Map Out My Comic Book Reading

So, pretty much a new reader here. I've read various Spidey, Batman issue when I was younger, watched all relevant comic book cartoons and movies, and recently took it upon myself to read a few of the big name Superman origin novels, but between stuff like crossover relevance to core plots, and DC's ( as you can tell, I'm interested primarily in DC to start with ) reboots I'm hoping that someone can provide me a map to reading ( I'll quite readily take to collections/trades/graphic novels, whatever you call them ) so that I can read through these characters in a somewhat chronologically sound manner.

Primary interests, the primary makeup of JL. Martian, Supes, Bruce, WW ( not so much, i like her backtory but that costume oO ), Lantern etc... I'd like to avoid the antiquities as much as possible, but really, I need a clear line of approach so any input would be appreciated.

I'd also take some recommended readings for marvel, aside from the mainstream characters ( I'm not a huge fan of Xmen, and I HATE, no offense, Thor from a conceptual standpoint...and like WW DAT COSTUME! ). Thanks in advance. Oh, adding, I'm more than aware of the DCNU, I'd just like to get caught up, and grow accustomed with these characters from past iterations.

Green Lanterns easy.

Start with Green Lantern Rebirth. than Read Geoff Johns 9 year run on GL. Green Lantern 2005-2011 (with side issues of Sinestro Corps War (one shot), Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns (one shot), Blakest Night, and Brightest Day.) than if you continue to enjoy, New52 Green Lantern, and Red Lanterns, and Larafleeze. if you want to see Kyle Rayners teamup (all the lantern corps represented) GL: New Guardians

its allll good, and sometimes its GREAT. and its well made enough that there are flashbacks that fill you in on all the most important stuff that happened before Geoff Johns came on, while recreating the mythos of the green lanterns.

for Batman ask someone else. Buuut. outside of "antiquity" (which I have a lot of suggestions) I can recommend from the New52 the Batman Ttitle, it is consistently good, and shows up on Comic vines number one monthly comic spot waaaay more than any other comic. specifically the whole Court of Owls thing , BATMan and Robin is also pretty good, and specifically the Death of the Family Crossover. Detective Comics has its ups and downs, and the batman spinoffs range from great to mediocre. (just STAY AWQAY FROM BATMAN DARK KNIGHT that's the only BAD title) Batwoman is supposed to bew AMAZING, Nightwing is good, sometimes better. Batgirl is consistently good, Batwing is my fav, so im biased.

same with Aquaman, New52 is really good, Im lacking in knowledge of the title, that isn;t ancient issues.

Superman

the way see it, All Star Superman to see the Hallmark of the way Superman is expected to be, Ive heard MANY people refer to this as THE superman comic. then Challenge your own views of Superman with "Red Son" and "Lex Luthor: Man of Steel"

Stopping there is the cheap version (like just Geoff Johns run is the cheap version for GL)

Action Comics vol 1 issue 1

Action comics 6, 23, 252

Superman Annual 11 (you may know this as the JLU episode "the Man who has Everything")

action comics annual 118

Superman 423

action comics 583-599, 659, 662, 684

Man of Steel

Superman: secret origin

Superman: Secret Identity

Superman Birthright

Superman for all seasons

Superman for tomorrow

Superman red son

all star superman

emperor joke 1

Superman 75, 81, 161

The Adventures of superman 500, 583

Action Comics 770, 844-846, 851, 858-863, 866-870

Blackest Night Superman

Action Comics vol 2 1-8 or really the first writers run of New52, you can drop it after that, I hear Greg Pak is good, not great

Superman the wedding album

Superman/batman 1-6

forgive If I missed something im not an expert

here is DCs published WW 101 checklist as well as some additions of my own that DC might not want advertised as essential

All-Star Comics 8

Sensational comics 1-9

Wonder Woman vol 1 1-7

Wonder Woman vol 1 17 (or does it start at 22 when Kaninger writes, instead of edits) this is the beginning of the new less womans lib, more Hellenistic period of WW (to 168, don't know whats essential and what isn't)

Wonder Woman vol 1 168-196 somewhere in here, I am led to believe WW is insultingly depowered, leading to womans rights activists to boycott, and pressure DC to fix the "only positive female comic hero"

Wonder Woman vol 2 1-24

Wonder Woman vol 3 1- 44, 219, 600-602

Wonder Woman (new52) 1-....24? whens a good stopping point for "essential"... I don't know, its all pretty good

First off, welcome to comicdom and welcome to the Vine!

The same advice I always give to new readers is just to find good stories about characters you're interested in first. Try not to worry about iterations, or crossovers, or chronological histories. The fact is that Marvel and DC have so many years of stories that it's often confusing and daunting for a new reader to understand everything immediately. Just read good comic-books, enjoy yourself, and over time, the blanks will start filling themselves - and you'll have a solid understanding of superhero comics as much as the rest of us.

There's no better way to enjoy comics than to read the classics. Just going of DC first, these are some great stories you can pick up to get a good sense of each character:

Batman

• Year One (His first year in crime-fighting, good stuff)
• The Long Halloween (One of the classic detective stories for Bats, it's also early in his career)
• The Killing Joke (A comic about Batman's relationship with Joker, gorgeous art and solid writing)

Superman

• Superman For All Seasons (Great exploration of Clark and his background)
• Superman Birthright (Basically Clark's equivalent of Year One)

Justice League of America

• JLA Deluxe Edition Vol. 1-4 (This is all you need to start you off. This volume of the Justice League is probably the best in the team's history, with some of the most iconic stories and awesome moments of the JLA in here)

Hope this helps, and feel free to hit me up whenever you have questions.

@bierschneeman@veshark Thanks to both of you, I have more than enough of a shopping list. Question though, are there any all encompassing reads? You'd think there would be a packaged complete run based on decade or something. Perhaps the book would weigh 300lbs and cost 2 months salary haha, just thought I'd ask. If there are any complete series recommendations, like I said I'd gravitate towards them even if it means enduring some bad writing. Anyway thanks again. I'm going to grab the JLA volume and the Batman stuff to start, adding to that All Seasons ( seems to have alot of content ) and a few lantern titles ( digging them ).

AllStar Superman and Superman annual 11