[Comics] What collections should a DC newcomer read?

[C.W.Richeson]

The DC Animated Universe really sold me on DC comics, but I was always a Marvel guy in the past. Vertigo I've long enjoyed, but the classics - Superman, JLA, JSA, Batman, etc. - I know nothing about outside of TV and movies.

What am I missing? What are the top 5, or even top 10 collections (TPBs) that I should check out?

[ShannonA]

I personally think you can't go wrong with Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, and Ed Brubaker, all top-rate writers.

Johns is writing half the DC universe currently. He started writing Flash with Blood Will Run (or at least that's where the TPBs start). All his Flash work is quite good, though better to a long-time fan.

He's written the entire modern run of JSA (with the exception of the last volume), and it's all moderately good, though again more accessible to the longer-term fan.

More recently he's done the newest run of the Teen Titans, starting with A Kid's Game.

Greg Rucka did a great run on Wonder Woman starting with Down to Earth.

Finally Rucka and Brubaker were both involved with the superb Gotham Central.

If you want normal superheroes, try JSA or Teen Titans. If you want something more unusual, try Gotham Central.

[Savre]

Greg Rucka also had an excellent Superman run. I also recommend Morrisson´s JLA run. It´s all in print and has all the big characters.

[C.W.Richeson]

Already some great responses, thanks!

I've heard folk swear by Doom Patrol - how is that? I just keep seeing it pop up here and there and it's gotten my attention.

[wiseblood]

Already some great responses, thanks!

I've heard folk swear by Doom Patrol - how is that? I just keep seeing it pop up here and there and it's gotten my attention.

Is Doom Patrol available in collected form? Because I'm gonna drop a lot of cash at the comic book store this weekend if it is.

[Savre]

Is Doom Patrol available in collected form? Because I'm gonna drop a lot of cash at the comic book store this weekend if it is.

The first arcs are. There were legal complications, but they seem to be resolved and further arcs are starting to come out.

Already some great responses, thanks!

I've heard folk swear by Doom Patrol - how is that? I just keep seeing it pop up here and there and it's gotten my attention.

It´s very good, but also very "out there". Certainly not for everyone, especially if you want the "main" DCU and not it´s fringes.

[ShannonA]

I think there are 5 Doom Patrol volumes out, which has brought them through the troublesome Flex Metallo issue.

I personally find them a bit too strange to be _good_. Interesting, perhaps. I do have the first 3 volumes on my shelf, and will pick up the rest as money allows.

[Topher]

I'm a huge fan of Morrison's Doom Patrol. Check out Crawling from the Wreckage; if that sort of thing appeals to you, the rest of the run will too as it's more of the same, only better.

I'm also one of like two fans of the Pollack run that came after (I think RachelEvil is the other), mainly because it tackled issues of gender and identity that I'd never seen handled in a superhero comic before (or since, for that matter).

Topher

[Keyes]

The DC Animated Universe really sold me on DC comics, but I was always a Marvel guy in the past. Vertigo I've long enjoyed, but the classics - Superman, JLA, JSA, Batman, etc. - I know nothing about outside of TV and movies.

What am I missing? What are the top 5, or even top 10 collections (TPBs) that I should check out?

Besides being really, really good, these three have something else in common in that they're "Elseworlds" (or, in Marvel terms, "What if?") tales told from the final days of that hero's (or heroes) saga.

Superman: Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow? (Alan Moore / George Perez / Curt Swan)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller)

JSA: The Golden Age (James Robinson / Paul Smith)

[Savre]

JSA: The Golden Age (James Robinson / Paul Smith)


Should you buy this (and you should, it is excellent), I´d recommend DC: New Frontier (Darwyn Cooke). While it happens in it´s own continuity, it is something of a companion piece, covering the Silver Age instead of the Golden Age.

[Keyes]

Should you buy this (and you should, it is excellent), I´d recommend DC: New Frontier (Darwyn Cooke). While it happens in it´s own continuity, it is something of a companion piece, covering the Silver Age instead of the Golden Age.

Absolutely.. that's a big thumbs up from me, too.

[ShannonA]

I suppose part of the question is really what you're interested in getting involved in. You've been alternatively offered classic DC hits from the 1980s, modern DC hits that lead right into their current stories, and Elsewhere hits which offer variations of some top characters. I'd agree that just about everything listed is good, so the question is, what category of stories you want to get started with?

[The Disgruntled Poet]

As far as what DC comics to enjoy, I'd recommend at least one or two Golden Age and Silver Age collections. Some Golden Age (30s and 40s) Superman or Batman stories and some Silver Age (60s) Justice League, Flash or Green Lanterns would probably be best.

It helps to know the flavor and even some of the stories themselves to appreciate what Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and others do later.

[grey_tinman]

If you're interested in Batman, I would recommend The Long Halloween by Loeb and Sale without any hesitation. It's my favorite Batman book along with its sequel Dark Victory. I'll also second the recommedation for The Dark Knight Returns, even though it's in a different (future) continuity. Also check out Batman: Year One.

-grey_tinman

[Turbo]

I'll ditto the recs for The Long Halloween, New Frontier, Dark Knight Returns, and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow.

If you're interested in the earliest incarnations of Supes, WW and Bats, check out the Chronicles series (DC Archives in hardcover if that's your thing). The Chronicles gives you the first 20-ish stories in publication order, so you get the very first stories, with Superman as a radical anarchist, Batman as a gun-wielding pulp vigilante, etc.

For Wonder Woman, George Perez re-booted the character in a series that is collected starting with Gods and Mortals, with amazing art and mythology-infused story. Between that and Rucka's run, you've probably got the best WW runs covered (though Gail Simone is taking over soon, which I'm excited about).