> I’ve read like 7 issues of All-Star Superman and don’t get it

He's the pinnacle of optimism, inspiration, idealism, hope, and probably the most memorable character of all time in western culture. You shouldn't turn to Superman comics if you're in the mood for grit, crime, edgy, dark, etc. You read Superman when life seems tough, when drug cartel torture videos make you angry, when your worldviews are failing you, or when you just want some wholesome superhero fun. Like watching a Pixar film to cleanse your palette after Requiem for a Dream. A character that feels comfortable and safe like home. When you explore further, you'll discover even more depth and variety, but I wouldn't worry about that when getting acquainted for the first time.

All-Star Superman is about solidifying the character's historical/mythological significance, just as we still believe in/tell stories about gods like Hercules carrying out 12 labors. It can also simply be an amazing hero that accomplishes amazing feats. It incorporates many different "versions" of the character and his adventures into one book in creative ways like his interactions with Bizzaro. In this sense, it's the definitive "tribute" story to Superman, which is admittedly appreciated more by fans of everything that came before.

> I’m not sure why I should care if Superman dies

I can see why you'd feel that way if this one story was your only exposure to this character. You should know, however, that Superman rarely "dies". Like most of his stories, it has less to do with the danger of death than it does with how he lives. How does he handle having those powers? How does that create problems/solutions for his environment? What decisions does he make, being aware of his own limitations? What does this character do, even when he knows he's dying? Does that inspire you? Or, do you just think it's still totally unrelatable because he has freeze breath? Is it meant to be relatable? Are ideals attainable or do they just provide purpose/direction/meaning to keep us moving forward?

> I see people recommending All-Star to people who already don’t like Superman thinking that it would change their mind, does it?

YMMV

> Art is nice, but face and the back of hands look kind of weird.

Agreed. Quitely isn't my favorite character artist (wrinkles!). There's a lot of solid color, flat, low-detail backgrounds in All-Star Superman too. He can be pretty great in other aspects, though.

I think All-Star Superman is a story that new readers CAN enjoy, but is also definitely enhanced with more appreciation/knowledge/experience with the character. If you're approaching comics from the perspective that these stories follow traditional 3-act structures (beginning, middle, end), then you'll find that not all the context you feel you need is included in every story. Comics are perpetually stuck in act 2—the beginning happened decades ago and there is no end in sight. Morrison writes All-Star Superman as a monument—a single work that focuses on a well-known character to be appreciated/celebrated/remembered. It does not aim to introduce, explain, deconstruct, twist, experiment, etc. like you'd expect from a more "traditional" or long-form story.

Here are my usual Superman "modern essentials":

• The Man of Steel | #1-6 | 1986 | John Byrne
  
• Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, For the Man Who Has Everything | Superman #423, Action Comics #583, Superman Annual #11 | 1984-1986 | Moore
  
• The Death and Return of Superman | Death, Return | 1992-1993 | Jurgens, Stern, et al.
  
• Kingdom Come | #1-4 | 1996 | Waid
  
• For All Seasons | #1-4 | 1998 | Loeb
  
• Action Comics: What's so Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way? | #775 | 2001 | Kelly
  
• Red Son | #1-3 | 2003 | Millar
  
• Birthright | #1-12 | 2003-2004 | Waid
  
• Secret Identity | #1-4 | 2004 | Busiek
  
• All-Star Superman | #1-12 | 2005-2008 | Morrison
  
• Up, Up, and Away! | Superman #650-653, Action Comics #837-840 | 2006 | Busiek, Johns
  
• Kryptonite | Superman Confidential #1-5, 11 | 2006-2008 | Darwyn Cooke
  
• Action Comics: Superman and the Legion of Superheroes | #858-863 | 2007-2008 | Johns
  
• Action Comics: Brainiac | #866-870 | 2008 | Johns
  
• Action Comics (New 52) | #1-18 | 2011-2013 | Morrison
  
• American Alien | #1-7 | 2015-2016 | Max Landis
  
• Action Comics (Rebirth) | #957-ongoing | 2016-2017 | Dan Jurgens
  
• Superman (Rebirth) | #1-ongoing | 2016-2017 | Peter Tomasi
  
  Birthright and American Alien are self-contained, modern, limited series that focus on his early days. Secret Identity is a much more grounded/realistic approach about a boy that gains superpowers in a world where Superman comics exist. If you don't want to commit to the whole list, I'd recommend these to start.
  
  

For Flash:

Barry Allen started his carrier in the comics in 1959 until 1985 and then he was absent on until 2009. His modern-age series called The Flash: Rebirth when he returned. After that 2 trades came (In comics, a trade paperback (often shortened to trade) is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme.) called The Flash Vol. 1: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues and The Flash Vol. 2: The Road to Flashpoint.

After these, a HUGE event came that changed everything called Flashpont that "reset" the continuity and started the New 52 age and it's first story-line called The Flash, Vol. 1: Move Forward . This series (New52) lasted till Spring 2016 and collected 9 trades (the show you watched is based on this era). In early 2016 DC Rebirth came (only name change, everything is continued from New52) but a huge exception: a long missing character came back to the grand scene who was missing for so long. Rebirth's first trade is The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice

So if you are interested in Barry (overall) start with The Flash: Rebirth and move onward to Flashpont, but you can just start with The Flash, Vol. 1: Move Forward or DC Rebirth and The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice, then read everything up to today. (there was a Flash event called Flash War which ended a few months ago)

(there is an omnibus on sale at the moment (a collection of multiple trades) called The Flash By Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato Omnibus that collects the first 4 trades of the New 52 era.





For Superman:


His New 52 story wasn't that great (if you ask 10 people, almost 9 of them will tell you that you should skip that era), but there are 3 "essential" TPBs in that period of time:

Superman: The Men of Tomorrow by Geoff Johns

Lois Lane and Clark

Superman: The Final Days of Superman


After these, you can start with Superman Vol. 1: Son Of Superman and move forward with the volumes until a strange storyline called Superman:Reborn that ends the Final Days of Superman story. Rebirth's final TPB called Superman Vol. 7: Bizarroverse (not out yet), which is followed by a fresh new start called The Man of Steel that kicks out Superman #1 (remember, we started from New 52, yet Superman: Reborn came along)

(but if you want a full reading, you can easily start with Superman Vol. 1: What Price Tomorrow? New 52 TPB.)

About Action Comics: compared to Superman solo series, Action Comics is more about Metropolis and things happening NOT JUST with Superman, but with his friends and family etc. The first 3 volumes of New 52 were fantastic, written by Grant Morrison (starting with [Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel] (https://www.amazon.com/Superman-Action-Comics-Vol-Steel/dp/1401235476/ ) but overall the whole New 52 was a decent run.

After New 52, Rebirth's first volume's called Action Comics Vol. 1: Path Of Doom



For Aquaman:

I highly recommend starting with New 52 and move forward to Rebirth and more, as it is a great adventure seeing Aquaman in action during that period of time, lots of fun and interesting stories.

New 52 first volume/TPB called Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench

Rebirth first volume called Aquaman Vol. 1: The Drowning

Also have to mention that the new movie coming out soon is LOOSLY (not entirely, but still) based on the story-line called Aquaman Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis (new52)


For Batman:

There is a new kind of book format coming out just now called "Essential Edition" which is basically pack of 2 (or more) volumes/TPBs in 1 book.

Batman's story starts WAY before New 52 (his and Green Lantern's history wasn't "deleted", so everything happened in the past, is still here with us), so it is advisable to start at least Year One, then jump into New 52 via Batman: The Court of Owls Saga (DC Essential Edition) , which is followed by a great arc called Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family and others as well. It is highly recommend to read through the whole New 52 series, as it is a MASTERPIECE!

Rebirth starts with Batman Vol. 1: I Am Gotham

Just like Action Comics is connected to Superman, here Detective Comics connected with Batman. Detective Comics is about the Bat-family operating in Gotham City, solving mysteries etc.

New 52 first TPB Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death

Rebirth first TPB Detective Comics Vol. 1: Rise of the Batmen


For Green Lantern:

Just like Batman, Green Lantern's story wasn't deleted prior New 52, everything that happened BEFORE, is still here with is (even today). Yet you don't have to start at the very beginning, there is a really respectable writer called Geoff Johns (mentioned earlier) who started to write Green Lantern back in 2005 (long time ago) and his work laid down the basics of the mythos around the Lantern Corps, the different rings, lot of intergalactic battles etc.

His first work was Green Lantern: Rebirth, followed by many over the years. I mentioned the Omnibus format back at The Flash, for Green Lantern it is highly recommended to get through his story (as it is a HUGE connected story from the Green Lantern Rebirth) via those books

Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Omnibus Vol. 1

Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Omnibus Vol. 2


Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Omnibus Vol. 3

After these, the overall story continues in the Green Lantern: Rise of the Third Army and Green Lantern: The Wrath of the First Lantern TPBs.

Just like Action Comics and Detective Comics, there is a companion series for the "main" Green Lantern books, called Green Lantern Corps. Before New 52, the old TPBs weren't reprinted, so it is hard to collect that era (starts with Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: To Be a Lantern ) but the New 52 books are much more widely available. The first one is Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Fearsome.

After New 52, the "main" Green Lantern book becomes Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Sinestro's Law and the Green Lantern Corps to Green Lanterns Vol. 1: Rage Planet.


Wow it is a huge list and lot of stuff. I missed a few things, but even if you start reading these, you won't be disappointed for a while. (and when you're not sure how/where to next, just ask me or anyone here on Reddit). For the buying process: there are a few options: local comic shop (LCS), amazon, ebay, https://www.speedyhen.com/ (if you are UK based), http://bookdepository.com/, https://www.instocktrades.com/ for starters.

Hope this helps!

Regarding Superman, don't worry about him, I hated him when I started reading comics (started with Batman) because to me it also seemed too OP for his stories to make sense, maybe I stayed too much with my vision of him instead of giving him a shot. He did grow on me, and is now one of my favourite characters. The stories that really helped for me to love him are Superman American Alien, All Star Superman and Superman Peace on Earth among many others. Don't worry if you still dislike him, it won't diminish your fondness of the rest of the vast DCU nor will it spoil you stories, just don't go into every story with a "ugh I hate him" and give him a few tries. Being such an important figure in the DCU you will cross paths with him several times, like him or not, better to make the most of it and not be too stubborn.

Regarding Watchmen, Watchmen is a story that deconstructs a lot of superhero tropes and cliches, so the best way to take the most of it would be to have read a lot of comics and really understand what this story is trying to break. So yes, you could read it now and like it, or you could read it in a few months worth of comics and really love it. At least I know that I love it a little bit more on every re-read, having read lots of comics in the interim.

---
And now the important stuff, where to start:

Yes, both New 52 and Rebirth are two completely perfect starting points, one being 5 years older than the other. Rebirth serves as a continuation of the N52, but starting on it right away won't diminish anything, it's a perfectly valid starting point and I recommend you to start there. The reason being that you have much less to catch up (no more than a year and a half). So what I would recommend is:

• Start with Rebirth, with DCU Rebirth #1 and then read every character's rebirth series that you are interested in. Lets say Batman? Currently there's been only two volumes of Batman Rebirth released (vol 1 and vol 2 with the third one on september). Just pick his volumes, and after you have read this "Trade paperbacks" (collection of single issues), you can read the series on a weekly basis, buying the 2.99 single issues (or 'floppies'), which are currently in between the #10th and #25th issue.
  
  
• After you have cought up with Rebirth as much as you like (you don't need nor have to read every character, just read whatever you like) you can both retroactively read the New 52 series and go on with the Rebirth ones. So let's say you finished every Rebirth volume you were interested in and crave for more, you can read, with Batman as an example, his 10 New52 volumes.
  
  ---
  As for where to read stuff, that's completely up to you. If you have a cool Local Comicbook Shop (LCS) near you, you should go and check it out, they have really cool people that can guide you in a much humane way than an internet stranger. If you don't, don't worry, I read most of my stuff online, so check out Comixology with all of their weekly sales! And the third option is to order everything online and get it delivered, some good sites are Amazon, InStockTrades and Bookdepository. Check out all of your options!
  
  If you are in the US go to your local library and check out Hoopla a really great way for you to read a lot of stuff for free!
  
  ---
  

  TLDR
  

  
  You want to start with the New 52?
  
  

• Flashpoint (completely optional) -> pick a character -> read his volumes
  
  Here is a list of the first half of the New 52 (couldn't find a complete one)
  
  You want to start with Rebirth?
  
  
• DCU Rebirth 1 -> pick a character -> read his volumes
  
  Here is a list of them all. Check out the "Road to Rebirth" tab, which has optional, stuff for you to read
  
  What would I do?
  
  Pick Rebirth, after finishing, read the New52 stuff while continuing with Rebirth

If you want the best Flash stories read The Flash by these writers in this order:

The Flash by Mark Waid
The Flash by Morrison/Millar (This takes place in the middle of Waid's run)
The Flash by Geoff Johns

These books do not have Barry as the Flash, they feature Wally West as the Flash. Barry was dead at this time due to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Wally West was the Flash at this time. The Flash by Mark Waid and the Flash by Morrison and Millar all feature the introduction of the Speed Force and use evil speedsters the most. Geoff Johns uses the Rogues more than evil speedsters but the stories are still great. Mark Waid's run has 2 books out (With a third coming out later this year) and will be around 7 or 8 books long, Morrison's run is 1 book long and Johns has 3 books out but it will be about 5 or 6 books. Reading in the right order is not essential. I read Johns run before Morrison/Millar and Waid and understood everything.

For Barry Allen all I can recommend is

Flash Rebirth (2009) by Geoff Johns

Flash Dastardly Death of the Rogues by Geoff Johns

[Flashpoint by Geoff Johns] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1401233384/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480633753&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=flashpoint&dpPl=1&dpID=61e0-Dt31zL&ref=plSrch)

New 52 Flash volumes 1-4 by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccelato

The rest of the New 52 is really bad, do not get it. Flash Rebirth (2016) has been pretty fun, but a bit disappointing at the start, but it's gotten a lot better. But still, I heavily recommend getting the Wally West volumes above.

Bart Allen

Impulse by various authors is a great series from what I hear. Personally I haven’t read it but various well informed Flash redditors have said it’s great. Just don’t read Flash Fastest Man Alive. It’s not good.

A few miscellaneous stories include

The Brave and The Bold by Mark Waid a story about Barry Allen and Hal Jordan for 6 issues at different points in their life. I haven’t been able to find a physical copy.

This whole series is a team book that features Wally as the Flash

The current Titans by Dan Abnett heavily features Wally. Especially this first trade.

Green Lantern v3 issues 66-67 a short arc between Kyle Rayner Green Lantern and Wally West. It’s their first one on one team up and it’s a cool story that ignites their rivalry.

All-Flash #1 sets up Wally as the Flash after Bart’s tenure as the Flash (Do not read it) and is a cool, cool story that shows Wally at one of his lowest points.

The Wild Wests by Mark Waid (Flash vol 2 #231-237) is a story that isn’t close to as good as Waid’s initial run but it’s still good in my opinion. First story with Wally as a dad and it tries to establish a new status quo for the Flash. Then Waid leaves DC. Also, it has cool art.

Both Young Justice by Peter David and Teen Titans by Geoff Johns feature Bart in a main role

)Ah; okay Volumes. Not to be confused with Trade Volumes; Series Volumes are (usually not collected entirely) the series in years. So for example Volume 4 Went from 2005-2011. And in 2011- Present is Volume 5; which is also considered, New 52 Green Lantern.

If they mean they want to start here, I'm assuming that means they've read previous entries, as this starts in the middle of something. This series currently has 24 issues, a 0 issue, and an Annual Issue. There are multiple ways of getting them to your friend. Volumes 1 and 2 of this series is actually out now on Paperback, and both contain issues 1-12. And I believe Volume 3 is in HC now.

As pointed out by another user; you can also hunt down the individual issues; but they may cost more, especially issue 1. You can also go digital; if that's an option. Green Lantern also crosses over with 3 other GL related books, GL: New Guardians, GL Corps and Red Lanterns. GL: New Guardians and GL Corps are both EXCELLENT books, while Red Lanterns starts off slow, but REALLY picks up; currently a fan favorite. Although its not nessesary to read all of them to continue reading Green Lantern it certainly helps.

• Watchmen is a staple, and always recommended.
  
• The Killing Joke is relatively short, but definitely a staple if you've never read it. Widely considered the Batman/Joker tale.
  
• Everybody in r/DCcomics and r/comicbooks seems to have a boner for Red Son, and with good reason, it's excellent, one of the better Elseworlds tales.
  
• Flashpoint was fun if you're a fan of the Flash and Elseworlds-style tales, you'll enjoy it. It isn't required reading for the New 52, but I still enjoyed it. It's also going to be a DCU movie soon.
  
• Seems like you're on a bit of an Alan Moore kick (with Watchmenm TKJ and Man of Tomorrow). To be honest, I haven't read this one, but I do recommend Superman for All Seasons, All-Star Superman, or Superman: Brainiac (which is going to be released as a DCU movie soon, as well).
  

Pre-Flashpoint:


There's a Green Lantern: Hal Jordan trade that collects the origin story before Johns changed it up. But I heard DC won't be continuing with another Hal Jordan vol 2 book so I'm not sure if you want it. Definitely get the Kyle Rayner book, it's great.


Kyle Rayner, during the early Johns run before Sinestro ripped Ion out of him, had a miniseries collected in two trades. Ion: The Torchbearer and Ion: The Dying Flame, the latter of which is pretty out of print. I really enjoyed those two.


If you want more about Hal Jordan as Parallax and how he became the Spectre, Zero Hour, Final Night, and Day of Judgment are needed.


Also, Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis both heavily feature the Green Lantern Corps, IC more so. You can pick up the trades, but there are omnibuses for both coming out later this year.


Last, the Green Lantern Corps series that ran alongside Johns' run is really good and definitely worth reading in full. I believe GLC: Recharge is collected in the first Johns omnibus, and the order after that goes: To Be a Lantern, The Dark Side of Green, Ring Quest, Sins of the Star Sapphire, Emerald Eclipse, Green Lantern Corps: Blackest Night, Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns, and The Weaponer. Also pick up Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, which was a great Brightest Day-era storyline focusing on Guy Gardner.


New 52:


The 3rd Johns omnibus doesn't give the fully complete story for the final event, but it's collected in the Rise of the Third Army and Wrath of the First Lantern trades.

Otherwise, Red Lanterns and Green Lantern: New Guardians are worth reading. Some people only recommend the Soules Red Lantern stuff but I thought all of it was pretty fun.

Most people don't have much kind things to say about Venditti's Green Lantern run during the New 52, personally I wouldn't call it bad but just really underwhelming compared to Johns. I had a ton of fun with the Godhead event though, which is collected in a trade.

Now, as for which character to start with, I'd advise you to start with Batman comics. His comics are very accessible, and he has tons of fantastic stories. Of course, with Batman stories, rarely do you need any pre-reading. Some stories have some required reading and/or are sequels to a previous story, though.

The de facto first trade to get is Batman: Year One by Frank Miller. The first major Batman story chronologically, but more importantly, it's a fantastic story overall.

Another great story is the KnightSaga. You mentioned you were interested in Bane. Well, this is as interesting as Bane gets. It's a trilogy of storylines, consisting of Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1, Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2: Knightquest, and finally Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 3: KnightsEnd. The Knightfall Saga does not require any pre-reading, by the way.

Now, another way to go, is that you can just forget about everything pre-new52 (post-Crisis) and just jump into Batman Vol. 2, which is the New 52 relaunch of the Batman title. I wouldn't recommend completely dismissing every Batman story that isn't 52, though. Because even though his new 52 stories have been consistently superb, you'd be missing out on a lot of good shit. If you do feel overwhelmed, though, and just want to jump into the relaunch so you can catch up and then read it monthly, start with Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52). It's one of the best Batman stories of all time, by the way, so regardless of whether or not you wanna put off post-Crisis stories, read Court of Owls, which is the first 5 New 52 Batman trades currently out.

Other Batman/Batfamily recommendations:

• Batman: The Killing Joke is the notorious masterpiece by Alan Moore. Even if Moore don't like the story (he wrote it as a favour to Bolland), it contains all of Moore's intuitions and considerations about superheroes which appear in Watchmen too. The plot take place in two separate windows of time: a half is the present of Dick Giordano's run just before "Death in the Family", the other half is a reinterpretation of the classic Detective Comics #168. Considered by most as the ultimate Joker's origin story, it's both pure Batman and pure Moore. Read it if you liked Watchmen, as The Killing Joke is one of those comics that contribute to define the psychology and the peculiarities of the characters, hero and villain.
  
  
• Batman: The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker is one of the shortest and least-known among these. It's a rewrite in a modern style of the classic Batman #1 which contains the first appearance of the Joker, but it's made to be perfectly integrated in a continuity made of Year One and The Killing Joke. It presents classic Brubaker's narration style and it's very dark
  
  
• Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb is one of the longest and most articulated story of these. It takes place in the year between The Man Who Laughs (the end of Year One) and the birth of Two Faces, includes a great part of classic Batman cast and marks the connections between the criminal clans who worked in Gotham before Batman like Falcone from Year One and Maroni from Two-Face origin story. The story is a declaration of love to the character of Batman, it could be arranged between the original first stories since it lasts for a whole year and jumps from an event to another.
  
  
• Batman: Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb is the direct sequel of The Long Halloween, involving the same cast and taking place after those events until Robin's inclusion in the dynamic duo. The story basically retcons Robin's origin postponing it after those of most villans (e.g. Robin appears in Detective Comics #38, Two-Face in issue #66), but explores in a good way the psyche of a man who takes a young man alongside him and his battle against crime, a really controversial topic debated since Jason Todd's death.
  
  
• Catwoman: When in Rome by Jeph Loeb does not contains much Batman. It's the third one of the Loeb trilogy about Batman's early years and it is said to suffer from some holes in the plot, but it fulfills some open questions like the relationship between Selina Kyle and Falcone suggested by Miller in Year One and Catwoman's absence during Dark Victory.
  
  ---
  You also asked for Vixen recs. I'd really recommend getting Vixen: Return of the Lion, which is a 2008 mini-series, written by G Willow Wilson. She is a brilliant writer, I think this mini-series will peak your interest. It doesn't require pre-reading as well.
  
  ---
  Sorry for the late reply. Hope this helped :)

Probably the best thing to set yourself up would be either Comixology Unlimited, or go for the DCUniverse App* since they are adding more and more comics there. Just understand it's hard to specifically suggest 1 or 2 since there is so much. You could honestly start anywhere, but it's good to know a few authors that do stand out. One thing that I will argue that DC does better than Marvel is different takes on heroes and villains. You can read almost any Elseworlds, or "what if" tale, and have a great time. Even the Earth One titles.

For Shazam! specifically, I highly suggest what the movie was based off of. The movie changed the main villain, but added a bit more to Billy Batson that I wasn't expecting. Overall, I was pretty content with Shazam! that I wanted to re-read this again. Which brings me to...

...Almost anything by Geoff Johns, especially Aquaman (new 52), JSA, The Flash, and even Superman. His stuff before the New 52 relaunch was quite good. Reading almost everything of his Green Lantern run and even stuff before Flashpoint is worth your time. Check out Batman: Earth One.

I'm personally more of a fan of Grant Morrison since his stuff is getting highlighted more than ever in live action* now. I keep this amazon link handy for anybody who wants to read the arguably best Batman run ever created. His JLA run helped get JL out of the typical 90s. Animal Man and All-Star Superman are freaking legendary. And if somehow you are invested, I personally think understanding Final Crisis and going into Multiversity* was a mind blowing experience.

For both Morrison and Johns, 52 is literally one of the best comic book series I've ever read, though you might need to understand a few events that happened prior (this is why Wikipedia or youtube is great). What it did great was highlight some B-C list superheroes & villains wonderfully where I would love a live action series based on this.

​

*So far the Doom Patrol TV series is killing it. It's even better if you actually read Morrison's run of Doom Patrol for the references and jokes.

Well, there are plenty of places to begin. Really, you can jump into the beginning of any writer's run on a character. Here's a list of stuff I've recommended in the past:

> For New 52 Batman and Batman-related books, I recommend the following:

• Scott Snyder's Batman (#1 - ongoing), starting with Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls - The flagship title.
  
• Tim Seeley/Tom King's Grayson (#1 - ongoing) - Launched this year, and one of DC's best books in quite some time. Dick Grayson is an undercover spy. Very fun and character-driven.
  
• Peter J. Tomasi's Batman and Robin (#1 - ongoing), starting with Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Born to Kill - Character-driven title that focuses on the Bat family.
  
• Genevieve Valentine's Catwoman (#35 - ongoing) - Selina Kyle as a mob boss. Very intricate plot.
  
• Francis Manapul/Brian Buccellato's Detective Comics (#30 - ongoing)
  
• Kyle Higgins' Nightwing (#1 - 29), starting with Nightwing, Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes - Makes a good complement to the Batman and Batman & Robin titles.
   
  
  >For other New 52, I would recommend:
  
• Brian Azzarello's Wonder Woman (#1 - 35), starting with Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Blood - Azzarello's 35-part epic of gods and mortals. Great story, great art.
  
• Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow (#17 - 34), starting with Green Arrow, Vol. 4: The Kill Machine
  
• Francis Manapul/Brian Buccellato's The Flash (#1 - 29), starting with The Flash, Vol. 1: Move Forward
  
• James Robinson's Earth 2 (#1 - 16), starting with Earth 2, Vol. 1: The Gathering
  
• Charles Soule's Red Lanterns (#21 - 37) Red Lanterns, Vol 4: Blood Brothers
   
  
  >And here are some good pre-N52 that you should definitely check out:
  
• Scott Snyder's Batman: The Black Mirror - This is a very well-loved modern story that turned Snyder (the current Batman writer) into DC's golden boy. It's also fairly accessible to new readers. Also check out Batman: Gates of Gotham that he co-wrote with Kyle Higgins.
  
• Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman
  
• Mark Waid's Kingdom Come - An AU story featuring a dark future with a disillusioned Justice League.
  
• Marv Wolfman's The New Teen Titans, starting with The New Teen Titans, Vol. 1 - The iconic Teen Titans. Beware, it's very 80s :)
  
• Geoff Johns's Teen Titans, starting with Teen Titans, Vol. 1: A Kid's Game
  
• Chuck Dixon's Nightwing, starting with Nightwing, Vol. 1: Bludhaven
  
• Jeph Loeb's Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory - Classic detective stories.
  
• Grant Morrison's Batman run across multiple titles, starting with Batman: Batman and Son
  
• Geoff John's Green Lantern run across multiple titles, starting with Green Lantern: Rebirth
  
• Frank Miller's Batman: Year One - Iconic origin story.
  
• Chuck Dixon/Scott Beatty's Batgirl/Robin Year One - A couple of fun stories featuring the early years of the sidekicks.
   
  
  Feel free to check out any of these titles to see what interests you. Comixology has previews for almost every issue. Sorry for your wallet.