Growing up, I was one of many, many people who loved Batman and Ninja Turtles and a number of other superheroes. My greatest childhood aspiration was to be Batgirl — a dream I still hold on to today, to be honest.

Interestingly enough, though my life has been one filled with the love of superheroes, their movies, and their Saturday morning cartoons, I’ve had very little experience with comics themselves — with the exception of Archie comics from middle school to, well, the present. However, that all changed when earlier this year I discovered the Oh, Comics! podcast from Panels. The podcast is hosted by Paul Montgomery and Preeti Chhibber, who have super fun chemistry and discuss “comics, the people who make them, and the people who love them.”

By listening, I’ve learned so much about how to truly appreciate comics — the art, different genres; it’s not all tights and capes, and I must admit that I’m becoming pretty proud of myself for starting to recognize and identify the names of different artists and writers.

Having listened to the podcast, and having officially caught up not too long ago, my TBR list has grown and diversified in a whole new way. In the year alone, I have read over 25 new (to me) graphic novels and web comics, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. (Note: This may not seem substantial to some, but that’s not including prose books, and for me, it’s pretty dang good.)

For a long time, a big part of what was holding me back was not knowing where to start. I’m the kind of person who likes to find the beginning and chip away toward what’s newest. However, with comics — especially superhero comics — that can easily become a Herculean task. Heroes jump from comic to comic, and there are so many cases where time is manipulated, people die and come back, they become a new hero, and then a new story about them as the old hero comes out. It’s confusing! The best thing that I’ve learned is, if you want to start, pick up a comic, and start.

There really is no right or wrong way, and giving myself that permission to go with what sounded interesting to me was totally liberating. There were very few times, if any, that I ever felt confused when picking up a trade. And, my advice, if you do pick up in the middle of the story and are a little lost, just do some research. The Internet holds the answers to your questions, believe me. There’s nothing wrong with that. This is for your enjoyment, and you have nothing to prove to anyone.

For me, I’ve been taking my time with reading older stories over new ones. Personally, I’m not a big fan of keeping up with single issues and would rather pick up a volume (usually containing 5 issues or so). So, I’ve finally been able to read these iconic stories that are constantly referenced, but I never truly knew — like Alan Moore’s Watchmen, Jim Starlin’s Batman: A Death in the Family, and even Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona. (If you haven’t read Nimona yet, read. Nimona.)

That being said, I have read some newer stuff like the new Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson, about which I’ve only heard great things. I’ve only read the first volume, but on that alone, I would recommend it. I’m also excited to start Afterlife with Archie by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, which is a horror, zombie story involving the Archie gang. Even though neither horror nor zombies have ever been my thing, I’m definitely intrigued and have also heard some good things about it.

I know that, while I have learned so many things in these past few months, I still have plenty of things to find out, and I’m so excited for that. So, send me your comic book suggestions, and I’ll give you mine. Let’s discover a new way to read together!