Hey guys, I'm fairly new to comics (I've only read a few Batman graphic novels before and 10 or so Nightwing issues) and I'm looking to start reading some series that rebooted in the New 52. So far what I'm interested in is Blue Beetle, Teen Titans, Swamp Thing and Animal Man. If anyone has any thoughts on these series please share! :D

Also, I was wondering if I'd need to read prior comics to understand the new 52 Swamp Thing and Animal Man series. Should I just jump right in or should previous issues?

Thanks!

Both Animal Man and Swamp Thing's New 52 stuff is AMAZING. Sadly Animal Man got cancelled in March but Swamp Thing is still going strong.

For both of these series I'd suggest starting from issue #1. If you cant manage to do that, you at least need to pick up issues 12 through 18 of both series as they cross over with each other in a story called "Rotworld" which was very good.

@redlantern23 Thanks! Yeah I'm definitely gonna start reading from issue #1. Should I read anything else besides the New 52 stuff though? I've never read Animal Man or Swamp Thing and I don't want to be lost reading the New 52 titles.

In regards to Animal Man and Swamp Thing. You dont really need to read any of the previous series, at most you might want to get Brightest Day... but only to explain a scene in the very first issue. (But between us, the main character has been dead for some time and only recently returned to life.)

What is a bit of a bother with those two books is that they revolve around each other for a very long time, and you kinda have to read both to get the full picture. If you want to skip the Rotworld story, just jump in when Charles Soule takes over the Swamp Thing book, you'll be hitting the ground running, but does save you from having to read two books at once.

Blue Beetle has been canned and isn't really appearing anywhere right now. So it's probably the solo series you want to take a look at.

Teen Titans... As a long time TT fan of both the cartoons and the previous incarnations, I have an extremely hard time with saying anything good about Scott Lobdells run on the book and would urge you to wait till July when the book is relaunched under Will Pfeifer.

You don't need to read anything else, they're pretty user friendly.

Also, if I were you, I'd skip Teen Titans, it's quite horrible. Read Lemire's Green Arrow (starting with issue 17), Aquaman, WW and Snyder's Batman is the bomb.

@newmayne: You can start with the new 52 stuff and be fine. Scott Snyder and Jeff Lamire do a great job of peppering in Swamp Thing and Animal Man's mythos in the first few issues for new readers (That was the point of the new 52 after all)

Its always a good idea to read older stories from characters though. I reccomend Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing. One of the best series ever imo.

@outside_85

Yeah I think I'll just start reading the New 52 Swamp Thing and Animal Man and see how it goes. I hear a lot of bad things about Teen Titans so I'll probably take that off my list, which is disappointing cause I really enjoyed them when I was younger. Just to clarify, is Blue Beetle a yes or a no?

@the_stegman I was thinking of reading Aquaman, but I feel like it doesn't provide enough of an origin for me to really understand the story. Same with The Flash. They both seem like great series but I just don't know enough about their past to not have some sort of background info or origin. This is all based off reviews though so correct me if I'm wrong!

@newmayne: With TT, I'd still say you should try and join the rest of us when it relaunches, who knows, it might be good :)

Blue Beetle I cant really say very much about, as I haven't read it. I heard it was still ok, but not enough people wanted to read it.

Btw, if mythology or sword and sorcery stuff is your thing or something you want to get into, I would recommend Wonder Woman and Demon Knights.

Their backgrounds are pretty simple really. Flash, Barry Allen, forensic detective, struck by lightning, now has super speed. The title mentions nothing about pre New 52 continuity or characters, so you'll be good, same with Aquaman, he's...half human, half Atlantean, his mother was the queen of Atlantis, making him the rightful king.