Which comic books/graphic novels would you recommend to learn about JL members for the DCEU?

[rogbngp]

For Christmas this year I plan to geek out on learning about the comic book source material for the DCEU's slated films. So I'd appreciate feedback on which comic books/graphic novels you would you recommend to learn about the Justice League members as they figure to appear in the DCEU. For Superman I'm thinking the Man of Steel Prequel comic. For Batman, The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Earth One vol.s 1 and 2 (looks like Alfred in BvS is probably inspired by BEO). And otherwise reportedly the other JL members will be based on the New 52. So for Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Cyborg what comic book source material would you recommend? If it's too early to speculate about Flash, GL and Cyborg, a focus for now on WW and Aquaman is fine. Superman, Batman, WW, and Aquaman is plenty for me to read about for the time being.

I'm mainly into what I would call the "fantastic adventure" category of film which includes sci-fi, high fantasy, swords and sandal, swords and sorcery, and superhero genres. I grew up as a kid reading the Silver and Bronze Age comics from the mid 60's to early 70s, both DC and Marvel. I know nothing of what came after that in the comic books except what I've browsed recently on Wikipedia. But now that the superhero movies seem finally to have come of age and we're seeing a profusion of CBMs getting made, I'm enjoying researching the comic book sources. For what it's worth, I'm mainly a film fan, and I do prefer a somewhat more realistic approach to the CBM subject matter (i.e., what would it look like if characters like this actually existed in the real world today?) and using the characters to tell relatively sophisticated stories that transcend the source material; and, accordingly, a fair bit of adaptation of source material for film, since comics and films are two distinct mediums. Some examples of my musings:

Four Films That Established the Superhero Film as Not Just "Comic Book"
How Rigid or Flexible Is Your Mind as a Superhero Film Viewer?
Will Amanda Waller Play a Role in Batman's Distrust of Superman in BvS?
Why Man of Steel Works: A More Complex Human and Mythic Approach to the Superman Character
Headgame re: Superman Possibly Being Dissed by Warner Brothers in DCEU?

Anyway, thanking you in advance for helping me out here. I will really appreciate any recommendations or other feedback you provide!

[Güicho]

-Their Superman Batman relationship looks like it comes from TDKR
-Waify fragile Wonder Woman, I don't know what inspired that? It looks like she can barely physically lift a sword, so they will probably emphasise her magical powers, maybe check the Sailor Moon franchise.
-Their Aquaman, read some Robert E. Howard King Conan pulps, and Namor comics.
-Flash (although called "Barry" could be short for Bartholomew) appears will be Bart Allen. Probably comes from the future, to stave off some future apocalypse if Bat and Super can't work it out, and the JL isn't "born", will sacrifice himself and pass the "lightning" to his ancestor in infinite time loop. He had a great run called Impulse in the late 90s.
- AFAIK no GL.
- AFAIK no Martian Manhunter.
-Cyborg is mostly known for being in Teen Titans maybe Wolfman/Perez run. He got rebooted into NU52 JL though that may be what they are going for so check that.

LOL, good luck, /JK

I'm partially joking above, but it doesn't look like they are following any single "source" material, but more doing their own thing, but going by your "musings/spam" you know that.
Probably the less you expect to align with the comic (it won't) the more you will enjoy the film. You will do just as well going by the books you say you already have.

[rogbngp]

Thanks, now I feel a bit silly in having included those article links, I probably didn't need to include them since they aren't truly necessary for what I'm asking. I just figured it would give a sense of where I'm coming from as more of a film fan versus fan of comic books per se. I have a kind of ambivalent relationship to the comic book sources. For me it also tests the waters here for what I might expect from the community here given my views, this being my first post.

Mind you, I don't have the Batman and Superman comics/graphic novels yet, but I'll be asking my wife for them for Christmas. A friend did loan me Frank Miller's TDKR and due to a hectic schedule I could only browse it. He also loaned me the TDKR animated film and I watched it.

Yeah, like the MCU the DCEU looks like its not going to be bound by any strict adaptation of the comic books source material, which imho is wise from a commercial standpoint. Hardcore comic book fans are a tiny sliver of the greater ticket and toy buying consumer demographic. And, honestly, it probably makes for the strongest cinematic product as well (again that's just my opinion, obviously). Not everything in the world of comic books is going to translate well for a blockbuster action film for world-wide mass consumption.

From what I've read WB/DC is using the New 52 for other than Batman and Superman. It looks like Lex Luthor could well be inspired in part by the New 52 (if we see him try to clone Zod and he ends up creating Bizarro, for example). What New 52 comics would you recommend for WW and Aquaman? Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood (The New 52) and Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench (The New 52) to start?

[brandnewfan]

For WW, I recommend the recent Brian Azzarello run that began with the New 52. Issue 0-35 or so I believe. Though I highly doubt the upcoming films will be in any way based on this run. But read it anyway, it's simply one of the best comic runs in recent years. I never cared about the character until I read this run.

For Batman...there are hints that Jason Todd may be in the films in some capacity, so I would recommend reading A Death in the Family and follow it up with Under the Hood. There's also rumors that Dick Grayson will appear in Suicide Squad as Grayson...so for that read the current Grayson run starting at the beginning.

I can't really recommend Aquaman because I'm not familiar with many of his titles. But the Geoff Johns run was good, but I doubt it'll be at all like the movie version.

For the Flash...read the current book but ONLY the Manapul/Buccaletto run (probably spell his last name wrong).

[FlashingSabre]

Thanks, now I feel a bit silly in having included those article links, I probably didn't need to include them since they aren't truly necessary for what I'm asking. I just figured it would give a sense of where I'm coming from as more of a film fan versus fan of comic books per se. I have a kind of ambivalent relationship to the comic book sources. For me it also tests the waters here for what I might expect from the community here given my views, this being my first post.

Mind you, I don't have the Batman and Superman comics/graphic novels yet, but I'll be asking my wife for them for Christmas. A friend did loan me Frank Miller's TDKR and due to a hectic schedule I could only browse it. He also loaned me the TDKR animated film and I watched it.

Yeah, like the MCU the DCEU looks like its not going to be bound by any strict adaptation of the comic books source material, which imho is wise from a commercial standpoint. Hardcore comic book fans are a tiny sliver of the greater ticket and toy buying consumer demographic. And, honestly, it probably makes for the strongest cinematic product as well (again that's just my opinion, obviously). Not everything in the world of comic books is going to translate well for a blockbuster action film for world-wide mass consumption.

From what I've read WB/DC is using the New 52 for other than Batman and Superman. It looks like Lex Luthor could well be inspired in part by the New 52 (if we see him try to clone Zod and he ends up creating Bizarro, for example). What New 52 comics would you recommend for WW and Aquaman? Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood (The New 52) and Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench (The New 52) to start?

Both of those are amazing. Definitely pick them up.

[rogbngp]

@brandnewfan Thanks!

@FlashingSabre Thank you!

[rogbngp]

Another question: My guess is that BvS will feature the New 52's Bizarro and from Wikipedia I'm seeing that this takes place in the Forever Evil series. Which Forever Evil volumes deal with the Bizarro origin per se? From this overview it looks like vol. 2. It's a bit confusing, though, because I also see references to Superman #23.1 – Bizarro. And discussion of Superman #23.1 – Bizarro here includes reference to an earlier version of Bizarro being a clone. In which comic book did Lex create a Bizarro clone? And did he ever do so from Zod's corpse? Again, thanking you in advance.

[ColonelGM]

New 52 Justice League All Volumes imo.