Which DC Comic Series are for "older" readers?

[Masterff]

Hello,
which suggestions do you have for "older" readers?

I think
John Constantine-Hellblazer
Red Hood and Outlaws
Swamp Thing
Batman (logically)
Nightwing

would be interesting for example...

I never read anything with Swamp Thing and Constantine...Only know the John Constantine Film and Swamp Thing Film....

Hellblazer seem to be cool and Horror Style...

[jb681131]

Hello,
which suggestions do you have for "older" readers?

I think
John Constantine-Hellblazer
Red Hood and Outlaws
Swamp Thing
Batman (logically)
Nightwing

would be interesting for example...

I never read anything with Swamp Thing and Constantine...Only know the John Constantine Film and Swamp Thing Film....

Hellblazer seem to be cool and Horror Style...

The only stories for older eader are the stories from the Vertigo Label or the current DC Black Label:

Which would roughly be:

Vertigo Comics:

• 100 Bullets
• Air
• A History of Violence
• American Vampire
• Astro City
• Black Orchid
• The Books of Magic
• Daytripper
• Deadenders
• Deadman
• Django Unchained
• DMZ
• Doom Patrol
• The Dreaming
• Enigma
• Swamp Thing
• The Exterminators
• Fables
• Flex Mentallo
• Flinch
• Hellblazer
• House of Mystery
• House of Secrets
• Human Target
• Hunter
• Jack of Fables
• The Losers
• Loveless
• Lucifer
• Mad Max
• Northlanders
• Outlaw Nation
• Preacher
• Pride of Baghdad
• Punk Rock Jesus
• The Sandman
• Scalped
• Swamp Thing
• Sweet Tooth
• Tainted
• Tank Girl
• Terminal City
• Transmetropolitan
• Trillium
• Un-Men
• Unknown Soldier
• The Unwritten
• The Vinyl Underground
• The Wake
• V for Vendetta
• Watchmen
• We3
• The Witching
• Y: The Last Man
• Young Liars

DC Black Label:

• Batman: White Knight / Curse of the White Knight
• Joker / Batman: Noel / Batman: Cursed
• Dark Knight Return / Dark Knight Strikes Again / DKIII / The Last Crusade / Superman: Year One / The Golden Child
• The Question
• Wonder Woman: Dead Earth
• Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey
• Batman: Three Jokers
• Basketful of Heads
• The Dollhouse Family
• The Low, Low, Woods
• Daphne Byrne
• Plunge
• Watchmen

A few DC Titles/Stories might fall under the DC Black Label in their furture reprints:

• Arkham Asylum: A serious house on a serious earth
• Batman, the dark knight
• Superman: Red Son
• Justice
• Kingdom Come
• Injustice
• ...

All the other titles from DC are readable by teens, even Batman or Justice League Dark.

Then if you're looking for stories for younger kids, DC has of course titles dedicated to them on Batman, WW, Superman, JL, Shazam!, TMNT, ...

[CaptCleghorn]

Obviously there's a string of DC books for mature readers as well as being T+ as opposed to a plain T. My take has been what books are read by older readers. Personally, I feel the Legion of Super-Heroes and the JSA have fanbases older than other franchises.

[Lightning Rider]

Really depends what you mean by for older readers. Mature stories that are less wacky? Or stories with more sex and violence? Or stories that appeal to older generations of readers?

It seems like you are referring to the first two, but they don't necessarily overlap.

I think most comics are not written for children anymore so the question is kind of confusing.

[jb681131]

Really depends what you mean by for older readers. Mature stories that are less wacky?

How are Mature stories less wacky ?? That's not true !

Or stories with more sex and violence?

Well that is for sure more adult !

Or stories that appeal to older generations of readers?

The appeal of a story doesn't make it necessarly more adult ! That's a false opinion.

It seems like you are referring to the first two, but they don't necessarily overlap.

It seems that you don't know what you're talking about.

I think most comics are not written for children anymore so the question is kind of confusing.

Well most super-hero ones at least are still mostly written for children.
But as you critisized before the original poster's meanings of the words he used.
The same applies to you ! What is a "children" for you ? 6 or less ? 9 or less ? 12 or less ? 15 or less ? 18 or less ?

[Lightning Rider]

How are Mature stories less wacky ?? That's not true !

Generally. But I'm asking rather than stating that.

The appeal of a story doesn't make it necessarly more adult ! That's a false opinion.

If adults like it, it's not inaccurate to say its "for older readers".

It seems that you don't know what you're talking about.

Sounds like you're a big fan of straw men and nitpicking.

Well most super-hero ones at least are still mostly written for children.
But as you critisized before the original poster's meanings of the words he used.
The same applies to you ! What is a "children" for you ? 6 or less ? 9 or less ? 12 or less ? 15 or less ? 18 or less ?

I was asking for clarification, not criticizing.

I would argue most modern superhero comics are not mostly written for children.

A child most commonly (though not always) refers to someone prebubescant. A children's book, children's literature, a children's story, those categories refer to children 10 and under, more or less.

[Lee Stone]

I think most comics today are pretty mature.
But I think you're referring to more dark and horror with a serious tone...

Alan Moore's Swamp Thing was really good. Especially the American Gothic storyline.

Neil Gaiman's Sandman is another. A modern myth all to its self.
The Books of Magic, featuring Tim Hunter, (also written by Gaiman) is being collected in a new trade this year and it's now being branded a Sandman title.
Which is good because Books of Magic, the original mini-series, was a work of art and deserves a bigger audience.

Then there's Sandman Mystery Theatre.
Matt Wagner pulled back the veil and gave more realistic interpretations of the Golden Age Sandman's adventures.
Instead of being the stories grandma or grandpa would tell their kids and grandkids, these were the types of stories grandma and grandpa would talk to each other about over cigarettes and whiskey. What really might've happened.

[batnbreakfast]

For me the art in NG's Sandman has aged terribly but I'd still recommend seeking out Sandman Mystery Theatre (kinda like The Shadow who was an inspiration to Batman). Dark Horse puts out the great Lobster Johnson an hommage to The Shadow.

Jonah Hex by Palmiotti/Gray (especially the Darwyn Cooke issues)
Secret Six by Gail Simone (the humor is pretty dark)
Batman Creature of the Night

[Robanker]

I think most comics today are pretty mature.
But I think you're referring to more dark and horror with a serious tone...

Alan Moore's Swamp Thing was really good. Especially the American Gothic storyline.

Neil Gaiman's Sandman is another. A modern myth all to its self.
The Books of Magic, featuring Tim Hunter, (also written by Gaiman) is being collected in a new trade this year and it's now being branded a Sandman title.
Which is good because Books of Magic, the original mini-series, was a work of art and deserves a bigger audience.

Then there's Sandman Mystery Theatre.
Matt Wagner pulled back the veil and gave more realistic interpretations of the Golden Age Sandman's adventures.
Instead of being the stories grandma or grandpa would tell their kids and grandkids, these were the types of stories grandma and grandpa would talk to each other about over cigarettes and whiskey. What really might've happened.

All great recommendations.

I'll add Palmiotti and Gray's Jonah Hex. Outstanding work.

[jb681131]

All great recommendations.

I'll add Palmiotti and Gray's Jonah Hex. Outstanding work.

Well like I've sayd before, all of the Vertigo Comics label is ment for more adult readers !

[Denirac]

I would add, while it's not explicitly in a Mature Readers imprint, Christopher Priest's Deathstroke

[Restingvoice]

Hello,
which suggestions do you have for "older" readers?

I think
John Constantine-Hellblazer
Red Hood and Outlaws
Swamp Thing
Batman (logically)
Nightwing

would be interesting for example...

I never read anything with Swamp Thing and Constantine...Only know the John Constantine Film and Swamp Thing Film....

Hellblazer seem to be cool and Horror Style...

Red Hood, Batman, and Nightwing have a broad appeal. Teens to Adults can enjoy it. So are most of DC titles.

I'll go with Jonah Hex on top of Swamp Thing and Constantine.
Killing Joke definitely
The Bat-penis Black Label book... I don't even remember the name anymore, I only remember bat-penis ^^
Batman White Knight?

I'm gonna say Batman Year One and Year Two because I read them first when I was preteen and really didn't like it. Didn't like the art, the topic, for me back then it's so unappealing.

Anything that shows more about the life of an older man instead of a fun superheroic did not appeal to me when I was younger. The fact that most of Batman Year One is from tired old man Gordon's point of view (who cheated on his wife! As a kid still dependant on parents that was a big no no. Big fear and big disgust.) was a big part of it.

[K7P5V]

My Top 3:

Denny O'Neil's The Question





Michael Fleisher's Jonah Hex





Gerry Conway's Cinder & Ashe

[Vakanai]

DC Black Label:

• Batman: White Knight / Curse of the White Knight
• Joker / Batman: Noel / Batman: Cursed
• Dark Knight Return / Dark Knight Strikes Again / DKIII / The Last Crusade / Superman: Year One / The Golden Child
• The Question
• Wonder Woman: Dead Earth
• Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey
• Batman: Three Jokers
• Basketful of Heads
• The Dollhouse Family
• The Low, Low, Woods
• Daphne Byrne
• Plunge
• Watchmen

You're missing Harleen, Harley/Joker: Criminal Sanity, and Joker: Killer Smile