Question for the community: If there are multiple series that you want to read that were all published at the same time, that all link up with the same event series, what, in your opinion, is the best way to read them? OK, I realize that it’s all subjective and that there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s read comics. So, I guess what I’m really asking is: what’s your preferred way of reading comic series?
So, how would you prefer to read these series? Choose one to read all the way through, read the events when they happen, then read the other two and try to remember what happened during the event? Read a trade’s worth of issues from all three, rotating among them, and incorporating the events plus the tie-ins as they come along? Or something else entirely? I’m concerned about the second option, because I worry about suffering from tonal whiplash trying to read three such totally different series at once, plus I have a hard enough time remembering all of the events that have transpired and keeping track of all of the characters when I’m reading just one series. But the first option doesn’t seem ideal either. So please let me know how you do it, because two-and-a-half years into my comic reading endeavor, figuring out how to read comics is still my biggest roadblock to actually reading comics.
When I read Shadow of the Bat, Legends of the Dark Knight, Azrael, Robin, and Catwoman what I personally did was alternate between them until one really picked up my interests. Then I would stick with that series till maybe an event and then go back to the others to catch up.
Personally, I prefer to follow the reading orders on comicbookreadingorders.com. So, if I wanted to read those particular series, I would find whichever issue comes first in the reading order, and then I would follow the order they lay out, skipping over the unrelated entries. They do a remarkable job laying out the continuity.
I am late to the comics game so most important arcs and events I read on dcui. Personally I read by year until it gets to event I am interested then I try to follow the reading order set from the books unless I am not reading that book.
For example, I will read all the Batman that came out in 2011 at one time. When Court of Owls hits I will read batman,nightwing, detective, red hood to get the arc but not BG because I don’t read Batgirl.
I will then move on to the next book I am interested in from 2011.
I like to read multiple series at a time, rotating among them for the simple pleasure of variety. My favorite period for this type of reading order was '90’s DC with their multiple legacy-character books: Nightwing (Dick) to Flash (Wally) to Green Lantern (Kyle) to Green Arrow (Connor). The continuity was tight among these books so reading them as they “hit the stands” made sense. And you get the added pleasure of being immersed in a shared universe.
For me it really depends on the event. Sometimes I’ll read them all chronologically and not by series so that everything is in order and makes sense. Other times I’ll read it one series at a time.
I like to read things in order so I usually read them chronologically and jump around through all the different series so that the event makes sense. But there are some series that I just really like a lot and I prefer to just keep reading through and then I will go back and find the rest of an event if I want to, afterwards.
Not sure if that answers your question or just confuses you, but I tried.
In that kind of scenario I usually rotate reading in roughly the order they came out. Might read a whole storyline before going to the next instead of month to month. Then make sure when I get to the crossover event issues that I am caught up with each to that point before going in. If that makes any sense.
Happy New Year! I am bumping this thread because I never really got the answer that I was looking for to my question (and the poll came out tied, which was extremely unhelpful). This is still a perplexing conundrum to me, to the point that the lack of an answer is actually actively preventing me from reading the comics that I want to read, because I don’t know the best way to go about it. Should the series that I want to read that cross over with each other and with event series be read all together at once in rotation, or should they be read straight through one at a time? “Read whatever you want, when you want” and “Any way to read comics is the best way to read comics” are not answers that work for me. I need the definitive, irrefutable, indisputable, 100% official answer to my question: What is the BEST way to read comics?
Going back to my specific example from the first post:
And also let’s throw in The Power of Shazam, since it crosses over with some of those event series as well and, more importantly, directly crosses over with Starman. So, what is the best way to read these series specifically? All together, or one at a time? I know plenty of people read Starman straight through with no problems and speak highly of it. Would reading a bunch of other series at the same time “mess up” the “purity” (don’t know if that’s the right word) of my reading of Starman? On the other hand, if I only read Starman, along with the Power of Shazam crossovers, wouldn’t that spoil parts of Power of Shazam if I were to go back to it from the beginning later, since the crossover happens about halfway through that series? I cannot begin reading these series, all of which I have wanted to read since I started reading comics in 2019, until I have the answer to this question. Please help, because I really, really want to read these series. Thank you.
There is no one, best, way to read comics. You can truly read them however you want/whatever way most interests you, etc.
If there were to be one “true” and “best” way to read comics, it’d be the way that doesn’t overthink/complicate things, which then tends to make the whole endeavor a burden to one’s self as they struggle with something that isn’t at all something one need struggle with.
In the end, it really is best to read whatever’s of interest in whatever way one will likely enjoy it most.
I’ll binge one character, when the cross over happens I’ll catch up on the one I like before continuing that one character again. Characters I don;t care for I’ll just read their tie-ins. eg in the Dixon era Batman, I read DC/Batman/Shadow then catch up on Nightwing/Robin/BoP and skip Catwoman except for her tie-ins.
