What issue, story, or complete series do you feel deserves more credit than it is given?
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I’d go with the original Ultra-Humanite arc from the early issues of Action Comics. Ultra was almost immediately replaced with Luthor, but one twist in particular makes this early Golden Age villain especially vile and threatening.
I’m less enthused with the later ape-ification of the character, though.
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The ones that spring to mind off the top of my head are Captain Atom (1986-), The Spectre (1992-), Azrael (1995-), and Chase (1998-). All sort of overlooked but really good.
Also, I have yet to see anything disprove my hypothesis that Giffen and DeMatteis on JLI is the best Justice League run.
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Oh, and Underworld Unleashed! Skip the tie-ins because most of them are pointless, but the miniseries itself is great. Maybe my second favorite event after CoIE.
Conversely, I find both The Final Night and Genesis rather dull as minis, but Detective Comics #706 from the former and Batman #547 from the latter are some of my all-time favorite issues.
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I agree on Spectre and Azrael. I read Azrael for the fist time during stay at home. I’m a big fan now. I’ll check the others. Thanks!
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I’m gonna go with Fables by Bill Willingham. I think it’s on the same level as Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. Not better than- but on the same level, and I rarely if ever hear people talking about it. It was consistently great throughout its entire run.
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It’s darn close. I agree.
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Ooh! I also read the Doctor Mid-Nite miniseries from '99 just a day or two ago. Complete whim, I’d barely heard anything about it, but that one’s really good too.
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Teen Titans: Year One is my favorite Teen Titans run of all time. I really wish it wasn’t part of the Year One era because I desperately wanted a full series. I love the takes on the characters so much. It perfectly manages to balance comedy and drama so well. I want more people to talk about and read it because it’s so good. It’s on DC Universe, so read it if you haven’t!!!
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Is this newer? I’m not familiar.
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@AlexanderKnox I have to admit I was never a fan of the first Titans team. I don’t know much about them. The only thing I’ve read prior to Johns team is the Perez/Wolfman run on New Teen Titans.
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Yeah, 2008 Mini series. DC did limited run series for most of their big comics under the mantel year one.
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@OmniLad I didn’t know. I read the Robin and Batgirl Year One stories by Chuck Dixon a long time ago. Unfortunately since 2006 I’ve lived in a place with no shop. I’m still not as current as I’d like to be. This app has helped.
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I’m gonna go with two Superman choices here. They’re both based on the fact that I like them very much while always stumbling into posts that mention how much they suck. Guess I just have bad taste, or I don’t really understand comics that much?
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New 52 Superman and Action Comics. Without these, I may not be reading comics right now. They were my introduction to this wonderful world. For that I will always be appreciative.
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Brian Michael Bendis Superman and Action Comics. Hard to turn a corner on a DC forum without a Bendis dig of some sort. His Superman series with Ivan Reis in particular has been my favorite read of the past couple years.
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Ame-Comi Girls and its entire universe (Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Duela Dent, Power Girl, and Supergirl). This was a digital first title written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. This series retold DC history while changing all of the heroes to female and making it work. Sadly, this is a really short read. The upside is there is a lot to take in the 39 or so issues. The artwork had an anime vibe to it, which I am not particularly a fan of but the story was more than enough to hook me. By the end of the series I found that I was enjoying the artwork as well.
If you decide to read it, I strongly suggest reading the 3 issue story arcs that lead up to Ame-Comi Girls proper. They can all be found under the Ame-Comi Girls “folder” on DCU.
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I like Bendis on Superman. I don’t like him on YJ so much. Dude struggles with a team. I’m too old to have anything positive to say about New 52, but I’m glad it attracted new readers.
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I was always a little afraid to try these. I’ll take a look. As long as it’s better than Steel, right? 
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There is a version of Steel in this haha
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The entirety of the Electric Suit Saga (as I call it) from the Superman books of the late '90s.
Most people write those books off without reading them, but there’s more going on than just a costume change. It shows a Superman who effectively has to start over as he gets a grasp on his newfound powers, which leads to him evolving his way of solving problems as he’s no longer nigh-invulnerable.
Once Superman Red shows up, the paradigm shifts to team-up adventures of a sort and increases the entertainment value of an already highly entertaining run.
Plus, those books are just FUN. If you’re tired of dark, gritty, edgy, deconstructionist superhero fiction and want a fun ride through and through, the Electric Suit Saga is your ticket.
Moving on, while everyone knows who Jim Lee is, very few seem to know of the one book that he (mostly) wrote and (mostly) drew: Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday. It’s a wild ride of a 12-issue mini that has action, adventure, divine power, demons and monsters, vile villains, heavenly heroes and it centers around two of the most powerful forces in existence: God and love, and the power that each have to offer and how they make us rise, but if used unwisely, they can bring about our fall as well.
As for a more recent (relatively speaking) title deserving of more acclaim, the New 52 iteration of Blackhawks fits the bill. I’m not spoiling anything, but I enjoy this series more and more with each reading. It was a New 52 favorite of mine as it was released, and remains so today. It too is pure fun, with a really nifty main villain that deserves much more of the spotlight than she currently has.
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