Seriously, I can’t be, can I? But everyone I talk to seems to either give me that slightly scornful look which is reserved for the non-comic fan, or have already been in it for years.
Is it just me?
Mods, feel free to move this to IMHO if necesary.
Nope!
I got into comics only a little when I was a child – mainly because I was in awe of an older cousin’s collection. I didn’t REALLY get into comics until the whole Age of Apocalypse thing in X-Men. That was, what, ten years ago? I was 22. (I felt like an adult…)
Sadly, now that I’ve been living in Japan for the past few years, I had to give up my comic habit. My bank account thanks me, though.
While I wouldn’t consider myself a comic fan now, seeing as how I own maybe 10-15 comics total, I would like to read more. As a child though, I was mystified by everyone’s obsession with the cards and Wizard magazine, and etc. I remember getting two issues of Savage Dragon (1 and 3 maybe?) for my birthday from a friend. I read them, put them back in the wrapper, and haven’t touched them since. I still have some Marvel cards, but I only got them because I either got them as a gift or I thought I’d see what the hype was about. Something changed, I have no idea what, but now I’ve read some of the Sandman series and some Japanese manga, and I like it so far.
Ooh… just realized a lie. When I was in elementary school, I used to love reading Korean comics. But those don’t really count, since that was only for a month or two at most during the summer when I would go over there.
Nope. It took pressure from three different friends, but I finally, after four years, picked up Batman: No Man’s Land Vol. 1 that my best friend had loaned me. It had gone with me through three moves. I’m 25, and in the last three months, I’ve spent about $200 on Batman and Birds of Prey comics. I won’t venture into other universes until I’m done with this one (I tend to get…focused).
The scornful look isn’t for being a late-bloomer, Anaamika, it’s for being a woman. This thread touches on some of those issues.
So, what are you reading?
Like you, I am fixed only on one sub-genre, X-Men. I try not to buy anything, I don’t know it well enough yet to know what’s worth my money. But I have started reading some friends’ old issues, checking online, etc.,e tc.
And I’m used to the woman thing. There are a small number of D&D shops around here, and I still get the same shocked look when I enter them and don’t immediately head to the books. A woman?! Are they allowed in here? 
I don’t mind.
Anaamika, you are far from alone. I was about to enter my third decade of life before I touched a comic book, and now my bookshelves are crammed. Literally. My collections of Hellblazer and Sandman Mystery Theatre alone just killed an overstuffed bookcase 
Although female comic readers are still comparatively rare, it seems like we make up a disproportionate percentage of readers who didn’t start until adulthood.
You are not alone!
I was NEVER into comics as a kid or in HS - it took my freshman year of college to start getting into them. I’m not exactly knowledgeable on most comics, but I do enjoy them and will willingly take recommendations.
Don’t forget your public library.
I had friends in elementary school who collected, and I got my dad to buy me some X-Men, but I didn’t stick with it back then. It wasn’t until I started University that I got back into comics, but then my 2 best friends in University were HUGE comic fans so I was always with them going to the comic shops and stuff.
I did however not copy them, and found my own “voice” - I found a few titles I liked and not what they collected.
I’ve been collecting on and off ever since then.
You know I honestly thought about this but never have actually looked. I wonder if mine has any.
I collected as a kid, but I got back into comics when I was in my late 20’s after a nearly decade-long hiatus.
–Cliffy
Maybe not an adult, but as a 12/13-year-old girl I was definitely not fitting into the target demographic of 9-year-old boys. My first and most enduring love was X-Men. Then came Preacher, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Kabuki, and Avengers. I’m not buying right now ‘cause I’m po’, but one day… one day…
In my fifties, I’ve recently discovered the whole world of anime and manga. There’s just something about cute big-eyed 16-year-old girls putting on battle suits and saving the world, or just having the usual teenage angst about whether that cute high-school boy likes them or not, that is infinitely refreshing. As for all those ronins, trying for the third time to pass that eexam to get into a prestigious university…
Of course, none of this stuff even existed when I was a 16-year-old (cute or not). At least, that’s my excuse.
Nope. I was kind of raised to believe that comics were for people who, you know, needed pictures in their books; people who didn’t like to read. (I have since been proven wrong many times over.) Sure, I browsed through comic books in the library a few times, and there was this neat vampire graphic novel I got from the book club, but those were just guilty pleasure items, and certainly not worth taking seriously.
Then in my senior year of high school, this postcard of Death from Sandman caught my eye while I was browsing in Hot Topic. I was fascinated - who was this “Death” chick, and why did she look so nice? I borrowed all ten volumes of Sandman from the library, read through them in about a week, and that completely changed the way I look at comics.
I still wasn’t a regular comics reader, though, until I got into manga about a year ago - the pretty art, complex plotlines, and slashy (sub)text has eaten my brain. I intend to check out American comics again sometime - Hellblazer looks more interesting the more I read about it, and I promised vampychick that I’d at least look at whatever run of X-Men it was (Ultimate, I think), but in the mean time, Waldenbooks just expanded their manga section and I need to look through the new offerings.
Hi, all. I’m Wolfian, I’m 21, and I just got hooked on comics three months ago. I mentioned to a friend that I loved the superhero shows on Cartoon Network and that my favorite character was John Stewart. They picked up Green Lantern: Rebirth #2 for me which pushed me over the edge. I now read GL, Justice Society of America (the current time travel arc sucked me in), Teen Titans (the new Speedy sucked me in), and the Adventurers of Superman (the Identity Crisis tie-in sucked me in). I’m currently looking for this month’s Wonder Woman and the Flash (last month’s WW cover sucked me in), but I’m not sure if I’ll keep reading after the cross-over is over.
I think my geekiest moment was being able to identity everyone that Batman ran thru on his way to a Javelin this past week on Justice League: Unlimited with the exception of Obsidan.
I’m glad it’s not just me. But I’m 29, and I just got hooked on comics (like Hooked on Phonics?) when the first X-Men movie.
Late arriving fans of comics unite!
When I was younger I read my friend’s “Superman” comics (starting around the Death of Superman up until the end of Zero Hour) but hadn’t read any comics since then (other than picking up the TPB of Joss Whedon’s “Fray”). Now in my late 20s I heard that Joss was doing an X-Men title, and having loved X-Men from the old cartoon and the movies and loving all things Joss I figured I’d better start buying “Astonishing X-Men”. Since then I’ve also started reading “The Ultimates 2” (I picked up the TPB for “The Ultimates” volumes 1 and 2 as well).