Every now and again, I have my fits of nostalgia.  I reflect back upon graphic novels from yesteryear and even the not-so-distant-past. I know all of you have felt that way more times than you can count.  Everything I’ve written thus far has been of graphic novels of the past – partly because I’m still catching up, and partly because there are so many fruitful ideas emanating from them.  Reflecting back upon past events and how they lead up to the most current events is, I believe, crucial to understanding most aspects of a universe as a whole.  However, deciding where to start reading is not an easy task.

With an ever-growing series of comics being published, finding a place to call home is overwhelming, intimidating and unnerving.  When I was very young, I started becoming interested in comics and quickly fell into my niche with the comic, Bone.  But afterwards, I found it extremely hard to get into anything else, because Bone was a standalone.  After finishing the 1000+ page graphic novel, I was completely lost.

Sure, I was reading manga at that time, but that was different.  It just wasn’t epic enough for me, I guess.  I didn’t know what epic meant until I got my hands on Crisis on Infinite Earths – luckily, I found this gem in my high school library, and it changed everything.

**Forgive me for the spoilers**

(more…)