New to DC.

[JesseJay]

I'm kinda out of the loop as far as DC goes, being a Marvel fan. I'v read a few graphic novels and tried to keep up with the characters but never really followed the main continuity. I'm assuming crisis on infinite earth would be a good start? Anyone got any ideas?

[Tony Starkz]

DO NOT START WITH COIE.I'm a DC noob as well and found my experience quite enjoyable staying away from all that madness.

Graphic Novels I would recommend:

DC The New Frontier
Kingdom Come
The Golden Age
Batman Year One,Long Halloween,Dark Victory,Dark Knight Returns
Superman Red Son,For All Seasons,Secret Identity,Birthright
Superman/Batman:Public Enemies
Green Arrow Quiver
Green Arrow Archer's Quest
Green Lantern Rebirth

Recent comics I would recommend:

Justice
Green Lantern
All Star Superman
Teen Titans
Detective Comics
Superman
JLA
JSA
Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters

[JesseJay]

I've read: long halloween, DKR, and Kingdom Come, But I'll definetly look into the rest.

[davros42]

Yeah, don't start with COIE. It's involves a lot of characters and a lot of continuity that is no longer relevant... It's the sort of thing you come back after you're caught up.

As far as graphic novels go, New Frontier is a good one, gives you the basics of the modern heroes origins, and is just a fun story to boot. Golden Age is the hypothetical last story of the Golden Age Heroes and is a lot of fun, though crowded with a lot of unfamiliar characters. Kingdom Come is great, but really reliant on knowing a lot about DC past and present, another one to come back to later so you can appreciate it.

The current Batman arcs are really good. Justice is also a good place to start. All-Star Superman is absolutely fantastic, if you don't mind your Superman old-school style. Justice Society just relaunched, it has a big cast and a long history but it's completely worth it. Justice League has been good too and now that Teen Titans has settled in and established it's new roster firmly, it's probably a good time to hop on.

Really though, it matters what you like. There are DC books out now that cater to nearly every taste and every age bracket... Sci Fi, supernatural, mysteries, classic Superheroes.... and affordable reprints of classics too.

[Gozwald73]

If it was as easy as picking a point in time and reading a trade, then this forum and all the multitude of continuity discussions contain therin would not exist.

Don't worry about trying to understand the continuity right away - this will develop over time as your understanding of the DCU and it's characters and history grows.

The formula to enjoying comics is simple: Just grab any book that you think you may like, and read it. If you enjoyed it, grab the next issue when it comes out. Repeat process with as many books as your budget allows. Presto! Fun every month! :)

[Hush Little Batman]

Identity Crisis 1-7

[Beacon]

Identity Crisis 1-7

I thought the idea was to bring him into DC, not scare him off with a glorified snuff comic. ;)



There's lots of good stuff out there. I recommend some of the better "Elseworlds" type stories like Kingdom Come, Golden Age, or New Frontier so you can get the basics of the characters without being bogged down in continuity. Similarly I’d recommend something set in the early days of a character such as the various “Year One” trades (JLA, Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing), Batman: The Long Halloween (and the “Dark Victory” sequel), and Superman For All Seasons since they feature the characters before they had a lot of the excess baggage that – while sometimes great in their own right – can often be intimidating to new readers. Current titles I’d recommend are All Star Superman, Jonah Hex, and Birds of Prey. Oh, and the Vertigo line has TONS of stuff worth reading (Sandman, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Fables, Lucifer, Y the Last Man, and too many other books to list).

[skally19]

you'll either love or hate Identity Crisis. personally, it's my favorite story.

[aeriz]

JesseJay, I think we are in the same boat. I'm also a DC-illiterate looking where to start. If you're interested in monthly titles, I've been thinking about the following:

Justice
Ross & Krueger, even if you weren't interested in DC, this would be a must. Bimonthly, currently in #8 (of 12) but it should be easy to keep up with.
Brave and The Bold
An anthology title by Waid & Pérez that starts on Feb. It'll relate mini arcs starred by famous characters.
JLA
The famous ones. Good reviews. Just restarted.

I might also get Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis as I've always liked this character and it's getting a new creative team with issue #50 (March). The other DC character I particularly like is Green Lantern, but I've read mixed reviews about it. I might borrow some issues from a friend and then decide.

[ExoKnight]

you'll either love or hate Identity Crisis. personally, it's my favorite story.


I agree, Identity Crisis is good comic. My girlfriend who doesn't read comics read the graphic novel and loved it.

Also pick up Dark Victory the sequel to TLH.

I would say jump onto Justice Society of America, Justice League of America, Green Lanter, Superman, and Batman. All good ongoing series.

[MaxofSteel]

I always like recomending the All-Star titles to new DC readers. More so Superman than Batman, but it's good to get a taste of both anyhow.

[Gaspard]

The current Batman arcs are really good.Whaaat? No they aren't! The latest Detective was great but most of them are really average. And I'm a huge Batman fan, I read all of the Bat books around, but I have to be honest and say that they are usually pretty bad.

I just recently came across "Justice". I mean, WOW! It's a great book, I think it's exactly the kind of stuff you're looking for. Pretty much all the great JLA characters are there, and the villains too. And if there's someone you don't recognize, there are introductions in the last pages of various characters like Brainiac and Black Manta etc.