Where do I start DC Comics? Please help!

[MajorHoy]

Honestly, maybe I'm too old, but whatever happened with going to a store, looking through a few issues, then buying a few that seemed interesting?

(Granted, it was a lot easier back in the day when you only had one spinner rack with a bunch of comic books on it.)

[Boss607]

Start with the New 52.

Especially the Batman trades, New 52 Batman is really good. They're dirt cheap on Amazon.

Read the New 52 stuff then go back and read the big epics from yesteryear.

Batman Year One
Batman: Birth of the Demon
Batman: Long Halloween
Batman: Hush
Batman and Son
Kingdom Come
Infinite Crisis
Batman and Superman: Supergirl
Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War
Green Lantern: Blackest Night
Legion of Superheros: The Great Darkness Saga
Final Crisis: Legions of 3 Worlds
ect.

Even though some stories aren't in continuity anymore, technically,(though maybe they are now, haven't read Convergence yet) some stories are so powerful that their stories just become accepted history to a character -- no matter what reboot or whatever comes along. Year one, for instance.

[GlennSimpson]

Honestly, maybe I'm too old, but whatever happened with going to a store, looking through a few issues, then buying a few that seemed interesting?

(Granted, it was a lot easier back in the day when you only had one spinner rack with a bunch of comic books on it.)

I think it's the world we live in - we are so connected, and media is so available, there's no reason to "take a chance" when you can find someone to give you suggestions.

[JasonTodd428]

Honestly, maybe I'm too old, but whatever happened with going to a store, looking through a few issues, then buying a few that seemed interesting?

(Granted, it was a lot easier back in the day when you only had one spinner rack with a bunch of comic books on it.)

It could be that there is no comic shop or book store near people who are asking for advice on comics. It's not so easy to just go a look if that's the case.

I think it's the world we live in - we are so connected, and media is so available, there's no reason to "take a chance" when you can find someone to give you suggestions.

The thing about that though is you're still taking a chance even when someone gives you suggestions so that doesn't really take that out of the equation here. I like suggestions but I'd much rather look at the book first once I get to the shop then to just buy it straight away digitally like I could.

[BohemiaDrinker]

The thing about that though is you're still taking a chance even when someone gives you suggestions so that doesn't really take that out of the equation here. I like suggestions but I'd much rather look at the book first once I get to the shop then to just buy it straight away digitally like I could.

Even so, an informed risk is still different than a wild guess.

[Tupiaz]

So i really want to get into DC comics but I have no idea where to start. I was thinking about the new 52 but I dont know if I should read any comics before that. I would really like to go chronologically. Also, after convergance, I heard DC is relaunching their comics or something. Should I wait for that? Or should I start with the new 52 or read comics even before that? I have been doing lots of research but cant seem to find an answer. Thanks for reading and appreciate any help!

Oh and my favorite characters are:
Batman
Green Arrow
Flash
And any justice league stuff

How is going with reading DC comics?

Batman: Year One, The Long Halloween and then Dark Victory gives you a good grasp of the character and his villains. Hush has a lot of Batman's villains as well however I find the Hush concept rather stupid (other people like it).

For Green Arrow I would start with Year One. Then I would suggest you read the Longbow Hunters miniseries written by Mike Grell. After LH i would read Mike Grell ongoing the first 18 issues out of 80 issues has been released in three trades. If you want to read Green Arrow in the new 52 the only thing I have read is Jeff Lemire's run which I will recommend (it helps if you have read Mike Grell's run). The rest of the New 52 Green Arrow stories has gotten little praise. Mike Grell's Green Arrow is the closes thing you will get to the feel in Arrow.

Year One is a DC concept which tells the origin stories/firs year as a hero for different characters it all started with Batman Year One and then grew as a concept.

I think it's the world we live in - we are so connected, and media is so available, there's no reason to "take a chance" when you can find someone to give you suggestions.

If everybody is using this logic then no new comics writer/stories will be discovred. Talking chances is the oppturnity to discover a writer or story on your own which has special feeling different from reading upon suggestion or "most read list".

[JasonTodd428]

Even so, an informed risk is still different than a wild guess.

Is it really an informed risk though since people's suggestions are oftentimes based solely on their personal opinions of what books are good and what ones are bad? Seems to me there's a risk factor either way. Over the years there have been lots of titles that have been suggested to me as being "good" according to several people that I've felt I wasted time reading because I didn't find them enjoyable. That's why I found those free digital sneak peeks that DC did recently to be so incredibly helpful when deciding what new titles to pick up. I wish they had done that back in September of 2011. It would have saved me a lot of money.

[MajorHoy]

. . . That's why I found those free digital sneak peeks that DC did recently to be so incredibly helpful when deciding what new titles to pick up. I wish they had done that back in September of 2011. It would have saved me a lot of money.

Actually, I'm not sure how many of those "Sneak Peeks" really gave a good idea of what the books were like. (Hell, if I based my purchases only on the "Sneak Peeks", I would no longer be reading DC comic books. And it's not like I'm a Marvel Zombie fanboy.)

[JasonTodd428]

Actually, I'm not sure how many of those "Sneak Peeks" really gave a good idea of what the books were like. (Hell, if I based my purchases only on the "Sneak Peeks", I would no longer be reading DC comic books. And it's not like I'm a Marvel Zombie fanboy.)

I felt that plenty of them did myself, with the exception of Starfire, but I guess what I failed to get across with my post there was that having a sneak peek, to me, was preferable to either going into a book completely unsure of whether you will like it or not or having someone suggest a book that in their opinion was a good one. I found it to be the same as if I'd gone to my LCS and had then had a look at the physical books. I thought it was a very useful thing myself. YMMV I suppose.

[AAXL98]

I think it's the world we live in - we are so connected, and media is so available, there's no reason to "take a chance" when you can find someone to give you suggestions.

This.

Why waste money and time? Sure you might want to try things out yourself sometimes but usually the comic fans are right about what's good and what isn't.

[Tupiaz]

This.

Why waste money and time? Sure you might want to try things out yourself sometimes but usually the comic fans are right about what's good and what isn't.

How will you get a recommendation if nobody tried a new comic or new creative team?