Taylor’s Guide for Getting into DC Comics
decided to make an official post for my method on getting into DC Comics
I don’t know anything about DC Comics and comics continuity scares me
if you’re intimidated by how many comics there are and all the different timelines and continuities and oh my god there’s so many characters then i suggest starting with watching Batman the Brave and the Bold
what it is: it’s a three season 22 minute cartoon from 2008. it focuses on Batman teaming up with a bunch of different heroes and is generally episodic in nature
why i recommend it as a starting point: at this point pretty much everyone has heard of batman in some shape or form. so this gives you a familiar character while being exposed to an enormous cast of different characters. it doesn’t give you the origins or much explanation for many of the characters or how they all know each other which is much like reading modern comics! so it helps you get used to not knowing who everyone is and not getting an origin story every time someone shows up. it also shows you pretty much every corner of the dc universe so you gain some passing familiarity with someone from every niche even if its by name only
some of its flaws: since its an adaptation there are things (many things) that don’t line up with how things are (or ever were) in the comics. which brings me to my next step
READ THE WIKIPEDIA PAGES OF CHARACTERS YOU’RE INTERESTED IN
i’m not talking about the wiki/fandom pages. i’m talking about wikipedia. this will give you some broader context for the characters both in universe and in the cultural landscape. also if you don’t feel ready to read the comics yet/don’t know where to get those comics it will give you other adaptations of that character if there are any. it could also mention another character that you also think is interesting and then you can read their pages
when you’ve done that then you can move onto
I know what character I want to read but how do I know what to read?
your two best friends are going to be googling “[character name] comic vine” and “[character name] dc wiki”
both comic vine and the dc wiki keep lists of character appearances. the dc wiki has them linked at the bottom of each character page while comic vine has them linked at the top
whats the difference between them?
comic vine keeps every appearance of the character under the same list even if its from a different continuity. they also list trade paperbacks and other language reprints under the same page. comic vine sorts it by series so you will see the series that your chosen character has the most appearances in first. which might not always be issues about them
the dc wiki separates out the character appearances based on which continuity its under. so characters will have multiple appearance lists depending on when it was published and if it was for an au or not. for example: bruce wayne (new earth) and bruce wayne (prime earth) are two of the MANY different pages with appearance lists for batman on the dc wiki. vs comic vine where they’re all under bruce wayne. the dc wiki does not include reprints and trade paperbacks under the appearance lists and sorts it alphabetically
personally i’d start with the comic vine list. its easier to get the relevant info from and then use it to answer these questions
does your character have a solo series?
a solo series is anything that’s named after that character. sometimes they’re duo series (batman & superman, blue & gold, fire & ice: smallville etc). if yes start with one of those. if you plan on reading everything and don’t mind older writing styles pick the oldest one and move through the list of solo series. if you are turned off by the older writing styles start with the oldest one published in or after 1986. if you just want to read more modern/current stuff start with one labeled “rebirth” at the top
is your character on a team book?
if your character doesn’t have a solo or you read the solos and want to read something else see if they’re on a team book! team books are just what they sound like. books that focus on a bunch of characters that are operating under the same team name. if you read their wikipedia page it probably mentions if theyre on a team. you can also double check with the dc wiki (check the [character name] new earth and [character name] prime earth pages to see if they’re affiliated with anyone)
if they’re in multiple volumes of the same title team book i would generally start with the oldest. again skip any from before 1986 if you can’t handle the older writing styles. and if you only want the really new stuff start with ones with the rebirth label on them
my character doesn’t have a solo or a team book!
so you’ve got a few options.
look up a reading guide (which honestly you couldve done for the other characters too but i think it’s better to learn how to choose which ones to read yourself since they don’t always have reading guides)
start at their first appearance then go from there (if comic vine has your character listed with 250 or less appearances this is a decent choice especially since anywhere from 10 to 25% of those will be reprints)
choose based on the artwork (good art/art you like can get you through a lot of bad writing)
generally all of these are good options to take. with option three just be wary if the writer is tom king since he is known to take extreme liberties with characteristics
if you really like the writing or the art on a book take note of who wrote it or who drew it. if you search “[creator name] comic vine” it will pull up a page similar to the character ones and you can check what other stuff they made. following a creator’s career is a good way to branch out your reading list and helps you identify what you do and don’t like
if there’s a specific kind of character you want to read (divorced, fire powers, alien, etc) you can check the category pages on the dc wiki. just find the page of a character you know fits that category (maxwell lord for divorced for example) scroll to the bottom. expand the categories and click on the one you’re looking for. you’ll find a list of characters with that tag on them
some characters are just confusing so don’t worry about it. hawkman, hawkgirl/woman, and supergirl have three of the most confusing continuities in dc comics. so if it seems confusing don’t let it stop you
you really don’t have to understand the nuances of continuity in order to enjoy comics. that has never stopped a writer before. so it shouldn’t stop you!
you can read comics with the dc universe subscription or comixology or going to your local comic shop. some used bookstores also have comic bins. if you google “read comic online” you should probably find something. make sure you have a good adblock though
thats basically it. just rinse and repeat with however many characters you want!
personally i think reading stuff from oldest to newest is the most interesting way to read comics because then you can see how the character has evolved over the years and find out which writers like to collaborate with previous ideas and which ones like to bulldoze it all down
1986 is chosen as a dividing point because that is when DC’s first MAJOR continuity reboot happens. it’s Crisis On Infinite Earths and basically just combines all the different DC earths into one. so there’s a lot of explaining whats going on in those earlier books. you CAN start with the 70s stuff if you want but generally its easier to start with the late 80s if you don’t want to go all the way back
books labeled rebirth are chosen for the people who want to start with the now because that is the start of the last major reboot and will introduce you to the modern interpretation of the character. which imo isnt always the best since a lot of the modern interpretations are more shallow. but to each their own
