DC pre-Crisis graphic novel reading list

[skrilmps]

A few years ago I decided I wanted to learn more about comics, knowing next to nothing and never having read a comic prior. I started with DC because those were characters I knew and loved from my childhood (thanks to cartoon series like Superfriends and the original Superman movies). I did some online reading and talked to some comic-knowledgable friends and learned that DC has had a series of "Crisis" events that are seminal to what's going on in the universe, with Crisis on Infinite Earths being the first of those. So I picked up CoIE #1 (a free download on Comixology), and what happened next is the story I’d like to share here. Perhaps you’ll feel that my story is similar to an experience of your own, but whether or not you identify with my experience I hope you find what follows interesting.

THE GOAL

Just in the first few pages of CoIE #1 I had so many questions: Who is Ultraman (or Power Ring) and why does he look just like Superman (or Green Lantern)? Why is Luthor a good guy and why is he married to Lois Lane? What is Earth-3 and is it a big deal that it is disappearing? When was the Justice League satellite abandoned? At that I stopped just a few pages in, realizing I had some serious back-reading to do.

Why not just finish reading CoIE? I enjoyed the artwork and the epic feel of the story and I’m sure I’ll enjoy reading the rest of the book. But, I have to admit I'm a completist. I tend to be disappointed unless I can feel the shock, awe, sadness, excitement, and other emotions that the author likely intended the reader to feel. This seemed particularly poignant with CoIE since it is a book about beloved characters departing as the universe is restructured. But for me, those characters weren’t beloved — yet — and so the impact was lost. In short, I want to read it not just for the in-universe information it contained but for the experience of the journey as well. And in order to do so, I needed to have some connection to characters and knowledge of past events in the universe. Therefore, I set out on a new mission, which is to experience Crisis on Infinite Earths in a more satisfying way.

The goal: While reading Crisis on Infinite Earths I want to follow and, more importantly, appreciate what is going on.

(more coming in next post)