A guide to Marvel's significant events

We've posted a guide to DC's continuity changing events so I think a guide to Marvel's big events is well overdue.

Marvel's big events aren't about cleaning up storylines or changing continuity, but more about the spectacle, the event itself.  They have a major impact in the Marvel Universe, but they don't necessarily change history (unless the event is specifically about time travel, or changes in reality).

We won't list every single event Marvel has done, but we'll go through the ones that have had the most impact on the current universe.  We'll also include things that aren't necessarily events but are quite important in Marvel's history.  We'll put a logo next to each book denoting the main character or team that the event or storyline deals with.

The titles of each event will link through to the book's Amazon listing (where possible).  You could also buy them digitally from Marvel Unlimited, where you can buy individual issues or a year's subscription and get access to their entire digital archive.  Or you can buy the books from a comic shop - we have a list of recommended shops here.

If you are confused by any of the jargon in this post please have a look at our glossary.

Free Comic Book Day and cheap Iron Man comics

We have two exciting things to share with you today.

The first is Free Comic Book Day, a day when you get free comics!  Happening tomorrow, Saturday May 4th!! Sounds great doesn't it?  And there is no catch!  The first Saturday of May is Free Comic Book Day.  Go to any participating comic shop and get your pick of free comics, from a wide range of genres and publishers.  There are loads and loads available, but not all shops stock everything.

From this year's selection I recommend Top Shelf Kids Club,  Princeless/Molly Danger and Mouse Guard.  The rest I either don't know or do not care for.  Having said that I tend to pick up whatever is going just to try it out.

Now, the thing to remember about Free Comic Book Day is that the shops do not get the comics for free.  They have to pay for them, then they pass them on to the customer for free.  So please consider buying other comics while you are there, or, if you get a free book that you like, going back to pick up other issues.

The second thing to share with you is Comixology's 3 day Iron Man sale, in honour of the latest film.  Each comic is 99 cents (American currency) which is about 60 pence in English money.  The sale ends on Sunday.
As I am not too familiar with Iron Man myself I asked twitter friends to provide some recommendations, so thank you @problem_chimp, @lizbatty, and @ZomDa.  They came up with two suggestions:

Iron Man 1 - 6 by Warren Ellis (writer) and Adi Granov (pencils).  Here's a link to the first issue.  Issues 1 to 6 form an arc called Extremis, which ZomDa says is ideal for new readers - it's a standalone story, updates Tony Stark's origin (this happens regularly with characters which have been around for a few decades) and the plot has been adapted into the Iron Man 3 film.  That sounds pretty ideal to me.

Invincible Iron Man issues 1 - 6 by Matt Fraction (writer) and Salvador Larocca (pencils).  Here's a link to the first issue.
Both lizbatty and ZomDa agree this series is good, but Liz commented that it quickly descends into crossover hell, which could either put off new readers or excite you. It depends on how keen you are on continuity, guest stars and series being forced into big events within the shared universe.  Issues 1 to 6 are a self contained arc, The Five Nightmares, so a good place to start.

Also in the sale are Iron Man/Thor 1-4, Marvel's The Avengers The Black Widow Strikes, a three issue movie tie in that is set between Iron Man 2 and another comic, Marvel's The Avengers: The Avengers Initiative #1, which is a prequel to the Avengers film.  Most comics aren't set in movie continuity, so expect what you read in here to be movie correct not regular Marvel comic correct.

So there you go. I know that Matt Fraction is a very good writer and we've reviewed other Warren Ellis titles before, so I reckon that those recommendations are good ones.  I find movie tie-ins good fun too. 

Enjoy your comics!

British Comic Awards

The British Comic Awards are a new institution, launched at this year's Thought Bubble comic convention in Leeds.  I had the pleasure of attending Thought Bubble on the Saturday and bought a big stack of comics, many of which will be reviewed here.

Unfortunately I missed the awards themselves, but the nominees and winners are on the website and I encourage you all to go have a look.

I have read one of the winning books, Hilda and the Midnight Giant, and it's a great, whimsical book.  It would make a great Christmas present for kids.

I'll be back in a week or so when I've got some proper reviews written up.

Free Comic Book Day!

Saturday May 5th is Free Comic Book Day!  It's an opportunity to discover lots of new comics, including a lot of kids comics, for free!

Shops all over the USA take part, as do ones in the UK and other countries.  For more information on the initiative see the website.

To find a participating shop near you, either see the above website, ring your local shop, or if you don't know any shops near you, take a look at this list we put together, and give one close by you a ring

Free Comic Book Day is one of my favourite days of the year.  Celebrate with us!   :)

Free Comic Book Day 2011 is nearly here!

Don't forget that tomorrow, 7th May is Free Comic Book Day! (FCBD for short)

As we wrote about here this is quite simply an opportunity to get free comics.  What could be better than that?  All you need to go is go along to your nearest participating store and pick up the comics that are part of FCBD.

The official website for Free Comic Book Day can be found here and a list of the comics available can be found here.  We gave some guidance to the books in our previous post on FBCD here.  There's books for all different tastes - younger readers, mature readers, fans of superheroes or horror comics, independent titles , sci-fi and even educational!

So what are you waiting for?  Look up your local shop and get down there!

Free Comic Book Day 2011

Every year, on the first Saturday of May, (May 7th this year, and in just a few week's time!) there is an event called Free Comic Book Day (FCBD).  This is exactly what it sounds like - an opportunity to get comics for free!

All you need to do is go into a comic shop, or other participating venue, (for example my local library takes part), and they will give a selection of free comics.  These free comics are ones specially produced for FCBD - in other words, you can't pick just anything from the shop and expect not to pay for it.

At the time of writing, comics being given out this year are as follows:

Win a Batgirl comic!

So, there's a blog called Girls Read Comics and they are currently hosting a contest to win the Batgirl Rising trade.  I can highly recommend this book, it is on the list for review on this site and it's a great fun read. If you like the style and delivery of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show you would probably like this.  Oh, and it's written by Bryan Q Miller who writes for Smallville.  That may or may not encourage you.  I can tell you that people who hate Smallville do like the Batgirl book.  You can read more about the book on Amazon here.

If you want to enter you just need to leave a comment on their post, with the words 'New reader', however I would encourage you to go to the post and read the full rules!

Winners will be chosen this Friday at 7pm EST.

So, if you are interested in getting a free comic, head on over to the Girls Read Comics post and leave them a comment!

NOTE: The competition is not on this site, leaving a comment here won't win you anything (except my appreciation)

Women Read Comics in Public day!

A few weeks ago we blogged about International Read Comics in Public Day.  We promised to follow up on the women reading in public section of the event and are belatedly doing so.

Photos of women from all over the world can be seen here.  You couldn't hope to meet a lovelier looking bunch!  Hopefully this little exercise will help dispel some of the myths about the average comic reader, and maybe it will cause a few people to be a little braver and to come out about their reading habits.

International Read Comics in Public Day - August 28th

So, some bright folks have designated August 28th as International Read Comics in Public Day.  This can only be a good thing and will hopefully help dispel the myth of comic readers being something like comic book guy from The Simpsons.  Hopefully all of you reading this site already know this myth is a myth, but I think there's a lot of people who don't.

So in conjunction with this, a lovely lady with a tumblr entitled DC Women Kicking Ass is asking women to read comics in public on Saturday August 28th, take a photo of themselves, and then email it to her so she can create a tumblr showing who the female comic readership is.

So, my challenge to you is, if you're female and have picked up a book recommended on this blog, or picked up a comic found elsewhere, and if you have enjoyed it, take it out in public on Saturday.  Read it and send in a photo of yourself.  It doesn't matter if it's a superhero book, a kids book, a romance, manga or something completely different.

The perception of women in comics won't change until we make ourselves heard!  We'll update you on the success of the project next week.

Graphic Medicine: Medical Narrative in Graphic Novels

On 17th June 2010 the School of Advanced Study, in the Institute of English Studies, in the University of London (how's that for a mouthful?) will hold a one day inter-disciplinary conference aiming to explore the medical narrative in graphic novels and comics.

The website states that:

'many medical schools now encourage the reading of literature and the study of art to gain insights into the human condition.  The melding of text and visuals in graphic fiction and non fiction has lots to offer medical professionals, students and, indeed, patients.  Among the growing number of graphic novels, a sub genre exploring the patients and the carers experiences of illnesses and disability has emerged.'

Paul Gravett, Brian Fies and Marc Zaffron will be keynote speakers, delegate booking fees are £35 per person, or £25for speakers and concessions.  More information on the website.


Apologies for the delay in posts.  Real life has caught up with us but we hope to post some more reviews soon.

Rude Britannia: British Comic Art at the Tate

The Tate Britain in London has an exhibition running from 9th June to 5th September 2010, about British Comic Art.  From the website:
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This groundbreaking exhibition uses visual art to explore the role of humour in British culture over the centuries. Tackling key themes such as morality, politics and the absurd, the show will feature works by classic caricaturists from William Hogarth, James Gillray and George Cruikshank, to David Low, Gerald Scarfe and Steve Bell.
It will also feature cartoons, comic books and works by contemporary artists such as Simone Lia, Paul Noble and Angus Fairhurst. A host of present-day cartoonists and comic writers will collaborate with Tate curators in the presentation of these diverse works, ensuring a fresh and emphatically contemporary overview of Britain's comic traditions from the 1500s to the present day.
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Tickets are £10 (£8.50 for concessions), or free for members.

Information on how to visit the Tate can be found here (including BSL translations).

The Escapist Webcomic Competition

The Escapist is a website hosting a weekly online-exclusive video gaming magazine, vlog game reviews and forum community. Usually this would not be a website that merit mention on New Readers… Start Here but they have recently announced a webcomic competition. This may be of interest to visitors for several reasons:

1) The competition’s prize is a paid publishing contract to contribute a gaming webcomic to The Escapist on a regular basis. Budding comic artists and writers may be interested in an open competition, especially if gaming is one of their hobbies.

20th Century Comic Books at the Victoria and Albert museum

On 3rd February, 2010, Ian Rakoff will be giving a talk entitled 20th Century Comic Books at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK.

Ian Rakoff has been involved with the V and A since the late 1980s.  Karen Rubins is their current artist in residence, you can read more about her role at the museum here, and view her website here.

Information about the comics held can be found here.

Information about events at the V and A can be found here (some of which are BSL interpreted).  Unfortunately no information specifically about the Rakoff talk could be found online at the time of writing.  The What's On guide for January to March 2010 listed the talk under Lunchtime Lectures, all of which are free of charge.