My pull list for this week:

• Batgirl #2
• Batwoman #2
• Demon Knights #2
• Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #2
• Green Lantern #2
• Grifter #2
• The Punisher #4
• Resurrection Man #2
• The Shade #1
• Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #3
• Ultimate Comics X-Men #2
• X-Men: Regenesis #1

In other comic-related news, I’m really, really looking forward to playing Batman: Arkham City in a couple weeks. Amazon, unlike Midtown Comics, can keep a shipping schedule, so I’ll be playing the game on October 18. Heck, who knows? At this rate I’ll probably get the game before my September books.

My pull list for this week:

• Action Comics #2
• Animal Man #2
• Detective Comics #2
• Moon Knight #6
• Severed #3
• Stormwatch #2
• Swamp Thing #2
• The Strange Tale of Luther Strode #1

In the meantime, here’s my pull list for this week:

• All-Star Western #1
• Aquaman #1
• The Flash #1
• Justice League Dark #1
• Superman #1
• Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2
• Ultimate Comics Ultimates #2

• Batman #1
• Catwoman #1
• Daredevil #4
• DC Universe Presents #1
• Nightwing #1
• Supergirl #1
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2
• Ultimate Comics Hawkeye #2
• Ultimate Comics X-Men #1
• Wonder Woman #1

• Batwoman #1
• Daredevil #3
• Demon Knights #1
• Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E #1
• Green Lantern #1
• Grifter #1
• Resurrection Man #1
• Severed #2
• Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1

I’ve been catching up with the first two issues of Greg Rucka’s The Punisher, and I’m really enjoying it. I like to have a more ‘real-world’ book on my reading list, and Frank Castle occupies the slot perfectly. Rucka and artist Marco Checchetto do a fantastic job of setting the mood. Checchetto’s palette of dark blues, reds, and other rich colors and Rucka’s sparse dialog create a brooding atmosphere ideally suited for the tone of the book. In the first two books, Castle doesn’t have a single line of dialog, which speaks volumes about the way Rucka establishes the setting and Checcetto draws the action.

• Action Comics #1
• Animal Man #1
• Batgirl #1
• Detective Comics #1
• Moon Knight #5
• Stormwatch #1
• Swamp Thing #1
• The Punisher #3

[Disclaimer: I'm sure I'm mangling the in-crown jargon, and I'm positive I'm wrong about terminology and continuity. This is another barrier of entry to the comics world, and it's honestly a bit intimidating. Bear with me. I'm learning.]

So, why get into comics now? As I mentioned before, the New 52 event, fortuitously coinciding with an interest to “get into” comics, provided the perfect scenario for jumping in. Since I study and teach media for a living, I’m interested in art, narrative, style, aesthetics, and storytelling structures, so I’ve always wanted to acquaint myself with comics. It’s another visual format to learn and study, which is a ton of fun. I also feel very strange about not having a specific set of critical faculties with which to judge comics. Sure, I can use my knowledge of film (good), TV (fairly good), art (I can hang), video games (I’m getting there), and literature (honestly, not that great) and apply those evaluative and critical standards to comics. However, I don’t yet understand the poetics of comics, and I’m excited to figure out what makes them tick.

I also happen to be surrounded by people who are knowledgable and speak beautifully about comics, so I absorb comics through osmosis. Two of my professors write about comics, and one of those professors is partners with an artist within the industry. [Dr. Greg Smith, who teaches at Georgia State University, recently wrote a post for In Media Res that deals with some of the same issues I'm discussing here (check out the whole week of posts; there's great stuff there)]. My wife is college buddies with @Jimski, who writes for iFanboy (a comics website), and he’s been able to give me some guidance.

Finally, something about comics really satisfies my urge to collect and organize. Seriously. I spent a ton of time researching which boxes to use and what kind of organizing software would work best. For the record, BWC Supplies and TC Bulk are good online sources for collecting supplies, but unless you’re buying a ton of stuff, you’re better off buying from your local comics shop. The shipping costs will kill you if you order online. Plus, some comics shops and a lot of online comics stores include a bag and board (either free or for a small surcharge) for each comic, so you won’t really need to buy that stuff separately. The best collecting software (I’m a Mac user) I’ve found is Collectorz. The software will automatically pull the comics info and cover image, so you won’t have to enter anything manually. Being the organizational freak I am, I also keep an Excel sheet of my upcoming comics purchases, and iFanboy allows you to keep a record of your weekly purchases. Of course, I know that these comics I’m buying will never be worth anything, but that’s not the point. Like any collecter, I take pleasure in accumulating and organizing my stuff.

The internet has also been crucial in my crash course in comics. In 2001, I was groping blindly in the darkness, but in 2011, I’ve been able get a good sense of things purely by reading comics news websites, lurking on comics message boards, and following creators on Twitter. The most useful websites I’ve found are: iFanboy, Newsarama, and Comic Book Resources. These sites also have forums and comments sections, and I suggest you also read those. They provide a good sense of the comics insider scene and can introduce you to all types of fan debates and discussions. For questions about character history, story backgrounds, and continuity, Wikipedia is useful, as is Comic Vine. Twitter has also been a fantastic resource, and following creators has given me insight into issues ranging from artistic preferences, to debates within the industry, to mundane things like the pressures of deadlines. There are so many creators on Twitter that I can’t list them all, but my advice would be to learn who writes and draws your favorite books (or books that look interesting to you) and find them on Twitter.

“But,” you will protest, “how will I, a new comics reader, know which creators to follow and which comics to buy?” “Good question,” I will say. As a newbie, my general advice is to choose books based on creator, not title or publisher. This is where all those comics websites and message boards will come in handy. After browsing a few sites and forums, it will become clear who are the “good” creators. Of course, this is all subjective, but it’s a start. The comics sites also frequently post previews for the books, so you can get a taste of the style and writing. You can also look at a creator’s past work and see if it interests you. Comics sites also review books, which is another good resource. My biggest piece of advice would be to avoid sticking to one publisher (the two biggies are DC and Marvel). Buy books based on if they are interesting, not based on who publishes them. I don’t think any of us chooses to see only Paramount or Warner Brothers movies, so why would you limit yourself to one comics publisher? Like I said, follow creators and don’t pigeonhole yourself into one small box. Sure, many creators have exclusive contracts with a particular publisher, but this isn’t always the case.

Now that you’ve identified books and creators you might be interested in, the next task is to actually purchase the comics. This, for me, was the most confusing part of the comics industry. Of course, you can always pop into your local comics shop (if you have one nearby), but it’s not always clear when certain books will be released, if they’re delayed, or if they are in stock at your shop. Wednesdays are the days when new comics are released, so going then would be your best bet to see what’s new and available.

If you’re like me and prefer to shop online, rather than browsing shelves, there are plenty of online options for obtaining comics. (Yes, yes, I know. I should support my local comics shop since they’re dying off. But I prefer shopping online, and it’s easier to find deals.)  I’m currently buying my comics from Midtown Comics in NY (they offer a free bag and board for every comic), and I occasionally buy from tfaw.com. I’ve been happy with the service of both. There are three basic options for online comics shopping, and online retailers will generally have some variation of these three options.

1) In-Stock orders. This is like buying from a brick and mortar store. You order what’s available, and the store ships it to you. Simple.

2) Subscriptions. For this option, you choose the books you want each month, and the store ships them to you when they are available. Most stores give you a 10%-15% discount on the books when you choose this option, and most of them allow you to cancel at any time. Stores usually also give various shipping options: weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly. If you can wait until the end of the month to get your comics fix, you’ll save a lot on shipping, since the books will all come in one, rather than two or four, shipments.

3) Previews. This is the weirdest thing about the comics industry. Each month, Diamond Comic Distributors releases their Previews catalog, which contains a list of the comics coming out two months later (e.g. the September Previews catalog is for comics released in November). This system is strange because a) it forces shops to order books two months in advance, with no idea of whether or not they’ll sell; and b) Diamond is pretty much the only distribution game in town. For a media industry, this is virtually unheard of. Distribution is where the money is, so for one company to have a virtual monopoly on distribution seems like it would be terrible for the industry (I don’t know enough to say conclusively whether or not it’s terrible). Film and TV producers have multiple outlets for their products, which allows producers to shop around for the best deal. As in all the media industries, digital distribution is changing the game, so it’ll be interesting to follow how DC’s move to publishing its comics digitally on the same day as they are released in print will affect the industry.

Back to previews. Many online retailers specialize in previews ordering, and they give you significant discounts for ordering your comics in advance – usually from 35%-50%. Midtown Comics has a slick system for previews ordering, and MailOrderComics also offers a good pre-order system. Like with subscriptions, you can choose shipping frequency. However, you generally can’t cancel a previews order, so once you pre-order, you’re locked in. This means you’re on the hook for a comic book you might not necessarily want two months down the road. The significant discounts are pretty darn attractive though.

Comics are increasingly available digitally, and reader apps are available for phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. Personally, I like the feel of paper in my hands, but digital distribution is an easy way to obtain comics, if that’s your thing. comiXology has a ton of content available as does Graphicly. With their New 52, DC is making all of their content available digitally the same day it’s released in print…and for the same price as print, which makes absolutely no sense to me. I presume it’s to protect the comic shops. Signs indicate that Marvel is moving towards a day and date digital release structure as well.

Oh yes, prices. DC comics are generally $2.99 and Marvel comics are generally $3.99. Other publishers tend to stay in the $2.99-$3.99 range as well.

I should pause here to discuss some of the ‘comics lingo’ that is used on websites and forums. Some of these terms are self-explanatory, but others take a little explaining.

Bag and Board: This helps keep your comics looking shiny and new. It’s a plastic bag with a piece of cardboard in it.

Continuity: This refers to the history of a particular comics ‘universe,’ including character history and events. Comics continuity is really complex (an analogy would be a soap opera that’s been on the air for 40+ years), and fans get really touchy about the subject. I’m not touching it with a ten-foot pole.

Floppy: The standard, single-issue weekly comic book.

LCS: Local comics shop.

Longbox/Shortbox: Storage boxes for comics. They are perfectly sized so that your comics can be stored upright. A longbox holds around 200 comic books, and a shortbox holds around 150.

Pull List: A list of the comics you want to purchase in a given week.

Retcon: Short for “retroactive continuity.” This is where continuity is altered to fit a new event. It’s basically changing a comic universe’s history.

TPB: Trade paperback. These are collections (usually of around six issues) of floppies, reprinted and bound in a single book. Many people prefer TPBs because they are cheaper than buying separate issues, they allow you to read an entire story arc all at once, and by the time the TPB comes out, it’s easy to discover whether or not the book is any good.

To finish this long-winded and indulgent ‘newb guide,’ I’d like to discuss DC’s New 52 a bit. With the New 52, DC is basically relaunching their entire comics line with #1 issues. For new readers like me, this is really exciting, because I get the chance to hop on board the comics whirlwind and write silly little guides that no one will read. However, this relaunch has also pissed off a lot of regular readers who are afraid that the DC universe they know and love is being trashed in an attempt to garner new readers. This reaction is nothing new, and it happens in any fan community that fears that its cultural object is ‘selling out’ or ‘going mainstream.’ Think of ‘hardcore’ gamers’ reaction to ‘casual’ gaming systems like Nintendo’s Wii and DS (or Playstation’s attempts to follow this trend with Move and XBox’s attempt with Kinect). I’ll save a full discussion for another time, but in short, I think reactions like these are silly displays of gate-keeping. I appreciate the connection people have with their cultural products, but getting worked up about a (sagging) media industry’s attempts to attract new readers will end up killing the thing you love. Speaking as a new reader, I’m totally pumped to have a perfect opportunity to get into comics. And to any regular comics readers who might see this post: I promise I won’t ruin comics for you through the sheer act of my reading them.

Noel Kirkpatrick, who is also a lapsed/new comics reader, and I are going to try to start a monthly comics reading group. We’re going to post our reactions, thoughts, and critiques about jumping (back) into comics, and our goal is post something at least once a month (or perhaps more, if we’re particularly excited). Noel recently wrote about his reaction to Justice League #1 on his blog, and I hope to post a response just as soon as I read it. I’ve got a dissertation to write, so my timing might be a little off, but I’ll do my best to keep up. I also plan to post my weekly pull lists as well as short reactions to the books I’m reading. Stay tuned.

*Images from newsarama.com*

So, if you have a sec, check it out and let me know what you think!