New To DC

Hey everyone I’m new to DC and I need suggestions on what to read so if anyone can help me out that would be great!!!

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Welcome to DCU!

It seems like you’re a Shazam fan, so I’d recommend starting with Shazam! The New Beginning, and then reading The Power of Shazam!

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I would start off at the encyclopedia for DC Universe. You can search using the search bar. They will have recommended readings and storylines. Here is the link for Captain Marvel (Shazam). https://www.dcuniverse.com/encyclopedia/shazam/

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They also will be adding 20,000 comics sometime in April. If you ever have any other questions… Don’t hesitate to ask. There is also a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) post: https://www.dcuniverse.com/community/boards/watchtower/dc-universe-frequently-aske
Welcome to the forums Shaazzaam!

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Welcome to our domain…

You may submit your virtual goat sacrifice at your local Apokaliptian shop located in Burbank, CA. You will meet a man name Felix Faust. Please speak with him to proceed with your initiation on DC Universe Streaming App.

There are three trials you must complete.

May Rao protect you and your soul

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Well, that depends on who your favorite character is. I’d recommend New 52 Batman and Justice League for beginners. I’d recommend New 52 for quite a few heroes, actually, like Aquaman! And even though it’s not collected on here in its entirety just yet, the Shazam! subplot from the New 52 Justice League run was one of my first DC stories to read ever!

For The Flash, I’d start with the Mark Waid run and jump ahead to Geoff Johns’ run on the same title at some point.

Speaking of Geoff Johns… he did a killer Green Lantern run that is part of why the character is so beloved today.

You’re going to get a lot of classics recommended, and I agree you ought to read them! Death of Superman, Dark Knight Returns, and Year One are stand-outs in particular. But I’d recommend starting out with the most basic, most accessible places, and I believe those are what I listed above.

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I always recommend Identity Crisis.

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i write guides to DC rebirth DC’s latest reboot and the perfect spot to start reading comics. I have different levels of intensity depending on how in depth you want to go.
https://www.dcuniverse.com/community/boards/comics/where-to-start-with-dc-reb

If you want to watch TV, start with the DC Universe exclusives Titans and then watch Doom Patrol. If you want to keep going, watch the animated gem Young Justice.

The Legend of Wonder Woman
This is a origin story and you don’t need to know anything going in. It’s also my favorite WW story.

Batman: Hush
This is not only my favorite BM story but the story that got me back into comics.

The New Teen Titans (Marv Wolfman, George Perez)
I’m not listing any stories because I like the whole series also the series has a few good stories I guess you could say :slight_smile: .

Shazam: Origins / Shazam: Vol 1 (New 52)
These are the same thing except Origins is the Shazam movie the in version with Zachary Levi on the cover.

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It depends if you like more popular characters like Batman or Superman or obscure characthers like the Challengers of the Unknown. You can start with your favorite and branch off as you are introduced to them in a comic. Most of them have been in a solo comic at least once. Sometimes the reason you started liking DC may not be the thing you want to read which is cool. I started liking comics because of Batman, but I oddly don’t read Batman. With that said, I would suggest you start with the comics that were published in or after 2016. This is what is known as Rebirth. DC reboots itself every couple of years so stories tend to change and start fresh. I think Justice League Dark and Hawkman are good series. You can also read some oneshots or elseworlds from the past like Superman: Red Son, The Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Batman: White Knight, Kingdom Come, or any of the Earth One series.

Warnin: Identity Crisis may leave a bad taste in the your mouth as the opinions are polorizing. Read at your own caution as serious things happen in that book.

The new Shazam series is only four issues in and is good

I suggest crisis on infinite earths. You will get exposed to the glory and depth of DC character “vault” not to mention the premise of the multiverse. Then find which characters you connect to and with 20k+ of comics, you’ll be able to find something about them.

COIE Is the linchpin in DC history. To coin a clique,
You don’t know where your going, if you don’t know where you’ve been. But, it’s a clique because it’s true.

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Welcome!!!

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Typically new DC fans get started by tying a bed sheet around their shoulders and jumping off a couch, but yeah reading comics is much easier on mom nerves.

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I’ll second DeSade-acolyte’s suggestion. COIE is great, and is sort of required reading to understand DC continuity as one of the three major reboots (the first being The Flash of Two Worlds, which is summarized in COIE, and the third being Flashpoint, which unilaterally dumped the vast majority of most characters’ history in 2011 and is being slowly and quietly undone). Basically, if you like modern stuff, I’d say start with the Rebirth title for whatever character you like. It’s a mixed bag, but much better than New 52, so it’s worth missing the prior bits of continuity. If you’re interested in the full history, definitely start with the Crisis.

A few good beginner-friendly titles available on DCU, in release order:
Mister Miracle (1971), The New Gods (1971), The Forever People (1971), and Jack Kirby’s work on Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen: Just generally really good, but specifically these are where Darkseid comes from.
The New Teen Titans (1980) : A little slow in the beginning but gets good by the Judas Contract storyline. Note that the title changed to “Tales of the Teen Titans” and they launched a new New Teen Titans book starting back at #1 in 1984. The new book starts concurrently with the first issue after the end of The Judas Contract.
Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) : Already discussed.
Wonder Woman (1987) : Hard reboot for the character, and absolutely brilliant. Well-written and beautiful art.
Suicide Squad (1987) : Cool more espionage-focused action.
Batman: Year One: Batman’s Post-Crisis origin.
Mark Waid’s run on The Flash (1987) : You should probably read Crisis on Infinite Earths before this, but otherwise there’s not too much homework.
Grant Morrison and Mark Waid’s runs on JLA (1996) : I think Morrison’s run sucks, but I’m basically the only human being on the planet who holds that opinion, so statistically speaking, you’ll probably like it. And even I agree that Waid’s run is great.
Nightwing (1996) : Fun series, if you can get past the art. A personal favorite.
Batman: Hush (2004) : Nice, well-written tour of Batman’s rogues’ gallery and supporting cast in a fun mystery. One of my favorite single story arcs.
Green Lantern (2005) and Green Lantern Corps (2006) : Geoff Johns’ run is the definitive modern take on the character and setting, and is very beginner-friendly.
Detective Comics (2016) : I don’t know, some people didn’t like this, but I had a good time with it.

For specifically a breakdown of major continuity shifts:
The Flash (1961) #123: The Flash of Two Worlds (Introduced the multiverse)
Justice League of America (1960) #21-22: Crisis on Earth-One! and Crisis on Earth-Two! (Earliest JLA/JSA crossovers dealing with the multiverse)
Justice League of America (1960) #29-30, 37-38, 46-47, 55-56, 65-65, 73-75, 82-83, 91-92, 100-102, 107-108, 113, 123-124, 135-137, 147-148, 159-160, 171-172, 183-185, 195-197, 207-209, 219-220, 231-232 (Ensuing JLA/JSA crossovers establishing the various worlds of the multiverse.)
Crisis on Infinite Earths (Destroyed the multiverse and led to some reasonably heavy continuity changes)
Zero Hour (Minor retcons to clear up some continuity problems. Might not make sense unless you’ve read the Death and Return of Superman and Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight)
The OMAC Project, Day of Vengeance, Rann-Thanagar War, Villains United, Infinite Crisis, and 52 (Sequel to COIE. Some continuity modifications, not a huge difference, other than restoring the multiverse.)
Flashpoint (Hard reboot. Nothing but some of Johns’ Green Lantern work and a few key Batman stories is canon for books from 2011 to 2016.)
DC Rebirth (Walked back some of Flashpoint’s changes.)

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I’m currently re-reading Crisis on Infinite Earths, then I’m thinking Infinite Crisis, 52, Countdown to Final Crisis, and Final Crisis. I have them all in Trade, and several of the Tie-Ins such as the Rann-Thanagar War and Day of Judgement to name a few. If you find yourself wanting more stories with more great heros and villains, and even lesser ones, this is what I’d suggest. Honestly, 52 is what made me REALLY like Booster Gold! And very much dislike Felix Faust lol. Good luck!

If you dug the Shazam movie (and I’d say you did :wink: ) then go for:

-The Power of Shazam!
-Shazam! The New Beginning

Those titles are available in the Comics section. Not in the Comics section but absolutely worth buying is the current Shazam! ongoing by Geoff Johns. Its quite fun, new reader friendly and only four issues in.

If you want a big, spectacular thrillride check out the New 52 Justice League (which began in 2011 and ended in 2016) story “The Darkseid War”. It runs from issues 40-50. The highpoint of an excellent series. Plus Shazam is in it. Not in a huge way but he is a member of the team at that time.

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My personal favorite book ever is kingdom come, but without some context, I’m not sure that would be good. Identity crisis is really amazon, and more or less set up the modern dc era in some ways. Batman year one is a stand out, and Tom King’s current Batman run is epic. Also, the bendis Superman stuff

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I just got it last night My favorite robin Is Damian Wayne

Read through a couple of the Encyclopedia pages and find a character you like, then just go through related content and start reading

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