Old DC Comics Reading Order

[filipehasit]

Hi, guys!

I'm new to the community and to the DC comics universe.
So, I've been looking for a post anywhere, in which I could find a reading order/guide to DC stories from the beginning. I mean, I know it's impossible to read every single DC story ever written, about all the characters. So I would like to have a reading order of the stories, containing the main and most important events that's happened from beginning to present day. I also know that DC rebooted the stories in 2011, with New 52, but I still want to read the old stories.

(Just to make myself clear, for example: I know there has been a major event called Crisis on Infinite Earths a long time ago, and that there are stories that led to it. I would like to know what are the stories that led to and that contain the main events in DC history).

Ok, that's it. Hope I've made myself clear.

Thanks in advance, guys!

[Bored at 3:00AM]

For Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman, you can't go wrong with starting with Superman: The Golden Age vol. 1, along with Batman and Wonder Woman's earliest adventures. They are definitely old fashioned, but it's interesting to see the foundations of the DCU in their most formative incarnations.

https://www.amazon.com/Superman-Gold...the+golden+age
https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Golden...the+golden+age
https://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Woman-...the+golden+age

If you want more 1940s/World War II era superhero stuff, I would check out Roy Thomas & Rich Buckler's All Star Squadron

https://www.amazon.com/Showcase-Pres.../dp/1401234364

From there, I would proceed with James Robinson's The Golden Age and Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier. Neither are strictly in continuity, but they both give the best version of two key events in DCU history, the final days of the 1940s superheroes and the rise of the 1950s at the dawn of the Silver Age.

https://www.amazon.com/JSA-Justice-S...The+Golden+Age
https://www.amazon.com/DC-New-Fronti...s=New+Frontier

From there, I think you'll have enough of an idea of which characters you want to read more about. There's plenty of Silver Age and Bronze Age collections for you to choose.

Once you get to the 1980s, it's all about Marv Wolfman & George Perez's New Teen Titans, which is still considered one of the very best superhero runs of all time.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Tita...ew+teen+titans

Then, try out some of the DC work of Alan Moore on Swamp Thing, Superman, and Green Lantern Corps

https://www.amazon.com/DC-Universe-S...man+alan+moore

At this point, you can move into Crisis on Infinite Earths, which streamlines the continuity down to a single Earth.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

Every year, DC publishes a free guide called DC ESSENTIAL GRAPHIC NOVELS. A hard copy is often available at comics stores, but you can read it online at the DC website.

https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-nov...ic-novels-2019

Here's the description:

For decades, DC has been the perfect starting place for anyone interested in graphic novels, with genre-defining books such as Watchmen, Batman: The Killing Joke, V for Vendetta, DC Super Hero Girls and Mister Miracle.
Now, we’ve created the perfect resource for any reader with the DC Essential Graphic Novels 2019 catalog. The 25 best graphic novels to begin with are here, alongside groups of great starting-point books for your favorite characters, such as Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, the Justice League and more!

From DC Books for Young Readers to DC Black Label, MAD, DC Vertigo and Jinxworld, DC has the most diverse library of graphic novels in all of comics. The DC Essential Graphic Novels 2019 catalog makes it easy to find the perfect story for every reader.

I would start with this Guide and go from there.

[BatmanJones]

The two posts above are what I'd suggest but here's a super-comprehensive reading order from the collections forum. It would take a lifetime to read them all but here's pretty much everything pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985):

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...l-reading-list