HELP! Where to start reading, with Convergece and all

[AjKent]

First off I want to apologise. You've probably had a thousand and one threads like this in the past, but I'm in dire need of assistance!

Basically my question is, where to start reading at this current time? I've been reading New 52 titles for the past few months which have (mostly) been great, and I've found myself being drawn in more and more into the DC universe. However, the more I do so, the more I realise why it's named 'universe'. For example, I started reading the Deathstroke and Suicide Squad 52 publications, only to realise both had reboots not so long after a relaunch, so I'm wondering if it makes more sense to see one through or start reading again with the reboot? (Not just with these two titles, but whenever this occurs)
Obviously, I understand there has been many, many variations on the same characters for years, but where would you guys, if you were starting, start!? I'm thinking this may be a good time to learn, what with the upcoming Convergence event.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and please forgive my naivety!

[colonyofcells]

Can start after Convergence.

[FlashingSabre]

Frankly, comic continuity is so scrambled, you can start pretty much anywhere. As long as your not going into the middle of a story, everything you need to know should end up being explained to you. If its not, your probably not reading a very good story. In terms of shared universe, individually books usually don't effect each other too much, unless they crossover. Take, say, Justice League and Aquaman. Even though AM is in the League, the evens of his book don't really effect the evens in Justice League, and vice-versa. The exemption in this instance if Throne of Atlantis, a crossover between the books which involves issues of both, therefore effecting both. Outside of things like this, you don't need to read one book to understand another.

[Dr. Jan Itor]

First off I want to apologise. You've probably had a thousand and one threads like this in the past, but I'm in dire need of assistance!

Basically my question is, where to start reading at this current time? I've been reading New 52 titles for the past few months which have (mostly) been great, and I've found myself being drawn in more and more into the DC universe. However, the more I do so, the more I realise why it's named 'universe'. For example, I started reading the Deathstroke and Suicide Squad 52 publications, only to realise both had reboots not so long after a relaunch, so I'm wondering if it makes more sense to see one through or start reading again with the reboot? (Not just with these two titles, but whenever this occurs)
Obviously, I understand there has been many, many variations on the same characters for years, but where would you guys, if you were starting, start!? I'm thinking this may be a good time to learn, what with the upcoming Convergence event.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and please forgive my naivety!

All stories will wrap up before Convergence, so you should be okay seeing the titles through to May. That way, even if there is a change in creators/direction, you should get a solid ending.

[victoryfive]

Agreed. DC did the new 52 to get new readers to jump on. and now they are ending it by bring back some of the older worlds/characters to bring older readers like myself back into the fold.
Convergence is a good time to see how the next DCU/Multiverse is going to take shape .I don't think the books/characters you mentioned will change much after Convergence. They too popular with current readers. Convergence will give us a look at a few of the DCU earths from the past and open up a lot more storytelling possibilities. If you want background on these Earths and the heroes on them in context with the larger,overall flow of DCU history we can probably do that. Also can give you a few trades that will give you a good idea of what happened and why. It's not necessary,but if you;re curious they might be enjoyable. Again, ONLY if you want to. Otherwise,just start with Convergence and go with what you like from there.

[AjKent]

Thanks for the help in understanding guys, greatly appreciated.
In terms of reboots, specifically ones that happen in quick concession, do these occur due to bad sales/bad reviews? Or mainly to give other artists/writers a chance?
And to go slightly off topic, what New 52 titles would you say are not to be missed?

[JBatmanFan05]

Only thing not to miss is Snyder's Batman with Capullo. That's it.

[cranger]

While they might feel the same, do not confuse reboot and relaunch. I am assuming you are talking about New 52 titles here, so in the case of Deathstroke that one got canceled due to low sales and was not immediately relaunched. The new volume of Deathstroke is really the same character just with a different take by the new writer/artist. Suicide Squad was canceled apparently to bring more attention to the changes there when it relaunched as New Suicide Squad. Batgirl had an even bigger makeover brought on by a new team who had a much different approach to the character but that title kept going on without being relaunched.

So, really, relaunches are done for both reasons.

[AjKent]

While they might feel the same, do not confuse reboot and relaunch. I am assuming you are talking about New 52 titles here, so in the case of Deathstroke that one got canceled due to low sales and was not immediately relaunched. The new volume of Deathstroke is really the same character just with a different take by the new writer/artist. Suicide Squad was canceled apparently to bring more attention to the changes there when it relaunched as New Suicide Squad. Batgirl had an even bigger makeover brought on by a new team who had a much different approach to the character but that title kept going on without being relaunched.


So, really, relaunches are done for both reasons.

Ahh that makes sense.
Do you think, particularly for people like me who are relatively new to the multiverse and want to learn more, it may be best to stick with certain characters and see them through to the end of the series? Instead of reading multiple? I think I may be trying to understand too much stuff too fast, particularly in time for Convergence...which I really hope wont throw me off completely!

[WillieMorgan]

Ahh that makes sense.
Do you think, particularly for people like me who are relatively new to the multiverse and want to learn more, it may be best to stick with certain characters and see them through to the end of the series? Instead of reading multiple? I think I may be trying to understand too much stuff too fast, particularly in time for Convergence...which I really hope wont throw me off completely!

I don't think it will. It's understandable that new readers will initially find the niceties of comic-books a little overwhelming (By the way, you don't need to apologise for asking these questions. We should always do our best to help new readers, the more the merrier and all that). If you can approach the genre with an open mind and a good level of imaginative license then, ultimately, you'll be okay. You mentioned Deathstroke and Suicide Squad before but are you reading anything else? If not, are there any characters that catch your eye? It's always better to think along those lines. There will always be continuity details and runs on comics that you've missed. You'll never have the time or money to read everything so just focus on characters or teams that appeal to you and work from there. Everybody has to start somewhere.

The opinions on here are subjective too, so take them with a pinch of salt. There's plenty of good New52 stuff out there but it really depends on what types of comics you want to read.

When Convergence arrives my advice is to read it with an open mind and decide whether you like it or not. Don't worry too much about continuity, you can always fill in the blanks later if there are any.

Once you get into the right mindset, these pocket-book sized universes are nowhere near as daunting as they first seem.

[Lee Stone]

Ahh that makes sense.
Do you think, particularly for people like me who are relatively new to the multiverse and want to learn more, it may be best to stick with certain characters and see them through to the end of the series? Instead of reading multiple? I think I may be trying to understand too much stuff too fast, particularly in time for Convergence...which I really hope wont throw me off completely!

I would recommend sampling a few titles that look interesting.
Check out the previews.
Then pick one of those and just go far enough back to where the current writer of that book started. Then go forward from there.
Once you're caught up with that one start looking into your next one using the same method.

Many titles are getting new writers post-Convergence.
DC has a list of the titles along with their writers/artists. You could use that to help decide.

What I would do is what I said above, but if one of the books you're interested in is on the post-Convergence list and the writer hasn't changed, I would definitely start that one now.
The ones with new writers, I would probably wait til June for.

For instance, the books I read:
Batgirl- started with #35 (new writer, continuing post-Convergence)
Grayson- started with #1
Gotham Academy- started with #1
Justice League 3000- started with #1 (getting relaunched post-Convergence but by same creative team)

Mind you, if the current writer of JL3000 started with #10 then I would only go that far back.

[cranger]

Ahh that makes sense.
Do you think, particularly for people like me who are relatively new to the multiverse and want to learn more, it may be best to stick with certain characters and see them through to the end of the series? Instead of reading multiple? I think I may be trying to understand too much stuff too fast, particularly in time for Convergence...which I really hope wont throw me off completely!

As long as you enjoy the series stick with it. Staying current with the major storylines of the DC universe is tempting and enjoyable but not necessary. The majority of titles can be read without worrying about the rest of the other titles including major events like Convergence. Some people like to read the characters that are usually at the core of the big stories and other people prefer the characters that feel more separate. You probably will never understand all of it and you do not really have to, it is just that depending on how much you read or keep up on will give you a shared view with others also reading those books.

[AjKent]

I don't think it will. It's understandable that new readers will initially find the niceties of comic-books a little overwhelming (By the way, you don't need to apologise for asking these questions. We should always do our best to help new readers, the more the merrier and all that). If you can approach the genre with an open mind and a good level of imaginative license then, ultimately, you'll be okay. You mentioned Deathstroke and Suicide Squad before but are you reading anything else? If not, are there any characters that catch your eye? It's always better to think along those lines. There will always be continuity details and runs on comics that you've missed. You'll never have the time or money to read everything so just focus on characters or teams that appeal to you and work from there. Everybody has to start somewhere.

The opinions on here are subjective too, so take them with a pinch of salt. There's plenty of good New52 stuff out there but it really depends on what types of comics you want to read.

When Convergence arrives my advice is to read it with an open mind and decide whether you like it or not. Don't worry too much about continuity, you can always fill in the blanks later if there are any.

Once you get into the right mindset, these pocket-book sized universes are nowhere near as daunting as they first seem.

Thanks!
I've read quite a few issues of several titles, all new 52. Superman, Batman, Nightwing and Aquaman to name a few. I did that to see if any stood out which they did (im a sucker for the anti-heroes!), so I think for the mean time I'll focus on certain characters, until I understand a bit more about how everything works.

I would recommend sampling a few titles that look interesting.
Check out the previews.
Then pick one of those and just go far enough back to where the current writer of that book started. Then go forward from there.
Once you're caught up with that one start looking into your next one using the same method.

Many titles are getting new writers post-Convergence.
DC has a list of the titles along with their writers/artists. You could use that to help decide.

What I would do is what I said above, but if one of the books you're interested in is on the post-Convergence list and the writer hasn't changed, I would definitely start that one now.
The ones with new writers, I would probably wait til June for.

For instance, the books I read:
Batgirl- started with #35 (new writer, continuing post-Convergence)
Grayson- started with #1
Gotham Academy- started with #1
Justice League 3000- started with #1 (getting relaunched post-Convergence but by same creative team)

Mind you, if the current writer of JL3000 started with #10 then I would only go that far back.

I'll definitely take that advice, that'll definitely help post Convergence.
I've been looking into the new/continuing series post Convergence, and I can't find a straight yes or no answer online and was wondering if you guys could help me... I understand there will be 24 new titles, and 25 on-going titles. My question is, with different writers on certain comics (such as Gene Luen Yang on Superman), will they basically start over, and the only 'on-going' part will purely be the title? Or will there be a continuance in story from new 52 or Convergence? If im asking something which doesn't have an answer yet, completely ignore me!

[cranger]

I've been looking into the new/continuing series post Convergence, and I can't find a straight yes or no answer online and was wondering if you guys could help me... I understand there will be 24 new titles, and 25 on-going titles. My question is, with different writers on certain comics (such as Gene Luen Yang on Superman), will they basically start over, and the only 'on-going' part will purely be the title? Or will there be a continuance in story from new 52 or Convergence? If im asking something which doesn't have an answer yet, completely ignore me!

Most DC books tell a series of shorter stories that overlap with a mix of longer plotlines that develop over multiple stories. Sometimes an incoming writer continues on with them and sometimes they try to distance their story from the past one.

However, they almost always respect that those stories happened. For example, when Gene Luen Yang takes over he will be working with a Superman that has quite history in the New 52 that he will not just throw out. The type of story he tells may differ from what Geoff Johns was doing but the developments by Johns are not going to be erased, although his story may make changes along the way too.

It really should not be that different from any other times writers have changed on a title, which actually happens quite often, other than it is taking place after Convergance. While we do not for sure, I would not expect Convergence to shift any story too far off any more than Forever Evil did, which in most cases was not at all, but I would not be surprised if something like Constantine changed things up the way some of the Batman related books used events in Eternal to go a different direction.

[superiorcrisis]

Ahh that makes sense.
Do you think, particularly for people like me who are relatively new to the multiverse and want to learn more, it may be best to stick with certain characters and see them through to the end of the series? Instead of reading multiple? I think I may be trying to understand too much stuff too fast, particularly in time for Convergence...which I really hope wont throw me off completely!

I don't think so. I started reading DC regularly in April 2011, four months before the New 52 began. But I still continued buying Action Comics until the end, and even started buying back issues. So if you're like me, Convergence should not cause any problems.

And I definitely don't think you're trying to understand things to quickly. In my experience, when I become interested in something new, I ALWAYS try to find out as much as I can. In 2011, I bought or got out of the library every DC comic or book I could find, and when those ran out I went on DC-based websites. It was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.

By the way, a book that really helped me when I was a new reader is DC Comics: a Visual History. I have the 2010 edition, but a new edition came out in 2014.

Now, I should mention that what's true for me may not be what's true for you, so take all of this with a grain of salt. But this is what I think.