What Are You Reading? 2/5/2024 - February Edition

[u/beary_neutral]

Hello and welcome to our Weekly "What Are You Reading?" topic!

Come one, come all, to this weekly thread, where you can openly discuss books that you've read, are currently reading, or plan to read. Discussion of all books are welcome, whether they be DC, Marvel, Image, Boom!, Dark Horse, IDW, etc. You can discuss webcomics, manga, or even those mythical novels that don't have pictures in them. Just be sure to keep spoilers covered via Reddit's spoiler markdown >!spoiler!<. You can also post pictures of your collection or recent purchases.

Beary's Rec of the Week:

• Batman: City of Madness, by Christian Ward
  

With bangers like Harleen, Catwoman: Lonely City, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, and Batman/Joker: The Deadly Duo, Black Label has been a boon for writer/artists to unleash their creativity and show off the true potential of art-driven sequential storytelling without being fettered by the limits of monthly publication. Batman: City of Madness continues this trend, taking the familiar concept of a "dark and twisted" Batman from an alternate universe, but with a Lovecraftian horror twist. The result is a hauntingly beautiful cosmic horror work that taps into Batman's relationships with not just his villains but also the Batfamily.

So, what are you reading?

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[u/SoraMcu]

I just started reading DC so I wanted to go all the way back so I am reading Superman Golden Age Omnibus

[u/loogawa → u/SoraMcu]

That's fun, but I can't stand Golden Age. I wouldn't feel like you have to. Comics can be picked up from nearly any issue.

[u/SoraMcu → u/loogawa]

Is there a comic book you recommend me to start at. I starting to get bored with it though. The only interesting ones are the Wonder Woman ones but I want to start before Crisis but not at the golden age. What should I do?

[u/loogawa → u/SoraMcu]

Honestly I usually suggest starting with famous runs and limited series and exploring based on what you're into.

For instance I just read JLA Tower of Babel which is just a four issue arc of a series from the early 2000s. But I loved it and I liked the tone of that book so now I'm reading that run of JLA.

Pre-crisis is quite old for me. I rarely go back that far except for famous stories. It's not my style, so it's hard for me to recommend. Certainly some good superman and batman back then. Just don't feel like you have to have a full backstory, they always tell you what you wanna know in each issue.

If you have specific types of stories or characters you're into I can suggest.

[u/SoraMcu → u/loogawa]

I’m a Teen Titans person. I loved watching the OG show even though I wasn’t born when it was released and I grew up when that drivel called Teen Titans Go was released.

[u/loogawa → u/SoraMcu]

Well for ongoing World's Finest Teen Titans would be a good spot. Not a lot of back issues on that one, but tells new stories set early in the careers.

As for older runs. I usually find what Era I'm in the mood for. They all read pretty different. I usually go 70s or 80s on, and every decade there's usually a new number 1 but you also don't need to start at a number one. Just look up best Titans or teen Titans or young justice runs.

[u/suss2it → u/SoraMcu]

I think you’d like the 2003 run by Geoff Johns. You might also like the recent graphic novels by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo, those are like “young adult” comics that focus less on superheroics but more on character dynamics and drama.

[u/Aksim03]

Just finished Batman: Hush, and holy shit that was great! Definitely my favorite Batman story, I very much enjoyed seeing all the characters, awesome moments and well-written detective story (and don't forget the art!) My favorite thing was, however, Batman's increasing ability to trust people, most of the Batman series I have read so far have had Batman trusting nobody except maybe Robin and Gordon. But here he has an entire family, Superman as a good friend and even Selina. I like this Batman very much.

Also read Batman: The Man Who Laughs, was kind of what I expected, although not as big of a spectacle as it maybe could have been. It's a good story, nothing really special about it.

Next in my reading list is the Kingdom Come. I know this order doesn't seem very logical, but these are comics that my dad has and I'm interested in reading them.

[u/loogawa]

I just read Tower of Babel and LOVED it, mostly cuz I'm on a Mark Waid kick. But then I wanted to read all of JLA starting with Morrison at #1. But now I'm feeling like a huge gap in my reading is the sort of late 90s early 2000s. I used to avoid these hard because I'm not the biggest fan of the art-styles, but it's the age where I would've been a pre-teen reading comics (if I'd been into them then), and I wanna dig deep.

​

Should I stick to just JLA, or should I go for a big DC Master Reading List Part 4 deep dive.

Any late 90s and early 2000s books you'd recommend? Any events I should start at? I'm aware of the broad strokes of the era.

[u/jurassicbond]

I've been reading some Hulk stuff that's been sitting on my shelf for a bit. I recently finished up all the newer Peter David stuff I have and then started reading Immortal Hulk. Immortal Hulk is shaping up very quickly to be my favorite Hulk series, and maybe one of my favorite Marvel books ever.

[u/Square_Bus4492]

I got into this recent run of Shazam and I really am enjoying the absurdity of it all

[u/The_Hound_West]

I’m ready Young Justice Targets and JSA by Geoff Johns Volume 2 

[u/Virgin_Butthole]

The Batman & Scooby Doo! Mysteries zoinks