Best place to start for 1980s comics?

[TheDragonKing]

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

[maxax]

Justice League International probably, it's still involved in all the events but I noticed it less than I did for series like Infinity Inc.

[DrNewGod]

Wolfman and Perez' The New Teen Titans and Giffen/Levitz Legion of Superheroes were the ones that really set the tone for the rest of DC at the time. NTT is particular, because 1980 was its date of debut. The Batman titles were also still in a vigorous ascension all through the 1980s. The Shadow War of Hawkman was one of the character's best runs. All-Star Squadron may feel dated, but it's a fantastic love letter to the Golden Age. Most of the post-Crisis titles were really good at the time, even if some of them did fade pretty swiftly. The mini-series Legends is a particularly good read; it has chapters running through several other titles, but you need not hunt down all of them to keep up.

[Tzigone]

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

Well, in the early 1980s, New Teen Titans was the king of DC, and I think it's very good until Perez leaves. Post-COIE, Batman was quite popular (it switches over a little later than COIE, kinda, with issue 401 generally used as the first of the new, I think). Not my thing, but Justice League International was something different. For a darker feel (again not my vibe), the later 1980s Green Arrow was well-received.

What are you looking for/interested in? If you're trying to get a feel for continuity of the era, post and pre-COIE stories are different ones, of course. Do you want last of one world or the early days of the other?

I enjoyed the 1980s Blue Devil, but it's not all that connected to the wider universe. Lighter in tone. I like the early post-COIE Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, but if you are fond of the JLI version of those characters (especially Ted), it may not be your thing. And none of them really had an impact or informed the future much, IMO.

[Lee Stone]

New Teen Titans (1980) #1
JLA #183
Legion of Super-Heroes #283
Batman and the Outsiders #1
Infinity, Inc. #1
Wonder Woman #269
All-Star Squadron #1
Fury of Firestorm #1
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters #1
The Question #1
Batman #401
Blue Devil #1
Blue Beetle #1
Booster Gold #1
Amethyst #1
Arak #1
Arion #1
Warlord #48
Omega Men #1
Atari Force #1
Secret Origins #1
Who’s Who in the DC Universe #1

[LifeIsILL]

Wolfman's Titans
Cary Bate's Flash
Levtiz's Legion of Superheroes
Michael Fleisher's Jonah Hex
Alan Moore's Swamp Thing

Lots to choose from, you can't go wrong.

[The no face guy]

It depends on what your looking for. The 80's is split in half.

1980 to the Spring of 1984 - is generally the classic Bronze age heroes in the JLA, Hal and Barry in their own titles, with the classic six predominant.

1985 -1989 - is generally a break from the traditional heroes, the JLA had a new cast, Wally took over the Flash, Charlton heroes & others were introduced.

(This is a result of Crisis on Infinite Earths that starts in the Spring of 85)

Crisis of Infinite Earths is an excellent introduction to the DC universe for the amount of heroes involved.

[Lee Stone]

Crisis of Infinite Earths is an excellent introduction to the DC universe for the amount of heroes involved.

I would also suggest checking out the Who's Who series that supported Crisis.
It really helped to have that back then.

[Restingvoice]

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

This and the title are two different questions but luckily these beginnings are all pretty good

Batman Year One
Man of Steel by Byrne
Wonder Woman by George Perez

[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