B/C List characters worth following?

[mata-leao]

for whatever reason, i've always been a fan of the B or even C List characters, whether it be DC or Marvel.

i've always felt that the B/C Listers got better treatment over at Marvel than DC. perhaps i'm completely wrong about that, but i'm on and off when it comes to reading comics and that's just how i've felt when reading DC and Marvel.

i'm definitely more familiar w/ the Marvel U but i'm looking to familiarize myself w/ more of DC's characters.

any recommendations?

not only awesome characters, but the characters that aren't quite as well-known as the big boys but still have been consistently getting some shine here and there....or characters that as of recent are beginning to get a lot of panel-time and can potentially be major players in the future.

i've recently been exposed to Adam Strange and Captain Comet and so far these two characters are incredible! i'm currently reading "Planet Heist" which so far is REALLY good and Strange is quickly becoming one of my favorites. i've read "Mystery in Space" vol 1 and i just received vol 2 in the mail today...speaking of which, The Weird is also an awesome character to read...however, for some reason i feel he is one of those characters that will soon fall into obscurity. hopefully i'm wrong.

[ryerye17]

Currently?

Red Tornado, Power Girl, Jonah Hex, Secret Six, Magog, The Shield, The Web

Practically anything that isn't Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman/Green Lantern/Flash. DC's aristocratic that way.

[mata-leao]

Currently?

Red Tornado, Power Girl, Jonah Hex, Secret Six, Magog, The Shield, The Web

Practically anything that isn't Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman/Green Lantern/Flash. DC's aristocratic that way.

i tried Red Tornado at one point but got bored rather quickly, perhaps i'll give him another shot.

Secret Six definitely seems like something i'd dig. it sort of reminds me of Marvel's Thunderbolts (the ellis run was a great read) but i'm sure it's much different in many ways. i'll check this out for sure.

i've seen the Magog solo, i was reading JSA when Geoff Johns was writing it and he seemed like a character w/ potential. how is the solo run so far? how many issues?

what is The Web exactly? a character or a team? don't think of heard/read about them before.

THANKS!

[ryerye17]

Shield and Web are characters (licensed/bought) by DC from Red Circle. (The one that does Archie and pals!)

Magog's on either issue 2 or 3.

Oh and I forgot. You like Adam Strange and Captain Comet? I presume you like space-y stuff.

Buy REBELS.

[mata-leao]

Shield and Web are characters (licensed/bought) by DC from Red Circle. (The one that does Archie and pals!)

Magog's on either issue 2 or 3.

Oh and I forgot. You like Adam Strange and Captain Comet? I presume you like space-y stuff.

Buy REBELS.

yes, i love space! hence the silver surfer avatar haha.

i'm very excited to check out REBELS and i've been buying all the issues but haven't read them yet. right now i'm reading back so i'm more familiar w/ DC's cosmic universe. currently reading "Planet Heist", "52" and "Mystery in Space". 52 is extremely addicting by the way haha.

i plan on reading some of the Rann/Thanagar material and perhaps Strange Adventures as well....unfortunately the reviews for those have been pretty mediocre which is a shame since i really like Jim Starlin.

i know i could have waited till January for the REBELS trade but i'll be caught up before then and am seriously dying to read REBELS haha.

i've read that this is DC's answer to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy which happens to be my favorite Marvel title so i'm stoked. plus, i don't think i'm familiar w/ any of the characters in REBELS and i get the most joy out of reading about new characters.

i've read that Strange and Comet have now joined the team. i hope Bedard do them justice.

edit: oh and i love Magic too

[ryerye17]

Rann/Thanagar War. Rann/Thanagar Holy War. Countdown to Adventure. (THIS follows the adventures of Animal Man, Adam Strange and Starfire POST-52)

For magic, get MADAME XANADU (under Vertigo). Sadly, DC doesn't have a good track record with magic characters.

Day of Judgment and it's thematic sequel Day of Vengeance (PLUS ALL THE TIE-INS) CLICK ME FOR TIE-IN LIST (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=9802876#post9802876)

There's Captain Marvel in the REALLY REALLY SUPERB Power of Shazam! Series in the 90's. Then there's the relatively recent Trials of Shazam!

Shadowpact spinned out of Day of Vengeace. Cancelled after 25(?) issues.

Spectre by Ostrander (90's) was GREAT

So basically there's NO on-going magic based comic book outside Madame Xanadu.

But the good part - ZATANNA'S GETTING AN ON-GOING NEXT YEAR

[mata-leao]

Rann/Thanagar War. Rann/Thanagar Holy War. Countdown to Adventure. (THIS follows the adventures of Animal Man, Adam Strange and Starfire POST-52)

For magic, get MADAME XANADU (under Vertigo). Sadly, DC doesn't have a good track record with magic characters.

Day of Judgment and it's thematic sequel Day of Vengeance (PLUS ALL THE TIE-INS) CLICK ME FOR TIE-IN LIST (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=9802876#post9802876)

There's Captain Marvel in the REALLY REALLY SUPERB Power of Shazam! Series in the 90's. Then there's the relatively recent Trials of Shazam!

Shadowpact spinned out of Day of Vengeace. Cancelled after 25(?) issues.

Spectre by Ostrander (90's) was GREAT

So basically there's NO on-going magic based comic book outside Madame Xanadu.

But the good part - ZATANNA'S GETTING AN ON-GOING NEXT YEAR

for some reason, i thought the opposite and assumed DC would have a great track record when it comes to magic characters.

that's sweeeet that Zatanna's getting an on-going. i've had some exposure to Zatanna on team books and appearances, but mostly from the DC animated universe (assuming her animated character is the same, for the most part).

any good detective characters i should know about? i really like The Question (Vic Sage) and Elongated Man.

thanks for the heads up on "Countdown to Adventure"....i'm really enjoying the interaction between Animal Man, Strange, and Starfire in 52 right now, i'd like to see where it goes after 52.

[ryerye17]

Elongated Man's dead. So is THAT Question. (You're done reading 52 right?)

Go read Detective Comics :wink:

It stars 52's Batwoman and co-features the second Question (Renne Montoya).

They're lesbian detectives :)

[Thok]

52 is extremely addicting by the way haha.

Roughly what issue are you on? I'd offer certain suggestions, but some of them involve spoilers for 52.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Booster Gold is pretty much the king of the B-List - even the other DCU characters consider him C List.

You could check out JLI for when the worlds premieres superhero team became B-List, though a good way to dip your toes in could be the reunion miniseries they did a couple of years back - 'Formerly Known As The Justice League' and 'I Can't Believe It's Not Justice League'.
When you're superhero team is forced to work out of a shopping mall, and the only team name available is 'The Super-Buddies', then you know you're B-List at best!

The first few trades of the recent Blue Beetle are pretty good as well.
The first four tell an over arcing story.


Secret Six definitely seems like something i'd dig. it sort of reminds me of Marvel's Thunderbolts (the ellis run was a great read) but i'm sure it's much different in many ways. i'll check this out for sure.


I jumped on board with the trade 'Unhinged' and haven't looked back.
I've gone back and grabbed the trades of their other appearances, but Unhinged is pretty new reader friendly - as long as you can deal with the idea that they've been together awhile and had a couple of adventures previously, then you don't need to have read everything else.
You'll probably want to though - it's pretty darn good reading.

[Gavin G.]

Definitely get R.E.B.E.L.S., since you say you like Adam Strange and Comet. It's an awesome book anyway, but those two characters are currently appearing in the title. One of DC's most underappreciated titles, though.

Magog's now been my favorite DC character since he was first introduced in JSA #12 as David Reid. His own book just started last month, and it looks to flesh the character out tremendously, so now's as good a time as any to start following him. You should easily be able to catch up on it. Reviews seem varied, but I think it's been excellent so far. Comparisons to Punisher seem common, but I don't find him as cold, personally. He has his methods and beliefs, but he also seems to maintain far more of his humanity. Plus, more mythology, powers, and globetrotting to mine than Frank could ever dream of.

Red Robin is another title that just started, although it's tied fairly heavily to what happened to Batman in "R.I.P." and Final Crisis. Still, all you really need to know going in is that everyone thinks Bruce Wayne is dead, expect for Tim Drake (formerly Robin, now Red Robin), and he's going to search the world over to prove that he's right. Issue #5 just came out last week.

The Warlord has been fantastic, in my opinion, but it's sort of an offshoot. It technically takes place in the mainstream DCU, but it's relegated to its own little corner. Still worth reading, though, especially if you dig swords and sorcery.

Secret Six is a twisted delight every month. Can't really explain it beyond that, other than it's an unorthodox "superhero" book centered around a band of B- and C-list villains. Right up there with R.E.B.E.L.S. in terms of quality, as far as I'm concerned, art and writing both.

Booster Gold might be worth your money as well. Time travel stories featuring a hero that the majority of his peers think of as a sell-out, it's usually one of DC's lighter-hearted titles. Right now, I'm personally more into the Blue Beetle back-up, but the main features good, too.

Finally, Power Girl is another light read each month, and it's only up to issue #6 (this week's issue), so you should be able to track down the back-issues with little to no trouble at all. Lots of fun so far, with Amanda Conner's always splendid art.

[Freakzeek]

Two words : JONAH HEX

[Name Already Taken]

REBELS at the start reintroduces Vril Dox, an egotistical manipulator and spawn of Brainiac, and also showcases characters you probably have no familiarity with on the DCU cosmic scale, mainly outside of Green Lantern. Start with the first few issues if you can.

Secret Six has some very dark and twisted humor, with a band of ne'er do-wells for hire. A few trades are out for the original mini's that preceded the current ongoing. Worth checking out.

Jonah Hex was new to me, up until recently. I never thought I would like a western. Also has a few trades worth picking up. Many issues are standalone or short arcs that kind of tie into the current six gun war arc going on with the characters used. Very well done and gritty.

Booster Gold, perrenial B/C lister always trying to promote himself into the Big Leagues. A few trades are also available. I like some of the more recent arcs done by Jurgens after Johns left. You get to see DC have fun with its ownhistory, with lots of What If ..? meets Sliders type moments.

I would highly recommend checking out the latest run of Blue Beetle that wrapped up recently and now is the backup in the ongoing Booster Gold series. The (vol 3 I believe) has some teenager with an alien scarab grafted to his back fighting off alien/robots in El Paso. good series with lots of heart that flowed very nicely with a decent set of characters. It got the axe, a bit too early imo, but was very enjoyable if you like a lighthearted and sometimes comical series. It reminds me of ultimate spider man in some ways.

If I can track down the names of decent arcs, I'll try and edit this post and put them up later.

[Gitaroo_Dude]

I'm going to re-iterate that you should read REBELS and Secret Six. Especially if you liked Ellis' TBolts, you'll love SS. They're not totally similar, but both have a pretty dark sense of humor and feature a team of villains for leads. And Secret Six has some great art from Ms. Scott.

And REBELS is a brilliant cosmic book. Make sure you pick up the annual too because it really fleshes out the antagonists and cements the epic scope of the book. I'd say it's DC's biggest title in terms of how much ground and characters it covers.

Also, I'd look into Doom Patrol too. It's a little different than DC's other output, dealing with a group of heroes that are pretty much damaged goods and how they respond to that kind of lifestyle. The newest issue introduced some pretty interesting plot threads that I'm excited to see develop. And the backup, Metal Men, is probably the funniest comic DC is publishing. Great stuff.

[Artificial idiot]

Doom Patrol, REBELS and the Madame Xanadu Vertigo series are all well worth your time. Top notch comics every one, and I dare say some of the best work coming out of DC right now. If you're into military intrigue mixed up with crazy super heroics, then The Shield is well worth checking out too. :)

[Gavin G.]

Doom Patrol, REBELS and the Madame Xanadu Vertigo series are all well worth your time. Top notch comics every one, and I dare say some of the best work coming out of DC right now. If you're into military intrigue mixed up with crazy super heroics, then The Shield is well worth checking out too. :)
How could I forget Doom Patrol? Another good series that just started, with the excellent Metal Men back-up to boot. And by Keith Giffen no less, the same man currently behind Magog.

[DetectiveDupin]

Jonah Hex

Batgirl

[Artificial idiot]

How could I forget Doom Patrol? Another good series that just started, with the excellent Metal Men back-up to boot. And by Keith Giffen no less, the same man currently behind Magog.
How could you indeed, sir! My jaw literally dropped at what happened to Rita in the last issue... The Chief is one cold, hard bastich...

btw, great quote in your signature. :)

[Gavin G.]

How could you indeed, sir! My jaw literally dropped at what happened to Rita in the last issue... The Chief is one cold, hard bastich...

btw, great quote in your signature. :)
Thanks.:smile:

And yeah, Doom Patrol's been pretty messed up so far, but definitely in a good way. Plus, the Metal Men back up has been a riot. How can anyone not love Copper after the last issue?

[Forth World]

How could I forget Doom Patrol? Another good series that just started, with the excellent Metal Men back-up to boot. And by Keith Giffen no less, the same man currently behind Magog.

Giffen is really the king of B-list characters. Invented Lobo and Ambush Bug. Basically made Booster Gold and Blue Beetle what they are today. And goddamn JLI - probably the greatest B-list series in the history of comics. Damn; him 'n DemMatteis are geniuses.

[mata-leao]

Roughly what issue are you on? I'd offer certain suggestions, but some of them involve spoilers for 52.

i just started reading volume 3, soooo thanks a lot ryerye17 for the spoilers!!!!

haha, j/k...it's all good, i knew about Vic Sage but not about Ralph. i did get the feeling Ralph would be killed off in 52 though.

just looked up Doom Patrol and it looks like an odd team of characters, looks like my cup of tea.

Jonah Hex is something i've been meaning to check out. I've never been into the whole western scene but i'm constantly reading reviews w/ readers saying the same thing but surprisingly enjoy this title.