I love comics in general and superhero stories in particular, and DC Comics superheroes even more specifically. My interest began in superhero TV shows of the 1990s; my favorite to this day is Batman: The Animated Series, but I also enthusiastically followed X-Men, Superman, Spider-Man, Justice League, Static Shock, and others of that era continuing into my adulthood. As a teenager, I was intrigued enough to check out the source and started collecting volumes of superhero comic books in the early 2000s - my favorites are Grant Morrison's JLA and Jeph Loeb's Batman comics. My habit of buying comics in collected volume form began 24-25 years ago and persists to this day.
But this interest in comics waxed and waned over the years. I started reading manga online around 2004 or 2005 and that obsession has only grown with time. I started collecting single issues of DC comics in 2011 thanks to expendable income and enthusiasm about DC's New 52 run but stopped collecting singles around three years later. I also got into more Marvel comics around the same time as New 52, with Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force as my favorite from that era.
Coincidentally, this blog came to life in 2011 as well. It started out as a way to chronicle which video games I was playing (and it still is) and soon evolved into a log of what comics I was reading as well (whoops). I wrote around thirty comics-focused articles on this blog, most of them in 2011 or 2012. You can find all of those by checking the "Comics Articles" and "Sequential Art" tags either in the blog sidebar or at the end of this post, but I think I've only had one post of that nature after 2012, way back in 2018.
So... why did I stop posting about comics, and why am I doing it again? Well, my eternal cycle of manic fixation and unproductive depression struck in (I think) early 2014, when I felt disappointed by many of the comics I was reading, and a pile of unread issues grew; that pile still lives in a cardboard box in my closet. I continued to read free manga chapters and bought comics trade paperbacks occasionally, but my enthusiasm for collecting weekly issues and staying current with superhero comics fizzled out.
But my love of superheroes never died. I continued following the Marvel and DC cinematic universes as films came out (I've seen probably 80% of them), and through the 2010s I rewatched nearly all of my old favorite superhero cartoons at some point, and even found a new favorite in Young Justice, a show that sadly ended in 2013. I also played the two Injustice video games made by Netherrealm Studios, read the collected volumes of the Injustice comic series, and got way into the three Marvel's Spider-Man games made by Insomniac as they released over the last seven years. But I missed out on the DC Rebirth and Dawn of DC imprints that DC Comics put forth in the mid-2010s and early 2020s, respectively, and I'm not up to date on what's going on in DC Comics. Until now.
There are multiple factors at play here. This year I watched the most recent Batman and Superman movies and thought both were good. Great, even. I read an article a few months ago about DC's recent "Absolute Universe" event and found it quite intriguing. A few of my friends never stopped reading comics and have indulged my needling questions about what was going on in the world of comics over many years. All of this led to me buying four trade paperbacks in mid-August, then enjoying reading them so much that I devoured eight more books over the last two months.
All of the comics I've bought recently are from well after I stopped following DC, with all of them published in 2020 or later. These are characters I know well, but storylines I know nothing about, unless they were referenced in an article or other media (true for a few of these). Some of these writers are old favorites (Mark Waid, Scott Snyder, Jason Aaron), while others are new to me (Kelly Thompson, Tom King, and several others). But this was a deliberate foray into newer DC Comics, and I had a blast. Let's talk about what I read:
One Dozen DC Comics Paperbacks of the 2020s
This convenient volume offers a glimpse of what was going on at DC in late 2024 and comprises of the last few issues of Absolute Power, the All-In crossover issue featuring the death (for now) of one of DC's biggest villains, and preview issues of new storylines for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Justice League. Overall, this was a pretty good comic that piqued my interest in checking out the Absolute Power event (might do that later). This is worth checking out, but you really need to know a few of these key characters well to understand it.
This is the beginning of Chip Zdarsky's run on the main Batman comic starting in late 2022. Batman is involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding (one of his classic villains dies in an accident and Batman is reported as the murderer), and a Batman-built super-android called Failsafe is activated to kill Batman for crossing the line. Failsafe is a dope menace of a new villain and this book touches some cool pieces of Batman mythos (Zur-En-Arrh and Justice League: Tower of Babel, mostly), but this isn't a new favorite. This is Good Batman, but not Peak Batman.
Scott Snyder, one of my favorite Batman writers, presents a grim new book that started fresh in late 2024 as part of the All-In initiative. The six "Absolute Universe" books (with more forthcoming) are a shared setting with familiar characters, but a new world state in which the arc of the moral universe bends towards power and darkness, not justice or hope. This Batman doesn't have his wealth or support system, but does have his brilliant mind, obsessive plans, and (particularly) insane physical conditioning. The first storyline is brutal, and I don't think the drama or the intensity is going to slow down going forward. Incredible start to a new Batman story that leans hard into grit and grime.
This was a four-issue limited series in 2021, written, drawn, colored, AND lettered by a single person, Cliff Chiang (damn!). A 55-year-old Selina Kyle returns to Gotham after a long prison stay, and she stages one last heist in an act of redemption and rebellion. This book is awesome, and a borderline masterpiece. The story was at different times exciting, satisfying, and heartbreaking, and one of the best Catwoman stories I've seen or read. I need to read more DC Black Label books (and there's another one a few paragraphs down).
With a name borrowed from the 2000s cartoon of the same name, this late-2024 / early-2025 comic loosely organizes most of the existing DC heroes into an all-hands-on-deck team following the events of Absolute Power. In these first few issues, a new supervillain group called Inferno threatens the earth with mass arson of rainforests as a diversion from a larger scheme. This book is current with the DC comics universe storyline but throws in new heroes into almost every issue (Air Wave and Doctor Occult feature prominently in this first volume). JLU has gorgeous art, but it's a messy storyline that rarely pays attention to a single character long enough to build something. I liked it, but you might need some investment in C-list heroes and larger storylines to appreciate it.
I've never read any Suicide Squad comics, but I've seen at least two movies on the team (plus some cartoon episodes of the same nature) so I decided to try out the most recent comics incarnation from 2021, by Robbie Thompson. This edition is centered on Amanda Waller and Peacemaker, likely to piggyback off the last movie. Peacemaker is an interesting character concept, and his devotion to peace and Waller's devotion to her mission is not a bad idea for a central conflict, but this ain't it. This book kills off and replaces characters with such reckless abandon that I struggled to care about most of them (but Talon is dope). Weakest of the dozen books I read in this recent binge.
Tom King has been a superstar writer at DC since 2014 (right when I stopped collecting!) and this 2019-2020 Superman story is one of his signature pieces. And it's damn good. An orphan girl is abducted following an unexplained extraterrestrial attack, and Superman pursues her captors to the edge of the known universe in search of answers, while emotionally and mentally struggling with his choice to do so. This is a heavy, metaphor-laden Superman book that puts him in a wild variety of situations, and one of the best explorations of Superman's character in the last ten years.
Another launch title of the Absolute Universe in late 2024, this version of Superman lived in Krypton until his pre-teen years, has a dope new suit (with a friendly AI companion) and cape (made of Krypton's volatile red sand), and arrives on earth with truly nowhere he belongs. The first volume has Superman fighting for the rights of exploited workers while being pursued by a military force backed by the corporation he undermines. I love Jason Aaron's Thor and X-Men titles from 10+ years ago, and this is a very solid start to a new Superman; my only complaint is that this flashback-heavy book lacks overall thrust in its first few chapters. Definitely want to read more though.
This 2023 incarnation of (formerly Teen) Titans by Tom Taylor takes place in a world where the central characters are seasoned heroes at this point, but still in the shadow of the Justice League. The Titans battle an evil cult and an alien parasite in these early issues, with most of the classic 2000s core team present. Taylor's (mostly) grounded dialog and character relationships are equally important to the superhero action, and this 20-somethings Titans feel more like a family than the Justice League ever did. This isn't as good as the legendary 1980s Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans or the excellent 2000s Geoff Johns run, but I enjoyed the hell out it.
Wonder Woman Historia is a DC Black Label book published over 2021 and 2022 in three triple-size issues, with the same writer (Kelly Sue DeConnick) but different art teams for each chapter. In all three parts, the art is breathtakingly good. The two-page spreads depicting gods, battles, and Greek pottery art are particularly stunning. Despite having Wonder Woman right there in the title, Diana only makes a few small cameo appearances - Historia is a brief history of the Amazons as a society, with seven goddesses collaborating to form a human society free of male influence, for "the history of men is a chronicle of crimes against women." The writing is grandiose and dramatic, fitting alongside the Greek myths that inspired it, and combined with those beautiful illustrations is a triumph of sequential art.
This is my first introduction to Kelly Thompson, and what an amazing first impression. Similar to other Absolute Universe books, this version of Wonder Woman doesn't have many of her advantages from the original DC universe - she was raised by Circe (who's usually one of Diana's central villains) on an isolated island in Hell, instead of on an island paradise by a community of Amazon warrior women, because for some reason the Greek gods regard Amazons with intense disdain. But Diana still has her prodigious strength and endless compassion and now uses them to wield a wide variety of witchy spells taught to her by Circe and weapons forged by Hephaestus. This new dark fantasy interpretation of Wonder Woman is probably my favorite DC Comics ongoing book.
This is the third Mark Waid comic on this list, and he's been a certified legend for 30+ years; I can't help but be impressed that he's not only still writing, but at this high a level. World's Finest is a name that's been used for DC team-up comics for ages, but this particular version is Batman and Superman adventures set before the current comics storyline, but still (mostly) in DC's modern-day context. And they rule. World's Finest packs action and drama into every issue, and this first storyline about re-sealing an ancient Chinese sorcerer-warlord is a promising start. The action and story are consistently great, but the real highlight is the relationship between Bruce and Clark built on mutual respect.
Quick Tier List
(roughly alphabetical order within each tier)
MVP (Most Valuable Pages / my favorite comic I read this year)
Wonder Woman Historia
Fuck Yes (Excellent comic / I'm excited to read more)
Absolute Batman
Absolute Wonder Woman
Catwoman: Lonely City
Superman: Up in the Sky
World's Finest
Quality (Great comic / I enjoyed these overall)
Absolute Superman
Batman: Failsafe
Titans: Out of the Shadows
Adequate (Decent comic / these aren't bad, but I prefer the others above)
All-In Saga
Justice League Unlimited
Nah Thanks (Not my thing / I won't continue with this series)
Suicide Squad: Give Peace a ChanceI guess I'm still experimenting with names for list tiers in case I have any future ones, but I definitely want to abandon the STAR/CUT system from 13-14 years ago. This feels OK for now. I'm definitely going to continue reading more DC comics, with these next on my list:
What I Want to Read Next
Batman & Robin: Year One
Gotham City: Year One
Mister Terrific: Year One
Nightwing: Better Than Batman
Absolute Martian Manhunter
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Superman: The Warworld Saga
Titans: The Return of Wally West
Wonder Woman: Outlaw
Zatanna: Bring Down the House
These are ten (!) storylines that I've begun reading ( and want to read more of ASAP, but after BADLY overspending on comics the last two months I need to slow down. Which is a roundabout way of saying I resubbed to DC Universe Infinite, and I'm reading all eight of those (and more!) online at present. They're really good! I'm going to collect physical singles of Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman and try to keep everything else digital-only.
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Perhaps these DC Comics books are part of another phase of me getting way too excited about a hobby and overindulging, and perhaps when the novelty wears off, I'll stop reading and buying for a while when another one of my obsessions takes over (video games, card games, tokusatsu, what have you.). But I'm having fun, and these books are (mostly) great. I'm 100% writing more comics articles in the next few months. Thank you, good night, and good luck.
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