In what order should I read the Post-Crisis DC Universe?

[NetSpiker]

I've been thinking about reading the Post-Crisis DC Universe in something close to publication order.

I don't think it's a good idea to follow publication order too strictly because this will require switching from Character A's adventures to Character B's adventures to Character C's adventures and all the way to Character Z's adventures. So by the time I get back to Character A, I may have forgotten the details of Character A's last story arc.

So I've decided to just read all of Character A's adventures that were released in a year, followed by all of Character B's adventures released in the same year, and so on. No switching until each story arc is finished. If I come across a crossover between multiple titles, I will temporarily switch to that crossover's intended reading order.

But then I ran into a problem.

What should I do if a comic is part of multiple crossovers or story arcs at the same time?

For example, Justice League Europe #31 is part 6 of the Break Downs crossover, but it's also part 14 of the War of the Gods crossover.

Should I just regard JLE 31 as a crossover within a crossover and read Break Downs parts 1-5, followed by War of the Gods parts 1-13, then followed by JLE 31, then followed by Break Downs parts 7-16, and finally followed by War of the Gods parts 15-25?

Are there any other story arcs and crossovers with confusing reading orders that I should look out for?

Should I just give up on my dream of reading the entire Post-Crisis DC Universe from start to finish? Is the DC Universe not intended to be read that way? Am I just supposed to cherry-pick stories that look the most interesting from any year? Is that how you guys read the DC Universe?

Any advice?

[BohemiaDrinker]

Do what I did as a kid: read everything you can in the order that feels right, and if something falls a little out of place you'll figure it out as you go along. Post crisis up to say, 2005 is a lot easier to follow than anything that came after, so go for it and enjoy the ride, that's all.

[jb681131]

Just read the compiled omnibus like this
1. COIE
2. DC: Legend
3a. JLI
3b. Sucide Squad

[abetterday]

I've been thinking about reading the Post-Crisis DC Universe in something close to publication order.

I don't think it's a good idea to follow publication order too strictly because this will require switching from Character A's adventures to Character B's adventures to Character C's adventures and all the way to Character Z's adventures. So by the time I get back to Character A, I may have forgotten the details of Character A's last story arc.

So I've decided to just read all of Character A's adventures that were released in a year, followed by all of Character B's adventures released in the same year, and so on. No switching until each story arc is finished. If I come across a crossover between multiple titles, I will temporarily switch to that crossover's intended reading order.

But then I ran into a problem.

What should I do if a comic is part of multiple crossovers or story arcs at the same time?

For example, Justice League Europe #31 is part 6 of the Break Downs crossover, but it's also part 14 of the War of the Gods crossover.

Should I just regard JLE 31 as a crossover within a crossover and read Break Downs parts 1-5, followed by War of the Gods parts 1-13, then followed by JLE 31, then followed by Break Downs parts 7-16, and finally followed by War of the Gods parts 15-25?

Are there any other story arcs and crossovers with confusing reading orders that I should look out for?

Should I just give up on my dream of reading the entire Post-Crisis DC Universe from start to finish? Is the DC Universe not intended to be read that way? Am I just supposed to cherry-pick stories that look the most interesting from any year? Is that how you guys read the DC Universe?

Any advice?

It's not necessary to read everything after COIE. If you what to know about the characters that was changed because of the crisis you should read Wonder Woman by George Perez. Superman by John Byrne. And the New Teen Titans by Marv Wolfman. New Titans from issue #50 shows the changes made to Donna Troy. The War of the Gods mini-series disrupted the end of the Titans Hunt storyline in Titans so it might pique your interest. For Batman Dick Grayson quitting Robin and becoming Nightwing changed Batman significatly but this happened a little bit before COIE.

[SJNeal]

Regarding the specific example you asked for: I'd read "Breakdowns" - and every other series - as their own thing, don't break them up for "War of the Gods". You can read that mini and it's Wonder Woman tie-in issues together to get that complete story.

Despite having the numbered chapters at the top, every other book that had a "WotG" tie-in was tangential at best. It'll make for a really disjointed reading experience if you jump back and forth.

[Restingvoice]

It's not necessary to read everything after COIE. If you what to know about the characters that was changed because of the crisis you should read Wonder Woman by George Perez. Superman by John Byrne. And the New Teen Titans by Marv Wolfman. New Titans from issue #50 shows the changes made to Donna Troy. The War of the Gods mini-series disrupted the end of the Titans Hunt storyline in Titans so it might pique your interest. For Batman Dick Grayson quitting Robin and becoming Nightwing changed Batman significatly but this happened a little bit before COIE.

The change was in Batman Second Chances which is the new Jason Todd's back story. They skip the becoming Nightwing part since Judas Contract is still canon, but that book retold how Dick stopped being Robin, and the next story of Jason's Robin days that involve Nightwing clarifies the effects on Batman.

[abetterday]

True. But I am referring to the comics as they were published. and not subsequent retcons. But if Dick didn't quit as Robin then there would not have been Jason Todd. There's a period of time when Dick was not in costume but just in civilian clothes. Jason Todd first appeared as a redhead in Titans when Starfire went to Gotham to check on Dick.

[D.Z]

It stops post Zero Hour.

[NetSpiker]

Regarding the specific example you asked for: I'd read "Breakdowns" - and every other series - as their own thing, don't break them up for "War of the Gods". You can read that mini and it's Wonder Woman tie-in issues together to get that complete story.

Despite having the numbered chapters at the top, every other book that had a "WotG" tie-in was tangential at best. It'll make for a really disjointed reading experience if you jump back and forth.

I'm not sure if that's a good idea, since Justice League Europe #31 is a direct continuation of the battle that started in War of the Gods #2. But I will take your advice into consideration.

[SJNeal]

I'm not sure if that's a good idea, since Justice League Europe #31 is a direct continuation of the battle that started in War of the Gods #2. But I will take your advice into consideration.

Yeah, it can get a little sloppy.

I was just trying to think of what would be a more cohesive "big-picture" reading experience. YMMV.

[BatmanJones]

It stops post Zero Hour.

Nice. 10 char

[LordMikel]

I'm not sure if that's a good idea, since Justice League Europe #31 is a direct continuation of the battle that started in War of the Gods #2. But I will take your advice into consideration.

So War of the Gods is a trash crossover. JLE has nothing to do with War of the Gods but like 1 panel I think. At one point I was filling in holes from War of the Gods (Cause it was a trash crossover and books came out of order and many books in the crossover had zero to do with the actual story.) So my memory may be wrong, that was like 15 years ago, that I did that.

Should I just give up on my dream of reading the entire Post-Crisis DC Universe from start to finish? Is the DC Universe not intended to be read that way? Am I just supposed to cherry-pick stories that look the most interesting from any year? Is that how you guys read the DC Universe?

Yes, you are making it too difficult. Read what you want to read. Read the advertisements, they do a good job of telling you what is happening in other comics. I mean, 30 years ago, yes buy everything and read it as it is coming out and happening. But now, read what is good from back then. (Or read what is bad so you can understand why it was bad)