Hey there everyone,

First off, new to the site!

So I've been a big fan of the DC Universe for a long time and have followed a lot of the animated films and cartoons closely over the year as well as reading articles on what big things might've been going on in the comic world. Now is when I'm finally starting to get into the comics themselves and I've noticed that whenever I ask people where is a good place to start reading a certain character no one ever says, "You should totally start with the New 52!". I usually get responses listing off a ton of trades and graphic novels which while I'd love to read them all, I just can't afford that many books! As of right now I'm interested in Superman, Shazam, and the Green Lantern Corps (although there are so many different arcs happening at the same time that this one seems confusing and costly to follow :/ )So my question(s) is basically are you really shooting yourself in the foot if you jump right into the New 52? Are certain stories totally essential? Is there a place that features info or maybe videos recapping big events prior to the New 52 for certain characters? I'd love to get started reading some of my favorite characters but just am not sure how!

Welcome to the Vine. If you're just now starting comics, definitely start with the New-52. That's pretty much the main reason it exists. Of course there is essential reading for every character. If you told us which characters you wanted to read, we could recommend which arcs to read before starting the 52 line.

Welcome to Comicvine!

This is actually a tricky question for many reasons.

The New 52 is DC's current continuity and has the shortest amount of material to get caught up on. So if you want to read modern day stories and catch up to the current line of DC, yeah start with that. There are some -SOME- good stories in the New 52 so far but if you really want to read great, character driven stories, then I suggest going to the previous continuity, mainly called the Post-Crisis Universe, New Earth. Those are the stories that took place from 1985 - summer of 2011. In my opinion that was the era when the best stories were created in DC, along with Crisis On Infinite Earths which was the Silver Age Maxi-series which relaunched DC from having a multiverse comprised of Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-2, Anti-Matter Earth, and so on into having one singular universe called New Earth (which was the combined histories of 5 different Earths).

If you want absolutely great and timeless stories from DC I suggest checking out certain Silver Age (Pre-Crisis) stories for the cheesiness and innocence or the Bronze/Modern Age (Post-Crisis) for the compelling ones.

Thanks for the responses!

1985-2011 though seems like such a long time for newb like myself to catch up on although I wouldn't mind reading a classic arc or two.

I guess I should edit my original posts with some characters I'm looking into. At Comic Con I managed to get some New 52 Green Lantern Corps novels for cheap and besides that I'm interested in reading some Superman (personal favorite), and perhaps even Shazam if that hasn't been cancelled. Hope that helps with suggestions!

@wubbzinator: Shazam unfortunately doesn't have a new-52 series (yet). He did however have an ongoing side story in the monthly Justice League series that lasted quite a while. You can actually get all those stories combined in the Shazam! v.1 TPB. That story arc concluded though, and Shazam has now become an active member of the Justice League.

For Superman, I'd recommend Action Comics & Superman Unchained. Unchained is only a mini-series, but it was fantastic. Action Comics is probably the best ongoing Superman story (the actual Superman comic isn't very good.)

a great starting point to superman is issue 32 which is fairly recent. I didn't read any of the issues beforehand, plus its a new creative team so you can definitely understand whats happening without the previous issues. Its also being written by my favorite dc writer Geoff Johns :p

The whole point of the new 52 is that its a good place to start. However I'd reccomend reading some older stories as well to get a better feel for the more classic versions of the characters and who they really are. Some have been changed a lot in the new 52.

Again thanks for all the responses people! (long day or I would have posted earlier). A shame about Shazam as I would have loved to learn more about him! He's great in Young Justice and some of the other animated films. I may have to look into Superman Unchained which is going to be a graphic novel early December. Would it be safe to say that Superman is a little bit more accessible than Green Lantern at this point?...and by that I mean less arcs to follow to understand some of what is currently going on. Also I have volumes 1 and 2 of Superman's new 52 run so I guess I'll reach issue #32 soon!

I personally think people don't say you should start with New 52 because it's probably easier to get back to New 52. Harder would be backtracking through some of the more compelling/essential stories of characters. Examples include stories like Birthright (Superman,) and Under the Hood (Batman,) however I would say it's worth the effort depending on how much time you have.

I personally, just got the complete Vol.1 for Superman and Flash, and I thought it was a solid and really modern take on a a classic character. I can't really say for the Lanterns and Shazam though, (though you kind of have your answer for that in Justice League, I suppose.)

no

Since Batman and Green Lantern continue from Pre New 52, you'd need to read some Pre 52 stuff to catch up.

The rest should be easy enough to start since you know the basics from TV and such.

The current superman is being written by Geoof Johns, who's very popular at DC. It's only 3 issues in so it's a great place to start. The other superman titles are settling in after an event, which wasn't well received.

As others said Shazam has a tpb/volume with his New 52 origin and appears in recent Justice League, but doesn't have his own series as of yet.

@papinacho: Why exactly do you mention Superman as an exception? He's my fav :,( ...

Any specific older stories besides the already mentioned Superman Unchained worth reading? (Preferably graphic novels!)

Again thank you all, you're all a really helpful bunch!

@wubbzinator: The New 52 is a fantastic place to start, but be careful, some people don't like it and may try to convince you it's awful, I know that's what happened when I got into comics. You also won't be able to get into Marvel right away, but give it a year or 2 and it should be much easier. If you need anymore advice on getting into comics then I suggest this channel https://www.youtube.com/user/SprEffective

Also here are some really good videos to help:

P.S. Welcome to Comic Vine :)

I don't have that much time right now to go into details though I will make sure to comeback tomorrow or Saturday with some advice though welcome to the Vine, Blue Beetle guy! :D

@captainmarvel4ever: Got some videos to watch :D thank you!

@papinacho: I'll be sure to look into those 2 issues then if thats the case! Accesible is goooood

@crazyscarecrow: Thanks for the welcome and I look forward to the tips!

@wubbzinator: No prob man, feel free to message me any time you need advice, or if you just want some recommended reading.

BTW, some of the best writers who work at/have worked for DC within the New 52 are Brian Azzarello, Geoff Johns, Jeff Lemire, Scott Snyder, Charles Soule, and Cullen Bunn. Any book with their name(s) on it is assured quality reading. There are also other good writers like Robert Venditti, Jimmy Palmiotti, Grant Morrison, Tim Seeley, Greg Pak and many more who are also good that sometimes miss, but after reading for a while you start to pick up on what you think you should read.

@captainmarvel4ever: Before watching the three videos, which I just finished up (like the robot in the third lol), I never actually thought to read based off a writers so that actually seems like a really useful tip. Heard a lot of good things about Geoff Johns and his Green Lantern run so I'm excited that he's tacking Superman now. And will definitely keep that in mind once I start to settle into this whole comic book world!

@wubbzinator: Yeah his Green Lantern stuff is really long, it's the only stuff from before the New 52 that most people recommend reading (infact I would suggest waiting before getting into GL stuff, it's a very big mythos and not the most new reader friendly). Also while I defiantly suggest the new Superman stuff he's doing right now, I have to warn you that you may not like the art at first, because it's being done by John Romita Jr. (who you can learn more about here: http://www.johnromitajr.com/ ) and in his long career of doing comics, it's his first time working on Superman/working at DC, so he hasn't quite adjusted yet, and the art may seem a little off. Other then that though it's good, a little wordy sometimes, but good.

The #1 book I recommend is Wonder Woman, it has a perfect writer and artist team, and it's very self contained, meaning it dosen't have any crossovers, and it's very new reader friendly.

If you have any other characters you like and want suggested reading material for, let me know.

If you end up liking Geoff John, his Aquaman run was great. For that series there is no needed pre reading

Depends on which character you're interested with...for instance, Aquaman would be fine to start with the n52, but Green Lantern, no.

May have to look into Wonder Woman! I remember stumbling on an article on IGN I think stating that was one of DC's current strongest titles. So from what everyone is saying, and I thank you all again, stay away from Green Lantern for now.

My plan then is to try and read up a little on Superman, got to look into a handful of older trades worth reading, and then jump in to the current new 52 run with Geoff Johns as well as checking out the new Wonder Woman series. The vibe I'm getting from various comments and videos is that its more enjoyable to follow multiple series at a time!

@wubbzinator: That's actually one of the biggest problems with it: even though it's a reboot, you still need to do a f*ckton of research in order to understand what the hell is going on.

Personally as a whole I would say no. There are some characters that actually are pretty good in the new 52. But most of the rebooted universe isn't that well fleshed out. In my opinion "Aqua-man", "Suicide Squad" and "Wonder Woman" were good. "Batman/ detective Comics", "Superman/ Action Comics", "Flash", "Green Arrow", "Captain Atom", and "Justice league" are decent. However everything else ranges from "slightly less than decent" to "pretty bad". Most notably among the former would be "Teen Titans", "Red Hood and the Outlaws", "Shazam" and "Green Lantern". But again this is all just my opinion based on what I've been reading so far.

@majinn3: Thankfully I'm more interested in the characters you mentioned in the "former" part of your post! :D Now if only someone would take a stab at Jaime's Blue Beetle again...

@amazingwebhead: Yea and to be honest its quite intimidating! haha

True dat

Well you'd be missing out on tons of classic stories, not just one or two.

And plus, who says that you can't read pre-52 and New 52 at the same time? Even pre-Crisis has some of the best JLA stories ever, DC Presents has some of the best Superman stories ever and World's Finest shows the best relationship between Superman and Batman. And they were giving attention to more characters back like the underrated Firestorm, whose 100 issue run is way better than his new stuff, which just canceled within a year.

Peter David's run on Aquaman and Supergirl was definitely underrated as well.

And Paul Levitz's Legion of Super-Heroes is my favorite DC comic of all time.

@endanger: World's finest would be an interesting read. Haven't heard of the DC Presents stuff but I'll have to give that a look as well!

It's not a bad place to start, but one should definitely pick up a few classic trades of their favorite hero. They will help you get familiar with their universe and the charactrers in it. I also don't think the New 52 is going to last, but that's another story.

Anything by Alan Moore is worth reading... Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing...

@paul2814: I've heard of him! Didn't realize the creator of Constantine was attached to so many other projects and series!

@thebluetunic: Is that currently in the comic rumor mill?

@wubbzinator: DC Presents is a great series if you want to read a character that usually doesn't get spotlighted. They did give Deadman, Starfire, Arsenal, Kid Flash, and the Challengers of the Unknown. It had a great variety of stuff going on it.

With New 52 not lasting lately there have been references in Action Comics (Superman) of the old universe and other DC Earths of old. It'll most likely be just be an event where the New 52 version of the characters meet some versions of the past and DC tidies up some stuff that not many fans liked about the New 52. I highly doubt they will reboot. The movies are New 52 influenced, they are getting around to where almost all merchandise is New 52, everything is going New 52. It would be stupid if they rebooted.

With some current titles I suggest checking out Justice League United and Batman & Robin. Batman & Robin has to be the best Batman book out there. It reminds a lot of the DCAU for some reason so if you like the DCAU check it out. Plus, you get Robin! Well when Robin comes back. DC killed him. But he'll comeback. I know he will. JLU is basically a book full of all the fun characters and it is written extremely well.

Honestly dude just check out anything. Don't worry about the history of anything. I suggest going to the back issue box at the comic store. The old stuff is new and even if you get a crappy book it'll be interesting just to see an example of a comic from a certain time period. Try to get some Golden, Silver, and Bronze age stuff too. It'll be a little expensive though it'll make your collection interesting and like I said before its cool to see what the comics were like at different time periods. Plus, most are one and done stories.

Also you have the Internet. Wikipedia, Comic Vine, forums. All will help you learn. And if it makes you feel any better getting into comics most of us on this site don't know a lot about a certain comic. Just go in and have fun.

Hope this helped!

@crazyscarecrow: Thanks for all the feedback! Happy to hear that the New 52 most likely won't be going anywhere, would be too much to handle for me right now haha. The few articles I've seen regarding Batman & Robin look pretty sweet, especially that crazy suit he's using! Also I think I'm gonna do just what you said and try to dive in and catch up on things using wikis if it gets too confusing.

@wubbzinator: You're welcome! I am too. As much as I long for the old continuity where they could throw in small little references to old school stuff and I want to see the New 52 become its own thing and I wasn't looking forward to a mess. If they were to reboot again I would probably just dedicate my comic to buying back issues.

And Batman & Robin is pretty awesome! If you get one DC book get that one! Or JLU. Both are best they are producing lately.

Yeah wikis is basically how I learned must of my comic knowledge. I also suggest going on Don Markstein's Toonopedia. It is a bit dated now though it gives really neat facts about creation and overall the evolution of characters ranging from DC to Marvel to cartoons from WB and Disney. Its pretty cool.

Also I know the New 52 is already 3 years old but it still feels quite "new" to me and while I am not sure how often reboots occur within the comic book world I'm getting the feeling that it usually takes a bit longer! I just might have to get Batman & Robin even though I've strayed away from the bat family, read some Nightwing trades which really weren't doing it for me, but I've heard plenty good things about this run and Damian if he manages to come back.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/10/20/dc-comics-creators-asked-to-bring-their-stories-to-a-close-before-the-band-aid/ I'm just speculating, but it's certainly seems like something is happening.

@wubbzinator: No. Reading past series would be WAAAY more convenient for you, and here's why:

Pre 52 has storytelling of a higher calibre, quality wise.

You wouldn't have to wait a long ass time for the next issue.

(Most other people in this thread are wrong, and they should feel bad.)

@jonez120: (Make them feeeeeel haha) Yea I've picked a handful of superman stories I'm interested and hoping to purchase this coming weekend...Superman stuff specifically. For All Seasons, All-Star, and Secret Origin!

@thebluetunic: Dun dunnn dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn....thanks for the article!

@wubbzinator: Man, you absolutely have to read Kingdom Come.

I didn't like New 52 and stopped reading it within a month or two of starting comics. At least for me, it was confusing. New 52 just didn't gel with me which made me seek out the older stuff. I personally found it easier reading essential stories starting from the beginning of Post-Crisis in the mid/late 1980s onwards. But what is easier is different for everyone, I tended to do online research as I read stories which helped me understand continuity and all that. All you can do is give it a go. However, it doesn't hurt to look up a list of essential books, this way you can decide what strikes your fancy more.

@juliedc: Haven't seen it on any of the reading lists I found but I'll check it out!

@jonez120: I think I'm going to be doing a mix of the two ---> reading old things when I can't because I don't have money to splurge on all the trades at once and following some of the current stories to be up to date with things!

@wubbzinator: I think you got me and Jonez120 switched around in your post. If not, are you referring to when I said Post-Crisis because that just refers to a period of comics from Crisis on Infinite Earths (mid 1980s) which rebooted the DCU all the way up to the 2011 New 52 reboot.

@juliedc: Mix up! haha sorry

Again thanks everyone for all the feedback and advice in this thread it was really helpful!