I’ve touched in really old blog posts about my love for comic books. I’m a pretty dedicated DC Comics fangirl. I love Batman, Superman, the Flash, Cyborg, and my beloved Nightwing. One book I’m finishing right now is Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder: Scholars and Creators on 75 Years of Robin, Nightwing, and Batman. Of course, it’s a five-year-old book, as Robin just celebrated his 80th anniversary a few weeks ago. But DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, whoever… Comics are a great escape from the current life crisis while still helping us address those feelings of isolation, fear, and loneliness.
My brothers and I watched all the cartoons and movies growing up. While Batman: The Animated series was a favorite- as were Teen Titans, Batman Beyond, and eventually, Young Justice- I idolized Christopher Reeve and his live-action Superman films and wondered angrily if Brandon Roth could live up to the hype. (Spoiler alert. He did. Brandon Roth is a SPECTACULAR Superman, and we were all too hard on him. Thank God for Crisis on Infinite Earths for giving him the Superman moment he so deserved, now stop all this fussing and give the man a full Kingdom Come film.) And of course, now, my brothers and I lived for the MCU releases and winced to see our favorites struggling to hold their own. It’s very frustrating, because there are stories we love and would kill to see on screen, but they aren’t the ones being told because they are so very different from the ones the MCU is telling. I love the Trinity and the League, but they are not ready to face off against the ten-year slow burn of the Avengers.
But the stories DC has in their hands are incredible. And for a lot of people, overwhelming. Many of my friends’ love seeing superhero stories in film and television because they’re small, controlled, tidy bits of the character. But when face-to-face with eighty-some years of multiple plots, publications, arcs, and universes, starting a comic series is daunting. So here are some of my favorite stories to check out while you’re sitting at home wondering if you should watch The Office again.
Superman is a classic. If you’re wanting wholesome comfort, He’s a great place to start. But remember: A lot of modern gloss of Superman as a character is that “Good always wins, Evil never triumphs.” That is not what Superman stories are really like. Does good tend to triumph? Duh. But it’s not always as happy as it seems.
Arcs to Check out:
- Superman: Year One
- For all the sass I gave Miller’s Dark Knight, I love his take on Superman’s origin story. And John Romita Jr’s illistruations of a young Clark are very much in line with the style I like most for Superman- making him lanky and muscular without bulk.
- Superman: Greatest Stories Ever Told
- The first Comic I ever purchased for myself is no longer offically in print, I think. That makes sense, as my copy was purchased beat up second hand from a comic store my brothers and I asked to stop at while on the road with my dad one summer in college. If you can get your hands on a collection, this is a great introduction to decades of Superman stories and why we still love them today. There is a volume two currently in print, and I’m sure it spans just as many great stories.
- Death of Superman
- Death of Superman is probably one of the most famous images of Superman mythology, with Superman’s shredded cape waving like a flag of defeat. It demonstrates how important he was to the world, and to the people who knew him best. Also, a great animated film to watch after reading.
- Superman: Red Son
- Red Son is a “What If” story of the most epic proportions. What if Superman had landed in soviet Russia instead of Kansas? Is Superman really as intrinsically good as we make him out to be? Or is it a byproduct of his loving upbringing from the Kents? It’s fascinating to see what the writers felt wouldn’t have changed, just shifted.
If you’re looking for a lot of different styles of storytelling, Batman is your guy. From Frank Miller’s take on the dark and gritty we associate with Batman today, to the goofy and campy styled Batman ’66 comics, there’s something for everyone, from holes in the head, to holy rusted metal, Batman.
Arcs to check out:
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
- While not one I actually particularly enjoy, there’s no denying Miller’s Dark Knight changed the face of the Bat forever. If you enjoy the grumpy Bat, this is a great option.
- Batman: The Long Halloween
- This is probably my favorite solo Batman Arc. It’s heavy on the detective work, as Bruce tries to figure out who has been murdering people in Gotham (Let’s be honest, who isn’t murdering people in Gotham?). It’s a slow burn story, filled with a Rouge’s Gallery of Villains and it’s rumored to be inspiration behind the new Batman film.
- Batman: No Man’s Land
- After disasters iscolate Gotham from the rest of the world, Batman struggles to keep his fragmented city from turning on itself. It’s a great Social Distancing story.
- Batman: Court of Owls
- Probably the greatest modern Batfamily story, Batman finds out there’s a secret society operating in Gotham and suspects Dick is somehow involved. There are creepy masks. It’s great. Read it before you watch the Animated version, because it’s a rare moment the animated movie did not live up to the source material.
- Batman: A Death in the Family
- One of the most famous Batman stories, Jason Todd, the second Robin, runs away to find his birth mother. The arc was made famous as DC allowed readers to call and vote if Joker would kill Robin or if he’d survive. It ended up coming down to 72 votes to make the choice.
This is the list a lot of my friends tease me about. Dick Grayson is my favorite character, and as an adult, has outgrown his title of Robin and taken on an identity as Nightwing, but also moonlighted as Batman. He’s good for people who have some background in the Batfamily storylines- if you know that Batman took on an orphaned circus kid as his Robin, you’re in good shape. Dick tends to be a pretty happy person, and his storylines reflect his dedication to integrity, coming into one’s identity, leadership, and the ideas of family and loyalty. Plus, he has a great butt.
Arcs to Check out:
- Nightwing: Year One
- Year One is a great step from the batman story to the origin story of Nightwing. It deals with Dick trying to find his own path, separate from Bruce, Batman, and Robin. It gives that backstory people seem to think they must have to understand a character.
- Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn
- This is one of those stories that may confuse you a bit, but is so much fun. Honestly, I think it’s where I first started to really see Dick as separate identity. I first read this in college during my “Batman is just a rich dude, Superman is an actual hero” phase. Burnt out on the Nolan gritty Batman, here was sass master Dick Grayson as Batman, with Bruce’s demonic child Damian as his Robin. A light-hearted Batman with a broody Robin is a great time.
- Nightwing: Blüdhaven
- This is a collection of the first batch of 1990’s Nightwing stories. classic corruption, Dick commenting on how pretty girls are at the worst possible times, and mullet, this is certainly a taste that’s not for everyone, but great introduction to Nightwing’s character development.
- Batman: Prelude to the Wedding: Nightwing vs. Hush
- One of the more recent additions, this is a one-off story about Bruce Wayne getting married to Catwoman. Hush is a great Bat storyline that didn’t make my list, but Nightwing faces off against an old foe to prove he’s worthy of being the Dark Knight’s Best Man. And, most importantly, it marks the most perfect depictions of Dick Grayson known to man. Which also brings us to….
- Nightwing: Knight Terrors
- Yes. I included a Ric Grayson Arc. Dick got shot in the head, lost his memory and has been going around as “Ric Grayson” who is far more annoying than any mullet ever could have been. But I included it because it’s the most palpable section of Nightwing’s current arcs, as it’s drawn by Travis G. Moore, who draws my favorite Grayson, and I first saw in Prelude. He is single handedly responsible for keeping me reading because I love how Dick looks so much, I could ignore the irritation.
Quarantine Tip: Many of these stories are available digitally, especially with a subscription to DC Universe, DC’s Streaming App for comics, animated films, and television series. If DC isn’t your jam, and you’re a Marvel person, Marvel has Marvel Unlimited which is a streaming service for their comics, and most of their MCU catalog is available on the Disney+ app.
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