RANTING! Help starting out
I hope this blog is useful for all level's of comic book reader, but for this post I'd like to give some advice to those who are completely new and wanting to start reading comics. Now this may seem like an odd thing to give advice on but it's very quick to get bogged down and give up, hopefully this can help prevent it.
The first thing you should do is a bit of research, you'll need to refine on what you think you're into, although the proprietor of a comic book shop will be there to help you, they may not be an expert on everything, every little bit you can do to help them help you. Websites such as Comics Alliance (https://comicsalliance.com/) or the Grand Comic Database (https://www.comics.org/) are a brilliant start to get some basic information. Some things to look at would be artist's, writers and some back story, if you're interested in your traditional hero's there's a lot of story, for example Batman has been going for 80 years. For this reason may I suggest starting with a more recent storyline, preferably something that's just started, this way your straight into the same point as everybody else. Then once you have got an appetite for comics you can go back in time, it will be very easy to get bogged down or loose interest if you pick up something that is dated. One of the big things to look up is the RRP of the books you are looking at, this isn't the cheapest hobby so please be prepared with the appropriate funds. Make some notes of your research to take with you, and once you’ve found some basic information, it’ll be time to find a comic book shop!
Now you may find a comic book shop a little bit daunting, there's no need, and if you're worried about what people may think to see you walking into a comic book shop, well, I can't help you with that, I think you need to worry less about what people think. If you're not up for asking for help immediately it is fine to browse, but don't go getting every single comic book out. I would suggest looking at the graphic novels, (the complete works of a storyline in hardback or trade-paper, rather than your traditional comic book) they're more robust, the whole story is there and it's easier to look at the stems for what you're looking at/for. I would, even if you don't need it, ask for assistance, after all it's their job, there is no need to be intimidated by the "comic book guy". They will be able to first of all help you and hopefully make your reading and future visits more enjoyable. If you are however met with any intimidation or mockery for lack of knowledge just walk away and name and shame them in the comments so we can sort it out.
I know this isn't a definitive how to guide, I apologies for that, but I can't accommodate for everybody's taste, if you do have any specific questions though please leave them in the comments and I'll try and answer them, or I'll get someone who can. Hopefully this has been somewhat helpful and you have a new addiction!
