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Today, the spectral form hovering above every conversation about the current state of the comic book industry is the amorphous group called 'new readers.' These 'new readers' are used to drive a wedge between Western comic book readership (which, in many conversations I've observed, tends to get flattened down to superhero books from Marvel and DC) and the popularity of manga, manhua, and manhwa from East Asia. The cynical narrative goes that the history of in-universe continuity reboots in both Marvel and DC Comics has driven away 'new readers,' who are reportedly too intimidated to take the plunge.

Suffice to say, I've never really agreed with this narrative, and I have writer Jason Aaron to thank for that. At Fan Expo Canada 2025, Aaron talked about the approach he takes as a writer to ensure that his books remain both exciting to returning comic book fans while "accessible" to newbies.

"I want every book I write to be accessible to somebody who's never read this character before, whether that's when I was doing Thor, doing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," says Aaron. "For me as a writer, you always have to show your work. I can't expect that any of you kind of show up to the party already invested in these characters... When I'm writing the book, I have to think of it as you've been stuck in a bunker for 40 years, and you've never heard of these characters before, and you just came out and the first thing that happens is for some reason somebody hands you this first issue of this comic, you need to get everything to get you excited about these characters in the pages of that book."

When I heard Jason Aaron say this, my hackles were raised, because I have him to thank for how I got into present-day Marvel Comics. Without getting too bogged down in my origin story as a comic book reader, I was that reader who was stuck in a bunker for 40 years - and that bunker was Walt Simonson's run on Thor (as far as bunkers go, it was luxurious). It wasn't until I was a college student that I finally had the money to get into comics, so I bought an omnibus of Simonson's Thor with funds from a research fellowship I was in. I later branched out and got into G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel and then Greg Pak and Frank Cho's Totally Awesome Hulk, but I didn't go much further than that. I was overwhelmed by the state of contemporary Marvel Comics and the endless aisles of the white and red trade paperback dress that lined the shelves of Forbidden Planet - until I picked up War of the Realms by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman in 2019. 

Marvel's War of the Realms was a perfect introduction for me to the larger Marvel Universe

At the time, War of the Realms was Marvel's most recent company-wide event, and I had been following Marvel's promotion of the event on social media closely because I could tell that it was a Thor-centric event. I saw the cover for War of th Realms #3 and noticed that Spider-Man was wearing what appeared to be a winter hat while hiding from Frost Giants with Luke Cage, Captain America, Iron Fist, and Wolverine, and that won me over. Why did Spider-Man have a hat on his head? Is Thor going to be okay? Can he let Luke Cage keep Mjolnir, please? 

War of the Realms was my ticket back to present-day Marvel, and I devoured the trade paperback in one sitting on the bus in Los Angeles. Obviously, I was a big fan of Thor, and the fact that War of the Realms featured Malekith as the villain was a perfect jumping-on point for me from Simonson's Thor. Dauterman drew Malekith with the type of enthusiasm that the character deserves (is Malekith the reason why I always play as a drow in Dungeons & Dragons? More on this at 10). I didn't know all the characters in the story, but that was okay - the action was so exciting that I was motivated to learn more about who they were.

Even though I hadn't yet read Aaron's run on Thor that led up to War of the Realms, it was easy for me to immerse myself in the story because the premise is simple: Malekith wants to make everything cold. He always does! Then there were jaw-dropping moments peppered in the event, like Daredevil wielding Heimdall's sword and becoming the God Without Fear, that had me hooked. I got the sense that if War of the Realms was only the tip of the iceberg for this era of Marvel Comics, then there was plenty of stuff for me to enjoy. 

And then the rest is history. I jumped into the Krakoan era of X-Men comics, ascended into a realm of my own from Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto's Daredevil run, and became obsessed with this character called Swordmaster while fully knowing that I was probably the only Swordmaster fan in America. And look where we are now: Lin Lie is the face of Iron Fist for a new generation of Marvel fans. 

Thank you, Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman, for freeing me from my bunker. 

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.