One day, I had to be between the ages of 8 and 10, my dad decided to take me to the comic book shop. I don’t necessarily remember what inspired the trip; perhaps I had expressed interest after hearing him talk about reading the Fantastic Four at his hometown drugstore, or maybe we were going there to buy me more Mark McGwire baseball cards. I think it was a Saturday and I think he took me after he left work, but the memory is blurry. What I do remember, as clear as day, is the small wire rack that held Archie Comic trade paperbacks. It was on the check out counter next to the register, slightly tilted, and most of the paperbacks were used.

I left the store that day with two or three trade paperbacks, each a collection of individual comic issues regaling the slapstick antics of Archie and his friends Veronica, Betty, Reggie and Jughead (my personal favorite). Throughout the next few years my dad and I would make regular trips to that dusty old shop. It was originally a coin store, and packed to the ceiling with fading collector’s items, but the only thing that interested me was its rotating supply of Archie comics. Once I’d exhausted the comic supply there, we’d run around the corner to Hastings. And each Christmas I could expect a new load of paperbacks in my stocking.

This was my introduction into the wide and beautiful world of comic books. It was a brief and fleeting obsession, and once junior high hit I ditched the paperback picture books for what I thought to be more mature material.

It wouldn’t be until college that I reconnected with my love for comics. A combination of factors led me to it; a boyfriend’s collection of graphic novels, friends who lent me back issues of Avengers and X-Men, a job at the local library where I regularly stocked trade paperbacks, and the blockbuster factory that is Marvel Studios all helped to reignite my inner superfan.

The community of comic book culture is so wide and diverse because it reflects the source material. Somehow this single, tangible medium serves as an umbrella for thousands of fantasy universes. Few branches of storytelling ignite such fervor as the simple perfection of a comic book.

There’s a timeless attraction to pairing a good story with equally stimulating artwork. Comics are a form of sequential art; they convey a message through a continuation of images. I have a deep respect for graphic storytelling. As my interests in the stories I read in comic books grew steadily through the years, I came to understand the medium as both important and underappreciated.

While working in the children’s section of Columbia’s regional library this past year, I learned how useful comics and graphic novels can be in making reading attractive to children, especially reluctant readers. Many of the employees on the children’s team agreed and had a firm knowledge of what was available in the 741.5’s (the Dewey Decimal classification for graphic novels in the nonfiction section). There’s even an entire guide on Scholastic’s teachers website discussing how graphic novels promote literacy:

School librarians and educators have reported outstanding success getting kids to read with graphic novels, citing particularly their popularity with reluctant readers, especially boys — a group traditionally difficult to reach. At the same time, graphic novels with rich, complex plots and narrative structures can also be satisfying to advanced readers. In fact, graphic novels are flexible enough that often the same titles can be equally appealing to both reluctant and advanced readers…

I watched the children pore over the two bookshelves of 741.5’s, and noticed a beautiful thing – whether the children were reading a compilation of Superman shorts or the denser Bone series, there was a sense of commonality amongst the readers. Though these children weren’t on the same reading level as each other, they could connect through a shared love of these types of books. They’d recommend books to each other, and suddenly a child who only wants to read about Spiderman is checking out Maus, Art Spiegelman’s seminal graphic novel that tells the story of his parents experience in Auschwitz during WWII. It’s more advanced reading, but the combinations of words and Spiegelman’s illustrations of mice and cats make it approachable.

(excerpt from Maus courtesy of Georgetown University)

The commonality I saw being shared between readers at the library doesn’t stop there either. In my intro column I mentioned the ladies comic book night at my favorite shop. This is a place where I can go free of social anxiety, because I know I have something to talk to these women about. I can have an entire conversation about the new Hulk story arc and not be nervous. The comic shop is not only a retail establishment, it’s a meeting ground for fans new and old alike. Rarely do I ever leave after purchasing my new books without picking the brains of the storeowner or other shop patrons about their current reading list. This is how I discovered Saga, my most recent comic obsession.

The stories told in comic books are similar to a television show, with ongoing episodes moving it forward on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis. The difference is the tangible nature of the medium. I frequently sit flipping back and forth through a comic book, inspecting the intricate details of the art and picking up on foreshadowing hints in the storyline. If I try to fast forward or rewind that many times on my Netflix account I always end up with the spinning wheel of death (three cheers for limited bandwidths!).

But just like it’s hard to jump into Breaking Bad mid-series (seriously guys, stop posting spoilers on Facebook, I’m only on season two), deciding when and where to pick up a comic book is an intimidating task. My suggestion? Find a friend who can serve as a guide. I wouldn’t have become the comic book fan I am today without the friends who lent me their back issues; I might not even be interested in reading comics if my dad hadn’t taken me to that old coin store so many years ago. It can also be an investment buying back issues to catch up with current story arcs, so check in with your local library. If they aren’t carrying the certain one you’re looking for, chances are they can do an interlibrary loan or order it for you. Stand alone graphic novels like Watchmen are also a good place to start.

If you need any other suggestions, here’s my current comic reading list:

• The Wake, Vertigo, written by Scott Snyder, art by Sean Murphy
• Trillium, Vertigo, written by/art by Jeff Lemire
• East of West, Image, written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Nick Dragotta
• The Manhattan Projects, Image, written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Nick Pitarra
• Saga, Image, written by Brian K. Vaugh, illustrated by Fiona Staples
• Infinity, Marvel, written by Jonathan Hickman, illustrated by various artists

I’m a huge Jonathan Hickman fan, in case you didn’t notice.

There are so many other things I have to say about comics, such as portrayals of women or the inclusion of LGBT issues. And then there’s a whole world of alternative comics to dive into! For the sake of brevity, I’ll save those for other columns. For now this is just one comic book nerd’s personal history of fandom, now excuse me while I go pick up my new pulls for the week.

Paige Pritchard recently moved to Chicago to pursue her journalism career. She stays busy covering the city’s vibrant food scene for Chicago Magazine, although she still doesn’t really understand the cronut. When she’s not reporting, she enjoys reading zines and daydreaming about the Shedd Aquarium. Find her work on the magazine’s website or tweet her @peapodpritchard; she’d love to hear from you.