New 52 Crossovers

[deep_sadistic]

So I got into the New 52 recently (I know, I know. I'm late. I've been reading pre-new 52 stuff for a while now.) but this new universe has got me all confused. I did a bit of research though and it seems most of the universe is rebooted except Green Lantern which has retained some of the earlier stuff, I guess so. I'm a noob really in this and would be grateful if someone points out the right direction for me. Also, there seems to be over 100+ plus titles and it's impossible to follow everything. However, if I don't follow all the titles from the first, will it be a problem during the crossovers? A little help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[WillieMorgan]

Well, I'll try but what exactly do you mean by 'right direction'? What is it that's actually confusing?

You are right about GL retaining it's pre-New52 continuity (apart from some minor retcons). The reason for this was that we were still in the middle of Geoff Johns epic run on the character and the GL titles were performing so well that they didn't want to suddenly throw all that away and reboot. You say you've read some pre-New52 so does that include the GL stuff? If so then you can just continue with it. The GL and GL Corps titles continued into the New52 and were supplemented by Red Lanterns and GL: New Guardians (and later Sinestro too). Scott Snyders' Batman follows along a similar path, that wasn't a complete reboot either.

With everything else, yes, you can start with the Volume 1's and follow the character from scratch. I wouldn't worry about how much of a problem not reading certain titles will have regarding crossovers. There are far too many titles out there for the majority of people to read regularly. I've missed out on titles because I don't have infinite resources (Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing, Animal Man to name 3). It's just a fact of comic-book reading. You'll never have the time or money to collect everything. I wouldn't worry about it, you can still enjoy the crossovers.

Good luck.

[deep_sadistic]

Thank you for replying. That clears up a lot. I read pre-new 52 GL in the order from after Rebirth till Brightest Day. So I was wondering whether all the New 52 GL titles are worth reading or not. :/ And about the crossovers, the thing that I've been thinking is that whether all the individual titles leading up to a crossover are worth reading. Take Trinity War, for example. The crossover includes issues from all three JL titles. Now, if, say, I'd been following only Justice League, the main title, from the first, will it be a problem during the crossover when I read issues from the other titles that fall under the crossover? I'm really a noob about this. Thank you again for the help.

[colonyofcells]

Crossovers are always a problem. The new 52 GL titles are full of crossovers unfortunately. DC continues to use the crossovers gimmick to make people buy more titles. Can also wait for the relaunches right after Convergence event.

[WillieMorgan]

Thank you for replying. That clears up a lot. I read pre-new 52 GL in the order from after Rebirth till Brightest Day. So I was wondering whether all the New 52 GL titles are worth reading or not. :/ And about the crossovers, the thing that I've been thinking is that whether all the individual titles leading up to a crossover are worth reading. Take Trinity War, for example. The crossover includes issues from all three JL titles. Now, if, say, I'd been following only Justice League, the main title, from the first, will it be a problem during the crossover when I read issues from the other titles that fall under the crossover? I'm really a noob about this. Thank you again for the help.

You're welcome. It's always gratifying to help out new readers. The comic book industry doesn't exactly roll out the welcome mat for people sometimes.

Regarding New52 GL, yes I would recommend it. If you enjoyed the pre-New52 Geoff Johns run then you'd probably like to find out where it all ends. It culminates with the 'Rise Of The Third Army' storyline which all four GL titles are connected to, although how many of these you want to keep up with is entirely up to you. This wraps up in TPB Volume 3: The End (Issue 20 in floppies) when all four titles were assigned new creative teams. The new head writer is Robert Venditti and the reaction to the GL line since then has been more muted. Charles Soule's Red Lanterns is generally regarded as the best of the bunch post-Johns. On a personal level I've enjoyed what I've read of the Venditti era so far but I can't deny that occasionally the lead characters seem to act a bit, well, out of character. Three of these titles are being wound up in a few months time after the event called 'Convergence' and then DC will probably take the GL franchise in a different direction (possibly a weekly).

So, I would certainly recommend the New52 GL titles covering TPB Volumes 1-3 (originally issues 1-20). This winds up the classic Geoff Johns era that stretched across 9 years in total.

Regarding 'Trinity War', I still think you can enjoy the crossover regardless. Like colonyofcells says above DC and Marvel use this tactic to try and pull in more readers for each title. There's not just the three Justice League titles either. There's a Shazam TPB that collects the back-up stories originally from the main JL title. Again, I enjoyed it but it portrayed Billy Batson as more of a teenage brat causing arguments on sites like this. Shazam (Captain Marvel) is involved in 'Trinity War' so that counts too. To be honest, having read all three JL titles and the Shazam one-shot, I'd recommend them. If not, the standalone JL title is a must. 'Trinity War' was typical Geoff Johns really, highly enjoyable but not exactly rocket science (and I say that as a huge Johns fan). A new reader doesn't need to get too concerned about reading absolutely everything. You can still enjoy these stories. 'Trinity War' leads directly into the 'Forever Evil' event which was even better.

Also, like colonyofcells says above, many of DC's on-goings wind up in a few months (at least a dozen of them). Perhaps seeing where DC go after 'Convergence' might be a better way to jump on board properly.

Hope I haven't scared you off with all that. Seriously, these are good comics and well worth reading.

[Triple J]

DC is seemingly rebooting (or just merging) universes after Convergence comes around, so it might be better to jump board then.

But, then again...there are lot of awesome new 52 stories. As a fellow reader, I certainly wouldn't want you to miss those!

I wouldn't worry too much about continuity. This was a problem for me, when I started in 2013. So many titles, and I was confused on which ones to pick. So, I went with characters I was most familiar with - Batman, JL and so forth. Then began expanding slowly (thanks to a lot of good suggestions from CBR readers).

Over time, I expanded and removed a lot of titles from the list. Right now, I am reading:

Batman, Aquaman, JL, JL3000, JLU, Futures End, Eternal, Grayson, Swamp Thing and the Lantern Titles.

Lantern titles are the only ones that are in constant cross overs. Batman has had a few crossovers (although you can get away with reading Batman alone...and still understand most of the story).

JL has had two crossovers so far - with Aquaman at first, and then a big crossover for Trinity War and Forever Evil (I recommend reading both of those; big events, great stories). Grayson comes after Forever Evil, but you can just pick it up and still get the story (there is a flashback in the book).

I do read other books too, occasionally. The key is to minimize spending and maximize reading (hint: look at your local library or borrow from friends; It can save you a lot of money...while reading more books).

[deep_sadistic]

Hope I haven't scared you off with all that.

Certainly not! If anything, you've piqued my interest this was much help! Thanks again, sinceriously.

[deep_sadistic]

DC is seemingly rebooting (or just merging) universes after Convergence comes around, so it might be better to jump board then.

But, then again...there are lot of awesome new 52 stories. As a fellow reader, I certainly wouldn't want you to miss those!

I wouldn't worry too much about continuity. This was a problem for me, when I started in 2013. So many titles, and I was confused on which ones to pick. So, I went with characters I was most familiar with - Batman, JL and so forth. Then began expanding slowly (thanks to a lot of good suggestions from CBR readers).

Over time, I expanded and removed a lot of titles from the list. Right now, I am reading:

Batman, Aquaman, JL, JL3000, JLU, Futures End, Eternal, Grayson, Swamp Thing and the Lantern Titles.

Lantern titles are the only ones that are in constant cross overs. Batman has had a few crossovers (although you can get away with reading Batman alone...and still understand most of the story).

JL has had two crossovers so far - with Aquaman at first, and then a big crossover for Trinity War and Forever Evil (I recommend reading both of those; big events, great stories). Grayson comes after Forever Evil, but you can just pick it up and still get the story (there is a flashback in the book).

I do read other books too, occasionally. The key is to minimize spending and maximize reading (hint: look at your local library or borrow from friends; It can save you a lot of money...while reading more books).

Alright. Thanks.