For me it was because I found some of my Dad’s old comic books in our basement shortly after he passed away (I didn’t even know that he collected comics). So one day I decided to pick one up and read it. From then on I was hooked. Maybe it was a type of escapism from my grief and maybe it was just because I like the artwork and the stories (it was probably a good mix of both).
How about you? What/who got you into the wonderful world of comic bookery?
I have mentioned this before, but I was homeless in San Francisco during Infinite Crisis. I was able to volunteer and attend Wonder-con that year for free. I heard all about these wonderful comic books that were being published at the time. I knew comics from growing up because my dad had numerous but I was limited in getting to read them. There was just something magical about that particular moment in comics for me. I attended a panel and Dan Didio said “You want multiverse, you’ve got multiverse.” He then showed this massive spread of worlds from Infinite Crisis. I devoured all of Infinite Crisis during what can only be described as the darkest days of my life. It gave me hope and a light that I needed. Seeing these characters fight through the darkness that was thrown at them. Never giving up on helping others. It had a huge impact on me and even my reasoning for going into social work. Ever since I have loved the medium and what it can do.
Toys and the Adam West and Tim Burton iterations of Batman were my gateways.
@PrincessAmethyst That’s an amazing story! I’m glad you were eventually able to pick yourself back up, and the fact that comics had something to do with it is even more special!
I always liked superhero cartoons and I read a lot of classic scifi as a kid, so I was definitely receptive. I got special permission to attend a different high school then I was assigned so I could participate in the music program there, but that meant that I had to ride the city bus to get home. A buddy of mine also rode the city bus and we’d walk to the bus station together, but every Wednesday, he’d go pick up his comics at the LCS. I got curious, so I went and checked it out. This was sometime in 1998 or 1999. I remember mostly getting back issues for a while and the first arc I read as it was coming out was Superman Y2K.
I got more than a little obsessive, so I took a break from the medium from 2006 to 2016. I’m glad Rebirth had brought back a lot of what I loved about the old, post-Crisis universe that was cast off with the New 52.
Oh boy, I remember specifically what happened:
My elementary school was having a Scholastic Book fair. So if you had the money, you could visit the fair in between classes and buy books, pencils, and other school materials. My parents gave me about $20 and told me not to spend it on anything but books or I’d be in big trouble. Instead, what I found was graphic novels of the “Bone” comic book series by Jeff Smith. I spent all my money on the first two volumes and instantly fell in love with that series. Then I was grounded for buying graphic novels instead of books…
I started going out of my way to hunt down the other Bone volumes at book stores after that. And while I was there, I discovered graphic novels of DC superheroes. I was already big into Superman: TAS and Batman: TAS at the time, so of course I didn’t even hesitate to spend all my allowance on those characters 
Wisest investment I ever made if you ask me.
Universal Studios. The gift shop after the Spider Man ride had comics. I remember getting a few of them. It was an issue of Daredevil that I remember hooking me.
When I was a kid, stores like grocery stores, drug stores and even 7-eleven had spinner racks. These were tall racks (tall to a little kid) that were filled with comic books. While my mom was shopping she would let me go the comic books and look through them until she was done shopping. Usually 5 or 6 kids were at this rack waiting for their mom. If we had the money or if I brought my allowance I would be able to buy a comic. I started out buying stuff like Disney or Looney Tunes but as I got older I was allowed to start picking out Super Hero comics. Once I had a car and was able to drive myself around I discovered this magical place called a comic book store. Whenever I would see someone in the store around my age I would wonder if maybe they were one of the kids hanging out at the spinner rack at the grocery store waiting for their mom to finish shopping.
My father and grandpa used to read the Sunday comic strips to me before I learned to read. They did even voices for the characters. That was really how I was introduced to the concept of comics.
My first experience with an actual comic book came some years later one rainy weekend at my grandparent’s. Not being able to play outside with some of the neighborhood kids due to the weather and for want of anything else to do, I decided to mess around in my grandparent’s attic. Their attic was a treasure trove of things tucked away in trunks and boxes. It was in one such box, tucked away in corner under a couple of quilts and an old photo album, that I found a collection of old comics. It turned out that an uncle of mine, who has been raised by my grandparents when his folks died, had been quite a collector of them from an early age. Despite the fact I had never met him because he’d died young years before I was born I felt (and still to this day feel) a connection to him through those specific issues.
@PrincessAmethyst: That’s a great and inspiring story.
It all started with my little brothers poster. He bought a LEGO Dc vs Marvel poster and put it in his room. I got interested in those little LEGO characters and decided to watch some superhero shows to see them in action. Mainly Batman and Superman shows. What I didn’t know was that the shows were based off of comics. When I find out about that later, I started to ask my parents for comic books because I was SO SO SO hooked on them.
I know my story isn’t as interesting as some other people’s, but it’s something.
This is always a weird question for me to answer, because I don’t actually remember a time before I was into the characters, particularly Batman. I think my initial exposure might’ve been the Scooby-Doo episodes that crossed over with Batman, but it could also have been the Adam West show or the animated Justice League series. I saw them all when I was so young that the exact order and timing is a little murky for me.
For reading comic books themselves, though, that’s a lot easier to answer. I’ve always been interested in the comic continuity, and I’ve read a lot about it and watched reviews and such, but for a very long time I wasn’t sure what books I would want to buy because getting everything I was interested in would’ve been too expensive. I’d read a few scattered Batman books (I think my first was a collection of classic Batman stories from the '50s), but that was about it.
Then I subscribed here back in October sometime and I’ve been reading pretty much nonstop since then.
I can also say more easily how I got into Marvel. Growing up as a DC fan, I thought of Marvel strictly as the enemy, until my mom finally talked me into watching the first Captain America movie. That hooked me, though I still haven’t read any actual Marvel comics (same indecision-paralysis as with DC, except I’m not as interested in Marvel Unlimited).
It is interesting, @Crystal1053! Those of us who grew up with comics being sold everywhere can’t imagine how new fans will discover comics, now that they’re not. I’m glad to know LEGO is bringing new readers in.
@biff_pow Digital. With how most people have internet access in some form through some device, digital has made comics available on a scale that hasn’t been seen in decades.
If I was a kid today and wanted to get into comics, digital would absolutely be my go to. I could browse through books whenever I want, read the books I have whenever I want, easily take them with me to the grandparents’ place, summer camp, etc.
Then there’s DC Universe. What kid with an avid interest in DC would turn this down? It’s heaven, and at eight bucks a month easy on their allowance too.
I’m sad for print and miss the smell of old floppies, but digital’s been a huge blessing to me. I have OCD, so anything I don’t have to physically touch is great!
I think I got into them same as @timmy2strikes, waiting for mom at the store. Back then I think DC was pretty dominant, but there were also NOW Comics, Continuity, Malibu, and my local grocery even stocked some black and white independent comics. It was an amazing time!
Now Comics…they published Ghostbusters, right? I think they did.
I remember buying part of their Ghostbusters 2 comic adaptation at Hastings when I was a kid. Odd thing was, it featured the likenesses of the guys from The Real Ghostbusters in place of the actor’s likenesses.
If someone could bottle the smell of old print comics into a cologne-style spray bottle I’d buy that (and for more than a dollar).
Eustice: “Oh my! Your home smells divine Edwina!”
Edwina: “Right you are Eustice and thank you for noticing. It’s a scent called Back Issue.”
I believe there were a lot of variables that came into play that spiked my interest. For me, I think it really stemmed from just Googling DC characters during my Freshman year in high school. My college friends talked about Batman and Superman (except our one friend who is an Aquaman fan. We didn’t hangout much at first). I wanted to know what the hell they were arguing about because we all talked mad trash about other things lol. So, I eventually looked into Hal and I knew from there that my going to be my favorite character! With that being said, Injustice: Gods Among Us essentially became a gateway for my group to talk more about comics even though I didn’t actually start collecting them until 2017. Now I own the Omnibus’s for Green Lantern, I have a Power Battery and Ring, Collectible Hal Jordan figures still in the boxes, wall art etc!