I'll start off, and first up admit that as much as I loved Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the various commonly known villains - I actually only recently dove into reading the comics. Before it was pretty much watching whatever films came out, and admittedly, not even the animated shows have I seen until just this year.
So, although slightly unrelated, pretty much on its own, and yet still technically DC-owned: My first book that I got my hands on was Watchmen. Very good. It was depressing, but still very good.
After Watchmen I finally and officially got into the DC Universe through Crisis on Infinite Earths. I started with it as part of a recommended list a friend gave me, and will definitely say that as much as it was a confusing beginning to start with, I enjoyed it and found that it was an excellent way to introduce me to a huge armload of characters I hadn't heard of before, and worlds I've only briefly been told exist.
( Cover of the Crisis on Infinite Earths I own. I'm aware it isn't as cool as having each individual issue.
)So what was Crisis on Infinite Earths like for me? When did I first read it? Well, it was actually just earlier this year that I first read it. As a little background context, just before reading this, my only exposure to lesser known DC superheroes was through the Justice League animated show. I was told before I opened it that I wouldn't recognize, well, just about all the characters it started off with, and that was definitely true. The story itself was also a little hard to follow for me, as it was pretty intense and fast paced, but in my opinion it definitely got better about halfway through. In the end and after several books it isn't my favorite, that I will confess, but I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who I wanted to pull into the DC Fandom. The reason there being to introduce them to a crucial point in the DC storyline as a whole, and to introduce them to the incredible diversity of the DC Universe, because it did a darn good job of that. Did I get to know the personality to each face I saw? No, but that didn't matter yet. What definitely did matter was that especially introducing this to someone who hasn't read many, if any superhero comic books in the past - It teaches them that there's an incredible amount of detail put into the worlds (also, there are multiple worlds, timelines, etc) and their vastly diverse characters. Last I must add, I think a small bit in Crisis on Infinite Earths that definitely piqued my interest was introducing me to Earth 3 and its reversed position of the Crime Syndicate of America versus Alexander Luthor. The concept of a reversed role of Justice League members as villains, and a sole hero of the planet being one of the most well known villains was awesome to me. Introducing them at their end with the beginning of Alex Jr's tale was possibly, among all the superheroes and villains, what later formed the beginning to my toy collection.
From Crisis on Infinite Earths I went on to A Death in the Family. (- quite the change in pace and mood, that was! I didn't have prior exposure to Jason though, so I was less affected by the sudden event that took place in it.)
From there, I continued following a list that went like this. . .
-- Bottom is the beginning and on up. Final Crisis is part of my list and not in the photograph, but right between 52 and War of the Green Lanterns. The recommended list effectively had me hooked, and ends off with GL's Blackest Night and Brightest Day, of which I have not yet read or bought.
So, what was your first comic book you read from the DC Universe? What was your opinion of it? When was that? How did your reading continue and in what direction from there? I'd love to hear your stories! I may have only started recently, but always enjoy hearing of and discussing when and how collections began.
