For me, I’m afraid I do judge books by their covers. If I see artwork that looks a bit on the fantasy or horror side, or hearkens back to a more old-fashioned/less digital style, it generally grabs my attention and earns a flip-through.
What about everyone else? Do you look for specific characters, or do you always try to pick up something new and different? Do you ask the shopkeep their favorites of the week and give them a shot? I’m wildly curious!
I look for specific characters. Writers also mean a lot. For me, I have to pull Redhood cause he’s my favorite character
Haha it would be a betrayal if you didn’t! What characters and writers do you like? I agree, if I see a rock star writer or artist I’ll definitely give it a chance. Mostly Grant Morrison, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, David Lapham, Warren Ellis, Gail Simone, and Brian K. Vaughn.
I pull what I think is a good read. I also am a heavy Harley, Joker and Ivy collector. We have began getting into Teen Titans(me and my son) because he loves Dick Grayson. I have recently became a fan of Red Hood so we have started pulling Red Hood issues. Uh it’s all about a story that attracts me and holds my attention
For the most part I go with characters but I also like to be in touch with the major events (Justice League will probably always be a must read for me regardless of whose in it).
There are a couple creators I follow: Morrison, Tynion IV, Abnett. I’m currently buying Harley Quinn mostly because of the Frank Cho covers and JL Odyssey for Stepan Sejick.
I’m reading all the Vertigo stuff on the strength of the brand. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Vertigo book I didn’t like and the new incarnation is living up to that reputation.
For the last two weeks, I have gone to Comixology web site each Wednesday, to pick the issues of that day. The comics are the same ones I selected last month. It takes a terrible run for me not to continue to buy. I stopped reading Wonder Woman and retuned only recently. I probably gave up on Green Arrow for now.
I buy about 20 comics a week, almost all DC.
I read all of Jeff Lemire’s work: Black Hammer and it’s associated comics, Gideon Falls as well as The Terrifics from DC. His Justice League Dark issues, which are in our Library, are excellent.
Marvel is only Fantastic Four, Dr Strange, Champions and Asgardians of the Galaxy. I used to read Lady Thor, Jane Foster. I can’t get through the artwork in the current Thor, though other people like it very much.
For DC, The Terrifics, Hawkman, Silencer, Batgirl, Supergirl, Justice League Dark and the latest Titans issue are great. I am concerned but hopeful for the New Aquaman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Bendis Young Justice books. Bendis Superman books, Raven, Nightwing, Detective Comics, Black Hood, Flash, Justice League Odyssey have favorite characters, but are not doing well for me, in comparison to six months ago. Justice League has great characterizations, but I often don’t understand everything, like Heavy Metal was. Just like the four Vertigo Dreaming books. To each, their own, I guess. I like a good story rather than great art, though some artwork I find annoying.
The Comic Book Roundup web site averages out the reviews of other reviewers to give an average rating for most comics. I bought Mars Attacks, Gideon Falls, Shadowman and Black Hammer because of them. I was not disappointed.
@TurokSonofStone1950, of everything you listed what stood out to me was Mars Attacks. I really like throwback sensibilities (I have a fair amount of EC Comics paraphernalia.) So I guess the artwork IS really important to me, because those stories aren’t exactly deep. I’m interested in seeing what Gideon Falls is all about.
Thanks for listing your resources, that’s good to know. I do really like talking to my shopkeep about what they’d recommend because they’ve come to know my tastes over the years 
I don’t have an unlimited comic buying budget. My strategy is usually to pick up the stories I am most interested in reading first. Right now I am getting Batman and Nightwing as it comes out. Second is I actually really like event books but I tend not to buy every tie-in issue. Right now I’m getting Doomsday Clock and Heroes in Crisis. I also love one shots, and mini series books. I don’t get every mini series but probably like half of them. I always buy the holiday oversized anthology books. I try to buy key issues of books I like and when there is a sale I fill my collection with lower grade comics for non essential issues. I’m also more tolerant of artists than I am of writers, I dumped my Superman books for now because I know I don’t generally like the way Bendis writes. Oh, and I buy a lot of #1-3 to try out new titles.
I got a reply from Applejack. I am thrilled!
I get up at 6am each Friday to watch Titans and then again during the day. I don’t have the resources to watch the Titans and the Watching Titans Thread together, so I just lurk and get the idea of where the show is, based on the community’s responses. It is great.
When you look at the reviews for the specific issue of a comics in Comic Book Roundup, there is a Series Link. There you can see the ratings for each individual issue, as well as read the reviews.
Mars Attacks has only two issues out. Point of view is grown up son and father, served in armed armed forces, formerly stuck in Nursing Home. Mayhem by the Martians is constant once they appear. The book is not serious at all, but still rather emotional. Unresolved Father Son relationship. Son rather useless until now. Militias acting like idiots. Meanwhile, the Martians keep killing.
Gideons Fall is much further along. I think there is already a Trade out. It is a horror comics that builds slowly. Don’t read it is in the dark.
@TurokSonOfStone1950, the key to getting a reply from the almighty @Applejack is… start talking about SWAMPTHING!!
SWAMP THING?? WHERE?!
Generally, I pull comics to:
Gain a better understanding of the characters on I see on DCTV, DCU, DC Films, DCAU
Read comics recommended by others, especially on DCU
Read characters I remembered hearing about or seeing as a child
I pull my favorite characters & teams, but I also ask my fellow DC friends what their reading or if there’s something I’m not reading that I should be. Also, I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from this site. One thing I’ve learned is you never know until you try so I’ll give anything that’s recommended a shot, usually at the library 1st & if I’m into it I’ll start buying it. I have found enough on this site to keep me busy so haven’t had to make any trips as of late, but I’ll be back there for the new stuff soon enough.
I’m a digital guy and haven’t had a pull list for nearly eight months now since I said adios to the store I did have a pull list with, but I read what I do because I want to experience as much of the DC Universe as possible, so I tend to read as many titles from as many franchises as I have time to stay up to speed with.
@Turoksonofstone1950 for more of @applejack, be sure to join live Titans party 8 pm EST here at Watchtower, then the Discord Watch a Long chat and Voice discussion at around 8:55 or so (depending on @JLWWSM’s whims) on the DC Universe fan-created Discord site you stopped by recently!
The main stuff I actually buy with cash these days few and far between would be either the Walmart giant specials the DC Comics that are not here yet or stuff like dark horse black hammer age of Doom, The Walking Dead basically anything that I can’t get from comixology unlimited Marvel unlimited or here
Other than that generally still by favorite writers like Jeff Lemire also any big Concepts like Doomsday Clock
Haha, sly plug @Don-El 
It’s nice to hear many folks have used this service to get a sense of what they want to explore. I have a hard time shaking the physical, but it definitely seems like digital is the future!
Above all I want to enjoy the books that I read and to feel like the money was well spent since I have a very limited budget for comics these days. I pull books that are about my favorite characters or teams but those books also have to have a good writer with an interesting story to tell and a halfway decent art team behind them. I’m not interested in what I consider badly handled or drawn stories about my favorites and I’ve been know to drop books about favorite characters if I’m not enjoying them enough. I know a lot of fans follow characters no matter how badly they are handled but I never have been the type to do that not even back in the day when I first started reading them.
