DC Comics - what TYPES of stories do you like and dislike?

DC Comics - what types of stories do you like and what types do you dislike?

For me, I LOVE stories where a team comes together to defeat a villain or threat. Team books have always been my favorite to read. I also love long, drawn out mysteries.

Some of my favorite storylines:
Justice League of America - No Man Escapes the Manhunters
Legion of Super Heroes - The Great Darkness Saga
Batman: The Long Halloween
Justice
JSA: The Hunt for Extant

Least favorite stories are where a hero is portrayed as a bad guy or killer, turns evil, or betrays his teammates.
Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight is my all-time least favorite DC storyline. I love Hal Jordan and couldn't stand that he turned into a killer.
I picked up a trade on Injustice not too long ago and was appalled when Superman brutally beats Green Arrow to death. It was horrifying.
I was also disappointed to read that Wally West (one of my all-time favorite heroes) turned out to be a killer in Heroes In Crisis.

Types I like

-Stories that explore and show love to a character history, basically a lot of Rebirth and the current Hawkman ongoing
-Stories that play with the crazy aspects of characters living in a shared universe, a lot of Scott Snyder here like Justice League and Batman but also Legion of Superheroes and JSA tend to be here.
-Stories that that expand the world of a character, like Geoff Johns Green Lantern run or Mark Waid's Flash
-Stories that raise up and build new heroes, I'm thinking Tynion's Justice League Dark for Khalid Nassour and Supersons

Types I don't like
-Same as OP, I hate character assassination stories
-I hate stories like the recent Batman/Catwoman wedding where there is a bunch of build up, there are tie-ins people can buy, and its something fans want but they pull a curve and don't go through with the story they set up.

Guess it's easier to name types of stories I dislike rather than like but[I] Injustice[/I] has permanently soured me on the concept of Evil Superman/Batman vs. Superman stories. Anything with zombies also.

So I guess most of Tom Taylor's DC output.

Titans: Titans Together is about exactly the kind of story I enjoy most. And the fact it has my favorite character, Jason Todd, is a bonus. Like the latest issue was a fun one centering around Raven, and then Raven and Beast Boy. Nothing too heavy, but still with a good message in it. And the previous issue had Jason shine as he helped Rose see how badly Slade was manipulating her, with no regard to what she would have to endure.

I love a wide variety. I can read teams or solos, space opera or noir-style crime stories, westerns or high fantasy, in continuity or Elseworlds. There's no limit on it for me.

Drastic character misrepresentations tend to put me off. I don't mind events, as long as their stories are interesting, and not centered on shock value or pumping up a pet creation. So, I guess I haven't liked a DC event since [I]Invasion[/I].

I like stories made for real DC fans.

Stories like Injustice are for more casual fans so they can do memes and go on youtube and say all kinds of absurd things.

I like lore heavy story if I know the lore and if I don't know the lore I hold off reading it.

Like I was so hyped for the first Metal, seeing what they do and I know there's a lot of references there but I don't know the reference so I postpone it.

for Batman, focusing on solving cases. I love detective stories, I love trying to guess the culprit and method. They don't always do detective stories and they don't always do it well though.

I wanna like Long Halloween, but it's not something you can join in and solve because the cases span a year with too many characters and not enough clues.

for Jason Todd, I prefer infiltrating the underworld to take them down.

for Damian, just him trying to make friends while being Damian.

I don't like Out of Character Plot. Kinda like an Idiot Plot that only happens if all characters act like idiots, this is the plot that can only happen if the characters are acting out characters. They can overlap though.

An example is that one time Dick cheated on Kori for Babs for pity sex before their wedding, or when Dick stole the wedding ring of Babs' friend because Babs was dating Luke, or in Nightwing Year One Batman decided to kidnap Jason Todd, ropes and gags included, for stealing the Batmobile tire.

In terms of character, I like stories that really highlight what makes the character different. I want their voice to sound unique to them so they feel like an actual person, not just an archetype in a suit. I also like when characters are well-rounded and subtle, rather than having their most obvious traits exaggerated. Team books give great opportunity for characters to play off of each other when done right.

In terms of plot, I want the danger to feel earned. I want the antagonist to have weight, and the villain to get a similar treatment to the protagonist; highlight what makes them unique. When the threat isn't a strong character per se, then the effects of the threat still have to have a human element. I love a good epic story, but if you're going to have a space invasion linger over the planet for the thousandth time, then I'm going to have to see characters I care about actually worry about it on Earth. I also like when the action is creative. I don't need superheroes just punching all the time when they can create vaccuums and manipulate energies and whatnot.

In terms of feel, I like stories that are a little bit different. They don't have to be experimental art projects, but I like when a story tries to say something. Something about a particular character, something about superheroes, something about #Society...just something. Fighting an unremarkable bad guy with some humor and melodrama on the side just doesn't do it for me anymore.

My favorite titles over the last few years (Deathstroke, Mr. Miracle) are good examples of that. My favorite comics of all time (Kingdom Come, Justice, Waid & Johns' Wally run, All-Star, Identity Crisis, Birthright) all check most of those boxes.

Firstly, OP I just have to say what a fantastic thread this is.

I bookmarked it so I can comb through it to help build a purchasing list for future books!

Okay so types of stories I like...

I like events.
I like the soft reboots and hard reboots, can't say why for sure, but the transformation of characters and dimensions and the multiverse-- it's a subject matter I love about comics and real world science of dimension as well.

Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, DC Universe Rebirth, Flashpoint, Doomsday Clock, Metal, Convergence Final Night etc

Team books
Justice League Dark, JL Darkseid War Saga Omnibus, Teen Titans 1 2 3 Geoff Johns, Injustice Completes Year 1-5, etc

Lesser know characters books

52, Worlds Finest Huntress and Power Girl, New 52 Earth 2 books, Amanda Conner Power Girl book, etc

Superman books
Death Reign Return of Superman, Action Comics New52 to Rebirth storyline, Blue Superman 70ish issue run,

Supergirl, 90s Superboy run, Green Lantern Kyl Rayner 90s run, and Green Lantern Rebirth

Watchmen, Before Watchmen, Major Bummer, Hush, Knightfall, The Return of Bruce Wayne, Dc vs Marvel 90s Crossover

If I had to define what exactly I like, its pretty tough, why I find one book or author appealing and others not so much, I cant totally say...

I do enjoy books when heroes are shown plan clothed and we experience there normal life more, I dont usually like books with endless fighting and light on plot... since I've only been reading steady for about 3 or 4 years and only have a few hundred trades under my belt I constantly feel I cant read fast enough and there is so much more for me to read and discover as well as rereading my constantly growing collection.

I'm super enthusiastic about DC and cant get enough and even find books that dont appeal to me enjoyable to read. I never regret spending an evening reading.

[QUOTE=Menacer;5042827]Firstly, OP I just have to say what a fantastic thread this is.

I bookmarked it so I can comb through it to help build a purchasing list for future books!

I do enjoy books when heroes are shown plan clothed and we experience there normal life more, I dont usually like books with endless fighting and light on plot... since I've only been reading steady for about 3 or 4 years and only have a few hundred trades under my belt I constantly feel I cant read fast enough and there is so much more for me to read and discover as well as rereading my constantly growing collection.

[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I'm glad you like the thread. I was hoping it would interest people.

As for the plain clothes and experiencing normal life, you may want to pick up Marv Wolfman and George Perez's [I]New Teen Titans[/I] from the 80s if you haven't already read it. There's about 11 TPB and several omnibus collections available. You learn so much about who these characters are in their personal lives and it's amazing what those two creators did with that book for five years.

[url]https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol/dp/1401251439/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=marv+wolfman+titans&qid=1594385244&s=books&sr=1-3[/url]

[img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61sC3fUZACL._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=Menacer;5042827]
I do enjoy books when heroes are shown plan clothed and we experience there normal life more, I dont usually like books with endless fighting and light on plot...[/QUOTE]

I forgot about this. I do enjoy it when you get to see a good part of the hero's life. As long as its not soap-opera like.

Some characters get better treatment in that respect than others. Superman has almost always been strongly tied to Clark Kent's job & social circle. I know many Bat-fans complain that Bruce Wayne is now just a disguise, rather than an actual part of Batman's character. The Lantern's seem to be powered on full time. Rucka had Diana doing human rights work, which I really liked.

[QUOTE=caj;5043088]Thanks, I'm glad you like the thread. I was hoping it would interest people.

As for the plain clothes and experiencing normal life, you may want to pick up Marv Wolfman and George Perez's [I]New Teen Titans[/I] from the 80s if you haven't already read it. There's about 11 TPB and several omnibus collections available. You learn so much about who these characters are in their personal lives and it's amazing what those two creators did with that book for five years.

[url]https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol/dp/1401251439/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=marv+wolfman+titans&qid=1594385244&s=books&sr=1-3[/url]

[img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61sC3fUZACL._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]

Good call. W&P made it clear from issue 1 that NTT was going to be a different animal from your daddy's DC, but "A Day In The Life" and "Dear Mom & Dad" really hammered the point home.

Dont like - events, continuity stories, crossovers, and 'the universe', reboots, and batman. Well i do like batman but month to month its a depressing read and starts to do my head in.

Do like
Self contained books
A good bit of domestic story telling alongside the action.
Very different art styles book to book so im not looking at a 'house style'
Mini series.



So... yeah thats a struggle sometimes.

[QUOTE=LifeIsILL;5041749]I like stories made for real DC fans.

Stories like Injustice are for more casual fans so they can do memes and go on youtube and say all kinds of absurd things.[/QUOTE]

Injustice is a travisty, a complete defamation of Superman as a character. A lot of Geoff Johns' Justice League felt this way. I can't believe how he wrote Hal Jordan in the New Fifty Two Green Lantern series as some brash frat boy, considering how well he wrote Jordan before Flashpoint.

[QUOTE=caj;5043088]Thanks, I'm glad you like the thread. I was hoping it would interest people.

As for the plain clothes and experiencing normal life, you may want to pick up Marv Wolfman and George Perez's [I]New Teen Titans[/I] from the 80s if you haven't already read it. There's about 11 TPB and several omnibus collections available. You learn so much about who these characters are in their personal lives and it's amazing what those two creators did with that book for five years.

[url]https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol/dp/1401251439/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=marv+wolfman+titans&qid=1594385244&s=books&sr=1-3[/url]

[img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61sC3fUZACL._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]

Im a fan or Geoff Johns Teen Titans run... I believe the only Marv Wolfman book Ive read is COIE, and I actually didnt finish it cause I found it really wordy in an odd way...

Though its still on my book shelf and I still intend to reread it full through. I had the same problem with Watchmen and King's Mister Miracle, couldn't finish them, though those I've since reread and now are big time favorites of mine.

I have this weird habit of letting the hype get to me and when I read it my expectations are all out of wack and give up... but I always go back and the second or third read something clicks in my brain and it becomes my favorite...

Im currently dealing with this problem with All Star Superman, its on everyones top 10 list and I hated it... then I watched the animated movie and actually connected with it, so nown that's on my reread list.

I got a gift card for my local comic shop and been wondering what my next buy would be. I'll get The New Teen Titans, give Wolfman another look!