As a long time comic book reader, I will often have people ask me questions about the medium. But the most commonly asked question is always the same: "I want to start reading (insert character name here), where do I start?" So, I figured, why not put out a handy list for y'all. Here are ten comics that should serve as a good 100 level course to some of the most popular characters in comic books right now. All of these should be currently in print and available for purchase. Happy reading!

10. Brand New Day

(Spider-Man)

Brand New Day is one of the most successful character revitalizations I've ever seen. Spinning out of the famously bad One More Day, BND took a bunch of great writers and artists and let them take turns at writing Spider-Man. What resulted was a fun series of short adventures that eventually gave way to some larger story arcs.

That first year led to a bunch of stories about brand new villains, brand new supporting characters and some fun stories. Spider-Man and Wolverine fight Mayan Snow Monsters. Doctor Octopus returns with a final master plan. A new goblin emerges and it's a race to discover their secret identity. Etc.

Brand New Day ran for years, and while it has some less great stories, stuff like "The Gauntlet" and "Shed" are more than worth it. Truly, Brand New Day took Spider-Man in new and entertaining directions and felt like a true breath of fresh air.

9. Rogue War

(The Flash)

Rogue War was the first Flash comic I ever read. Wrapping up the Geoff Johns run on the character, Rogue War is a story of Wally West running the ultimate gauntlet. Every one of his foes, from the Rogues to Zoom to Grodd to the psychotic Top come out of the woodwork to take the Flash down.

The resulting arc is a celebration of The Flash's history that is most assuredly new reader friendly while still feeling important and big. It may not be a perfect story, but it's one of my favorites. Especially since it delves into The Rogues AKA the best group of villains bar-none.

The Rogue War trade contains the profile issues for Mirror Master and Heatwave, both of which are good character studies that give a real sense of who these characters are. Also, some of the Howard Porter art is absolutely fantastic. Plus, Wally West is my favorite Flash, so of course I'm recommending one of his stories.

8. The Invincible Iron Man by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca

(Iron Man)

Love Iron Man? Unsure about where to start with reading his series? Good, because I have the perfect starting point. Around the same time as the release of the first Iron Man movie, Marvel put Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca on a new iteration of The Invincible Iron Man.

The series is built to be a jumping on point, but ties deeper into continuity as the story progresses. The first arc, "The Five Nightmares", takes an old Iron Man foe and brings an updated version to life in a tense but entertaining story. The follow-up story, "World's Most Wanted" pits Tony Stark against both an all-powerful Norman Osborn and crippling mental degeneration. As good as Nightmares is, it's Most Wanted that earns it a place on this list. It's pulse-pounding and beautifully dramatic, with a ticking clock underscoring the whole story. You can buy everything I mentioned as either three collections or one beautiful hardcover, which I both own and recommend.

7. The Winter Soldier

(Captain America)

I feel like I don't really need to give you guys the upsell on this one. It's a story that inspired a majorly successful movie, you're probably gonna read it. But the thing is, Winter Soldier is actually really really good.

The WWII stuff is incredible, the modern day stuff feels like a natural progression of what came before, and it kicked off one of the best remembered runs in recent memory. It also successfully brings back a character many people never wanted back. For a long time, it was said that there were three killed off characters you could never bring back: Gwen Stacy, Jason Todd, and Bucky Barnes. The fact that this story resurrects one of those in a way so goshdarn good almost no one complained is a shockingly impressive achievement. Since the comic is much more focused on the Steve/Bucky relationship than the film it inspired, it results in a much more personal story overall as well.

6. Green Arrow: Year One

(Green Arrow)

Hey there person who probably watches Arrow! I have a comic recommendation for you. I dropped off Arrow halfway through the first season (I liked it a lot but I got behind and never had a strong desire to catch up) but watching the series reminded me of one of the best Green Arrow stories.

Green Arrow: Year One takes place during the time Oliver Queen spent trapped on an island and it is just as harrowing as that would imply. Year One is a beautiful tale of human survival that DOES NOT shy away from showing some gruesome and raw imagery. The series, by The Losers creators Andy Diggle and Jock, follows Queen's journey from drunken playboy to heroic archer. It's a story where you feel every broken bone, where opium withdrawal is portrayed in painstaking detail. It's a story where every arrow lands with the impact and desperation that makes this comic great. If you're an Arrow fan, I'd highly recommend giving this a shot. It's pretty intense, but it's also pretty great.

5. Superman: Secret Identity

(Superman)

Ok, so I'm super totally cheating on this one. This isn't a story that will help you jump on to the regular Superman titles. Hell, it isn't even in continuity. But it is a story about the true heart of Superman, and the core essence of the character that I’d recommend if you want to read a true blue Superman comic.

The story follows Clark Kent, but not OUR Clark Kent. This Clark Kent lives in our world, where Superman is only a famous comic book character. As a result, Clark absolutely hates Superman and is sick of everyone making fun of him for sharing a name with a fictional character. And then one day, on a camping trip by himself, Clark wakes up floating fifteen feet above the ground.

As his super powers mysteriously develop, Clark discovers his destiny in a beautiful story that takes place across decades and shows what would happen to a Superman born into the real world. Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen turn in a near perfect story that anyone who likes Superman, (and everyone who doesn't) should read.

4. Suicide Squad by John Ostrander

(Suicide Squad)

With the movie on the horizon, I went out last summer and tracked down the first six issues of the original Suicide Squad series by John Ostrander (as well as a handful of issues from the rest of the run). And holy hell were they great. The Suicide Squad, officially codenamed Task Force X, is a team of imprisoned super criminals working off their prison sentences via covert ops. And true to their name, not all of the squad come back alive after their missions.

The team, including Bronze Tiger, Rick Flag, Enchantress, Captain Boomerang, and breakout star Deadshot, is joined by an assorted band of villains as they tackle different missions. In the first six issues alone, we get the death of a squad member, a battle with the minions of Darkseid, a fight against greatest-name-for-a-character-ever William Hell, and a trip into Soviet Russia accompanied by the Penguin. There is a reason Suicide Squad is getting a movie made before we get a Shazam movie: Suicide Squad is shockingly good.

3. Ant-Man by Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas

(Ant-Man)

Nick Spencer is easily the most underrated writer in comics. Yes, he is both well liked and prolific, but he could be considered a holy figure and he'd still be underrated as far as I'm concerned. I really do need to find an excuse to write an entire article about how great Superior Foes of Spider-Man is one of these days. But when I heard Spencer was going to be taking over Ant-Man, I squealed with excitement.

What followed was a note perfect, absolutely hilarious series about Scott Lang trying to keep his family together and start a small business in Miami. Collected in the "Second Chance Man" trade paperback, the series is loaded with beautifully crafted characters, especially Grizzly, who runs around in a bear suit and is amazing. Scott Lang's struggles are immediately identifiable and charming. And the follow-up series by the same team, "The Astonishing Ant-Man" is the book I look forward to most every month.

2. Born Again

(Daredevil)

Born Again is the seminal Daredevil story. It's intense and powerful and it throws everything into new light. When Matt Murdock's ex-girlfriend Karen Page reaches the drug addicted low point of her life, she sells Murdock's secret identity. When it finds its way to The Kingpin, Wilson Fisk takes it upon himself to destroy everything Matthew Murdock holds dear. With his life in shambles, Matt has to rebuild his life, becoming Born Again.

Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli (remember those names for later) turn in a shockingly tense story, with Matt hitting the ultimate lowpoint only to rise up and take back what is his. Also, the story features the über-nationalist Nuke and his war on what's "wrong" with America. Nuke is an excellent characature of patriotism leading to xenophobia that still rings true.  I feel like modern day Frank Miller could learn a lot from past Frank Miller.

In addition, the story is a fantastic tale for Ben Urich, who really gets time to shine as the audience perspective of the arc. Oh, and Mazzucchelli's art is absolutely spellbinding, with the standout page being one featuring some avenging allies making cameo appearances. If you liked Netflix's Daredevil, give Born Again a read, it is most certainly worth it.

1. Batman: Year One

(Batman)

This isn't on the list for the reason you're assuming. It isn't my recommendation because it's about the early days of the Dark Knight, it's my recommendation because I wouldn't hesitate to call it the greatest Batman story of all time.

Yes, even better than Frank Miller's previous Batman work "The Dark Knight Returns".

Batman: Year One, by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, follows Bruce Wayne's first year as the Batman and Jim Gordon's first year in the Gotham City Police Department. It also contains some of the greatest Batman moments in history. The fact that every single Batman film ever hasn't included the line "yes father, I shall become a bat," is a legitimate crime. Also, while Year One is much more of a Gordon story than a Batman story, it includes the perfect amount of both to tell a groundbreaking, pretty-much-perfect Batman story. It's so good it hurts.