Wanting to read the new 52 stuff but i want to know what leads up to it like waht story line should i read before the new 52
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The point of the New 52 is that you can (theoretically, mind you) just jump in without prior knowledge. In practice, however, you kind of need to come in with a working understanding of the DC universe and it’s characters, especially as the N52 goes on. Purely from a story perspective, you could read Flashpoint, but if you’ve read a few comics featuring the characters whose series you want to follow, you’re probably okay.
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The various Batman books unwisely wove Grant Morrison’s epic story into the new continuity rather than allowing Batman Incorporated to play out in the pre-Flashpoint universe. That’s a problem because Morrison’s run was all about declaring every Batman story to be canonical, a mindset that is antithetical to a reboot. It wouldn’t be such a big deal to exclude the two relevant series (Batman Incorporated and Batman & Robin) from your New 52 reading except that something happens to Damian in Morrison’s New 52 Batman Incorporated series that affects the other titles. It’s utterly confusing anyway, since certain characters who appear in the pre-New 52 Batman Incorporated series are temporarily dropped out of continuity before being reintroduced in Batman Eternal and its sequel.
Something similar happens with Green Lantern: the New 52 run is a continuation of the Geoff Johns pre-Flashpoint run, which itself is deeply rooted in the post-Crisis continuity. It’s a bit more approachable than Morrison’s story, though.
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Skip it. New 52 is just a poor man’s post-COIE anyway.
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@BatWatch
I think there are a few books that are definitely worth reading, but you’re not wrong.
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Swamp Thing Flash and Aquaman were good and I heard animal man was good but I never got around to reading it
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Nothing in all honesty.
Grant Morrison’s Batman carried over into the New 52 continuity, but you don’t have to read it to get New 52 Batman at all. Just find the book you want to read, and go from there.
Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern also carried over into the New 52 continuity, but again: you don’t need to have read any of it to jump into the GL books of that era. Just find the book(s) you want and go from there.
An argument could be made for reading Flashpoint (the 2011 mini-series by Geoff Johns; not the Elseworlds mini from 1999) as that’s what ultimately lead into The New 52, but that is its own story and not necessary to read to enjoy The New 52.
All you need do is find a series that interests you and go from there. It’s like MTV Geek said in their review of the debut New 52 titles: “These books give you everything you need to know, right there in the first issue.”.
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Oh yeah, there’s plenty of quality stuff in the New 52. I just felt like throwing shade. I just love the deep layers of continuity that got tossed out the window, and they did my favorite Tim Drake really wrong. I had to wait five years until Tynion’s Detective run to see a real version of my boy again, and he still hasn’t had an ongoing even though he had seventeen years leading up to the New 52. You know how few characters get seventeen years of a solo book?
Sorry, this has turned into a Tim Drake rant.
Anyway, New 52 has quality stuff, but I do feel like it was a rough spot in many ways and that the reboot did virtually nothing to improve stories.
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All roads lead to 52
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Thabk you everyone
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