I’m not an expert, so in search of the perfect entry point to the world of comics, I asked some: Nick Thompson, owner of Flagship Comics & Games, Stephen Lazorick, owner of Fables Comics & Collectibles and George Fietkiewicz, owner of Omni Comics & Cards, Inc.

“What would you recommend to a new reader?” I asked them, and I was instantly barraged with questions. What age was this reader? What sort of things was the reader interested in? What was the reader’s level of interest in comic books?

I guessed: “Adult? No experience with comic books? Interested in…gardening?”

But it became clear that my asking about “the typical reader” of comic books was as nonsensical as asking about the typical shoe-wearer. There are thousands of comic books of all kinds, suited to all ages and interests, as our shop owners kindly informed me, and many of them are excellent.

Still, in pursuit of a simple answer, I persisted. “What’s your favorite comic book right now?” I asked.

They each gave a different answer. Fietkiewicz’s current favorite is the Green Lantern series written by Geoff Johns. Thompson likes "Titans" and "Teen Titans." Lazorick reads “Y: The Last Man,” which is not a superhero comic.

Each owner described his favorite comic to me in some detail – all sounded interesting, but each was unique.

If I couldn’t get a single, easy answer, I’d try for a set of guidelines, so I asked the age-old comic book question: “DC or Marvel?” But our shop owners refused to take sides.

Thompson says he used to be "big into ‘Iron Man’ and ‘X-men,’" which are part of the Marvel universe, but recently he’s "shifted into DC because the writing’s a little better." All three shop owners cited good comics from each publishing house. No easy answers there.

That’s probably just as well. Many of us don’t know DC from Marvel, anyway, and in general, our shop owners say individual writers rather than publishing houses have become the focus for comic book fans.

Some fans follow Alan Moore, author of "Watchmen," from project to project, for instance, and Steven King’s "Dark Tower" comic book adaptations have kept selling at Fables. But you have to like superheroes or Steven King novels to be into those comics.

And it can be tough to break into a superhero comic midstream, too – many of the more popular storylines, like Batman or X-men, go back decades. Sometimes a movie is a good starting place, Fietkiewicz said, and cited “V for Vendetta" and "Batman: The Killing Joke" (the inspiration for “Dark Knight”). Thompson mentioned "30 Days of Night," which was made into a movie a few years ago.

There are also jumping-on points within the series: Thompson pointed out that “Invincible Iron Man” started up about six months ago, for new “Iron Man” fans, and Fietkiewicz said “Batman: Battle for the Cowl,” which comes out next month, is a good starting place.

Everyone mentioned "Watchmen," which is a complete story in one book — so you don’t have to buy multiple paperbacks, or wait for the next one to come out, which can be frustrating, Lazorick said.

But not everyone likes men in capes or women in knee-high boots. For the non-superhero crowd, there are other genres — crime, horror, memoir, adventure, etc. — and for all ages.

Unfortunately, there’s no single answer for everyone.

But our three local shop owners are there to help find yours.