What should be my first superhero comic?
June 15, 2023 8:08 AM Subscribe
I've been thinking of getting comics -- DC, in particular. My only experience with the medium is reading Watchmen and Sandman, in book form. Is there a current, or fairly recent, superhero comic that is easy for a newcomer, without decades of canon and lore required to enjoy it?
As a follow-up, is the comics experience more enjoyable "live," reading them as they're published, like watching a TV show that's currently airing? Or is it better to wait for the compilations, like watching a whole TV season at once, after it airs?
(I'm looking for physical copies, so please no digital recommendations)
Thanks for your help, true believers!
As a follow-up, is the comics experience more enjoyable "live," reading them as they're published, like watching a TV show that's currently airing? Or is it better to wait for the compilations, like watching a whole TV season at once, after it airs?
(I'm looking for physical copies, so please no digital recommendations)
Thanks for your help, true believers!
Best answer: If you want to tackle Marvel at all, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is an excellent run that’s fully collected. It's very newbie friendly, though it doesn’t shy away from incorporating lore. It tells really fun stories in interesting ways and is a great counterbalance to the grimdark side of superheroes you’ve been reading.
posted by rikschell at 8:51 AM on June 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 8:51 AM on June 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Matt Fraction's Hawkeye run is an excellent superhero comic for non-superhero readers (not a DC superhero, unfortunately, but in this case he's got a DC vibe). I also remember being impressed with what I read of Batwoman: Rebirth—beautiful art, gay protagonist. Superheroes bore me so I didn't particularly follow the plot on any of these but Hawkeye has jokes and Batwoman looks great.
posted by babelfish at 8:52 AM on June 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by babelfish at 8:52 AM on June 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
Best answer: The other option for clean start reading is to pick up title launches or relaunches. Right now seems to be a good time for that on the DC front. With these kinds of #1 books, they should give new readers enough of the characters' backgrounds and histories to draw them in without overwhelming them with 80 years of canon.
Picking up first issues is also a good way for you, as a reader, to figure out what you like and what you don't and what you're interested in reading. Again, this is the very old school approach.
Just to give you an idea of what's out there right now in terms of launches and relauches:
Power Girl
Green Arrow
Superboy
Sandman Universe Nightmare Country
Superman
posted by sardonyx at 8:55 AM on June 15, 2023
Picking up first issues is also a good way for you, as a reader, to figure out what you like and what you don't and what you're interested in reading. Again, this is the very old school approach.
Just to give you an idea of what's out there right now in terms of launches and relauches:
Power Girl
Green Arrow
Superboy
Sandman Universe Nightmare Country
Superman
posted by sardonyx at 8:55 AM on June 15, 2023
Best answer: I'm going to suggest avoiding current "event" comics, ie Lazarus Planet. The Dawn of DC comics might be a good jumping on point, though, since it resets a lot of titles.
One graphic novel I'll recommend is Batman: The Long Halloween by Loeb and Sale, which is probably the most influential work on Batman's early career. Nolan's Batman films draw heavily on this.
Another graphic novel, suggested purely for fun, is Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier, which is very entertaining take on the early Silver Age.
posted by SPrintF at 9:02 AM on June 15, 2023
One graphic novel I'll recommend is Batman: The Long Halloween by Loeb and Sale, which is probably the most influential work on Batman's early career. Nolan's Batman films draw heavily on this.
Another graphic novel, suggested purely for fun, is Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier, which is very entertaining take on the early Silver Age.
posted by SPrintF at 9:02 AM on June 15, 2023
Here's the review for Superman #1 (the link above goes the to current issue which is #2).
posted by sardonyx at 9:06 AM on June 15, 2023
posted by sardonyx at 9:06 AM on June 15, 2023
I've heard good things about some (fairly) recent Batman runs like Court of Owls that are a little more down to the roots of the character. If you were to search for "best batman runs of all time" or something there are a lot of good lists and I think that several from the last decade will be on all of them and you can peruse a few to see what gives you the best vibe.
Personally I much prefer to buy collected editions - I've never really cared about the liveness of the comics and I also want to know that a story wraps up successfully before I start it. Nothing worse than getting 8 issues into a year-long run and then watching the story crumple.
The consensus I see is: Scott Snyder's Batman is the best recent traditional one. Grant Morrison's is a higher-level take but perhaps a little much to take on all at once. And for all time classics you can't beat The Long Halloween — it's simply the best.
For a Batman-adjacent comic that's just great, Gotham Central looks at life in his city. It's about cops but not copaganda.
If you want a single Superman to read, it's definitely All-Star Superman. Uncontested IMO.
And if you want another large, awesome book that's contained and impressive, try Planetary. It's very informed by old-school sci-fi and really nails it start to finish.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:31 AM on June 15, 2023
Personally I much prefer to buy collected editions - I've never really cared about the liveness of the comics and I also want to know that a story wraps up successfully before I start it. Nothing worse than getting 8 issues into a year-long run and then watching the story crumple.
The consensus I see is: Scott Snyder's Batman is the best recent traditional one. Grant Morrison's is a higher-level take but perhaps a little much to take on all at once. And for all time classics you can't beat The Long Halloween — it's simply the best.
For a Batman-adjacent comic that's just great, Gotham Central looks at life in his city. It's about cops but not copaganda.
If you want a single Superman to read, it's definitely All-Star Superman. Uncontested IMO.
And if you want another large, awesome book that's contained and impressive, try Planetary. It's very informed by old-school sci-fi and really nails it start to finish.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:31 AM on June 15, 2023
Absolutely 2nding Planetary. It's one of those comics that I find myself going back and re-reading often. Planetary is just absolute fun and it's also one of those comics where the pop culture references aren't arcane. I don't need to worry about having an entire decades long history to catch up on.
Yeah. I think I am going to go read it again now.
posted by Kitteh at 11:12 AM on June 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Yeah. I think I am going to go read it again now.
posted by Kitteh at 11:12 AM on June 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you're not 100% wedded to DC, I would suggest checking out the 2012 reboot of Valiant. Plenty of superheros with a twist, and some excellent writers. They effectively restarted the entire universe from scratch after total dormancy, so you get to jump on at the beginning, but it's now been out so long you can pick up the trade paperbacks to last you a good long while. And a wide range of different heros or flawed heros.
posted by KMH at 1:20 PM on June 15, 2023
posted by KMH at 1:20 PM on June 15, 2023
Best answer: I personally am tired of grimdark, so among DC titles I like the Harley Quinn books, which are generally light and comedic. As you've read Sandman, you might like the Hellblazer/John Constantine books. Also maybe the first album of The Books of Magic, also by Gaiman and featuring John.
If you liked Watchmen, there are a load of other Moore comics to try. Top 10 is fun, and focused on superheroes.
Seconding Planetary (Ellis & Cassaday), which is technically DC. Each issue is a loving tribute to another comic or movie, and it has a very satisfying overall story arc.
DC comics go back over 80 years, so it'd be quixotic to read them from the beginning. On the other hand, there are handy collections of the early years, and they can be fun. I recommend the early Wonder Woman.
posted by zompist at 2:37 PM on June 15, 2023
If you liked Watchmen, there are a load of other Moore comics to try. Top 10 is fun, and focused on superheroes.
Seconding Planetary (Ellis & Cassaday), which is technically DC. Each issue is a loving tribute to another comic or movie, and it has a very satisfying overall story arc.
DC comics go back over 80 years, so it'd be quixotic to read them from the beginning. On the other hand, there are handy collections of the early years, and they can be fun. I recommend the early Wonder Woman.
posted by zompist at 2:37 PM on June 15, 2023
Best answer: Personally, I find the collected editions a far more satisfying reading experience. It's only my impatience that keeps me buying monthly issues of the titles I enjoy. If all you've read so far is Watchmen and Sandman, there's a wealth of collected editions out there for you to discover and enjoy. Once you've found your feet with those, you'll know which monthly titles or creators you might want to pursue in future
All-Star Superman is wonderful and needs no background in comics to enjoy. The writer is Grant Morrison, and one thing I'd recommend is that, once you find a writer you like, following that writer's work is going to be your best guide to finding other titles you'll enjoy. Morrison's also done Justice League, X-Men and a long, long Batman run. In my view, X-Men was the best of these, but I'm not sure how much background knowledge you'd need there.
Neil Gaiman (the writer behind Sandman) did an interesting Marvel series called 1602, which is available in a single volume, and which I think you could jump on board with pretty easily. Both he and Alan Moore (who wrote Watchmen) have done loads of other excellent comics work, but seldom in the super-hero genre.
For what it's worth, Tom King's my favourite writer regularly doing comics right now - though he tends to do superhero-adjacent stuff rather than superheroes per se. You might enjoy his recent Human Target series for DC (which is quite self-contained) or his one-off Batman book using The Riddler (One Bad Day). Chip Zdarsky's current run on Daredevil is mostly very strong - and is available in a string of collected volumes - but again, that's the gritty street-level cop-in-tights end of the superhero spectrum, which I tend to enjoy more than the cosmic stuff.
You should know there's some excellent horror and crime comics around at the moment too. Look out for the team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips in the latter category - they'll never let you down. Garth Ennis's Hellblazer books are great as well (as long as you don't mind a bit of sweary sleaze) and I'd also recommend Simon Spurrier's recent run on that title. Ennis's Punisher books are another superhero-adjacent title I've enjoyed, though there's no doubt they need a strong stomach for violence.
posted by Paul Slade at 2:39 PM on June 15, 2023
All-Star Superman is wonderful and needs no background in comics to enjoy. The writer is Grant Morrison, and one thing I'd recommend is that, once you find a writer you like, following that writer's work is going to be your best guide to finding other titles you'll enjoy. Morrison's also done Justice League, X-Men and a long, long Batman run. In my view, X-Men was the best of these, but I'm not sure how much background knowledge you'd need there.
Neil Gaiman (the writer behind Sandman) did an interesting Marvel series called 1602, which is available in a single volume, and which I think you could jump on board with pretty easily. Both he and Alan Moore (who wrote Watchmen) have done loads of other excellent comics work, but seldom in the super-hero genre.
For what it's worth, Tom King's my favourite writer regularly doing comics right now - though he tends to do superhero-adjacent stuff rather than superheroes per se. You might enjoy his recent Human Target series for DC (which is quite self-contained) or his one-off Batman book using The Riddler (One Bad Day). Chip Zdarsky's current run on Daredevil is mostly very strong - and is available in a string of collected volumes - but again, that's the gritty street-level cop-in-tights end of the superhero spectrum, which I tend to enjoy more than the cosmic stuff.
You should know there's some excellent horror and crime comics around at the moment too. Look out for the team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips in the latter category - they'll never let you down. Garth Ennis's Hellblazer books are great as well (as long as you don't mind a bit of sweary sleaze) and I'd also recommend Simon Spurrier's recent run on that title. Ennis's Punisher books are another superhero-adjacent title I've enjoyed, though there's no doubt they need a strong stomach for violence.
posted by Paul Slade at 2:39 PM on June 15, 2023
Best answer: I think the new Marvel 'Life Story' comics are great.
posted by Rash at 4:48 PM on June 15, 2023
posted by Rash at 4:48 PM on June 15, 2023
Best answer: I read very, very few Marvel/DC superhero comics, but my go-to is the Batman: Black and White anthology series. A nice, big range of storytelling and art styles, and self-contained short tales where you don't have to worry much about continuity. I mostly just know the basics about the Batman mythos based on various movies and animated shows (and The Dark Knight Returns) and enjoy these anthologies immensely. They may leave you with some new favorite writers and/or artists, too.
posted by May Kasahara at 5:04 PM on June 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by May Kasahara at 5:04 PM on June 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone!
I realize I shouldn't have even mentioned Watchmen or Sandman because I'm actually looking for something NOT as dark and violent as those (otherwise wonderful) stories. Maybe Harley Quinn is the way to go. I know in general DC seems to have gotten more grim and serious than Marvel, but I'm trying to stick to DC.
If anyone has other ideas in this vein, I'm open. Thank you again for your help.
posted by Flying Saucer at 12:35 PM on June 16, 2023
I realize I shouldn't have even mentioned Watchmen or Sandman because I'm actually looking for something NOT as dark and violent as those (otherwise wonderful) stories. Maybe Harley Quinn is the way to go. I know in general DC seems to have gotten more grim and serious than Marvel, but I'm trying to stick to DC.
If anyone has other ideas in this vein, I'm open. Thank you again for your help.
posted by Flying Saucer at 12:35 PM on June 16, 2023
Best answer: If you want light-hearted or not grim-dark DC and you're willing to read older titles and issues, here are few places you can start:
Justice League International Vol. 1 Paperback – March 10 2009 (One of the most famous Justice League runs.)
Ambush Bug (A very odd character and book. Only pick it up if you like the writing style of JLI.)
Amethyst Princess of Gem World (Magical fantasy that I can't believe hasn't been turned into a big-budget blockbuster yet but it's not a grim-dark angsty, broody teenage-boy-style of book, and it probably appeals more to girls so....)
Super Sons (I think this is the run that won all kinds of fan acclaim, but you might want to check with your local comic shop.)
You might want to look for back issues of the Batman and Superman team-up titles. They were usually one (or two) issue stories showcasing the main hero teaming up with another DC character. Typically, they were written so that a new reader could pick the book up and read it without knowing too much about the guest star. The Batman version was The Brave and the Bold. The Superman one was DC Presents. The quality of these stories can be very hit or miss depending on the writer and artist, so flip though the boxes and pick up ones that catch your eye. They should be pretty cheap. (B&B was relaunched recently, I don't know enough about it to recommend it or say too much about it, although what I've heard doesn't seem very good.)
You might also try something like Tales of the Green Lantern Corp which should introduce you to a lot of the minor Lanterns in a way that isn't too all-out, heavy-duty space-warfare, IIRC. (Mind you, it has been decades since I read any of the individual stories, so I could be way off.)
Legion of Superheroes generally should be lighter, happier titles, but I can't give you any specific recommendations. Both Flash and Green Arrow had lighter runs in addition to dreary, depressing and/or violent runs, so you may find some possibilities there. Batman and Detective from the 1970s and 1980s had some really good runs before the movies started coming out and everything went all-dark, all the time. Historically, Superman books should mostly give you the tone you're after (but again, there are good and bad runs and I'm having a tough time coming up with recommendations off the top of my head). Shazam should never be grimdark, but I don't know what I'd recommend when it comes to the Marvel Family.
I'd suggest skipping the Vertigo titles which have included books like Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, and other "dark magic" books. They are well written, but if you want to get away from content like Sandman and Watchmen, this is one easy way of doing so.
Honestly, the best thing you can do is wander down to your local comic book store and tell whoever offers to help you exactly what you told us: You're interested in getting into the less dreary and depressing side of DC. I'm sure they'd be happy to help.
posted by sardonyx at 5:45 PM on June 16, 2023
Justice League International Vol. 1 Paperback – March 10 2009 (One of the most famous Justice League runs.)
Ambush Bug (A very odd character and book. Only pick it up if you like the writing style of JLI.)
Amethyst Princess of Gem World (Magical fantasy that I can't believe hasn't been turned into a big-budget blockbuster yet but it's not a grim-dark angsty, broody teenage-boy-style of book, and it probably appeals more to girls so....)
Super Sons (I think this is the run that won all kinds of fan acclaim, but you might want to check with your local comic shop.)
You might want to look for back issues of the Batman and Superman team-up titles. They were usually one (or two) issue stories showcasing the main hero teaming up with another DC character. Typically, they were written so that a new reader could pick the book up and read it without knowing too much about the guest star. The Batman version was The Brave and the Bold. The Superman one was DC Presents. The quality of these stories can be very hit or miss depending on the writer and artist, so flip though the boxes and pick up ones that catch your eye. They should be pretty cheap. (B&B was relaunched recently, I don't know enough about it to recommend it or say too much about it, although what I've heard doesn't seem very good.)
You might also try something like Tales of the Green Lantern Corp which should introduce you to a lot of the minor Lanterns in a way that isn't too all-out, heavy-duty space-warfare, IIRC. (Mind you, it has been decades since I read any of the individual stories, so I could be way off.)
Legion of Superheroes generally should be lighter, happier titles, but I can't give you any specific recommendations. Both Flash and Green Arrow had lighter runs in addition to dreary, depressing and/or violent runs, so you may find some possibilities there. Batman and Detective from the 1970s and 1980s had some really good runs before the movies started coming out and everything went all-dark, all the time. Historically, Superman books should mostly give you the tone you're after (but again, there are good and bad runs and I'm having a tough time coming up with recommendations off the top of my head). Shazam should never be grimdark, but I don't know what I'd recommend when it comes to the Marvel Family.
I'd suggest skipping the Vertigo titles which have included books like Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, and other "dark magic" books. They are well written, but if you want to get away from content like Sandman and Watchmen, this is one easy way of doing so.
Honestly, the best thing you can do is wander down to your local comic book store and tell whoever offers to help you exactly what you told us: You're interested in getting into the less dreary and depressing side of DC. I'm sure they'd be happy to help.
posted by sardonyx at 5:45 PM on June 16, 2023
One more quick note: Not to get into a fight with another MeFite but I HATE Tom King's writing with the intensity of one million burning suns. His characterization and treatment made me spit nails.
Keep that in mind when you start to pick up books. There is SO much variety out there, with so many different artists and writers. It takes a bit of time, but eventually you'll latch onto writers and artists and styles and titles you really enjoy and you'll discover which ones don't do it for you at all. That's all part of the fun.
Oh, and one more title recommendation. Consider the early run of The Question.
posted by sardonyx at 5:52 PM on June 16, 2023
Keep that in mind when you start to pick up books. There is SO much variety out there, with so many different artists and writers. It takes a bit of time, but eventually you'll latch onto writers and artists and styles and titles you really enjoy and you'll discover which ones don't do it for you at all. That's all part of the fun.
Oh, and one more title recommendation. Consider the early run of The Question.
posted by sardonyx at 5:52 PM on June 16, 2023
Best answer: Not to get into a fight with another MeFite but I HATE Tom King's writing with the intensity of one million burning suns.
No need for us to fight: there'll be some writers we agree about, others we don't. There's no right and wrong here in any absolute sense, just different people with honestly varying tastes and opinions.
Last couple of thoughts, then I'll leave it alone. All-Star Superman is definitely not grimdark - Morrison here is fascinated far more by the delightfully silly "silver age" Superman comics of his youth, and riffing on those. It is a real breath of fresh air.
As far as a DC back issues go (which are also available as collections by the way), I'd also try World's Finest, which was a title teaming Batman and Superman sharing adventures together. The two of them were friends at that point, with none of the emo posturing that tends to characterise their encounters today. Oh, and try 'Mazing Man too. And silver age Jimmy Olsen comics - they were great in that "delightfully silly" vein I mentioned. Matt Faction did a very good run of modern Jimmy Olsen comics recently, which I think you'd also enjoy.
posted by Paul Slade at 1:19 AM on June 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
No need for us to fight: there'll be some writers we agree about, others we don't. There's no right and wrong here in any absolute sense, just different people with honestly varying tastes and opinions.
Last couple of thoughts, then I'll leave it alone. All-Star Superman is definitely not grimdark - Morrison here is fascinated far more by the delightfully silly "silver age" Superman comics of his youth, and riffing on those. It is a real breath of fresh air.
As far as a DC back issues go (which are also available as collections by the way), I'd also try World's Finest, which was a title teaming Batman and Superman sharing adventures together. The two of them were friends at that point, with none of the emo posturing that tends to characterise their encounters today. Oh, and try 'Mazing Man too. And silver age Jimmy Olsen comics - they were great in that "delightfully silly" vein I mentioned. Matt Faction did a very good run of modern Jimmy Olsen comics recently, which I think you'd also enjoy.
posted by Paul Slade at 1:19 AM on June 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks, all! There are some good comic shops in town, and I intend to use this info to peruse titles and talk to the shop owners about their own recommendations.
In the meantime, I just ordered Justice League International vol 1, as sardonyx recommended. I like the variety of Batman and Green Lantern + a bunch of heroes I've never heard of :-)
In looking at your answers and doing my own research, I will say that, as a newcomer, the comics world (at least DC) still seems pretty intimidating. There are so many crossovers and reboots and threebotos, and sometimes ONE issue of one run seems necessary to conclude or fully understand a different run. And I imagine the movies and TV shows complicate things. I can see the appeal of the New 52 and trying to start the whole universe over. I'm a fan of Star Trek and Star Wars but their main, everyone-should-know-this canon is pretty clear, and you don't need to watch, say, Rebels to enjoy 95% of Andor.
Anyway, just my two cents as a newbie. If the canon isn't always welcoming, comic FANS certainly are, so thank you again.
posted by Flying Saucer at 8:04 AM on June 17, 2023
In the meantime, I just ordered Justice League International vol 1, as sardonyx recommended. I like the variety of Batman and Green Lantern + a bunch of heroes I've never heard of :-)
In looking at your answers and doing my own research, I will say that, as a newcomer, the comics world (at least DC) still seems pretty intimidating. There are so many crossovers and reboots and threebotos, and sometimes ONE issue of one run seems necessary to conclude or fully understand a different run. And I imagine the movies and TV shows complicate things. I can see the appeal of the New 52 and trying to start the whole universe over. I'm a fan of Star Trek and Star Wars but their main, everyone-should-know-this canon is pretty clear, and you don't need to watch, say, Rebels to enjoy 95% of Andor.
Anyway, just my two cents as a newbie. If the canon isn't always welcoming, comic FANS certainly are, so thank you again.
posted by Flying Saucer at 8:04 AM on June 17, 2023
I will say that, as a newcomer, the comics world (at least DC) still seems pretty intimidating
I think that's often overstated too. Anything that matters to the story at hand, you can generally pick up as you go along. That missing 5% you mention in your Rebels/Andor analogy is probably just nerd porn or the publisher's attempt to extract more money from you anyway. Don't worry about it.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:35 AM on June 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think that's often overstated too. Anything that matters to the story at hand, you can generally pick up as you go along. That missing 5% you mention in your Rebels/Andor analogy is probably just nerd porn or the publisher's attempt to extract more money from you anyway. Don't worry about it.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:35 AM on June 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Like Paul Slade said, we can disagree about certainly artistic teams or heroes or storylines, but we're all fans, so it's nice to have the opportunity to welcome somebody new into the clubhouse. I'd like to say all fans are nice, but sadly, they're just like any other group, with some genuinely good people and some real stinkers (especially if you're "different" in any way, like being a girl).
I realize when I was complaining about Tom King I left out part of the sentence: his characterization and treatment of Batman. Maybe I'd enjoy his work on other characters. The Human Target has always been a character at the margins of the main DC universe, with a lot of potential for interesting stories, so maybe his run on that found some of those.
As for JLI, be warned it veers very heavily into goofy silliness, but in spite of that, there's a lot of heart in there as well.
Again, I'm going off very old memories, but let's see if I can give you an idea of some of the characters to expect, just to get you started.
Batman: I'm not going to bother with him.
Black Canary: Legacy hero, following after her mother. Reputation as one of the best martial artists in DC. Has a sonic and powerful "canary cry" as a power. Smart, sensible, despite her on-again/off-again long-term relationship with Oliver (Green Arrow) Queen. Sometimes acted as the therapist and counsellor for the League (I don't think that's her responsibility during this time period). Normally, she's dressed in fishnets, black leather, a bustier and a choker, but this is her '80s jumpsuit period.
Martian Manhunter: J'onn J'onzz is an alien from Mars. Telepath and shapeshifter with detective skills (again, depending on where we are in canon, but not so much here). Very calm, very zen, very dry sense of humour.
Guy Gardner: The main Green Lantern in the book. Brash, violent, full of himself (but actually smarter than he appears, especially as he appears in this book). Has an issue with authority in general and with Batman in particular and chip on his shoulder the size of the Grand Canyon (for complicated backstory reasons that aren't really important).
Blue Beetle: Technically Ted Kord is the second Blue Beetle (but that's not really important). Wickedly smart inventor and mechanical engineer but an idiot about his personal life. (Keep this in mind, throughout JLI, everybody's weakest character flaws have been exaggerated for comic effect.) Ran Kord Industries before the company failed. Think of Lex Luthor, Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne as his business colleagues, but he's more of your typical nice guy/average guy who was outclassed by those tycoons.
Booster Gold: Michael Jon Cater. Very complicated origin story. He's a time traveller from the future. He was a showboating college football star who ended up getting kicked out of the game for gambling. Lost his way. Ended up with a Legion of Superheroes flight ring, a belt that gave him a technological boost (including force fields and a bit of extra strength), a flying-robot buddy named Skeets before he time travelled back to our present day with the goal of becoming a super hero for profit and celebrity status. Think endorsements and paid appearances and lots of publicity. He's a screw-up, and the JLI treats him as such. These days, he'd be an influencer.
Fire/Green Fury: Beatriz da Costa is a Brazilian supermodel with all that implies looks-wise and personality-wise. Her powers are fire-based. She comes out of Global Guardians, which was kind of a C-list or D-list international Justice League copycat team. Not very experienced as a hero compared to the big guns you've heard of.
Ice: Tora Olafsdotter is another Guardian. She's Nordic and has (obviously) ice powers. She's the sweet, innocent, naive, girl-next-door type, but stronger than she looks.
I think that's enough to get you started, but feel free to post questions on Ask if you need background or details or drop me a MeMail, and I'll see if I can polish off the rust and answer your questions.
posted by sardonyx at 9:39 AM on June 17, 2023
I realize when I was complaining about Tom King I left out part of the sentence: his characterization and treatment of Batman. Maybe I'd enjoy his work on other characters. The Human Target has always been a character at the margins of the main DC universe, with a lot of potential for interesting stories, so maybe his run on that found some of those.
As for JLI, be warned it veers very heavily into goofy silliness, but in spite of that, there's a lot of heart in there as well.
Again, I'm going off very old memories, but let's see if I can give you an idea of some of the characters to expect, just to get you started.
Batman: I'm not going to bother with him.
Black Canary: Legacy hero, following after her mother. Reputation as one of the best martial artists in DC. Has a sonic and powerful "canary cry" as a power. Smart, sensible, despite her on-again/off-again long-term relationship with Oliver (Green Arrow) Queen. Sometimes acted as the therapist and counsellor for the League (I don't think that's her responsibility during this time period). Normally, she's dressed in fishnets, black leather, a bustier and a choker, but this is her '80s jumpsuit period.
Martian Manhunter: J'onn J'onzz is an alien from Mars. Telepath and shapeshifter with detective skills (again, depending on where we are in canon, but not so much here). Very calm, very zen, very dry sense of humour.
Guy Gardner: The main Green Lantern in the book. Brash, violent, full of himself (but actually smarter than he appears, especially as he appears in this book). Has an issue with authority in general and with Batman in particular and chip on his shoulder the size of the Grand Canyon (for complicated backstory reasons that aren't really important).
Blue Beetle: Technically Ted Kord is the second Blue Beetle (but that's not really important). Wickedly smart inventor and mechanical engineer but an idiot about his personal life. (Keep this in mind, throughout JLI, everybody's weakest character flaws have been exaggerated for comic effect.) Ran Kord Industries before the company failed. Think of Lex Luthor, Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne as his business colleagues, but he's more of your typical nice guy/average guy who was outclassed by those tycoons.
Booster Gold: Michael Jon Cater. Very complicated origin story. He's a time traveller from the future. He was a showboating college football star who ended up getting kicked out of the game for gambling. Lost his way. Ended up with a Legion of Superheroes flight ring, a belt that gave him a technological boost (including force fields and a bit of extra strength), a flying-robot buddy named Skeets before he time travelled back to our present day with the goal of becoming a super hero for profit and celebrity status. Think endorsements and paid appearances and lots of publicity. He's a screw-up, and the JLI treats him as such. These days, he'd be an influencer.
Fire/Green Fury: Beatriz da Costa is a Brazilian supermodel with all that implies looks-wise and personality-wise. Her powers are fire-based. She comes out of Global Guardians, which was kind of a C-list or D-list international Justice League copycat team. Not very experienced as a hero compared to the big guns you've heard of.
Ice: Tora Olafsdotter is another Guardian. She's Nordic and has (obviously) ice powers. She's the sweet, innocent, naive, girl-next-door type, but stronger than she looks.
I think that's enough to get you started, but feel free to post questions on Ask if you need background or details or drop me a MeMail, and I'll see if I can polish off the rust and answer your questions.
posted by sardonyx at 9:39 AM on June 17, 2023
Sardonyx: Do give Human Target a try. Two of the JLI members you listed figure in the story (one very prominently) and there's a well-played character note at the end which works directly off a trait you mention. Beautiful art and design throughout the book too, thanks to artist Greg Smallwood.
Christopher Chance himself - the Human Target of the title - comes across as a genuine adult, hugely capable in his job, a man of expensive tastes and very hard to fool. He's James Bond if Bond wasn't a douche.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:11 PM on June 17, 2023
Christopher Chance himself - the Human Target of the title - comes across as a genuine adult, hugely capable in his job, a man of expensive tastes and very hard to fool. He's James Bond if Bond wasn't a douche.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:11 PM on June 17, 2023
Okay, Paul Slade, you're the second person today who has recommended the book. I guess I'll have to give it a shot. Christopher Chance has always been one of those characters who deserves a definitive treatment and hasn't really gotten one (that I've read). It would be nice to know he finally got his due.
posted by sardonyx at 1:29 PM on June 17, 2023
posted by sardonyx at 1:29 PM on June 17, 2023
Great - I just hope you like it after all that!
posted by Paul Slade at 3:17 PM on June 17, 2023
posted by Paul Slade at 3:17 PM on June 17, 2023
Best answer: And one thing about the practical side of being a comic reader - if your local comic book store isn't absolutely gigantomassive, inquire if they do a package or pull system where you tell them which comics you'd like, and they make sure they actually get and hold those comics for you. Otherwise you can show up on Wednesday afternoon, rarin' for the next issue of Titans (or whatever) and discover they already sold through all their copies. The other plus side is you can go every few weeks instead of weekly, too. And if you talk about it with them, they can also set aside crossover issues and other stuff like that as well.
It's probably stage two to breaking into the hobby, but it makes things a lot more convenient. It makes discovery sort of a pain, on the other hand - you aren't seeing those new issues pop up in the rack every week. For that I use a website which also helps me keep track of what I have and what I've read. Again, if you're only picking up a couple of issues every week that's not a huge problem, but once you have more than you can mentally keep track of, eh, it's free?
And if it's simply "anything but Marvel", whaddya think about Star Trek? That's IDW, and Star Trek (no suffix), spun off a Worf-centric Defiant series and there's a new-ish Deep Space Nine story that just started up a few months ago.
It _does_ sort of seem like publishers are aware of the challenge of selling Hawkeye issue 477 to someone who hasn't read the previous 476 issues, so they're doing more short run, self-contained (ish) stories that have a definite beginning and end, which is both kind of nice because you don't have 476 issues of backstory to contend with - and annoying - you constantly have to pay attention to new releases instead of falling into a rhythm? And they still sort of assume you've heard of _some_ of the characters. On the other other hand, you'll figure a lot of that out from context, sooooo.
posted by Kyol at 8:26 PM on June 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's probably stage two to breaking into the hobby, but it makes things a lot more convenient. It makes discovery sort of a pain, on the other hand - you aren't seeing those new issues pop up in the rack every week. For that I use a website which also helps me keep track of what I have and what I've read. Again, if you're only picking up a couple of issues every week that's not a huge problem, but once you have more than you can mentally keep track of, eh, it's free?
And if it's simply "anything but Marvel", whaddya think about Star Trek? That's IDW, and Star Trek (no suffix), spun off a Worf-centric Defiant series and there's a new-ish Deep Space Nine story that just started up a few months ago.
It _does_ sort of seem like publishers are aware of the challenge of selling Hawkeye issue 477 to someone who hasn't read the previous 476 issues, so they're doing more short run, self-contained (ish) stories that have a definite beginning and end, which is both kind of nice because you don't have 476 issues of backstory to contend with - and annoying - you constantly have to pay attention to new releases instead of falling into a rhythm? And they still sort of assume you've heard of _some_ of the characters. On the other other hand, you'll figure a lot of that out from context, sooooo.
posted by Kyol at 8:26 PM on June 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I think you might consider taking a look at Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson's Astro City (Collection One, Two), which is an accessible series of stories focused on the inhabitants of the titular Astro City.
It includes superheroes, supervillains and ordinary people. The stories are not concerned with continuity, with many different perspectives and narratives. While it switched publishers from DC to Image, the series is not dark and often reaches areas that other superhero comics don't.
posted by JDC8 at 10:45 PM on June 18, 2023
It includes superheroes, supervillains and ordinary people. The stories are not concerned with continuity, with many different perspectives and narratives. While it switched publishers from DC to Image, the series is not dark and often reaches areas that other superhero comics don't.
posted by JDC8 at 10:45 PM on June 18, 2023
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I haven't been a regular reader for a while, but I have dipped into the Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo run on Nightwing every once in a while, and they seem to have a solid take on the characters and their relationships (which is what I care about in a comic--the big, blow-em-up battles aren't what draws me in). They've only been doing the book for two years, so it should be pretty easy for you to catch up with it. Yes, they deal with legacy heroes and DC history, but they seem to be looking at it with the eye of "how are these people growing past their mentors?"
As for reading compilation or books as they come out, I'd say if you want the "true" comic experience, then reading current issues as they're released is the way to go, but take in mind I'm old, and that's pretty much the way things were done back in the day. There is nothing wrong with doing both--reading the floppies and picking up the collected volumes at the same time, especially if you use one to tide you over until the next month's releases.
Again take everything I've said with a huge grain of salt. I'm pretty out of the loop, although I try to keep up with anything interesting going on, just to see if there is anything happening that's worth my time and attention.
(I feel as if I should make a comment about your closing line being set in the wrong universe, but it's not as if Marvel and DC have never crossed over.)
posted by sardonyx at 8:42 AM on June 15, 2023