I have to admit I’m a Marvel fan and their books will be the one’s mostly covered (though not the only ones). I was always drawn to Marvel as their universe is rooted more in reality. Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, and many more are in “our” New York City vs. Batman‘s Gotham or Superman‘s Metropolis. And in doing so Marvel, too me, is easier to relate to.

Marvel also isn’t afraid to put their characters in modern situations. Post 9/11 they had their characters reflect on their failure to prevent the atrocities, Captain America entered the War on Terror, and the undertones of the general unease of the real world populace and erosion of our civil liberties began creeping into their ongoing series. In my view DC has generally shied away from this mixing of real world issues with a fantasy setting. Their characters are insulated from 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Patriot Act.

And maybe that’s why I rarely read Batman or Superman, I couldn’t relate? Where as DC’s super heroes and villains are reflection of our mythical gods, Marvel presented the every person. Spiderman was a teenager made powerful, Captain America an anachronistic soldier. Neither, god-like in their abilities, just a normal person given extraordinary abilities. Compare that with Superman’s basis in Jewish culture and Moses like exodus from his dying world Krypton and messiah like benevolence for his new adopted world.

But to not get off on a too much of a rant, the books I currently read (some in tradepaperback) are, Avengers, X-Men, Captain America, Iron Man, Kick-Ass, Ex-Machina, DMZ, Walking Dead, Y the Last Man, the Twelve, Iron Fist, Runaways, Fantastic Four, and those are the one’s off the top of my head.