Read DCU entire library

[smallo]

Even if win lottery one lifetime probably not enough. So instead what's faster way to skim/read DCU library to get good sense of history in terms of form (literary and visual development like different narrative styles and page layouts) and content (character and story development like tracing multiverse history) beginning with Action Comics #1?

[Superfly Frankenstein]

The DCUniverse streaming service is a good place to start. For roughly 70 bucks a year, you can read a great majority of their library.

[smallo]

The DCUniverse streaming service is a good place to start. For roughly 70 bucks a year, you can read a great majority of their library.

Sorry if post is unclear. Already have DCU streaming service and ideally read all comics...but practically impossible. So what are faster ways based on above criteria?

[Lee Stone]

You could start with the Who's Who series of the '80s, which gave the history of all of DC's characters from 1938 to 1988.
Then History of the DC Universe covers the bigger picture up until 1988 through a post-Crisis lens.
Then the Secret Origins series from the '80s takes you up into the '90s.
Then DC Universe Legacies gets you up until Flashpoint/New52.
After that, you're on your own because DC hasn't really given any concrete data on the universe and their characters since Flashpoint.

[Air Wave]

This book is amazing, especially as a way to see the changing visual styles:

https://www.amazon.com/75-Years-DC-C...33211263&psc=1

[smallo]

Thanks all. Below also looks good.

https://www.amazon.com/DC-Comics-Yea...3GJNHAHDW973K2

[jb681131]

...

Well DC is enormous. There are so many that should be read.
So Here is what I think should be read from DC Comics,
Like all major comics houses, DC is devided into big eras:

1. 1938-1956 - Golden Age - Superman appears in Action Comics, Batman appears in Detective Comics
2. 1956-70's - Silver Age - Introduction of the Comics Code
3. 70's-1985 - Bronze Age - Lightening of the Comics Code, and the comming of darker comics
4. 1985-now - The Moderne Age - Abolition of the Comics Code and reboot of the DC Univers
5. ->1985-2011 - The Crisis Age - Starts of with Crisis on Infinit Earths
6. ->2011-2016 - The New 52 - Starts of with Flashpoint event
7. ->2016-2019 - DC Rebirth - Starts of with the DC Univers Rebirth event to finish up with the Doomsday Clock event
8. ->2019-ongoing - The New Age - Starts with Dark Knights: Metal and Justice League: No Justice.

Those eras are regrouped and reffered by the following names:

• The Gold/Silver/Bronze age is reffered as Pre-Crisis.
• The Crisis Age si reffered as Post-Crisis or Pre-Flashpoint.
• The Flashpoint/Rebirth/New Age ages are reffered as Post-Flashpoint or Flashpoint Age

Here would be the main stories to read:

1. 1938 - Action Comics #1 - 1st appearance of Superman
2. 1939 - Detective Comics #27 - 1st appearance of Batman
3. 1940-52 - The Spirit Archives by Will Eisner - Yes from the one of the awards - 26 vol.
4. 1959-85 - Flash: The Silver Age - The Flash by Carmine Infantino - 4 vol. followed by 2 omnibus (ongoing)
5. 1963-82 - Crisis On Multiple Earths - The JSA and JLA through the ages - 6 vol. + 2 team-ups vol.
6. 1966-82 - The Steve Ditko Omnibus - Charleston Comics by Steve Ditko: Shade, Hawk & Dove, Legion of Superheroes, Starman, The Outsiders, Specter, Desaad, ... - 2 omnibus
7. 1970-73 - The Fourth World by Jack Kirby - Massive Saga with The New Gods, Mister Miracle, The Forever People and Jimmy Olsen - Introduces Darkseid, Big Barda and Orion as well - 4 omnibus
8. 1970-72 - Green Lantern/Green Arrow - A very funny duo that commes back regularly in the comics - 1 omnibus
9. 1972-76 - Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Omnibus - The original Swamp Thing saga by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson (and then others) - 1 omnibus
10. 1982 - The Great Darkness Saga - The return of the great Darkseid - 1 omnibus
11. 1980-96 - The New Teen Titans - The Saga by Marv Wolfman and George Perez - 11 vol. (ongoing) or 3 omnibus
12. 1984-86 - Saga of the Swamp Thing - When Alan Moore takes over Swamp Thing (1st American Comics from Alan Moore) - 6 vol. or 1 omnibus
13. 1986 - The Watchmen by Alan Moore - The Launching story of the Modern Age - 1 omnibus
14. 1985-86 - Crisis On Infinit Earths (aka COIE) - Regroups all heroes into one univers - 1 omnibus
15. 1987 - DC: Legends - Follow-up to COIE, story in which the modern age Justice League and Suicide Squad are put in place - 1 vol.
16. 1987-89 - Justice League International - Direct follow-up to DC: Legends - 5 vol. or 1 omnibus
17. 1987-89 - Suicide Squad by John Ostrander - Direct follow-up to DC: Legends - 8 vol.
18. 1987-92 - Wonder Woman by George Perez - 4 vol. (ongoing) or 3 omnibus
19. 1986 - Batman: Year One - Origin Story by Frank Miller - 1 vol.
20. 1987 - Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunter - Start of a modern age darker Green Arrow - 1 vol.
21. 1987-90 - The Question by Denis O'Neil - The Charlton Comics detective - 6 vol.
22. 1988 - Batman: The Killing Joke - The popular Joker story by Alan Moore - 1 vol.
23. 1988-2013 - Hellblazer - The story of John Constantine - 21 vol.
24. 1988-89 - Animal Man by Alan Grant - A now classic work by the fine Alan Grant - 1 omnibus
25. 1989 - Arkham Asylum; A Serious House On Serious Earth - A strange and twisted take on Arkham and the Joker by Grant Morrison - 1 vol.
26. 1990-92 - Lobo by Keith Giffen & Alan Grant - The most out of the norme character you can find - 1 omnibus
27. 1995-99 - The Power of Shazam! - follows the SHAZAM familly by Jerry Ordway - in various other collections
28. 1987-97 - The Flash by Mark Waid - Start of the Epic 1987 reboot - 6 vol.
29. 1986-00 - Batman: The Long Halloween + Batman: Dark Victory - Great saga of the early days of Batman by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale - 2 omnibus
30. 2000-06 - The Flash by Geoff Johns - End of the Epic saga started by Mark Waid - 5 vol. or 3 omnibus
31. 1994 - Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight/New Dawn - The downfall of Hal Jordan, the rising of Kyle Reyner - 1 vol.
32. 1993-94 - The Death and Return of Superman - The Death of Superman + The Return of Superman - 2 vol. or 1 omnibus
33. 1993-95 - Batman: Knightfall - The great Bane/Azrael saga - 9 vol. or 3 new omnibus
34. 1994 - Batman: Mad Love - Introduction of Harley Quinn in the comics by the genius Paul Dini - 1 vol.
35. 1996-2002 - Stormwatch + The Authority - The Warren Ellis era on this United Nation's crisis intervention team - 3 vol. or 1 omnibus + 5 vol. or 1 omnibus
36. 1998-2009 - Planetary by Warren Ellis - follows agents responsible for discovering the secret history of the world - 4 vol. or 1 omnibus
37. 1999 - Batman: No Man's Land - When Gotham becomes a war zone - 4 new omnibus
38. 1996-06 - JLA - The great saga started by Grant Morrison - 9 vol. or 4 omnibus
39. 2000 - Batman/Huntress: Cry for blood - A new take on Huntress by Greg Rucka - 1 vol.
40. 2003-04 - Superman: Birthright - Retelling of Superman's origins by Mark Waid - 1 omnibus
41. 2003-06 - Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka - The main modern age saga - 3 omnibus
42. 2003-06 - Batman: New Gotham + Gotham Central - Crime and Gangster Stories by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka - 2 omnibus + 4 vol. or 1 omnibus
43. 2004 - Aquaman: Sub Diego - a devastating earthquake hits San Diego - 1 omnibus
44. 2006-12 - Green Lantern by Geoff Johns - The Saga of GL including: Rebirth, Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Knight, Brightest Day, War of the Green Lanterns, GL New 52 - 20 vol. or 3 massive omnibus
45. 2004-05 - Superman: For Tomorrow - Aclaimed story by Brian Azzarello - 2 vol. or 1 omnibus
46. 2004 - Identity Crisis - Follows the COIE storyline - 1 vol.
47. 2005 - Infinite Crisis - Follows the COIE storyline - 7 vol. or 1 omnibus
48. 2006-07 - 52 - tells what happens in the missing year after Infinit Crisis. - 4 vol. or 2 omnibus
49. 2006-08 - Seven Solders of Victory + Final Crisis - Concludes the COIE storyline - 2 vol. or 1 omnibus + 1 vol.
50. 2007-09 - Will Eisner's Spirit - The return of the Spirit - 5 vol.
51. 2008 - Superman: Brainiac - The Major story by Geoff Johns - 1 vol.
52. 2006-11 - Batman by Grant Morrison + Batman Incorporated - The saga by Morrsion - 2 omnibus + 4 vol. or 1 omnibus
53. 2011 - Flashpoint - The Event by Geoff Johns - 1 vol.
54. 2011-16 - Batman & Robin New 52 - Story by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason (Should have read Batman by Grant Morrison vol.1 and Batman Inc.) - 7 vol. or 1 omnibus
55. 2011 - Batman: Court of Owls + Batman: Night of Owls - The Owls Saga by Scott Snyder - 2 vol. or 1 omnibus
56. 2011-14 - Wonder Woman New 52 - Saga by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang - 6 first vol. or 2 Omnibus
57. 2011-14 - Aquaman New 52 - Story by Geoff Johns - 4 first vol. or 1 omnibus
58. 2012-13 - Shazam! New 52 - New origins by Geoff Johns - 1 vol.
59. 2011-14 - Flash New 52 - Flash by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato - 4 first vol. or 1 omnibus
60. 2011-14 - Green Arrow New 52 - Story by Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino - first 6 vol. or 1 omnibus
61. 2012-2016 - Justice League: Trinity War + Forever Evil + Forever Heroes + The Darkseid War Saga - The Main New 52 JL stories - 1 omnibus + 1 vol. + 1 vol. + 2 vol. or 1 omnibus
62. 2016 - Titan Hunt + DC Univers Rebirth + The Return of Wally West - The Main story for the Rebirth event (must know Flashpoint and The Watchmen) - 3 vol.
63. 2016-* - Aquaman Rebirth - By Dan Abnett - 9 vol. (ongoing)
64. 2016-19 - Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps - By Robert Venditti - 7 vol.
65. 2018-19 - Doomsday Clock - Concludes the Flash/Rebirth storyline - 1 omnibus
66. 2019 - Mr. Miracle by Tom King - The Eisner Award story - 1 vol.
67. 2019 - Dark Knight: Metal + Justice League: No Justice - The Discovery of a Dark Multivers written by Scott Snyder - 2 vol.
68. 2019 - Heroes in Crisis - Yet another Crisis - 1 vol.

Elseworld wise:

• The Dark Knight Returns - The Famous story by Frank Miller - 1 omnibus
• Superman: Red Son - by Mark Millar, what if Kal-El landed in Russia ? - 1 vol.
• DC: New Frontier - Big award wining saga by Darwyn Cooke - 1 omnibus
• Kingdom Come - The aclaimed story by Mark Waid and Alex Ross - 1 vol.
• All-star Superman - The aclaimed serie by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely - 1 omnibus
• Superman: Secret Identity - Unusual take on Superman - 1 vol.

I hope you have a vision a little clearer of the DC timeline.

[smallo]

Well DC is enormous. There are so many that should be read.
So Here is what I think should be read from DC Comics,
Like all major comics houses, DC is devided into big eras:

1. 1938-1956 - Golden Age - Superman appears in Action Comics, Batman appears in Detective Comics
2. 1956-70's - Silver Age - Introduction of the Comics Code
3. 70's-1985 - Bronze Age - Lightening of the Comics Code, and the comming of darker comics
4. 1985-now - The Moderne Age - Abolition of the Comics Code and reboot of the DC Univers
5. - 1985-2011 - The Crisis Age - Starts of with Crisis on Infinit Earths
6. - 2011-2016 - The New 52 - Starts of with Flashpoint event
7. - 2016-2019 - DC Rebirth - Starts of with the DC Univers Rebirth event to finish up with the Doomsday Clock event
8. - 2019-ongoing - The New Age - Starts with Dark Knights: Metal and Justice League: No Justice.

Those eras are regrouped and reffered by the following names:

• The Gold/Silver/Bronze age is reffered as Pre-Crisis.
• The Crisis Age si reffered as Pos-Crisis or Pre-Flashpoint.
• The Flashpoint/Rebirth/New Age ages are reffered as Post-Flashpoint or Flashpoint Age

Here would be the main stories to read:

1. 1938 - Action Comics #1 - 1st appearance of Superman
2. 1939 - Detective Comics #27 - 1st appearance of Batman
3. 1940-52 - The Spirit Archives by Will Eisner - Yes from the one of the awards - 26 vol.
4. 1959-85 - Flash: The Silver Age - The Flash by Carmine Infantino - 4 vol. followed by 2 omnibus (ongoing)
5. 1963-82 - Crisis On Multiple Earths - The JSA and JLA through the ages - 6 vol. + 2 team-ups vol.
6. 1966-82 - The Steve Ditko Omnibus - Charleston Comics by Steve Ditko: Shade, Hawk & Dove, Legion of Superheroes, Starman, The Outsiders, Specter, Desaad, ... - 2 omnibus
7. 1970-73 - The Fourth World by Jack Kirby - Massive Saga with The New Gods, Mister Miracle, The Forever People and Jimmy Olsen - Introduces Darkseid, Big Barda and Orion as well - 4 omnibus
8. 1970-72 - Green Lantern/Green Arrow - A very funny duo that commes back regularly in the comics - 1 omnibus
9. 1972-76 - Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Omnibus - The original Swamp Thing saga by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson (and then others) - 1 omnibus
10. 1982 - The Great Darkness Saga - The return of the great Darkseid - 1 omnibus
11. 1980-96 - The New Teen Titans - The Saga by Marv Wolfman and George Perez - 11 vol. (ongoing) or 3 omnibus
12. 1984-86 - Saga of the Swamp Thing - When Alan Moore takes over Swamp Thing (1st American Comics from Alan Moore) - 6 vol. or 1 omnibus
13. 1986 - The Watchmen by Alan Moore - The Launching story of the Modern Age - 1 omnibus
14. 1985-86 - Crisis On Infinit Earths (aka COIE) - Regroups all heroes into one univers - 1 omnibus
15. 1987 - DC: Legends - Follow-up to COIE, story in which the modern age Justice League and Suicide Squad are put in place - 1 vol.
16. 1987-89 - Justice League International - Direct follow-up to DC: Legends - 5 vol. or 1 omnibus
17. 1987-89 - Suicide Squad by John Ostrander - Direct follow-up to DC: Legends - 8 vol.
18. 1987-92 - Wonder Woman by George Perez - 4 vol. (ongoing) or 3 omnibus
19. 1986 - Batman: Year One - Origin Story by Frank Miller - 1 vol.
20. 1987 - Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunter - Start of a modern age darker Green Arrow - 1 vol.
21. 1987-90 - The Question by Denis O'Neil - The Charlton Comics detective - 6 vol.
22. 1988 - Batman: The Killing Joke - The popular Joker story by Alan Moore - 1 vol.
23. 1988-2013 - Hellblazer - The story of John Constantine - 21 vol.
24. 1988-89 - Animal Man by Alan Grant - A now classic work by the fine Alan Grant - 1 omnibus
25. 1989 - Arkham Asylum; A Serious House On Serious Earth - A strange and twisted take on Arkham and the Joker by Grant Morrison - 1 vol.
26. 1990-92 - Lobo by Keith Giffen & Alan Grant - The most out of the norme character you can find - 1 omnibus
27. 1995-99 - The Power of Shazam! - follows the SHAZAM familly by Jerry Ordway - in various other collections
28. 1987-97 - The Flash by Mark Waid - Start of the Epic 1987 reboot - 6 vol.
29. 1986-00 - Batman: The Long Halloween + Batman: Dark Victory - Great saga of the early days of Batman by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale - 2 omnibus
30. 2000-06 - The Flash by Geoff Johns - End of the Epic saga started by Mark Waid - 5 vol. or 3 omnibus
31. 1994 - Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight/New Dawn - The downfall of Hal Jordan, the rising of Kyle Reyner - 1 vol.
32. 1993-94 - The Death and Return of Superman - The Death of Superman + The Return of Superman - 2 vol. or 1 omnibus
33. 1993-95 - Batman: Knightfall - The great Bane/Azrael saga - 9 vol. or 3 new omnibus
34. 1994 - Batman: Mad Love - Introduction of Harley Quinn in the comics by the genius Paul Dini - 1 vol.
35. 1996-2002 - Stormwatch + The Authority - The Warren Ellis era on this United Nation's crisis intervention team - 3 vol. or 1 omnibus + 5 vol. or 1 omnibus
36. 1998-2009 - Planetary by Warren Ellis - follows agents responsible for discovering the secret history of the world - 4 vol. or 1 omnibus
37. 1999 - Batman: No Man's Land - When Gotham becomes a war zone - 4 new omnibus
38. 1996-06 - JLA - The great saga started by Grant Morrison - 9 vol. or 4 omnibus
39. 2000 - Batman/Huntress: Cry for blood - A new take on Huntress by Greg Rucka - 1 vol.
40. 2003-04 - Superman: Birthright - Retelling of Superman's origins by Mark Waid - 1 omnibus
41. 2003-06 - Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka - The main modern age saga - 3 omnibus
42. 2003-06 - Gotham Central - Crime and Gangster Stories by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka - 4 vol. or 1 omnibus
43. 2006-12 - Green Lantern by Geoff Johns - The Saga of GL including: Rebirth, Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Knight, Brightest Day, War of the Green Lanterns, GL New 52 - 20 vol. or 3 massive omnibus
44. 2004-05 - Superman: For Tomorrow - Aclaimed story by Brian Azzarello - 2 vol. or 1 omnibus
45. 2004 - Identity Crisis - Follows the COIE storyline - 1 vol.
46. 2005 - Infinite Crisis - Follows the COIE storyline - 7 vol. or 1 omnibus
47. 2006-07 - 52 - tells what happens in the missing year after Infinit Crisis. - 4 vol. or 2 omnibus
48. 2006-08 - Seven Solders of Victory + Final Crisis - Concludes the COIE storyline - 2 vol. or 1 omnibus + 1 vol.
49. 2007-09 - Will Eisner's Spirit - The return of the Spirit - 5 vol.
50. 2008 - Superman: Brainiac - The Major story by Geoff Johns - 1 vol.
51. 2006-11 - Batman by Grant Morrison + Batman Incorporated - The saga by Morrsion - 2 omnibus + 4 vol. or 1 omnibus
52. 2011 - Flashpoint - The Event by Geoff Johns - 1 vol.
53. 2011-16 - Batman & Robin New 52 - Story by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason (Should have read Batman by Grant Morrison vol.1 and Batman Inc.) - 7 vol. or 1 omnibus
54. 2011 - Batman: Court of Owls + Batman: Night of Owls - The Owls Saga by Scott Snyder - 2 vol. or 1 omnibus
55. 2011-14 - Wonder Woman New 52 - Saga by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang - 6 first vol. or 2 Omnibus
56. 2011-14 - Aquaman New 52 - Story by Geoff Johns - 4 first vol. or 1 omnibus
57. 2012-13 - Shazam! New 52 - New origins by Geoff Johns - 1 vol.
58. 2011-14 - Flash New 52 - Flash by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato - 4 first vol. or 1 omnibus
59. 2011-14 - Green Arrow New 52 - Story by Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino - first 6 vol. or 1 omnibus
60. 2012-2016 - Justice League: Trinity War + Forever Evil + Forever Heroes + The Darkseid War Saga - The Main New 52 JL stories - 1 omnibus + 1 vol. + 1 vol. + 2 vol. or 1 omnibus
61. 2016 - Titan Hunt + DC Univers Rebirth + The Return of Wally West - The Main story for the Rebirth event (must know Flashpoint and The Watchmen) - 3 vol.
62. 2016-* - Aquaman Rebirth - By Dan Abnett - 9 vol. (ongoing)
63. 2016-19 - Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps - By Robert Venditti - 7 vol.
64. 2018-19 - Doomsday Clock - Concludes the Flash/Rebirth storyline - 1 omnibus
65. 2019 - Mr. Miracle by Tom King - The Eisner Award story - 1 vol.
66. 2019 - Dark Knight: Metal + Justice League: No Justice - The Discovery of a Dark Multivers written by Scott Snyder - 2 vol.
67. 2019 - Heroes in Crisis - Yet another Crisis - 1 vol.

There are also some must read elseworld stories:

• The Dark Knight Returns - The Famous story by Frank Miller - 1 omnibus
• Superman: Red Son - by Mark Millar, what if Kal-El landed in Russia ? - 1 vol.
• DC: New Frontier - Big award wining saga by Darwyn Cooke - 1 omnibus
• Kingdom Come - The aclaimed story by Mark Waid and Alex Ross - 1 vol.
• All-star Superman - The aclaimed serie by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely - 1 omnibus
• Superman: Secret Identity - Unusual take on Superman - 1 vol.

I hope you have a vision a little clearer of the DC timeline.

Wow. Thank you!

[jb681131]

Wow. Thank you!

You're welcome.
But bare in mind that it's only a list I made from what I gathered through the years.
Some stuff might be missing.
I also ommited the non-superhero series that have theire own universes.

[Air Wave]

Thanks all. Below also looks good.

https://www.amazon.com/DC-Comics-Yea...3GJNHAHDW973K2

I was going to mention this one too.

[Air Wave]

Well DC is enormous. There are so many that should be read.
So Here is what I think should be read from DC Comics,
Like all major comics houses, DC is devided into big eras:

1. 1938-1956 - Golden Age - Superman appears in Action Comics, Batman appears in Detective Comics
2. 1956-70's - Silver Age - Introduction of the Comics Code
3. 70's-1985 - Bronze Age - Lightening of the Comics Code, and the comming of darker comics
4. 1985-now - The Moderne Age - Abolition of the Comics Code and reboot of the DC Univers
5. - 1985-2011 - The Crisis Age - Starts of with Crisis on Infinit Earths
6. - 2011-2016 - The New 52 - Starts of with Flashpoint event
7. - 2016-2019 - DC Rebirth - Starts of with the DC Univers Rebirth event to finish up with the Doomsday Clock event
8. - 2019-ongoing - The New Age - Starts with Dark Knights: Metal and Justice League: No Justice.

Those eras are regrouped and reffered by the following names:

• The Gold/Silver/Bronze age is reffered as Pre-Crisis.
• The Crisis Age si reffered as Pos-Crisis or Pre-Flashpoint.
• The Flashpoint/Rebirth/New Age ages are reffered as Post-Flashpoint or Flashpoint Age

Here would be the main stories to read:

[LIST=1][*]1938 - Action Comics #1 - 1st appearance of Superman[*]1939 - Detective Comics #27 - 1st appearance of Batman[*]1940-52 - The Spirit Archives by Will Eisner - Yes from the one of the awards - 26 vol.[*]1959-85 - Flash: The Silver Age - The Flash by Carmine Infantino - 4 vol. followed by 2 omnibus (ongoing)[*]1963-82 - Crisis On Multiple Earths - The JSA and JLA through the ages - 6 vol. + 2 team-ups vol.[*]1966-82 - The Steve Ditko Omnibus - Charleston Comics by Steve Ditko: Shade, Hawk & Dove, Legion of Superheroes, Starman, The Outsiders, Specter, Desaad, ... - 2 omnibus

I'd add in a lot more Golden/Silver Age stuff. Even though the writing is simpler that's when all the "firsts" happened.

[jb681131]

I'd add in a lot more Golden/Silver Age stuff. Even though the writing is simpler that's when all the "firsts" happened.

Indeed first are important stories, but are they really all necessary to be read ? No, in my opinion.
For exemple the original Aquaman, is pointless to read. It's not awfull, but there are lots and lots of better things to read before (just look at my list).

ps: I've cleaned up my previous list and added: New Gotham and Aquaman: Subdiego.

[jb681131]

I've updated my previous list

Here would be the main stories:

1. 1938 - Action Comics #1 - 1st appearance of Superman
2. 1939 - Detective Comics #27 - 1st appearance of Batman
3. 1940-52 - The Spirit Archives by Will Eisner - Yes from the one of the awards - 26 vol.
4. 1959-85 - Flash: The Silver Age - The Flash by Carmine Infantino - 4 vol. followed by 2 omni. (ongoing)
5. 1963-82 - Crisis On Multiple Earths - The JSA and JLA through the ages - 6 vol. + 2 team-ups vol.
6. 1966-82 - The Steve Ditko omni. - Charleston Comics by Steve Ditko: Shade, Hawk & Dove, Legion of Superheroes, Starman, The Outsiders, Specter, Desaad, ... - 2 omni.
7. 1970-73 - The Fourth World by Jack Kirby - Massive Saga with The New Gods, Mister Miracle, The Forever People and Jimmy Olsen - Introduces Darkseid, Big Barda and Orion as well - 4 omni.
8. 1970-72 - Green Lantern/Green Arrow - A great team-up - 1 omni.
9. 1972-76 - Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age omni. - The original Swamp Thing saga by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson (and then others) - 1 omni.
10. 1974-75 - O.M.A.C. - The One Man Army Corps by Jack Kirby - 1 vol.
11. 1982 - The Great Darkness Saga - The return of the great Darkseid - 1 omni.
12. 1980-96 - The New Teen Titans - The Saga by Marv Wolfman & George Perez - 11 vol. (ongoing) or 3 omni.
13. 1983-88 - Sword of the Atom - Aventures in the microscopic land of the Amazon rainforest - 1 vol.
14. 1984-86 - Saga of the Swamp Thing - When Alan Moore takes over Swamp Thing (1st American Comics for Moore) - 6 vol. or 1 omni.
15. 1986 - The Watchmen by Alan Moore - The Launching story of the Modern Age - 1 omni.
16. 1985-86 - Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld - Orphaned princess of the magical land of Gemworld - 1 Showcase presents
17. 1985-86 - Crisis On Infinit Earths (aka COIE) - 1st massive event - 1 omni.
18. 1987 - DC: Legends - Follow-up to COIE, story in which the modern age Justice League and Suicide Squad are put in place - 1 vol.
19. 1987-89 - Justice League International - Direct follow-up to DC: Legends - 5 vol. or 1 omni.
20. 1987-89 - Suicide Squad by John Ostrander - Direct follow-up to DC: Legends - 8 vol.
21. 1987-92 - Wonder Woman by George Perez - 4 vol. (ongoing) or 3 omni.
22. 1986 - Batman: Year One - Origin Story by Frank Miller - 1 vol.
23. 1986-88 - Superman: Man of Steel - Superman by John Byrne - 9 vol.
24. 1987 - Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunter - Start of a modern age darker Green Arrow - 1 vol.
25. 1987-90 - The Question by Denis O'Neil - The Charlton Comics detective - 6 vol.
26. 1988 - The Killing Joke - The popular Joker story by Alan Moore - 1 vol.
27. 1988-13 - Hellblazer - The story of John Constantine - 21 vol.
28. 1988-89 - Animal Man by Alan Grant - A now classic work - 1 omni.
29. 1989 - Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth - A strange and twisted take on Arkham and the Joker by Grant Morrison - 1 vol.
30. 1989-93 - Doom Patrol by Grant Morrsion - Doom Patrol are a group of super-powered misfits - 6 vol. or 3 books or 1 omni.
31. 1990-92 - Lobo by Keith Giffen & Alan Grant - The most out of the norme character you can find - 1 omni.
32. 1994-2001 - Starman by James Robinson - A superhero sherif - 10 vol. or 6 omni.
33. 1995-99 - The Power of Shazam! - follows the SHAZAM familly by Jerry Ordway - in various other collections
34. 1987-97 - The Flash by Mark Waid - The Epic 1987 reboot - 6 vol.
35. 1986-00 - Batman: The Long Halloween + Batman: Dark Victory + Catwoman: When in Rome - Great saga of the early days of Batman by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale - 2 omni. + 1 vol.
36. 2000-06 - The Flash by Geoff Johns - End of the Epic saga started by Mark Waid - 5 vol. or 3 omni.
37. 1994 - Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight/New Dawn - The downfall of Hal Jordan, the rising of Kyle Reyner - 1 vol.
38. 1994 - Gen13 - Story about "gene active" teens recruted by the gov. by Jim Lee - 1 vol.
39. 1993-94 - The Death and Return of Superman - The Death of Superman + The Return of Superman - 2 vol. or 1 omni.
40. 1993-95 - Batman: Knightfall - The great Bane/Azrael saga - 9 vol. or 3 new omni.
41. 1994 - Batman: Mad Love - Introduction of Harley Quinn in the comics by the genius Paul Dini - 1 vol.
42. 1996-02 - Stormwatch + The Authority - The Warren Ellis era on this UN's crisis intervention team - 3 vol. or 1 omni. + 5 vol. or 1 omni.
43. 1998-09 - Planetary by Warren Ellis - follows agents responsible for discovering the secret history of the world - 4 vol. or 1 omni.
44. 1999 - Batman: No Man's Land - When Gotham becomes a war zone - 4 new omni.
45. 1996-06 - JLA - The great saga started by Grant Morrison - 9 vol. or 4 omni.
46. 2000 - Batman/Huntress: Cry for blood - A new take on Huntress by Greg Rucka - 1 vol.
47. 2003-04 - Superman: Birthright - Retelling of Superman's origins by Mark Waid - 1 omni.
48. 2003-06 - Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka - The main modern age saga - 3 omni.
49. 2003-06 - Batman: New Gotham + Gotham Central - Crime and Gangster Stories by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka - 2 omni. + 4 vol. or 1 omni.
50. 2004 - Aquaman: Sub Diego - a devastating tsunami hits San Diego - 1 omni.
51. 2006-12 - Green Lantern by Geoff Johns - The Saga of GL including: Rebirth, Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Night, Brightest Day, War of the Green Lanterns, GL New52 - 20 vol. or 3 massive omni.
52. 2004-05 - Superman: For Tomorrow - Aclaimed story by Brian Azzarello - 2 vol. or 1 omni.
53. 2004 - Identity Crisis - Follows the COIE storyline - 1 vol.
54. 2005 - Infinite Crisis - Follows the COIE storyline - 7 vol. or 1 omni.
55. 2006-07 - 52 - tells what happens in the missing year after Infinit Crisis - 4 vol. or 2 omni.
56. 2006-08 - Seven Solders of Victory + Final Crisis - Concludes the COIE storyline - 2 vol. or 1 omni. + 1 vol.
57. 2007-09 - Will Eisner's Spirit - The return of the Spirit - 5 vol.
58. 2008 - Superman: Brainiac - The Major story by Geoff Johns - 1 vol.
59. 2006-11 - Batman by Grant Morrison + Batman Incorporated - The saga by Morrsion - 2 omni. + 4 vol. or 1 omni.
60. 2011 - Flashpoint - The reboot event by Geoff Johns - 1 vol.
61. 2011-16 - Batman & Robin New52 - Story by Peter J. Tomasi (Should have read Batman by Grant Morrison vol.1 + Batman Inc.) - 7 vol. or 1 omni.
62. 2011 - Batman: Court of Owls + Night of Owls - The Owls Saga by Scott Snyder - 2 vol. or 1 omni.
63. 2011-14 - Wonder Woman New52 - Saga by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang - 6 first vol. or 2 omni.
64. 2011-14 - Aquaman New52 - Story by Geoff Johns - 4 first vol. or 1 omni.
65. 2012-13 - Shazam! New52 - New origins by Geoff Johns - 1 vol.
66. 2011-14 - Flash New52 - Flash by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato - 4 first vol. or 1 omni.
67. 2011-14 - Green Arrow New52 - Great reboot by Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino - first 6 vol. or 1 omni.
68. 2012-16 - Justice League: Trinity War + Forever Evil + Forever Heroes + The Darkseid War Saga - The Main New52 JL stories - 1 omni. + 1 vol. + 1 vol. + 2 vol. or 1 omni.
69. 2014-15 - Multiversity by Grant Morrison - Retraces the DC Multivers - 2 vol. or 1 omni.
70. 2016 - Titan Hunt + DC Univers Rebirth + The Return of Wally West - Main story for the Rebirth event (must know Flashpoint and Watchmen) - 3 vol.
71. 2016-* - Aquaman by Dan Abnet - New52 + Rebirth - 1 vol. + 9 vol. (ongoing)
72. 2016-19 - Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps - By Robert Venditti - 7 vol.
73. 2017-19 - Mr. Miracle by Tom King - The Eisner Award story - 1 omni.
74. 2018-19 - Doomsday Clock - Concludes the Flash/Rebirth storyline - 1 omni.
75. 2019 - Dark Knight: Metal + Justice League: No Justice - The Discovery of a Dark Multivers by Scott Snyder - 2 vol.
76. 2019 - Heroes in Crisis - Yet another Crisis - 1 vol.

[jb681131]

Elseworld wise:

• 1986 - The Dark Knight Returns - The Famous story by Frank Miller - 1 omni.
• 1986 - Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? - Superman by Alan Moore - 1 vol.
• 1996 - Kingdom Come - The aclaimed story by Mark Waid and Alex Ross - 1 vol.
• 2003 - Superman: Red Son - by Mark Millar, what if Kal-El landed in Russia ? - 1 vol.
• 2004 - DC: New Frontier - Big award wining saga by Darwyn Cooke - 1 omni.
• 2004 - Superman: Secret Identity - Unusual take on Superman - 1 vol.
• 2005-07 - Justice - The Legion of Doom vs the Justice League by Alex Ross - 3 vol. or 1 omni.
• 2006-08 - All-star Superman - The aclaimed serie by Grant Morrison - 2 vol. or 1 omni.

Others:

• 1982-85 - Camelot 3000 - King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table have been reincarnated in the year 3000 - 1 omni.
• 1982-89 - V for Vendetta - the inspiering serie that follows an anarchist by Alan Moore - 3 omni.
• 1989-96 - Sandman - The great Dark Fantasy saga by Neil Gaiman - 10 vol. or 5 omni. or 2 massive omni.
• 1995-00 - Preacher - Story of a posessed preacher by Garth Ennis - 9 vol. or 6 six books or 3 omni.
• 1987-88 - Sonic Disruptor - The United States Army vs. The United States of Rock - no collected
• 1997-02 - Transmetropolitan - The cyberpunk transhumanist comic book by Warren Ellis - 11 vol. or 5 books or 3 omni.
• 1999-08 - Lucifer - Spin-off Sandman - 5 vol. or 1 omni.
• 1995-18 - Astro City - A City full of Superheros by Kurt Busiek - 17 vol.
• 1999-09 - 100 Bullets - The crime serie by Brian Azzarello - 13 vol. or 5 omni
• 2002-08 - Y: The Last Man - The post-apocalyptic science fiction by Brian K. Vaughan - 10 vol. or 5 books or 3 omni.
• 2002-15 - Fables - The multy award wining fantasy serie by Bill Willingham - 22 vol. or 15 omni.
• 2005-12 - DMZ - The war anticipation serie by Brian Wood - 12 vol. or 5 omni.
• 2009-13 - Sweet Tooth - Mad Max meets Bambi by Jeff Lemir - 6 vol. or 3 omni.
• 2009-15 - The Unwritten - The acclaimed story by Mike Carey - 11 vol. or 2 omni.
• 2010 - Daytripper - One of best graphic novel ever - 2 vol.
• 2015-17 - The Sheriff of Babylon - The aclaimed inverstigation serie by Tom King - 2 vol.

[Air Wave]

Indeed first are important stories, but are they really all necessary to be read ? No, in my opinion.

Considering what Smallo wants to do though... "to get good sense of history in terms of form (literary and visual development like different narrative styles and page layouts) and content (character and story development like tracing multiverse history) beginning with Action Comics #1"