The modern world is saturated with an abundance of comic book movies, T-shirts, action figures, and internet memes, because let’s face it, comics rock! Even people who have never read a comic book are infatuated with these stories and characters, and able to enjoy them through movies and TV shows. While Marvel has dominated the movie market, DC is about to catch up in a big way with a series of movies planned for release!
Many fans of the characters want to read the comics, but it’s not always easy for new readers to pick up a series and understand what’s going on. After all, DC characters have 70 years of history behind them. What’s more, there are multiple universes, reboots, and crossovers. It all gets to be a bit much. So, I am writing a list of 10 DC Comics that anyone can pick up and use to learn about the world of the DC Universe.
This isn’t a list of the best DC stories for individual characters, but the best stories for learning about the greater DC Universe.If you’ve only ever seen the TV shows and movies, or have only read Batman titles, or if you’ve been committed to Marvel but now you’re getting curious and want to try experimenting with DC, then this list is for you.
All of these titles are written between 1985 and 2011, during the peak of the Modern Age of Comics. In 2011, the DC Universe rebooted and the current run is called The New 52. I’ll make a later list for The New 52, but everything below is designed to give you an enjoyable read while making it easier to pick up other DC titles you’re not familiar with.
10. The Flash: Rebirth 
Barry Allen is the star of DC’s TV show The Flash, the upcoming movie, and the current run of comics in The New 52. However, he was dead in the comics for over two decades before being brought back in The Flash: Rebirth, which had him racing back to the forefront of comics. The book showcased all of the major speedsters of the DC Universe and most of Flash’s villains. There’s also a great scene with Flash and Superman racing one another. The sheer amount of information might be a bit overwhelming, but it’ll introduce readers to a lot of new characters and major concepts relevant to DC’s speedsters.
9. JLA: The Deluxe Edition, vol 1 by Grant Morrison
This is the beginning of the fantastic run of Justice League of America by Grant Morrison, and contains the first three stories of the series. It focuses on the big names in DC, letting Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman flex their muscles. This collection contains the first 9 issues of Morrison’s JLA run, and was specifically designed to showcase the bravest and best of DC’s heroes.
8. DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore 
Alan Moore is a writer known for taking the innocent escapist children’s picture books we call comics and turning them into nightmarish grimoires filled with substance abuse, black magic, and horrible reminders of our own grim mortality. His stories are epic, twisted, and defy all expectations, not unlike his beard. In the mid-80’s, he found time between writing V For Vendetta and The Watchmen to showcase some of DC’s characters in a series of stories as creative and captivating as any being written at the time. This volume captures his work on Superman, Green Arrow, Vigilante, the Green Lantern Corps, and includes one of the most memorable Batman stories ever written—The Killing Joke. It is a great collection of different titles to help new readers learn about comics.
7. Superman: The Death of Superman 
I thought a lot about which Superman story to use before finally deciding on this 1993 classic. At the time, the Lois and Clark TV series was popular. Someone had the great idea to sync up the TV show and the comics. They planned to have Superman’s wedding in the comics and TV show at the same time. Of course, when the wedding got pushed back to season 4 of the TV show, the comics needed to do something else with Superman. Apparently the DC writers decided death and marriage were similar enough, and this heart-rending epic is the result. This tale shows the mettle of the Man of Steel in his final moments, as he sacrifices everything to keep people safe from the monster Doomsday, who not even the combined might of the Justice League could stop. It’s sequel, A World Without Superman, is a good follow-up read should you be interested.
6. Wonder Woman: Eyes of the Gorgon 
Wonder Woman is not just a comic book character. She’s a cultural icon. Her larger-than-life legacy cannot be contained in the pages of the comics that spawned her. Eyes of the Gorgon presents a story in which Wonder Woman faces a challenge worthy of her Amazonian might. This story has the Themysciran princess going head-to-head with the Gorgon Medusa, and even facing off against the Gods of Olympus! Set during writer Greg Rucka’s legendary run of the character, we see the mythological and political aspects of the DC Universe that other writers gloss over. This comic is as much a classic as the myths that inspired it! UPDATE: Since I first wrote this, Rucka has returned to writing Wonder Woman, and his original run is being reprinted as Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka.
5. Green Lantern: Rebirth 
Green Lantern is one of those really intimidating titles for new readers. This is only fair since there are five different Green Lanterns of Earth and most of the stories take place in deep space. This particular story focuses on Hal Jordan, the most famous of the Green Lanterns, and his return to life after being killed in the early 90’s. It not only introduces almost all the major characters relevant to the Green Lantern storylines (which is a lot), but also explores Hal’s relationships with many other classic heroes. This story was a difficult pick, but it introduces elements into the Green Lantern mythos that have had repercussions lasting into the present, making it the perfect jumping-on point.
4. Batman: Hush
This beautifully-drawn story by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee is one of the greatest Batman classics of all time! Many of the Dark Knight’s classic villains and allies make appearances, as do a number of characters from other parts of the DC Universe (most notably Metropolis). Through the pages of this epic tale, we watch Batman’s love life, his fears, his friendships, and his family ties laid bare, marveling at each new revelation about the brooding B.A.M.F. Dark Knight that we know and love. It won’t give you a feel for everything in the DC Universe, but it’s perfect for delving into any of the Gotham characters or Bat Family titles.
3. Green Arrow: Quiver 
In a dark time before Green Arrow had his own TV series, the character’s sales were plummeting. DC decided it was better to kill a character than lose any more money on the title, so they blew him up. A couple years later, he was brought back to life in Green Arrow: Quiver. The story was masterfully handled by writer Kevin Smith who mixed his trademark humor with more serious themes like crime, poverty, and boxing glove arrows. What’s more, this tale reintroduces a lot of the major events of DC’s history in an accessible way while also bringing in a huge ensemble of characters from the Justice Leaguers to Etrigan the Demon (and of course, all of “Team Arrow”). It’s funny, dark, and one of the greatest Green Arrow stories ever written!
2. Batman: Knightfall 
This should be in anyone’s top 5 list of classic Batman stories. After the villain Bane breaks all the inmates out of Arkham Asylum, Batman must fight each of his foes one after another as he is practically drowned in a sea of enemies. Each of his rogues engages him in brutal combat, until finally, battered and bloodied, he must confront Bane in a final showdown. With phenomenal art and powerful writing, this is a must-read. The story was reprinted in three extra-huge volumes following the release of The Dark Knight Rises, but all you really need is the first volume to get a feel for the story and the world.
1. Crisis on Infinite Earths 
Nowadays, every time DC or Marvel pitch a crossover they advertise character deaths and the universe being irreparably altered. We are usually disappointed. Crisis on Infinite Earths actually delivered on those promises. This is the story that ended the DC Universe(s) we knew and loved and set the stage of comics for the next quarter century. Eventually, The New 52 replaced the established timelines, but that doesn’t make this story any less important. Due to it’s immense cast of characters, I don’t recommend this as your first DC comic, or maybe even your fifth, but this story is well worth reading and it literally has everyone in DC Comics who was a major player at the time.
That’s the list. It’s by no means complete, but it’s a solid list. What’s more, you can pick up any of these books, enjoy the story, and (if you’re a fairly new reader) learn something important about the comics and their characters.
But just in case you’re looking for a little more, I am including my “Honorable Mention” list below for great stories that just barely didn’t make the top 10 for whatever reason.
Honorable Mention:
No Man’s Land: The basic premise is that Gotham has been declared no longer part of the United States (who are sick of giving money to repair the damage done every time a supervillain blows something up). Cut off from the outside, Gotham is ruled by marauding gangs as people struggle for survival. Thus Batman, his fellow Gothamite heroes, and the police are just another couple of gangs fighting for turf in their plight to protect as much of the city as they can defend. It’s a tale of urban desperation and phantasmagoric grit, but it’s length and it’s scope might make it hard for new readers.
Identity Crisis: The story begins with the murder of Elongated Man’s wife, and one by one, other superheroes’ loved ones are being targeted by an unknown threat, while a dark secret of the Justice League’s past is revealed. It features some epic fight scenes, some heartfelt emotional moments, breath-taking art, sharp writing, and a brutal assault on the Elongated Man’s wife that has been discussed by fans ever since. A darkly controversial crossover, I felt this story has too many characters for it to be accessible to new readers.
52: My favorite crossover event, it is 52 issues long and collected in 4 out-of-print volumes or one very expensive omnibus, making it unfeasible for many readers to obtain. It shows a lot of the second and third tier heroes of the DCU, as they step up to face Lex Luthor, mad scientists, the Religion of Crime, time paradoxes, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Meanwhile, the big three—Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman—are nowhere to be found. An awesome read, if you can find it. UPDATE: Since initially writing this, 52 has been reprinted in two thick books.
Sinestro Corps War: I almost picked this instead of Green Lantern: Rebirth, but the story is three volumes long, which is a bit much for someone new to comics. Here writer Geoff Johns remade the Green Lantern mythos as we understand it, while showcasing almost all of DC’s cosmic (and cosmological) big baddies in an intense struggle that is both deeply personal and set for universally high stakes.
Blackest Night: Another Green Lantern story by Geoff Johns, in which an apocalyptic prophecy of the Green Lanterns is fulfilled and all the dead of the DCU return to life, perverted by the power of the Black Rings. Lots of characters appear in this tale, and it is a dark intriguing exploration of the major DC heroes and what drives them, as well as much of the cosmology of the Lantern mythos. In my very biased opinion, colorist Oclair Albert gives this story some of the best coloring ever printed!
The Modern Skald 