Are you a Marvel or DC fan, up to date with current continuity? What if you're not, and you're thinking of jumping on? Blogger Stacey Whittle sees what happens when you pick up a couple of random issues starring characters you're not familiar with:

Random Comic Read

I had this brilliant idea for a blog. I would choose a random comic from DC and one from Marvel and use them as a basis to rant about the inaccessibility of the big two to the new comic reader. And to be honest I had lots of this rant prepared already because it's one I do a lot in real life.

It started out well as when I went to the comic shop to choose these random issues, I stood in front of the comics and I had a little panic. I had no idea what I was looking at, there were about half a dozen comics just with Batman in the title! Some had Dark Reign written above them - what does that even mean? I felt like a fraud, so I asked for help, and I really want to thank Reagan in the Travelling Man for rescuing me and reverently handing me an issue of Thunderbolts and telling me that it was a two issue mini series and I would not regret it (but then running away and telling me I was on my own with the DC choice!).

So today I read Thunderbolts #128 and #129 written by Andy Diggle with Roberto De La Torre on art and I knew I was on a loser with my rant almost immediately. For a start the writer is Andy Diggle and I have read some of his 2000AD work and I know he's good (he was Tharg for goodness sake). I open the first issue and the art is great, I really like it, and I have to say the story is cracking.

Norman Osborn is head of HAMMER and the new President is a little concerned about the amount of power this gives him, especially when Doc Samson has allegations to make. A political intrigue, a spy story with enough twist's to keep you on your toes and a crack team of villains aka Thunderbolts making sure that Osborn's power quest is not scuppered.

Now you don't have to be a Marvel fanatic to know who Norman Osborn is so I am okay with that… I do in fact recognise the new President of the United States too so I'm feeling full of the smarts. But actually they are the only characters I do recognise, I don't know who Antman is (but I like him, he is full of naughty!) or Black Widow, or The Ghost, or any of the others - but it really doesn't matter. And at the end of issue 129 there is a little character breakdown, telling you the names of all the characters as well as their aliases (if known).

So will I be reading more? Well my problem is that this issue ends with the line, "Next: 'Magnum Opus' part 1 in Deadpool #8". What's that then? Do I have to have read issues 1-7? Why isn't the story continuing in Thunderbolts, and do I have to know Deadpool to make sense of the next part of the story? How much is that going to cost me, with single issues clocking in at about £2.20 at the moment? Also who are the Dark Avengers mentioned in passing, and do I have to read that too? And right there is your inaccessibility. I really enjoyed this story but have no idea where to go to read more. I don't feel the need to rant, I just feel a little bit sad.

Oh and if you are wondering - the DC title I picked up was Wonder Woman written by Gail Simone. I have to find a cheaper hobby, I really do.

This is a personal article by Stacey Whittle, one of our new bloggers - read more about our volunteer contributors on this dedicated page.

Are you following Thunderbolts, Deadpool or the Dark Avengers? What about other Marvel titles - and do you have any tips about DC's Wonder Woman? Let the world know what you'd advise new comics buyers in the thread below...