Educate a new DC Reader

[Steelspawn]

Well I have always made mine Marvel and everytime I tried to read a DC comic I couldn't really find a good starting point and fell into a world of confusion with multiple characters based of the same etc etc.

Now I started reading Green Lantern, went back to the start of this new GL series and started reading Blackest Night however while I am enjoying what I understand of the concept every dead person I wouldnt have a clue who they are where they are from or there importance.

When was Batman not Bruce Wayne? How many Robin's really are there? I knew there was a Cyborg Superman however in the three part series who are all these other Superman's?

I really want to expand my comic reading from just Marvel however I really need some pointers, good story arc's and just to get brought up to speed with what is going on.

Help!

[dozymuppet]

Err... Tyroc?

[Andy]

Well I have always made mine Marvel and everytime I tried to read a DC comic I couldn't really find a good starting point and fell into a world of confusion with multiple characters based of the same etc etc.

What is this you speak of? Continuity problems in DC Comics?? Heavens, no!

I'd have a go at all those questions, but Tyroc will come along and trump me with knowledge of unspeakable depth, so I'll let him help you out. 

[Steelspawn]

Well I have always made mine Marvel and everytime I tried to read a DC comic I couldn't really find a good starting point and fell into a world of confusion with multiple characters based of the same etc etc.

What is this you speak of? Continuity problems in DC Comics?? Heavens, no!

I'd have a go at all those questions, but Tyroc will come along and trump me with knowledge of unspeakable depth, so I'll let him help you out. 

Sounds like I am in for a big history lesson!

Oh and I am not saying Marvel hasn't had its share of continuity difficulties etc!

[Andy]

Well I have always made mine Marvel and everytime I tried to read a DC comic I couldn't really find a good starting point and fell into a world of confusion with multiple characters based of the same etc etc.

What is this you speak of? Continuity problems in DC Comics?? Heavens, no!

I'd have a go at all those questions, but Tyroc will come along and trump me with knowledge of unspeakable depth, so I'll let him help you out. 

No, but DC outstrips it by a country mile. No one would defend them on that.

Sounds like I am in for a big history lesson!

Oh and I am not saying Marvel hasn't had its share of continuity difficulties etc!

[Westy]

I think the most important thing to know about DC is that Superman singing pwns everything else. So, um, yeah...

[bigraj]

I'll give it a shot, even though I'll get trumped later.  

Don't worry about not knowing who every Black Lantern is.  You'd have to really steeped in DC lore to know who all of the returning dead are.  They're definitely connected to the living character(s) they're tormenting.  Jade is Kyle's former lover, Killowog's dealing with his former drill intructor, Abin Sur is Hal's predacessor as GL of this space sector (2814), Abin's sister is Sinestro's former lover and (I guess) mother of Soranik Natu.  Throughout the other books, it's pretty much the same thing:  Batman's dead Rogues, the Teen Titans' dead members, etc., the main thing is that there is a deeply personal connection between the BLs and whoever they're going after.  

Bruce Wayne "died" recently during Final Crisis, and right now Dick Grayson is the Bat.  In the 90's, Bruce had to give up the mantle while his back was broken (Knightfall) and Azrael ended trying to be Batman for a while.  Dick may have also had a run at the big job during the arc, too.  Haven't read the whole thing.  Not sure if anyone else has donned the cowl.

Robin:  1. Dick Grayson, who later became Nightwing and is now Batman.  2.  Jason Todd, who was killed by the fans, later brought back.  3.  Tim Drake, who is now Red Robin (I think)  4.  Damien (sp?) Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and Talia (daughter of Ra's al Ghul)  5. There's also a female Robin in the possible future Dark Knight Returns series.  

Not familiar with the Reign of the Supermen story (I guess that's what you're referring to), and still have no idea what Eradicator is.  Superboy is a clone of Lex Luthor and Superman.  Steel is a genius that came up with a suit of armor and a big fucking hammer.  

[Saranga]

Bigraj, you missed a Robin.  Stephanie Brown, used to be spoiler, was Robin for a while and was killed off during war games.  She has recently come back from the dead, was spoiler again for a little while, and now is batgirl.
Steph has nothing to do with the Dark Knight returns version.  She was Robin when Tim Drake had a hissy fit and gave it up for a few months.  Tim then went back to being Robin after Steph was killed.

On the subject of batgirl, there have been 3.  Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon's daughter, the original batgirl.  She was shot by the Joker and has been in a wheelchair ever since and is now Oracle, information collector extraordinaire to the DC superheroes.
Then there was Cassandra Cain, who was brought up without spoken language and learned to read body language instead.
Then recently she handed over the cowl to Stephanie Brown.

What sort of stories do you like?  Give me an idea and I'll have a think of some trades for you to read.  I've pretty much only ever read DC and am pretty familiar with a few of the character's full histories.

[Andy]

On the subject of batgirl, there have been 3.  Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon's daughter, the original batgirl.  She was shot by the Joker and has been in a wheelchair ever since and is now Oracle, information collector extraordinaire to the DC superheroes.
Then there was Cassandra Cain, who was brought up without spoken language and learned to read body language instead.
Then recently she handed over the cowl to Stephanie Brown.

Did that happen off-panel? I don't have my head around what happened there.

[bigraj]

Never heard of her.  Thanks for the info.  Wait, she's Batgirl?  Where's Cassie Cain?  Is she doing anything now?

[Saranga]

Nope, didn't happen off panel.  it happened in one of the first 2 issues of the new Batgirl series, I believe.  Midn you, I haven't read it, but I have followed Stephs' career via the internets, cos I adored her as Spoiler.

@ Bigraj: You've never heard of her??  For shame!  She was Tim's girlfriend for a long whiel so featured heavily in the Robin books.  I'm not sure about the Batman books as I don't read them.  She also got tutored by Babs and Dinah for a few issues, I think in Birds of Prey.  there was a massive internet kerfuffle for years because she didn't get a memorial in the batcave whereas the other dead Robin did.  Have you heard of project girl wonder?  they did a big net campaign to get her a memorial, or bring her back. it worked, and the issue has now been dealt with, in canon.

As for Cass, i don't think she's doing anything now.  I don't know what the canon reason was for her passing the cowl to Steph.  I will be picking up Batgirl when the Steph vs Damian issues is out, but until then, all my knowledge is second hand.

And steph as batgirl gets her own action figure in the new year, which i will very much be buying and adoring!

(Edited because I realised the original post made bugger all sense.)

[Saranga]

Oh, and Tim is Red Robin now.  He;s currently all angsty and tellign everyoen Bruce wayne is alive, but no one will believe him.

Some other guy is running around Gotham pretending to be Bruce Wayne, can't remember his name, but he's a villain and a shapeshifter of some sort.  I think.

[bigraj]

@ Bigraj: You've never heard of her??  For shame!  She was Tim's girlfriend for a long whiel so featured heavily in the Robin books.  I'm not sure about the Batman books as I don't read them.  She also got tutored by Babs and Dinah for a few issues, I think in Birds of Prey.  there was a massive internet kerfuffle for years because she didn't get a memorial in the batcave whereas the other dead Robin did.  Have you heard of project girl wonder?  they did a big net campaign to get her a memorial, or bring her back. it worked, and the issue has now been dealt with, in canon.

lol  I haven't read too much Batman (or the Bat-fam) over the years.

[Steelspawn]

Wow so there is that many DC characters that have actually stayed dead long enough? I don't think even Marvel can manage that one!

With the Green Lantern stuff most I have managed to get my head around since the re-launch as they have tried to explain in Secret Origins (is that what it was called?) who all the characters are in Hal's life (wasn't aware there were that many Earth Green Lanterns)

So what before Blackest Night has been some of DC's larger crossovers? Should I be focusing on thos for now or just try to read all of one character?

[Saranga]

The previous big events were Crisis on Infinte Earths in the 80s - this got rid of all the alternative earths and wa smeant to clear up continuity.
Then Identity crisis, where we discover some of the JLA mindwiped some villains, inc Dr Light, way back when, and Batman, and the Elongated Man's wife was raped and then murdered.  By different people.  I enjoyed the story and it's certainly very important when setting the scene in the DCU for the next few years.  It could be a good one to use to get into the DCU, but lots of people hate it.
Then Infinite Crisis which brought back the multiverse.
Then there was 52 and Countdown - weekly books which I wouldn't bother with as a a new reader.
Then Final Crisis, where evil wins and batman dies.  Do not read that as a new reader.

As a new reader I wouldn't bother with any of these, except maybe Identity Crisis.

And no, no one stays dead for long in the DCU.
Well, Barry Allen, the first Flash did.  Then he was brought back in Final Crisis.