Is reading the infinite crisis still worth it (as a starting point) ?

[lillumultipass]

Hi everyone,

I will turn 40 in a few months (yeah ;-)) and I used to read a lot of comics when I was a kid, mostly Marvel as they were easier to come by in France, but I really loved the Flash, Green Lantern, Firestorm, the Justice League, the legion of super heroes... so I tried to find some as much as I could. I basically stopped reading around The crisis on infinite earth (CoIE) and I have only dabbled a little with comics since then (notably when I used to play games such as Wizkids' heroclix).

Nowadays, I am very happy that comics have become "trendy" on TV, in movies as I can watch the Flash, Supergirl...but I think I want more. Hence, I am looking to delve back into comics, but after reading some stuff on the universe I am a bit lost with all the reboots.
Hence, the usual question of where to start and what to read.

As I have some fond memories of COiE, I was thinking of starting with Infinite Crisis and then probably continue with New 52.
What do you think ? Is reading the Infinite Crisis worth it ? What about the New 52 ? I have read that it was both a good entry point for newbies but also not that good on average. And then, there is rebirth now...

Let's say I start with the Infinite crisis and then go on with New 52. I have found this thorough guide : https://comicbookreadingorders.com/d...reading-order/
but...does it mean I really have to read all that to understand how the universe evolve until Convergence ?
For instance, I am not a huge fan of Batman or Green Arrow and I am not sure I am interested in reading stuff on Blue Beetle or Hawk and Dove.
Also, is there a link between pre-crisis heroes and heroes in New 52 or is it a complete "start-over" (which seems to be the case if I understood correctly).

Finally, another thing I am wondering is : paper or digital ? I guess most people here I have reading comics for a while and are quite found of paper. I read a lot of books as well and I do like paper, but for ease of transport (and lack of shelf space) I also read a lot on my kindle. Hence, digital might be the way to go for me but I was trying to find "unlimited" subscriptions (ideally, not necessarily DC-only as I might want to read some marvel as well) but I have the impression that the comixology unlimited subscription is not available in my country (France). Are there other offers I could look at ?

All recommendations/links are welcome!

thanks ;-)

[jb681131]

Hi everyone,

I will turn 40 in a few months (yeah ;-)) and I used to read a lot of comics when I was a kid, mostly Marvel as they were easier to come by in France, but I really loved the Flash, Green Lantern, Firestorm, the Justice League, the legion of super heroes... so I tried to find some as much as I could. I basically stopped reading around The crisis on infinite earth (CoIE) and I have only dabbled a little with comics since then (notably when I used to play games such as Wizkids' heroclix).

Nowadays, I am very happy that comics have become "trendy" on TV, in movies as I can watch the Flash, Supergirl...but I think I want more. Hence, I am looking to delve back into comics, but after reading some stuff on the universe I am a bit lost with all the reboots.
Hence, the usual question of where to start and what to read.

As I have some fond memories of COiE, I was thinking of starting with Infinite Crisis and then probably continue with New 52.
What do you think ? Is reading the Infinite Crisis worth it ? What about the New 52 ? I have read that it was both a good entry point for newbies but also not that good on average. And then, there is rebirth now...

Let's say I start with the Infinite crisis and then go on with New 52. I have found this thorough guide : https://comicbookreadingorders.com/d...reading-order/
but...does it mean I really have to read all that to understand how the universe evolve until Convergence ?
For instance, I am not a huge fan of Batman or Green Arrow and I am not sure I am interested in reading stuff on Blue Beetle or Hawk and Dove.
Also, is there a link between pre-crisis heroes and heroes in New 52 or is it a complete "start-over" (which seems to be the case if I understood correctly).

Finally, another thing I am wondering is : paper or digital ? I guess most people here I have reading comics for a while and are quite found of paper. I read a lot of books as well and I do like paper, but for ease of transport (and lack of shelf space) I also read a lot on my kindle. Hence, digital might be the way to go for me but I was trying to find "unlimited" subscriptions (ideally, not necessarily DC-only as I might want to read some marvel as well) but I have the impression that the comixology unlimited subscription is not available in my country (France). Are there other offers I could look at ?

All recommendations/links are welcome!

thanks ;-)

I'm french too, here is what I recommended on another thread:

DC has 4-5 eras :

Gold / Silver / Bronze age - 1938-1986
Modern Age - 1986-2011
New52 - 2011-2016
Rebirth - 2016-ongoing

DC is made of Several major heroes:

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Flash (there has been multiple ones)
Aquaman
Green Arrow
Green Lantern (there has been mutiple ones)

DC has also other great heroes

Shazam! (aka Capitain Marvel)
Martian Manhunter
Plastic Man
Atom
Black Canary
Booster Gold
Cyborg
Nightwing (formerly the first Robin)
Batwoman
Power Girl
...

DC has lesser known heroes that are a bit aside

Animal Man
Swamp Thing
John Constantine
Detective Chimp
The Watchmen
The Metal Men
...

DC heroes have younguer apprentice, and other young heroes

Robin (there has been a few)
Superboy
Aqualad
Supergirl
Beast Boy (aka Chagelling)
Speedy
Starfire
Kid Flash
Raven
Wonder Girl
Batgirl
...

DC has teams with these heroes:

The Justice League
The Justice of America (aka JLA)
The Teen Titans
The Titans
The Justice League Dark
The Suicide Squad (team of vilains forced to do good by the government)
The Green Lantern Corps
...

What to read ?

You can read the main DC Events
You can only read stories from one hero / team
Or you can read it all

Here are DC main events:

1961 - Flash of Two Worlds - creation of the multiverse
1985 - Crisis on Infinit Earths - recenter of the DC univers and start of the Modern age
1986 - Legends - creation of the modern Justice League and the Suicid Squad
1987 - Jutice League International - optional
1994 - Zero Hour: Crisis in Time - return of the Multiverse
2004 - Identity Crisis - events implying all of the DC's heroes
2005 - Infinite Crisis
???? - 52 - excellent - tells what happen in the missing year after Infinit Crisis
2008 - Final Crisis
2009 - Blackest Night - A Green Lantern Event - you should read the Green Lantern by Geoff Johns run
2010 - Brightest Day - Consequence of Blackest Night
2011 - Flashpoint - Flash disrupt time - start of the New52 era
2013 - Justice League: Trinity War - prequel to Forever Evil - optional
2014 - Forever Evil + Justice League: Forever Heroes
2015 - Justice League: Darkseid War - sequel to Forever Evil - optional
2016 - DC Univers Rebirth
2017 - Batman/The Flash: The Button - optional
2019 - Doomsday Clock - Should have read The Watchmen

Then for the different heroes here are the reading orders of the main and good stories:

Batman - appears mainly in 2 titles: Batman and Detective Comics

Batman: Year One
Batman: The Man Who Laughs
Batman: The Long Halloween + Batman: Dark Victory
The Killing Joke
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
Batman: Tales Of The Demon + Batman: Bride of the Demon + Batman: Birth Of The Demon
Batman: A Death in the Family
Batman Knightfall Omnibus (new version) vol.1-3
Batman: Legacy + Batman: Contagion + Batman: Catclysm - sequels to Knigtfall and prequels to No Man's Land - but optional to read
Batman: No Man's Land Omnibus vol.1-5
New Gotham Omnibus 1-2 or Batman: Evolution + Batman: Officer Down
Gotham Central vol.1-4 - optional but good
Batman Murderer ? + Batman Fugitive
Batman: Hush
Detective Comics: Heart of Hush + Streets of Gotham: Hush Money + Streets of Gotham: House of Hush - optional but very very good
Batman: Batman and Son or Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus
Batman: The Black Mirror - optional
Batman, Incorporated + Batman Incorporated New52 #1-2
Batman & Robin New52 #1-7 or Batman & Robin by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Omnibus
Batman: Court of Owl -> Batman New52 tpb vol.1-2
Batman: Death of the Familly -> Batman New52 tpb vol. 3
Batman: Zero Year -> Batman New52 tpb vol. 4-5
Batman New52 tpb vol.6-10 - optional
Batman: I am -> Batman Rebirth tpb vol.1-3
Batman: The War of Jokes and Riddles -> Batman Rebirth tbp vol.4
Batman Rebirth tpb vol.5-... ongoing
Detective Comics Rebirth tpb vol.1-... ongoing
Batman: White Knight
Dark Nights: Metal

Superman - appears in 2 title: Superman and Action Comics

Superman: Red Son - elseworld story
All-Star Superman
Superman by Geoff Johns - the main stories are:
- Superman: Secret Origins
- Superman: Last Son
- Superman: Escape From Bizarro World
- Superman: Brainiac
The Death of Superman + The Return of Superman
Superman: For Tomorrow
Superman: Doomed (2016)
--- You can skip the New52 and Rebirth eras ---
Super Sons Rebirth tpb vol.1-... ongoing

Wonder Woman - All runs can be read on their own

Wonder Woman by Geoges Perez Omnibus #1-3 - Wonder Woman pre-Modern Age
Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka Omnibus #1-2
Absolute Wonder Woman By Brian Azzarello & Cliff Chiang vol.1-2 - Wonder Woman New52
Wonder Woman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1-3 (Wonder Woman Rebirth)

Flash

The Flash By Geoff Johns Book #1-5
The Flash New 52 tpb #1-4 - The Brian Azzarello run
The Flash New 52 tpb #5-9 - optional, less good than what Azzarello did
The Flash Rebirth tpb #1-... ongoing or The Flash Deluxe Edition Book #1-... ongoing

Green Arrow

Green Lantern / Green Arrow Omnibus - a great Bronze Age short serie
Green Arrow New52 - A very good new start
Grenn Arrow Rebirth

Green Lantern

Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Omnibus #1-3 - Massive but very good and complete <- it is a new start for the Green Lantern, what comes before is optional
Green Lantern New #4-8 - optional, to finish the New52 era started by Geoff Johns.
Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps (Rebirth)

Aquaman

Aquaman: Sub Diego + Aquaman: To Serve and Protect + Aquaman: Kingdom Lost - The John Arcudi run
Aquaman New52 tpb #1-3 + Justice League New52: Throne of Atlantis + Aquaman New52 tpb #4 - The Geoff Johns run
Aquaman New52 tpb #5-8 - optional but good to understand the Rebirth era
Aquaman Rebirth tpb #1-... ongoing

Animal Man / Swamp Thing / John Constantine / Justice League Dark

Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Omnibus (2017) - optional
Saga of the Swamp Thing Book #1-6 - The Alan Moore run
Swamp Thing by Brian K. Vaughan vol.1-2 - optional
Hellblazer vol.1-21
Lucifer: Book One-Five - optional
The Animal Man Omnibus - The Grant Morrison run
Animal Man by Jeff Lemir - Animal Man New52
- tpb #1 - The Hunt
- tpb #2 - Animal vs. Man
- tpb #3 - Rotworld: The Red Kingdom
- tpb #4 - Splinter Species
- tpb #5 - Evolve of Die
Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder - Swamp Thing New52 part.1
- tpb #1 - Raise Them Bones
- tpb #2 - Family Tree
- tpb #3 - Rotworld: The Green Kingdom
Justice League Dark by Jeff Lemir - Justice League Dark New52
- tpb #2 - The Book of Magic
- tpb #3 - The Deak of Magic
- tpb #4 - Rebirth of Evil
Swamp Thing by Charles Soule - Swamp Thing New52 part.2
- tpb #4 - Seeder
- tpb #5 - The Killing Field
- tpb #6 - The Sureen
- tpb #7 - Season's End
Justice League Dark: The Last Age of Magic - The Rebirth serie - ongoing

Have fun with that to begin with

If you want to know more about a specific hero, please tell us.

[Lightning Rider]

It depends how important being current is for you. Infinite Crisis is a good way to understand the status quo of the time, but it doesn’t give you much that carries over into the New 52 or even Rebirth. I think it’s a good Event in itself and I like a lot of comics leading up to before and just after that event, so I’d say it’s worth reading.

The New 52 erased a lot of good relationships and made some arbitrary unpopular changes but also gave a few characters a much needed fresh start, so story wise it was a mixed bag that is still trying to be repaired by Rebirth.

Hope that helps

[caj]

1931 - Flash of Two Worlds - creation of the multiverse

I think you meant 1961, not 1931.

However, thanks for making this informative post. I'm a long-time DC reader and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

[jb681131]

I think you meant 1961, not 1931.

However, thanks for making this informative post. I'm a long-time DC reader and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Thanks, corrected it.

There are also other great stories you can read as stand alone:

Justice League: New Frontier
Superman: Whaterver happened to the man of tomorrow
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
Batman: Strange Apparitions + Batman: Dark Detective
Manhunter: The Special Edition
Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich
Joker by Brian Azzarello

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Nah, Infinite Crisis isn't the way to go.

Loads of great recommendations already but here are my own recommendations:

Classic ongoings/ runs from the past thirty years or so:

Hitman by Ennis and McCrea
Starman by James Robinson and Tony Harris
The Flash by Mark Waid
JLA by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter
Supergirl by Peter David
Gotham Central by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark
JSA by Geoff Johns
JLI by Keith Giffen and JM Dematteis
Green Arrow by Kevin Smith then Brad Meltzer (I haven't read Winnick's followup but I've heard fairly mixed things)
Young Justice by Peter David
Triangle-era Superman (late '80s through the Death and Return of Superman, continue beyond this until you've had enough)
Impulse by Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos
Detective Comics by Greg Rucka (either run)
Superman by Geof Johns
Catwoman by Ed Brubaker (the first 24 issues)
The Flash by Geoff Johns (especially the stuff with Scott Kollins)
Superboy by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett


Good recent and current runs:

Superman by Brian Michael Bendis: including Man of Steel, Superman and Action Comics
The Green Lantern by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp
Young Justice by Brian Michael Bendis
Batman by Tom King (rather controversial one, this, but I like it)
Superman by Tomasi and Gleason

Great minis and graphic novels from the past couple of decades or so:

Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerads
All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Superman: Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen
New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke
Batman: Ego and Other Tails by Darwyn Cooke
Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Batman: Year One by Miller and David Mazzucheli
Wonder Woman: Earth One by Grant Morrison and Yanick Pacquette
Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross
JLA: Year One by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn and Barry Kitson
The Golden Age by James Robinson and Paul Smith
The Omega Men by tom King

That's a solid start, I think.

Personally, I always prefer reading physical copies to digital but for one or two of those classic runs, you may need to turn to digital.

And none of this is including imprints like Vertigo and Wildstorm.

[lillumultipass]

thanks everyone for the recommendations !

The Flash and GL by Geoff Johns are definitely on my reading list.
I do love events though (I am not sure why...), so I guess I will try reading Identity Crisis as a starter and see how I feel about it.

[bob.schoonover]

thanks everyone for the recommendations !

The Flash and GL by Geoff Johns are definitely on my reading list.
I do love events though (I am not sure why...), so I guess I will try reading Identity Crisis as a starter and see how I feel about it.

If you like events, Infinite Crisis is fun. The omnibus includes all the lead-up stuff which was really probably the highwater mark of shared universe storytelling. It's chronologically more or less right after Identity Crisis (if you get the lead up stuff), so it might be good to get, anyway. Infinite Crisis was immediately followed up by a 52-issue weekly comic, aptly named 52, which is also quite a bit of fun. While neither story is particularly relevant to the here and now, there are so many characters bouncing around through those stories it'll probably give you a good overview of a lot of heroes, villains, and their relationships to be worthwhile.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

thanks everyone for the recommendations !

The Flash and GL by Geoff Johns are definitely on my reading list.
I do love events though (I am not sure why...), so I guess I will try reading Identity Crisis as a starter and see how I feel about it.

Yoiks, no, Identity Crisis is bloody awful.

Also, read Johns' Flash (his original run, not his Barry Allen) but you will get more out of it if you read Waid's run first. Maybe even Bill Messner Loebs' run too.

If you like events, Infinite Crisis is fun. The omnibus includes all the lead-up stuff which was really probably the highwater mark of shared universe storytelling. It's chronologically more or less right after Identity Crisis (if you get the lead up stuff), so it might be good to get, anyway. Infinite Crisis was immediately followed up by a 52-issue weekly comic, aptly named 52, which is also quite a bit of fun. While neither story is particularly relevant to the here and now, there are so many characters bouncing around through those stories it'll probably give you a good overview of a lot of heroes, villains, and their relationships to be worthwhile.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Infinite Crisis (a whole lotta much ado about nothing) but the stuff that led to it and spun out of it had some real gems.

[jb681131]

Yoiks, no, Identity Crisis is bloody awful.

!? No it's not Bloody Awfull !

Also, read Johns' Flash (his original run, not his Barry Allen) but you will get more out of it if you read Waid's run first. Maybe even Bill Messner Loebs' run too.

Yes

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Infinite Crisis (a whole lotta much ado about nothing) but the stuff that led to it and spun out of it had some real gems.

Yes Infinit Crisis is not that great. But the serie 52 that tells what happends in the secret missing year after it.

[Vordan]

Infinite Crisis is great if you want to just dive right in to DC continuity. Be prepared for that though, you’ll be getting a lot of references thrown at you. I’d get the Omnibus, the lead up to Infinite Crisis was fantastic, only thing that compares is Hickman’s lead up to Secret Wars. 52 is also fantastic and definitely should be read afterwards.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Identity Crisis is an incredibly cynical series that takes one of the DCU's most beloved "significant others" of one of their most fun and enjoyable Silver Age characters and literally rapes her, burns her alive and then kills her, the latter all while pregnant. And that's just the first issue. If you like DC's greatest heroes dragged through the mud for a pathetic attempt at "realism" then go for it, otherwise read almost anything else. It has nice art but almost nothing else going for it.

My personal favourite event comics are all by Grant Morrison: Seven Soldiers of Victory, Final Crisis and Multiversity, though none of these are very new reader friendly.

A good choice might actually be the Sinestro Corps War. It's epic but self-contained and is teh easy highlight of Johns' years-long run on Green Lantern.

Final Night from the '90s is also very solid and is a full-on DC crossover.

And, yes, 52 is really good too.

[BatmanJones]

I'm going against the grain I guess but I'd highly recommend Infinite Crisis as your way back in.

You said you stopped at Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis is a sequel to that story and well told at that.

Here's an easy reading order to follow up on CoIE, factoring in your fondness for events, Flash, and Green Lantern:

1. Infinite Crisis (excellent event)
2. Geoff Johns' run on Green Lantern (fantastic)
3. Final Crisis (optional, highly recommend rikdad's blog posts if you read this one: https://rikdad.blogspot.com/2018/01/...ew-part-i.html)
4. Blackest Night/Brightest Day (great events that dovetail with GL run)
5. Flashpoint (very good event that will get you mostly up to speed)

Then you could pick up with New 52 which directly follows Flashpoint or you could skip straight to Rebirth.

Again, I strongly recommend Infinite Crisis as your first, next read. You can skip many years of comics (which can be overwhelming when finding your way back in) and start with the event that has everything to do with CoIE. It will be almost like you haven't missed a beat.

Hope this helps.

[jb681131]

I'm going against the grain I guess but I'd highly recommend Infinite Crisis as your way back in.

You said you stopped at Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis is a sequel to that story and well told at that.

Here's an easy reading order to follow up on CoIE, factoring in your fondness for events, Flash, and Green Lantern:

1. Infinite Crisis (excellent event)
2. Geoff Johns' run on Green Lantern (fantastic)
3. Final Crisis (optional, highly recommend rikdad's blog posts if you read this one: https://rikdad.blogspot.com/2018/01/...ew-part-i.html)
4. Blackest Night/Brightest Day (great events that dovetail with GL run)
5. Flashpoint (very good event that will get you mostly up to speed)

Then you could pick up with New 52 which directly follows Flashpoint or you could skip straight to Rebirth.

Again, I strongly recommend Infinite Crisis as your first, next read. You can skip many years of comics (which can be overwhelming when finding your way back in) and start with the event that has everything to do with CoIE. It will be almost like you haven't missed a beat.

Hope this helps.

I would complete it as follows:

1. Crisis on Infinit Earths - start of the Modern Age DC
2. Legends (optional) - creation of the New Justice League and the Suicid Squad
3. Zero Hour: Crisis in Time - come back of the Multiverse
4. Infinite Crisis (excellent event)
5. Geoff Johns' run on Green Lantern (fantastic) <- stories before Blackest Knight
6. 52 - even if it happens between Infinit Crisis and Final Crisis, read it after reading both
7. Sevent Solders - a must read before Final Crisis
8. Final Crisis (optional, highly recommend rikdad's blog posts if you read this one: https://rikdad.blogspot.com/2018/01/...ew-part-i.html)
9. Blackest Night/Brightest Day (great events that dovetail with GL run)
10. Flashpoint (very good event that will get you mostly up to speed)
11. Justice League: Trinity War (optional) - somewhat a prequel to Forever Evil
12. Forever Evil
13. Forever Evil: Blight (optional but a great read)
14. Darkseid War (optional) - somewhat a sequel to Forever Evil
15. DC Univers Rebirth

[BatmanJones]

I would complete it as follows:

1. Crisis on Infinit Earths - start of the Modern Age DC
2. Legends (optional) - creation of the New Justice League and the Suicid Squad
3. Zero Hour: Crisis in Time - come back of the Multiverse
4. Infinite Crisis (excellent event)
5. Geoff Johns' run on Green Lantern (fantastic) <- stories before Blackest Knight
6. 52 - even if it happens between Infinit Crisis and Final Crisis, read it after reading both
7. Sevent Solders - a must read before Final Crisis
8. Final Crisis (optional, highly recommend rikdad's blog posts if you read this one: https://rikdad.blogspot.com/2018/01/...ew-part-i.html)
9. Blackest Night/Brightest Day (great events that dovetail with GL run)
10. Flashpoint (very good event that will get you mostly up to speed)
11. Justice League: Trinity War (optional) - somewhat a prequel to Forever Evil
12. Forever Evil
13. Forever Evil: Blight (optional but a great read)
14. Darkseid War (optional) - somewhat a sequel to Forever Evil
15. DC Univers Rebirth

Well done, thanks. I think Legends/Zero Hour are a little dated which is why I recommended skipping straight to Infinite Crisis but this way works too.

I like the additions of 52, Forever Evil, Darkseid War, and DC Universe Rebirth.