So I only read two comics. Spiderman, and Batman.
The problem I’ve run into is with Spiderman, the comic has been running since the 1940s or whatever, as one continuous comic. I’m the type of person who gets obsessive over one thing, instead of casual about 10 things. So my natural instinct is to start reading at issue 1, and then go until current. Let’s see, how many issues are there? Ohhhh…oh that’s a lot of issues…
So obviously I’m not going to read them all, and not even in order. Even though that’s what my brain is telling me I should do. At some point I have to let the logical side of me take the wheel and say NO! You’re not going to go reading hundreds if not thousands of comics, just so you can stay current with monthly releases!
So my other option is Batman.
And Batman releases little arcs I guess you could call them. I’m currently reading a little 5 comic mini-series, which is like the perfect size for me. A nice complete comic I can read once per day, for 10 minutes, and at the end of the week I have a complete story. But the problem is, each complete story doesn’t carry over to the next. Batman assumes you know a few core things about Batman. He’s Bruce Wayne, his parents were murdered when he was a kid. He’s constantly fighting crime to deal with his own mental illness of not being able to cope with the concept of crime. You know…the basics.
But the individual stories don’t carry over. Batman could kill Catwoman in a story. Murders her completely dead. And that will carry over the following issues. Until they reboot the whole damn thing, and then Catwoman is back. Never murdered. That’s no longer canon. It mattered to the story you already read…but that’s done now. We’ve moved on.
So I guess the thing I don’t understand is, why can’t comic books find the balance between “Neverending story that’s literally lasted since before your grandpa was born, but somehow is still going today with the same people”, and “Basic characters and themes stay the same, but individual stories will eventually mean absolutely nothing for having had them happen”? Why can’t we get comics that can be 5-10 issue complete stories, but if a future story wants to mention it’s past, then this character died. And no bringing them back. No making a replacement. I still haven’t gotten in the comics how Miles Morales exists. I heard of him through the video game…no clue how he comes to be though, or why he replaces spiderman.
I guess I’m just having difficulty finding points in comics where I’ll say “I start here”. Because I would like end dates. The open ended date of spiderman is intimidating. Even though Batman offers conclusions to the story, it’s also disheartening to know that eventually what you’re reading won’t matter.
Follow authors, not characters. Most authors will have more cohesive stories during their run and you can basically ignore the rest of the continuity (at least while you’re reading each specific author).
Plus if you find an author you really like for one franchise, you’ll probably like them in other franchises, too. It’s also a great way to discover new characters. Fire example, I really like Jeff Lemire’s independent and Vertigo comics, so I tried his Moon Knight arc and now Moon Knight is one is my favorite characters (at least for certain authors)
Also, try reading some smaller/independent/creator-owned comics. A lot of the time, it will be the same author for the entire series, so they can be more consistent with the continuity and frequently have one cohesive plot for the entire series. Hellboy is a great place to start if you like Batman and/or Lovecraftian themes and monsters.
I obviously love talking about comics, so hit me up with more specific preferences and I’ll give you some more recs
Edit: Also, don’t spend so much time looking for continuity. These are all just fictional characters we use to tell stories. In “Dark Knight Returns,” Frank Miller was telling a different story with a different point than Mike Mignola in “The Doom That Came to Gotham,” which is different than Jeph Loeb in “The Long Halloween.” These are all fantastic Batman stories, and trying to make them all fit the same continuity takes away from the stories themselves.