Comics (or comic books) are limited by one thing alone.

Imagination.

Anything is possible and the end result is a thing of beauty that you want to read and re read often.

It is an addition to books, magazines and other forms of written entertainment and you also get original artwork by the artist (or penciller) in their own drawing style.

You see, compared to many established comic characters, superhero comics do not have a fixed look.

The Simpsons or the Disney characters have to look exactly the same whenever they are drawn.

Not so in superhero comic books.

There will be some random links to popular artists throughout this article. You will see the differences in each of their styles.

There are plenty of talented pencillers (artists) out there and each gives a character a different look and style.

You can sometimes see two or three different titles for one character out at the same time.

This gives readers a choice of art styles and story content because a different writer will be used for each title.

This has the potential to confuse because if you’ve just seen the Spider-Man movie you may want to check out a Spider-Man comic.

You'll quickly find out there is more than one! One thing to do is find an art style you like.

The majority of comic book artwork is a combination of realistic and cartoony.

The best painter in the business at the moment is Alex Ross whose work includes Marvel Comics' Marvels and DC Comics Kingdom Come.

As a massive comic book fan growing up in London in the Eighties, studying 'O' and 'A' levels (the exams needed before you could enter University), I really enjoyed following the adventures of Ororo Munroe, better known as Storm of the X-Men (written by Chris Claremont).

I also enjoyed reading the stories of Monica Rambeau, in her secret identity of Photon (then called Captain Marvel) of the Avengers (written by Roger Stern). See below picture.

Both Marvel Comics characters, they kicked ass and both were leaders of their respective teams. Storm had the ability to control the weather and Photon could transform into any form of electromagnetic radiation and project it as well.

Click here to check out The Avengers: Under Siege (Marvel's Finest) (Marvel Comics) by Roger Stern and John Buscema

Photon, now called Pulsar, is a part of the Nextwave team created by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen.

The Storm character shown in the recent X-Men movies showed just a fraction of the power she possessed in the actual comic book and exposed the current limitations of films over comic books.

Comic books are a unique blend of action adventure, character moments and mind blowing concepts with limitless potential that are only just beginning to be shown on the big screen.

It can be argued that the science inherent in these concepts is flawed but that’s why it’s called science fiction.

The golden rule within comic books is that anything can happen.

Anything.

All that’s needed to explain it is a believable grounding in reality.

A good story must be grounded in the real world so as to give the reader something to relate to.

That is why many are based in fictional versions of real cities and towns. Many of the Marvel Comics characters are based in and around New York, USA!

Actual places and landmarks are used in the comics, which make the stories more accessible.

This idea can work anywhere in the world and I would personally love to see a concept as wild as the X-Men set in and around London.

This premise, I believe, would be massive if researched well. A lot of people are baffled by the layout of comic books and for a first timer this can be quite confusing.

Click here to check out Captain Britain TPB (Marvel Comics) by Alan Moore and Alan Davis

The trick is to achieve a balance so that the story flows, not too fast and not too slow.

When comic book titles are promoted, the first two accompanying names usually belong to the writer and the penciller, the main creators of that title.

I will leave you with information of two great reads.

The first being Marvel Comics’ The Ultimates by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch and also Batman:Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, both available in trade format.

Certain artists gain large fan followings whatever comic book title they draw because their style is much loved and instantly recognizable.

Here (above) is a showcase of artwork of three current 'top' artists according to Wizard Comics Magazine; Jim Lee, Bryan Hitch and George Perez.

Click here to check out Wonder Woman: The Circle TPB (Marvel Comics) by Gail Simone and Terry Dodson