Best place to start for 1980s comics?

[jb681131]

Which DC comics are best for reading for the 1980s era?

Ok a bit of history first:

• 1970 - softening of the Comics Code, start of the Bronze Age.
• 1985 - abolishment of the Comics Code, start of the Modern age.

So In 1985, DC decided to clean all of it's series and various universes to have a fresh start - They did it with the event "Crisis On Infinite Earths" (COIE)
So only for a rare few exceptions, every hero restarted in 1985.

But since the Bronze age, story started to get Darker.
There are lots of Bronze age stories to checkout.

Great Bonze Age stories

• The Fourth World by Jack Kirby
• The Demon by Jack Kirby
• The O.M.A.C. by Jack Kirby
• Action Heroes Archives vol.1-2 - by Steve Ditko - all the Charlton Comics heros (The Question, Blue Beetle, The Atom, ...) - mostly Silver Age, but a must read in my opinion
• Legion of Super-heroes: The Great Darkness Saga
• Batman: Challenge of the man-bat
• Batman: Tales of the Demon
• Tales of the Batman: Len Wein
• Tales of the Batman: Archi Goodwing
• Tales of the Batman: Steve Englehart
• Aquaman: Death of the a prince
• Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore
• Crises On Multiple Earths - collects all the events of the Silver/Bronze Age
• Swamp Thing by Len Wein
• Green Lantern/Green Arrow by Denis O'Neil
• Flash by Carmine Infantino - it's more Silver Age but still a must read
• The Omega Men

Great Modern Age stories/series to start

• Watchmen
• Crisis On Infinite Earths
• DC: Legends - 1st modern age event - prequel to Justice League International / Suicide Squad
• Justice League International
• Suicide Squad by John Ostender
• Superman Man of Steel by John Byrne
• Batman: Year One
• Batman The Caped Crusade vol.1-4 - collects all the early modern age Batman issues (the solo years)
• Batman: The Dark Knight Detective - collects all the early modern age Deteective issues
• Legends of the Dark Knigth - start at #1
• Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals by Perez
• The New Teen Titans by Perez
• Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters
• Saga of Swamp Thing by Alan Moore - I suggest to read Len Wein's run before
• Flash by Mark Waid
• The Question by Dennis O'Neil
• Green Lantern: Hal Jordan - collects Emerald Dawn I + II - Then go with the Green Lantern serie #1
• Aquaman by Peter David
• Doom Patrol by Morrison
• Hellblazer - the story of John Constantine, first seen in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
• The Animal Man by Morrison
• The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

That's about it for the main stories

[Englehart Humperdinck]

• Action Heroes Archives vol.1-2 - by Steve Ditko - all the Charlton Comics heros (The Question, Blue Beetle, The Atom, ...)
• Batman: Strange Apparition
• Tales of the Batman: Steve Englehart

The Charlton Action Heroes stuff was mostly from the Silver Age. Strange Apparitions was included in Tales of the Batman: Steve Englehart.

[jb681131]

The Charlton Action Heroes stuff was mostly from the Silver Age. Strange Apparitions was included in Tales of the Batman: Steve Englehart.

Indeed - I will correct it