Help me choose what to read, I’m new to DC

Should I read all star Batman and robin———-/all star Batman/———-/or Blackest night- green lantern

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Between those three? Blackest Night, definitely. All-Star Batman and Robin is terrible and I haven’t heard anything one way or another about All-Star Batman.

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If you’re new to DC, I wouldn’t recommend any of those three stories. All-Star Batman & Robin is an inside joke that you won’t get if you’re unfamiliar with the characters and their histories. Scott Snyder’s All-Star Batman is unremarkable and somewhat convoluted at first. Blackest Night assumes familiarity with the then-current Green Lantern run and a slew of dead DC characters.

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For someone brand new, I would maybe suggest Batman: Year One, and Green Lantern Rebirth when it comes to those characters.

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All-Star Batman is good if you’re looking for a more self-contained story (and just a really good batman story.) Blackest Night was a big crossover event right before New 52 so it has to spend a considerable amount of time tying up loose canon ends. You should be able to follow along enough with minimal knowledge of the canon of that time (it was one of my first stories too.)

If you’re absolutely brand-new to the comics side of DC, then welcome and happy reading. I would recommend that you check out “DC’s New Frontier” to help you get a sense of the greater universe as it’s a great intro to most of DC’s top names (but you might have to roll with the punches during the first issue.) I would also recommend Batman: Zero Year, it’s a reimagining of Batman’s origin that’s great for newcomers and a personal fav (unpopular opinion, I think Zero Year is superior to Year One in every way.) I would also like to recommend Superman: Brainiac as an excellent Superman story for newbies to big blue (most of the Superman recommendations you’ll get are really meant for longtime fans but Brainiac is a good one to start on.) Once you get a feel for the universe, pick up Crisis on Infinite Earths as it is still the best major event of DC.

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If you’re going to read Scott Snyder’s Batman, I would suggest starting with Zero Year and then looping around to the Court of Owls and Night of the Owls stories. His All-Star series picks up after the 2011 Batman series, so you should complete the earlier run first.

If you’re going to read Frank Miller’s Batman, then you would want to read Year One first, followed by The Last Crusade and The Dark Knight Returns. You should hold off on All-Star Batman & Robin until you get to The Dark Knight Strikes Again, and then you can read The Master Race. And just understand that Miller’s version of Batman is largely satirical.

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Thank you all, any suggestions of series’s to start with are welcome
I like all core jla characters

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Alex Ross JUSTICE is the story line that got me in to the DC side of things, I just finished it recently.

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When it comes to accessibility, I don’t think you can beat origin stories by Geoff Johns.

  1. Superman: Secret Origin

  2. Green Lantern: Secret Origin

  3. Justice League: Origin

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Geoff Johns GL run is so complete, it covers all the older GL stuff. Best advice. Just dive right in. Then look up reading orders for whatever u choose. I write em all in a notebook & check each issue of as I go. That way I know exactly where I’m at. Year ones are all great. Batgirl, Batman, Green Arrow. Robin . The ones that never get talked about, are Teen Titans year 1. I love it. JLA year 1 too.

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All-star Batman. Awesome.

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I think this is the 478th time I’ve suggested it to a new reader, but Man of Steel by John Byrne. 1986. Super easy starting off point. Really good too.

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C’mon folks, All-Star Batman & Robin is great!

“I’m the godd**** Batman!”, that awesome spread of the Batcave and um…oh yeah! Batman giving Green Lantern crap over how he uses his ring, plus how he defeats GL? That’s using the 'ol noodle, Bats!

Seriously though, it is a nicely drawn book.

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I LOVE Snyder’s ASB, particularly the first arc.

Also, my recommendation for questions like this is the same as always: read what catches your eye. If you don’t like it, put it down. Try something else. Don’t be discouraged if there’s a continuity reference you don’t understand or character you don’t know. Keep reading. You’ll pick it up eventually.

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Granted, I haven’t liked anything from Snyder on this side of Flashpoint.

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JSA by Geoff Johns. I’ve been reading it again and keep thinking it’s pretty amazing how easy it is to just jump in.

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Wow, nothing? Beans to Jay Sherman, for you are The Critic, good sir. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I would recommend The Golden Age and DC New Frontier. Both are amazing reads!

It stinks!

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Batman, Two-Face, and a chainsaw on a road trip across America while being chased by EVERYONE. What’s not to love?

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