Want to get in to DC

-beardoms-

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I want to get into a few DC comics, ive only been with marvel. I would like to start with Batman. Would it be easy to follow if i started now by getting the main Batman series? Any suggestions on which series i should get?
 
Well I can't say for sure because I don't have the money to actually buy comics. But Batman is always a safe bet, specially with the return of Bruce Wayne coming it may be a good time to get into it. It depends on your taste but I personally want to get Red Robin
 
I wouldn't recommend starting now. The universe is in a transitionary period - almost every title is halfway through a big story.

Wait a few months and all the titles will be getting new creative teams... it will be a good jumping on point.
 
I got into DC with Jeph Loeb's Batman stories and Watchmen. Haven't been back since last summer when I read all of those due to financial reasons, but I would love to read more Batman. Ever since I got past the idea of the Adam West Batman, he's easily become the best developed super hero.
 
When you say "Get into DC" what do you mean? Do you want to start getting an ongoing monthly? Or do you just want some good DC stories? Do you want in on the DC superhero universe or just anything by DC?

If you're looking for something to add to your pull-list, the only one I read (and therefore can recommend) is BATMAN & ROBIN by Grant Morrison. It's on #13 or so, it shouldn't be hard to get the issues out and it's a fun title. However, Batman isn't Bruce Wayne, but Dick Grayson, and Robin is Batman's illegitimate son by way of Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Damien. It's better than it sounds, and the truth is, only Damien really feels different. Grayson's Batman is pretty much just Batman. It's fun and easy to read.

If you want to buy some trades, well, let's continue with Grant Morrison; his work on DOOM PATROL, ANIMAL MAN, and JLA are all great. JLA is probably the most fun. His SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY, while long and confusing, is varied enough that it's certainly not dull. And there's of course, his ALL-STAR SUPERMAN series with Frank Quitely. All of his runs on these titles ended years ago, so it's all complete. Beyond Morrison there's (if you can find them) Mark Millar's issues of SUPERMAN ADVENTURES are a treasure, and his SUPERMAN: RED SON mini is good too. Another oldie, which I didn't read much of, but what I did I liked was GOTHAM CENTRAL which is all about the cops of Gotham City. Alan Moore's Superman stories; WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? is a great two-issue story, as is the annual he wrote FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING, both of which are no doubt reprinted somewhere. JLA: THE NAIL is a really cool mini-series about a world in which there is no Superman. There's also Bruce Timm's BATMAN: HARLEY & IVY along with BATMAN: MAD LOVE, both of which are adorable. There's Darwyne Cook's BATMAN: EGO and DC: THE NEW FRONTIER. He's a whole level of fantastic. His run on THE SPIRIT is wonderful. There's the infamous THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS which is a milestone, but I never really cared for it. Then there's KINGDOM COME, another milestone, that I think is absolutely terrific. And, of course, there's Jeff Smith's adorable SHAZAM AND THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL four-issue mini. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.

Non DCU stuff thought by DC is a plenty. I can't recommend Alan Moore's ABC line enough. TOM STRONG is my personal favourite, and Tom's got a new 6-issue mini out now, THE ROBOTS OF DOOM, which is currently on #2. But the other titles are terrific; TOP 10, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, PROMETHEA, TERRA OBSCURA, and TOMORROW STORIES. I recommend starting with the first volumes of them.

There's also Vertigo, which has a big variety of titles. FABLES is currently ongoing and brilliant. Y THE LAST MAN was a 60-issue series that's finished now but very engrossing. I can't recommend Garth Ennis' WAR STORIES enough. There's only two volumes, and it's very graphic, violent, and full of swearing, but it is sublime war poetry. I enjoyed THE NOBODY by Jeff Lemire, and I adore 100 BULLETS by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, a 100 issue series that has also been completed. There's also THE INVISIBLES which, like most of Grant Morrison's work, completely crazy. I've only read four trades of HELLBLAZER, the ones written by Brian Azzerello, and they were very good. And then there's, of course, Alan Moore and David Lloyd's exquisite V FOR VENDETTA and Moore and Dave Gibbons' WATCHMEN.

Depends on what you want. If you just want a current title, BATMAN & ROBIN's fun. If you want some of the best picks of what DCU has to offer; ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, KINGDOM COME, DC: THE NEW FRONTIER, SHAZAM AND THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL, and Morrison's 40+ run on JLA won't steer you wrong. Unless something else I mention piques your interest more, take a gander at those comics. :)
 
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Don't bother with regular, monthly comics for a while. If you're looking to get into some good Batman stories, start with the classic graphic novel stories like The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One (the ultimate 'beginner' Batman stories that you can find literally anywhere, even in music stores, nowadays) and then move on to Jeph Loeb's stuff like The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. Alan Moore's The Killing Joke is also a must-read, especially if you enjoyed either The Dark Knight or Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film.

If you have the patience for the weirder, more abstract-art stuff, try Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum and then definitely check out the Batman saga he's been piecing together for the past couple of years (starting with Batman and Son and moving on from there). Most of these stories are far easier to enjoy if you read them in one collected volume, rather than standalone issues. If you get a good idea of those stories, definitely read "Batman and Robin" which is one of the most entertaining comics in years.

Besides those, there's other stuff that's a lot of fun and pretty entertaining, even if they're light on groundbreaking storytelling techniques: anything by Denny O'Neil (including the Knightfall saga) especially stuff like The Joker's Five-Way Revenge which is essential reading and one of the definitive standalone one-shot stories. Paul Dini's recent Batman: Detective is pretty good and very reminiscent of the way he wrote episodes of the Animated Series as well (in fact, he even improves and expands on a few elements he introduced into the show). And if you're in a nostalgic mood, there's an awful lot of good in those very early (pre-Robin) Bob Kane and Bill Finger stories from the 1939/the early forties.

A lot of people might tell you to read Jeph Loeb's Hush. If you've never read a Batman comic before, but you have a general idea of the story, check it out, I guess. Again, it's not Shakespeare, but there are worse ways to waste two hours of reading.
 
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Bass said:
There's also Vertigo, which has a big variety of titles. FABLES is currently ongoing and brilliant. Y THE LAST MAN was a 60-issue series that's finished now but very engrossing. I can't recommend Garth Ennis' WAR STORIES enough. There's only two volumes, and it's very graphic, violent, and full of swearing, but it is sublime war poetry. I enjoyed THE NOBODY by Jeff Lemire, and I adore 100 BULLETS by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, a 100 issue series that has also been completed. There's also THE INVISIBLES which, like most of Grant Morrison's work, completely crazy. I've only read four trades of HELLBLAZER, the ones written by Brian Azzerello, and they were very good. And then there's, of course, Alan Moore and David Lloyd's exquisite V FOR VENDETTA and Moore and Dave Gibbons' WATCHMEN.

also the first few trades of DMZ by Brain Wood.

it all depends on what type of storyline your looking for man. you want the sex, drugs, violence, religion, anti-religion (preacher), love stories, something old, new, trades, single issues, established characters or new ones?
 
Let's give me 50 things to read and scare him away.

I would suggest picking up the last few issues of Flash. It is on issue 3.

There is also Brighest Day for universe stuff.

If you want to get trades, Green Lantern/Blackest Night and Morrison's Batman stuff.
 
I suggest get the DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore.

It's all collected in one and has (as Bass earlier mentioned) Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? For the Man who has Anything, The Killing Joke, Green Lantern stories involving the Spider Guild, Mogo, and Blackest Night (which all lead into everything that's happening in Green Lantern right now), a really cool origin for the Phantom Stranger, a really creepy Clayface story, a cute Green Arrow and Black Canary story called Night Olympics, and a story with Superman and Swampthing. Its a really comprehensive trade and has some of the greatest DC stories which they're still using in comics like Green Lantern.

I also recommend anything by Grant Morrison.

JLA is by far my favorite run of superhero comics ever and only is in 6 trades (though I would also get Earth 2 and DC One Million, both by Morrison). Its probably the definetive Justice League run ever with the original seven of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Aquaman and Martian Manhunter and they've been trying to recreate ever since. It will also make you love Plastic Man. The later stuff by Mark Waid is pretty good and the JSA spinoff by David Goyer and Geoff Johns is fantastic. Morrison's other great works are Arkham Asylum (my favorite Batman story ever), Doom Patrol and Animal Man.

Morrison is also responsible for All-Star Superman along with Frank Quietly who IMO is the definetive comic book artist of the 21st Century. Superman Birthright by Mark Waid is also the greatest Superman origin ever told and probably tied with All-Star as the greatest Superman story ever.

Geoff John's Green Lantern is also stellar and brings the entire GL mythos up to date. His Flash run is shaping up to do the same. I'd recommend Green Lantern Rebirth and Flash Rebirth to give you a great history of the characters and a lead in to the current series which are both awesome.

But if I have to recommend anything above anything else it would be James Robinson's Starman. Seriously its 80 issues long and completely brilliant. Jack Knight is the coolest hero in DC's history. Its a veritable lesson on DC's history and involves amazing characters such as Solomon Grundy, Wesley Dodds, Ted Knight and the Shade. Its incredible.

So I'd say get:

DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore
JLA Volume 1-6
JLA: Earth 2
JLA: DC One Million
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earths
All-Star Superman
Superman Birthright
Starman Omnibus 1-6
Green Lantern Rebirth
Flash Rebirth

That gets you some of the most classic stories by the top talent at DC and gives you some intro into the universe. Its a lot but these are by far the best stories and you can't go wrong with any of them.
 
Thanks for the info! I'll wait a little bit and start to get the regular Batman series when the new team is on it.
 
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Brightest Day is easy enough to understand without reading the stuff before I believe.

But it's not very good.

Justice League: Generation Lost is honestly the better book (and Judd Winnick is writing it! So that's a surprise!) and the barrier to entry is probably lower.
 
I also want to mention the Hush storyline in Batman. It's perfect for anyone who doesn't know anything about Batman's comic history. It basically tells his history and showcases all his rogue gallery. A great way to catch up on the last few decades or so.
 
I also want to mention the Hush storyline in Batman. It's perfect for anyone who doesn't know anything about Batman's comic history. It basically tells his history and showcases all his rogue gallery. A great way to catch up on the last few decades or so.

Seconded. It's especially surprisingly good if you are only familiar with some of Loeb's more recent turds.
 

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