Where To Start: DC Comics | 15 Best books for beginners
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2024
- Where To Start Reading DC Comics! So you want to read DC Comics? But maybe you don't know the difference between a Final Crisis and a Flashpoint. That's fine. We were all just getting into reading comics at one point, with no knowledge of the wider continuity and may have only had a DCEU movie or Animated series for reference.
Whether you want to start with Batman, the Justice League, Harley Quinn, or just the universe in general, I'm here with 15 stories you should read! I won't say these are all the best the DCU has to offer, but all of these are new reader friendly, enjoyable, and guaranteed to make you a DC Comics fan!
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Watch this video for: DC Comics recommendations, the best DC Comics, where to start reading, how to get into DC comics, how to build a comic collection
0:00 Introduction
3:00 BATMAN HUSH Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee
4:41 FLASH: REBIRTH Geoff Johns
5:46 SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN Geoff Johns
7:09 SUPERMAN/BATMAN Jeph Loeb
8:44 INJUSTICE Tom Taylor
8:57 STARMAN James Robinson
9:57 GOTHAM CENTRAL Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka & Michael Lark
10:51 BATMAN. MAD LOVE Paul Dini
11:35 DC: THE NEW FRONTIER Darwyn Cooke
12:37 POWER GIRL Palmiotti, Gray, Conner & Johns
14:27 JUSTICE LEAGUE Geoff Johns
15:09 AQUAMAN Geoff Johns
16:14 BATMAN Scott Snyder
16:48 BATGIRL Gail Simone
17:34 GREEN ARROW Jeff Lemire
Videos like this are perfect. I started reading comics a year ago I was so overwhelmed with what to read and where to start that I just bought random trades on ebay lol. It took me like 6 months to finally figure out what I wanted to collect/read
Thank you Johnny! It's good to know there's an audience and a use for this type of video as it's something I'm wanting to continue with, thinking of an X-Men video next time :) What characters did you find yourself wanting to read when you started? :)
@@MaddoggComics Batman. I'm basic as fuck 😁 I started with Year One and then went on to the Dark Knight Returns (which IMO is not a good idea for your first batman comics)
Can't agree with you enough, to me it's like recommending Logan as someone's first X-Men movie haha
@@Edorden I found a list on Wikipedia which followed the new earth continuity of Batman from the beginning (so before New 52). So basically I read Year One, The Man who Laughs, Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Robin Year One, Batgirl Year One, Nightwing Year One. Those weren’t the very first Batman comics I ever read, but it’s the order I would recommend if anyone said they wanted to get into Batman. (You could skip the sidekick stories if you’re only interested in Batman himself, but being a batfamily fan, I’d highly recommend them. If anyone did want to skip them, I’d tell them to jump straight to Hush.)
My list in no real order would be
1. Green lantern - Geoff Johns
2. Batman long Halloween- loeb
3. The flash- Williamson
4. Aquaman - Geoff Johns
5. Swamp thing - Alan Moore (if you want to count it as dc instead of vertigo)
6. Superman- John Byrne
7. Superman- tomasi
8. Green arrow - mike grell
9. The new frontier - Darwyn Cooke
10. Identity crisis- brad Meltzer
11. Justice league- grant Morrison
12. Batman year one - frank miller
13. The killing joke - Alan Moore
14. The flash rebirth- Geoff Johns
15. Batman black mirror / Batman new 52 run- Scott Snyder
I’m sure there’s loads I forgot
Very solid list! Thanks for watching the video :)
Thank you, gonna add these to my list
Tom king's Batman one bad day
I just watched the 5 mins of your video and i am convenience to read the comics you mentioned here.
I hope you enjoy the one's that you check out! Let me know which ones you end up picking up! Thanks for watching the video mate, WOOF WOOF!
As someone coming from the Marvel side who just started reading DC comic, I totally agree with this list.
Awesome video, very helpful.
Thanks man.
Im 15 and have been in the comic tube comunity for years but had never actually read a comic until i picked up flashpoint and long Halloween, in Australia theres like zero comic stores so i gotta order stuff online, gonna start buying more, i appreciate it
Great video, thanks!
Great spread of stuff, as someone who's read most of it I can co-sign on these choices. I have not gotten to read Power girl tho, so I will have to give that a try
Phew! Glad the list makes sense, and hopefully it gets a few people into DC Comics :) feel free to leave any others in the comments :) but Power Girl is a solid book!
I just started reading comics, started with New 52 JL by Geoff Johns for the reasons you mentioned. I'll keep my eyes on the rest of this stuff. Thanks.
Great vid! Sharing your insight is super helpful to people like me who get intimidated by the comic behemoth that is DC and so forth.
Thanks mate! I'm glad you liked it :) I'd hoped this type of video would help people discover new comics and I plan to do more of this type in future :)
@@MaddoggComics Doomsday clock is garbage
going back to watch some of your older videos I havent seen yet. They hold up really well.
Only read 4 or 5 of these. I like Geoff John's, Just realised I haven't read a lot of his stuff. I'm adding Aquaman to my buy list. My DC books lacks compared to marvel.
Thank you for this video!!! So helpful!!
I'm glad it could help, Thymie! Thank you for checking out the video as well, hopefully you enjoy the books you go for after this video :)
@@MaddoggComics Doomsday clock is awful
Another timely video! As a life long Marvel fan I've been wanting to check out some DC. Prolly gonna start with the Geoff Johns Green Lantern run. That seems to get the most praise.
Thanks man! Glad you liked it! But if there was any one I could recommend, it would definitely be GL, and fortunately it'll probably remain consistently in print :) What do you think of this video format? I might try X-Men next :)
Thank you for making this video! It's my birthday coming up and have decided to invest in Gotham central and Badman Mad Love.
Hope you have a great birthday! Let me know what you think of Gotham Central, I recently went back to review it! :)
I haven't quiet got round to investing in it but dang I will when I next have money 👍🏻
I think my biggest problem is continuity cause there’s so many story’s with Batman, GL, Superman’s ect I think the best thing for me to do is start with New 52 and Rebirth to catch up and then go back and read anything after Crisis on Infinite Earths
I have been doing this but it felt weird reading stuff I hadn’t had the build up too, so I just bought crisis lol.
I just started reading comics. Starting with new 52 JL, loving it so far.
@@TheThirdDaySH good, I think that was the intention, the new 52 was designed for younger adults who were new readers.
Some Pre-New 52 stories I’d start with/perfect origins and soft reboots
Batman: Year One
Superman: Secret Origin
The Flash By Mark Waid
Green Lantern By Geoff Johns
JSA by Geoff Johns
Gotham Central is superb.
JSA by Geoff Johns (both runs) is right up there as well.
So many good Superman origin stories. My personal favorite (probably of all time) is Superman: Birthright.
my first comicbook was justice society of america volume three issue 1 and do belive that it is an amazing way to get into the dc universe
Arm Fall-Off Boy needs a solo series immediately
i would add new teen titans and teen titans by marv wolfman and geoff johns resectively, maybe batman by grantm orrison
Thanks
Thanks!
No worries, Owen! Hope you enjoy what you read! WOOF WOOF!
The New Frontier is one of if not my favorite comic of all time
Great Video
Cheers mate! Glad you liked it, hope you found a few decent books from this :)
Good video
Still need to check out that green lantern run and I literally finished that power girl run today but some good stuff on there especially that 52 WW & batman hush
I saw you post about Power Girl on Instagram and thought the timing was uncanny haha! Did you manage to get the paperback? I'm intrigued about the Harley Quinn run just for more Power Girl! But just trust me on the Green Lantern books, some of the best comics of the last 20 years!
Maddogg Comics I read the HQ stuff in the omnibus and it’s enjoyable but can drag in areas but it’s off the wall looney tunes type stuff
Even if i am a Marvel Zombie to this day i have expanded my horizons to all publishers in the last 3years..have been missing put on so much quality material..but i ve seen the light😂(without abandoning Marvel though)
Very good selection as i am more or less yr videos' target group and having read 10 out of the 17 i ve got to say you did good as choices for someone who wants to get into DC👌
Another great video!!(i m waiting to see that absolute in yr hands though-you know the one i m talking about 😉😊)
Cheers dogg!)))
Ps.I wanna get into Starman!
It's weird, I consider myself more of a Marvel guy, but find it much easier to recommend DC to new readers :P
I'm interested to know which 10 you've read, and if any of the remaining 7 interested you :)
Haha, you'll be pleased to know it's been dispatched, hopefully will be here soon!
Thanks for the support mate :) I hope they re-solicit the Starman Omnibus, it's a great book that I hope you get chance to read!
@@MaddoggComics Read Hush,Mad Love,Morrison+Johns JLA,Gotham Central(hey i m at a good point and loving it),Flashpoint, Snyder's Batman,some WW by Azzarello (wanna read more),Batman/Superman:Public Enemies aaand..i think i forgot one(hey its late here)😋
Very interested in Starman like i told you but also Johns GL (i must be the only one on earth that hasn't read it)😋
Interested in the others too but i have to close some gaps first in my Marvel collections before things get out of hand😉😂
🤔...DC: The New Frontier sounds really interesting...🤘🏼💯✔️
Called it! Lots of Johns and New 52... Which totally makes sense in my opinion. Great list! Everything on here I've either read and totally agree with, or is on my eventual to-read list. With the exception of Power Girl actually, I will add that to my list! :)
I must admit as you were getting through the list and not a single New 52 title mentioned, I was worried you'd missed a trick! I should never have doubted you Dogg! :P
One thing I would happily recommend to anyone and everyone, new or otherwise, is Court of Owls. Moreso than the whole Snyder run (which I do love). While it is excellent, I think the rest of the run never quite reaches that high. Glad it made the list. Would have been my biggest must-have for a list like this personally.
Also in my version of this list it would have been a coin toss between Superman Secret Origin or Superman Birthright. You make an excellent point about the Christopher Reeve likeness being a good way in for new readers who can't picture Superman as anyone else! It's honestly my favourite artist interpretation of Superman.
I actually can't think of anything else I would have added to this list... Although maybe it's because I'm too smashed from playing the Geoff Johns drinking game! XD
Hahaha, exactly, can't count a Maddogg out :P I just put all the New 52 at the end so that people didn't think the list might solely be New 52, so if anyone doesn't like it, they can just leave the video but still have 10 books to read :)
You're right about C.O.O., although for me the whole series is solid so for a full Batman run of years, it's the best for new readers :)
I can't recall birthright, is that the one with Darwyn Cooke? I may check it out and make a revision to the list :)
Haha, remember to drink responsibly, I'm not liable under the name of Geoff Johns! :P
@@MaddoggComics Yeah makes sense, for some reason people have a lot of hate for the New 52! I'm not sure if it's more the idea of it or the execution of the whole thing, or just the stories themselves. But in my opinion you can't deny it spawned some absolute classics like the Court of Owls and Wonder Woman run especially.
And no Birthright is the Mark Waid and Leinil Yu origin retelling from I think around 2004, where I believe the idea was to kind of modernise Superman's origin a little bit with a stand-alone story, so it's really quite good for new readers. It's been a while since I've read it but I'd definitely consider it one of my top tier Superman stories. Check it out for sure!
@@ComicBound which is your favourite geoff johns comics?
@@jayaprakash387 Ahh man that's a tough one! There's a few runs that I've heard are really good that I've not yet read, like his Flash run, and most of his JSA run (I read the very last part of this run but never the whole thing).
So for now, of the stuff I've read, I'll probably have to go with his Green Lantern run as my favourite. Although I think some of his Superman work is a close second. Honestly though I've never read anything by him that I've hated, even Doomsday Clock I found quite interesting and has some great Superman moments in it. It's definitely not for everyone though!
I LOVE D.C but there are so many comics i dont know where to start... Some tell a story other comics tell another one 😵 im afraid of reading a comic and then reading another one that says the opposite
Superman Sectet Origin is seriously amazing.
I'm a New 52 kid. I'd read a Batman comic here and there but New 52 is ever what got me into DC. I own the Batman and Flash New 52 run both in collected editions, digital editions, and parts in single issues.
Love the New 52. Made Barry Allen my fav character (one of. Tied with Steve Rogers)
Funny bc new 52 was horrible
pity the dc you were exposed to was the worst era of dc. not including now though
A lot of these comics, and even a few entire runs can be found as part of the Comixology subscription by Amazon.
It's like 6 dollars a month and it's like Spotify for comics but doesn't include everything. A lot of the New 52 books are included though like Wonder Woman's entire run and Aquaman + Batman Hush and tons of others from this video. I swear this isn't an ad lol, just a cost effective way if you don't mind going digital and reading on a tablet
Dc universe infinite is the official dc app and has all dc Comics that are at least 6 months old. I think it's 7.99 a momth
How do you afford all of these books? And how can you afford to keep a girlfriend?🤔 I would have included some Swamp Thing just to round it off. Some nice choices though.👍🏻
Was that second sentence a insult? Pretty funny
Thanks! Are there differences now that it's been a year?
Just got my first DC comic, Batman Vol. 1: Court of Owls. This video was a great help although I’m watching it after purchasing the comic. Should I finish this run before going to Justice League? I’m trying to read the New 52 in chronological order
Keep reading batman new 52, its great, but don't buy vol 6 graveyard shift, or vol 10 epilogue. They are just a compilation of small stories that aren't important and mediocre. Also, I highly reccomend not reading all of New 52. It misrepresented a ton of characters amd there are a ton of great books that are much more worth your money. Also, if you have a library near you sometimes you can get comics from there. Especially if they have the thing where you can order books from other library's. You can read a lot of comics without paying anything, then buy ones that are worth your money
I have a question.
I played the arkham series and loved it are there any comics that are based around that?
I love the way they drew the characters especially scarecrow.
Also is there a batman reboot? Like where they basically restart the comic story because although I know his origin I'd love to actually read it without paying over 2mil for the original first comic book lol
arkham knight has prequel comics called arkham genesis but i don’t think they’re canon
batman hush from what I've read feels like an arkham game. there's a comic literally called arkham asylum that you could check out.
Batman year one is the book you're looking for in the second part of your comment.
can you do about Where To Start ghost rider?
Could you do a Video of the most important Batman comics in chronological order
Batman year one , man who laughs, Jeff loeb Tim sale run , killing joke
SCC gave you quite a few good one's there! But it's a great idea for a video, I'll get a script sorted asap :) did you mean important in terms of continuity or in terms of like popularity? :)
I mean both 😃
Awesome picks! DC is definitely harder to follow than marvel imo
Thank you, Greg! And cheers for watching :) I think in terms of characters I'd agree with you, but there's a ton of great jumping on points in the DC :) was there any character in particular you were wanting to start reading? :)
Maddogg Comics I’m waiting on the grell green arrow omnibus I’m really hoping they don’t cancel it
So what green lantern book do I start with
We all know morrisons doom patrol is the perfect place to start 😂😂👌
That's probably the biggest run that I've never broke into :S Don't hate me! Weirdly though I always consider Doom Patrol as an indie title so my brain just overlooks it when thinking about the DCU haha, no idea why it does that though.
@@MaddoggComics it does read like an indie title as it's very loosely tied to DCU . I only started reading it during lockdown so dw 😂. It's the most grant Morrison thing ive ever read 😵😵 final crisis is Mr men compared to this 😂
@@MaddoggComics Doomsday clock sucks
Came here to say the same thing! My absolute favourite comic book run.
I really wanted to read the green lantern run i heard great things about it but i did not wanted to get all the omnibus so are green lantern rebirth, sinestro corp and the blackest night the entire run in TPB
Hey mate! Thanks for watching the video! Johns GL has started to come out in thick TPB, I think they're on book 4 at the moment? I think they're the best way to collect the run if you don't want to go with omnis :)
@@MaddoggComics thanks will check them out!
For Batman its Batman year 1, Long Halloween, Dark Crisis, Robin year 1, etx
Thanks for all the advice. I have some advice for you mate, get rid of the "beard" 🤣
It's more I'm lazy than I'm trying grow a beard 😂
starman in my opinion is the greatest comic to start with.
Good list, but I think Superman Secret Origin is a terrible recommendation for a new reader, I would alternatively suggest Superman Birthright, it's a more epic scope origin that focuses solely on Clark's journey as Superman where secret origin kinda take detours and starts and stops in weird places where when I was a new reader was personally frustrating for me
Great video. A ton of books you mentioned i own and loved reading. I know another solid Johns' run is Teen Titans. Really hope this trend of New 52 omnibus are a sign of things to come. Still gotta get that wonder woman omni.
Thank you mate, glad the suggestions sound decent :) yeah, the Teen Titans run is decent! Think I may have just been a bit Johns'd out haha! Which New 52 omnis are you waiting on? :)
Maddogg Comics swamp thing and would love to have the complete justice league run. Got the beginning with the absolute and the ending with darkseid war, now I just need the middle.
So do the omnibuses include rebirth and blackest night?
They do, but i hate that the Omnis leave out the green lantern corps storyline that follows along with the main green lantern continuity. If you want the full blackest night storyline, which is fucking amazing, I recommend reading it this way
Green lantern by Geoff Johns Vol1.
Green lantern corps: To be a lantern
Green lantern Vol 2
Green lantern corps: the dark side of green
Green lantern Vol3
Green lantern corps: ring quest
Green lantern Vol 4
Green lantern corps: Sims of the star sapphires
Green Lantern: Agent Orange
Blackest Night Omnibus (you may be able to find this on Amazon for $75 rn)
if I want to start to read marvel comics am I obliged to start with the oldest one that I liked, our I can start were haver I want, and also sometimes in a volume there is a issue that crosses over with a story already happening, my question is if could be ok for to read that single issue If I didn't like that character??????, and I built a time line with the ones that I liked, someone let me know If anyone wants to see the timeline that I built, if anyone wants to give there one opinion
Alot of great picks. I'm with you on the new 52 definitely good entry point but for me it's easily John's green lantern it's the book that got me into comics.
I would 100% agree, I put it first because there's not much better. It's why the Batman book had to be Hush, since it's still integrated into the DCU rather than a one-shot :) I was also thinking of doing a Where To Start for just Green Lantern too :)
Bro make one catwoman reading order
I would start with Batman knight fall
Someone reccomended me all star superman as a starting point for superman... not a good decision.
We need a 2022 update😁
From that list, I am guessing that you are happy with the DCEU? Most of this is the far less iconic New Poopy-2 stuff. I don't see it, myself. But clearly Johns and company do have their fans. And it is always a good thing when people enjoy comics.
First one
Well done, Dogg! Next video will be out Sunday, so we'll see if you can get a streak going :)
I don’t know where to read all these look interesting
Those 6 invincible hc look awfully lonely without the final 6 lol
Haha, the other 6 are in the next cube, just couldn't fit them all in one :P one of the best series of the last 20 years! Thanks for checking out the video, I adjusted the audio, was it a bit better this time? :)
@@MaddoggComics yes it wasnt as intrusive this time it's just my old brain cant hear 2 things at once lol
Why not any Wally Flash?
agreed wally's comics are better than barry's
WOOF WOOF
Corps is pronounced “core,” not “corpse.”
Guess the video was a waste of my time then
I want to start with batman who laughs what do you think
Year one, then that one, then long Halloween
Crisis on infinite earths
Batman year one
Man of steel
Dark knight returns
Wonder woman perez
Hawkworld
Under red hood
Killing joke
Batman arkum asylum
Gotham central
Death of superman
Emerald twilight
The flash by Mark Reid
Robin year one
John Constantine hellblazer
Starman
Mad love
Jla morrison / jla one million
Blue and gold
Identity crisis
Green Lantern rebirth
Superman vs Shazam
BvS
Jla tower of babel
Flash blood will win
Countdown to infinite crisis
Infinite crisis
Under red hood
52
52 year later
Death of the new gods
Seven soldiers omnibus
Salvation run
Countdown down to final crisis
Final crisis
Batman omnibus 1 morrison
Batman black mirror
Batman Inc
Flash rebirth
Flashpoint paradox
New 52...
I'm missing some but thats a good order if ur looking for continuity lmk if you think it can be better
Detective Comics from New 52 was really good. However, the new version from DC Universe Rebirth is just horrible because there is no mystery, no actual detective work, just a bunch of boring dialogue with boring characters like Batwoman. So it can be very hit or miss.
Crisis is good but not a good introduction for beginners because it is long, has old artstyle and the old way of putting way too much dialogue. And although it is really good, it can feel overwhelming for a beginner.
Why is it "unfortunately" that the Power Girl costume is revealing? That´s how the character is and there´s no prolem with it. First, because, if anything, Power Girl proves that´s she´s much more to her than her body/costume. Second, I don´t see the difference between her and, basically, any other character...particularly men.
In the comics men are wearing constantly such tight costumes that don´t let anything to the imagination. In fact, comes to mind right now the image of Captain Marvel/Shazam stanting in front of Superman in Kingdom Come. And we talk movies there are plenty of times where they show male superheroes shirtless and nobody complains.
And, lastly, going back your comment...It all comes down to he character itself. For instance, Starfire, Star Sapphire and Catwoman are very sensual characters. It´s part of who they are. At the same time that wouldn´t apply to Raven, Mera or Miss Martian.
INJUSTICE BRO?? THAT SHIT IS ASA
Marvel is the one with issues... not a single reboot ever? Idk I just can't get into Marvel. I like Spiderman, unworthy thor... some back issue team stuff... but idk how you wouldn't like DC better imo.
Who's the brave one that's going to write this list so I can copy? 😏
Or you can just stop being lazy.
Am I the only one that thinks Hush is a bad story?