New to Comics: One Year Later (Part II)

So what started me down the path of comics again, after that last dismal experience (related below)? Well, two words, actually: T. V.

I started watching X-Men: Evolution mostly because of the movies, and at first I thought it pretty much sucked. But eventually, especially around the end of the second season, it started to hit its stride, and pretty soon I became a fanatic: 'shipping for certain couples, talking about it with whomever I could corner, getting up on Saturday mornings just to watch new episodes. But once the show ended I realized I still needed my X-Men fix, and I realized that the easiest place to get this was comics. I was no longer as daunted as I had been about comics because I kinda knew what I wanted. And the internet was clutch in helping me find good stuff (see this excellent Return to Comics post). To make a hugely long story short, I'm now a comic book reader, hardcore, and to some extent, my purchasing choices are still influenced by television shows.


Like Justice League/Justice League Unlimited! Thanks to this fantastic show I'm reading books of varying quality, but I'm having a lot of fun getting into the DCU. For the first time since starting down the comics road, I finally get the appeal of the DC "universe" (sure I had read some Marvel books and some DC books, but I was never really into the larger continuity -- until now).


Because I've been in a whirlwind love affair for the past 12 months (with comics of course!), I've been thinking about how to get others to share in the love, and to a small extent I've succeeded. I've introduced a younger family member to the four colors and he's succumbing, though slowly. Others have been a little more resistant (you know who you are manga-lover). But I'm not sure comics can ever be "mainstream" because it takes too much work to really get into them. Even with the impetus of good comics-based cartoons on t.v. stirring me on, it took a lot of research and experimentation to finally find what I like. Of course, maybe that's the way it is with all hobbies, and I'm just noticing it now 'cause I'm new to this sort of thing. But I understand and share the desire of so many, to get more people into comics, because I love this new world I've entered and I want to share it with as many people as I can.