Recently I've been really getting into my comics more than usual. Looking over my collection I had a lot of various Marvel titles; Dark Wolverine, Deadpool, Old Man Logan, Amazing Spider-Man and the like, with trade paperbacks like Civil War. Now though, I can't quite get back into Marvel; a lot has changed since 2011.
From my limited following I know that Spider-Man, a character who I'm not usually fond of, is possessed by Doc Ock with a small Peter ghost somewhere in his head, the X-Men seem to be complete bastards lead by Scott Summers - who killed Professor X and was (or maybe still is) the host of the Phoenix, the Avengers are just as bad as the X-Men and are waging a mini war against them and I don't know if the Ultimate universe is still around and as fun as it used to be. To me there just seems to be too much going on all the time, especially with good guy vs. good guy feuds; I'm sure I could have gotten into the Age of Ultron, but I think by the time I knew it existed it was over.
Based on this I've jumped ship to DC current comics, which in the past turned me off when Batman died two or three times and was sent through time to return. It seems that jumping on not too long into the Nu52 was a brilliant idea. My first storyline was Death of the Family, as I do have to admit I've always loved Batman and the Joker equally so seeing a creepy Joker in his first main role in the rebooted universe was the perfect opportunity to start reading again.
I bought every Death of the Family comic; even the tie ins from the various Bat-family both pre and post event, and I have to say I did really like it. Without giving anything away to anyone who may want to read it for themselves, I thought the ending was brilliant and anticlimactic all at the same time; but that's just my opinion. Based on the joy of the comic I kept up with reading a few of the titles, but did drop Batgirl, Teen Titans, Catwoman and Suicide Squad and in the process picking up Batman Incorporated.
I do find Batman comics to be a particular joy to read for a number of reasons; first he is my childhood hero and I will always think he is the definitive comic book hero, but secondly - and most importantly when trying to get into comics after a gap - almost all the characters and plots are in Gotham city. I do not need to familiarize myself with the entire DC Universe, or even the Justice League; all I need to know is who Batman is, who his allies are (hint: almost all of them are black haired males who wear red and black) and who the villain of the month is. This makes easing back into comics so much easier than say picking up an issue of Superior Spider-Man and wondering where things are.
I suppose in one regard I am quite an isolated reader; not only am i sticking to the one company, but I stick to the same character over and over again, but from the Death of the Family event I've been introduced to Arsenal and Starfire, and in one of the more recent issues of Batman I've been introduced to Superman. I know it isn't much, but Arsenal is one of the reasons I chose to keep up with Red Hood and the Outlaws, and seeing that Superman isn't as "ALL AMERICAN" as I had initially presumed has made me interested in the upcoming Batman/Superman comic more than it being another Batman title.
Maybe one day I'll branch further out into the DC Universe and see what some of the other heroes have to offer, or I might go back to the Marvel Universe and try and pick up on a more isolated hero like the Hulk, or Thor and see if I can branch out there, but for now I'm happy with reading Batman and I'm glad to be back into comics.
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