The Official DC Recommendations Thread

What are some of the best Superman graphic novels to check out, other than Birthright and All-Star Superman?

Non-elseworlds, preferably. Stand-alones are fine, but regular Superman, nothing like Red Son.
 
Superman: For All Seasons. It's still one of my favourite Superman stories to date.

A good elseworlds is Superman: Secret Identity.
 
What are some of the best Superman graphic novels to check out, other than Birthright and All-Star Superman?

Non-elseworlds, preferably. Stand-alones are fine, but regular Superman, nothing like Red Son.
Well All-Star, Birthright and Red Son are literally my absolute favorites, along with Kingdom Come, another elseworld, so I had to give this one a little more thought, lol. Assuming TPB's are acceptable as well...

-Action Comics, Vol 1 - Superman and the Men of Steel by Grant Morrison
-Action Comics, Vol. 2 - Bulletproof by Grant Morrison (this one's not as good as it's the "middle chapter" of Grant's run and the final part won't be collected into a TPB until later this year, but I just loved his run)
-Lex Luthor: Man of Steel by Brian Azzarello (I guess technically an elseworld, but still pretty standard universe, just from Luthor's POV)
-Superman: For Tomorrow by Brian Azzarello
-Superman: Peace on Earth by Paul Dini

If you're not looking for a ton of depth and just want some straight-forward action-y stories, Geoff Johns' stories work for that, Superman: Brainiac being a good example.

A lot of the best older stories are, to me, single issues that can be found in various TPB collections, like Must There Be a Superman by Elliot S. Maggin (Superman #247), For the Man Who Has Everything by Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons (Superman Annual #11) and What's so Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way? by Joe Kelly (Action Comics #775). That last one's not that old, but you get the idea.
 
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Ozymandias, Rorschach, and Nite Owl I believe.
 
Superman: For All Seasons. It's still one of my favourite Superman stories to date.

A good elseworlds is Superman: Secret Identity.

Well All-Star, Birthright and Red Son are literally my absolute favorites, along with Kingdom Come, another elseworld, so I had to give this one a little more thought, lol. Assuming TPB's are acceptable as well...

-Action Comics, Vol 1 - Superman and the Men of Steel by Grant Morrison
-Action Comics, Vol. 2 - Bulletproof by Grant Morrison (this one's not as good as it's the "middle chapter" of Grant's run and the final part won't be collected into a TPB until later this year, but I just loved his run)
-Lex Luthor: Man of Steel by Brian Azzarello (I guess technically an elseworld, but still pretty standard universe, just from Luthor's POV)
-Superman: For Tomorrow by Brian Azzarello
-Superman: Peace on Earth by Paul Dini

If you're not looking for a ton of depth and just want some straight-forward action-y stories, Geoff Johns' stories work for that, Superman: Brainiac being a good example.

A lot of the best older stories are, to me, single issues that can be found in various TPB collections, like Must There Be a Superman by Elliot S. Maggin (Superman #247), For the Man Who Has Everything by Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons (Superman Annual #11) and What's so Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way? by Joe Kelly (Action Comics #775). That last one's not that old, but you get the idea.

Thanks a lot! :yay:
 
For Superman stories:

"What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?" I my absolute favorite Superman story. It really shows you what Superman is about.
Origin Stories: "Superman For All Seasons" is the best one out there. It is masterfully told. "Birthright" is a great story, and it really delivers. It beats out "For All Seasons" in terms of action and offers a very modern Clark.
"For All Seasons" gives us a timeless (and my favorite) Clark. He is easily the most human version of Superman. He is made superhuman by the heart at the center of this telling of the origin. Also a great Lex story.

If you like Zod:
"Last Son" is good.
"For Tomorrow" is fantastic (another favorite!).

The following are trade paperbacks that comprise my favorite narrative arc for Superman. The line starts with Infinite Crisis and goes up to the beginning of (the tragically mediocre New Krypton). These deal with Lois and Clark together as well as Clark's identity (man or Superman?) really well. We get a lot about his morality and vision of the good. Plus, fists!!!
To be read in this order:
"Infinite Crisis" (Not strictly Superman, but he is very important).

"Up, Up, and Away" This focuses on Clark during the "One Year Later" (after Infinite Crisis) period. He has lost his powers (which obviously return pretty quickly). It's hard not to spoil this one, but it is a great story that really deals with Clark as a character (instead of a fist-delivery machine).

"Last Son" Great story, especially for Lois and Clark.

"The Coming of Atlas" Lots of fists here, but it manages to say something. The art is amazing.

"Superman: Brainiac." Origin (Colu version) of Brainiac. This is mostly fists, but there is great art and actually some strong emotion. Family is a theme here.

This is not just the usual list of "URMAGAWD ALL STAR! RED SON!" Hopefully it helps!
 
Can someone recommend me some good Aquaman comics?

Peter David's run is pretty up there.

The Water Bearer/Sub Diego arcs are awesome.

Lot of people seem to dig Johns' current run on the book.
 
Hi, I'm new to the forum. I don't know much about comic books very much but I'm curious to read the comics for my pleasure. What are the best comic books recommended for Wonder Woman? Thanks.
 
You can find the Greatest Wonder Woman stories ever told for pretty good prices on the net. It will give you a good look on Wonder Woman. It has various stories from various eras.

A personal favourite is Brian Azzarello's take on WW in the New 52. Really digging it and i think its quite underrated.
 
You can find the Greatest Wonder Woman stories ever told for pretty good prices on the net. It will give you a good look on Wonder Woman. It has various stories from various eras.

A personal favourite is Brian Azzarello's take on WW in the New 52. Really digging it and i think its quite underrated.
What are the good, reliable websites for Wonder Woman comic books? What do you mean, various stories from various eras?

Can you please provide some specific stories from particular eras? Thanks
 
Amazon.com usually has a good selection.

The characters been around for almost 80 years. There's a LOT of different interpretations of the character. Just like Superman or Batman. She was created by the same guy that created the polygraph. The lie detector. (Hence the Lasso of Truth) He based the character upon he and his wife's lover. (If you get a chance to read the old stuff, you'll see that WW was very, very, very freaky....for anytime really.) After him they've had a lot of trouble with the character. She went from just a female Superman, to a kung fu sidekick of her secret agent boyfriend, to a Goddess....and back again.

That said WW hasn't had consistent take since her creator died. The good stuff is very good. The bad stuff is VERY bad.

I would also recommend the Greg Rucka Run, starting with the Hiketia where she beats the s**t outta Batman.
 
I'm definitely a fan of the more recent incarnations of the character. I agree with NosfeRomas that Brian Azzarello's run on the New 52 is a good, accessible place to start. Specifically, there are already a couple of collected editions: Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood and Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Guts.

I also second the Greg Rucka recommendation, especially the graphic novel, Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia from 2002 and Eyes of the Gorgon from '05.

Gail Simone's The Circle from '07 was pretty good, too.
 
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Got to recommend Injustice: Gods Amongst Us. Been reading it lately and it's one of the best Elseworlds in recent memory. I now have complete faith in Tom Taylor's upcoming Earth 2 run.
 
Does anyone have any recommendations for any good Black Canary stories? I've been wanting to go on a comic reading binge with stories connected to the character.
 
Green Arrow the Longbow Hunters....not that she looked good in it but it was kinda important to the character....well....was.

Birds of Prey. The Gail Simone run. (Don't know if there was anybody else on the book.)

JLA Year One.
 
I just finished reading Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Batman Earth one and i really liked it. It was fresh, i especially enjoyed Johns' take on Harvey Bullock and Alfred (more like a Harvey Bullock origin but still it was great)

The characters were either unlikable or hardcore/badass, seriously the only one i was rooting for was Bullock and maybe Gordon because i got why he didn't do anything from like 20 pages in(that was a bit cliche).

The snotty kid Bruce was good and i dug that he moved on to be an angry, arrogant Batman. I am really looking forward to Volume 2 in which i guess we will get a determined, capable and respectable Caped Crusader.

ps (spoilerish) : The Wayne's death being just a common robbery and not a huge conspiracy was a great touch. Sometimes crap happens. I guess its the opposite of what Grant Morrison was trying to do but i like this version too. I prefer the big conspiracy/the city is alive take but this one felt more real and the fact that Bats was trying so hard to solve that puzzle made it ever better.
 
Birds of Prey. The Gail Simone run. (Don't know if there was anybody else on the book.)

There were other writers at times, and Simone is not on the New 52 version. But, no one has written Black Canary better than Gail Simone IMO. From following her Tumblr, she still misses writing Black Canary.
 
Is the New 52 Legion of Super heroes worth reading? I think i tried it along with the other Legion related book when it started and i barelly followed what was going on, does it continue plot points from the pre-reboot DC universe?
 
So I've never been a huge comic book guy....I mean I enjoy reading them but I never collected them regularly.....Anyways I was wanting to find some good story arcs.....The only DC hero's that I have ever read and enjoyed are Bat Family characters. Anyone have any recommendations for good Bat Family arcs (I've read the major ones like Long Halloween, Hush and the Killing Joke) or any other must read story arcs.
 

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