superman first debuted in 1938 but if you've never
read any of his comics then these are 15 of the best for beginners
hey guys it's me marcus aka the maddogg and we're back with another video i'm dressed for the part
this time because we're doing a where to start on superman starting it off i've got john byrne's man
of steel this was the first superman comic that i ever read because of the fact that it was in his
school library i think i read this cover to cover a good couple of times because i was that kid who
volunteered to be a librarian during the dinners just because the fact that i didn't want to get
beat up yep the sub stories are coming out early in this video but after crisis on infinitives dc
comics knew that they needed to bring in new readers that's why we had stuff like batman
year one wonder woman by george perez and for superman they hired none other than john beard
it's a retelling of his origins for a modern day audience and even though it originally came out in
the 80s i think this is still very accessible for somebody who wants to pick it up today they are
bringing it out in these hardcovers but admittedly i think the only main part of this series that
you really need to read the part that i'm mainly recommending is the first six issues of the mini
series and then yes it does branch into the main continuity so whether you're somebody who wants
a shorter superman story or maybe something a bit longer i think you can get both from this series
next up and it's sitting right here because i've got superman batman this is the first superman
book that i chose to read and it's because of the fact that i really loved batman and you might be
that person as well it might be the fact that the dark knight is the one character that you've read
from dc comics then why not make it a little bit easier for yourself and read this series because
of the fact that you've got a combination of these two as well superman is one of those characters
that works best when he's around other heroes so having somebody who's got that dark persona
like batman really works well against somebody like superman in particular i am talking about
the first 20 or so issues that were done by jeff loeb because i think that's where the
series really hits its stride but avid that the rest of the series is still decent and it's just
good fun that's what comics needs to do it needs to entertain you first and foremost and i think
if you're just looking for something to help you understand the character then why not go for a
title like this and as well as just learning about superman you will also learn about the people that
surround him and also a lot of his villains as well this omnibus is getting a volume too and you
can already pre-order it over at sponsor organic price books i can personally recommend them
they've got great packaging amazing shipping and if you use code woof woof you'll get two dollars
off your order and you can use that as many times as you want so feel free to buy volume one today
and maybe pre-order volume two a little bit later and you can use the same code but the next book
that i'm gonna recommend is superman last son of krypton this recommendation is for people
who have maybe watched the superman movies maybe you grew up with christopher reeve and now you're
looking to branch into the comics honestly there is no recommendation that's going to be better
for you than this and it was written by richard donner who directed the first movie and part of
the second one but it's also written by jeff jones who admittedly i feel like i need to have a drink
now that i've said his name and he is also one of the best writers who can bring in new readers
but also not hold your hand whilst he's doing it last son of krypton's just really enjoyable
overall and i think anybody that's looking to get into comics from the movies is gonna have
a good time with this after that i can't make this list without recommending to you all star superman
grant morrison crafted one of the best superman stories of all time and it's still enjoyable even
though the hypes died down a bit for it this is a 12 issue standalone superman story that just
wants to tell you about why the character's great if you're somebody who's got this perception that
superman is boring or he's just too overpowered to ever really have a challenge this is the book
that you need to read i think everybody should give this a go at some point i don't think this
is for everybody but if you know nothing about the character then i think it's worth giving it
a go grant morrison even though they're often known for having really convoluted storylines
here just boils it down to the basics instead of the 12 labels of hercules you've got the 12 labels
of superman and you get to see the way that other people look at superman and also think it's just
worth getting it because of the fact that frank quietly made it his point to make a distinction
when he was drawing clark kent when he was drawing superman so even though he isn't going to help you
to pick up the most recent issue with superman it's still worth getting this because of the fact
that it's just going to tell you everything that you need to know about the character another one
i've got superman batman trinity this is the three issue mini series that was done by matt
wagner and not the 52 weekly issues i feel like that's a little bit too much of a commitment to
ask of you but in a similar way to when i was recommending superman batman you might have been
tempted to pick that up but you don't really have to get one of these whammy omnibuses don't worry i
used to be like that and then everything changed and now i just need them all the time but this
is a really nice short story that is gonna help you learn a lot about dc's three biggest heroes
i don't really think it's groundbreaking i don't think it's something that's really gonna end up in
your list of the best books of all time but for something that's just lighthearted and fun and
introduces you into all three of these characters if it is that you don't know anything about any
of them then it definitely has to get a place on this list and i also think it's got a really nice
art style that reminds me a little bit of darwin kook but either way for something that's short
and sweet this is definitely going to get a recommendation next up and where to start is never
limited to just comics because i've got superman the animated series i absolutely loved this series
when i was growing up and i really hope that they do release a blu-ray set of it and i feel like
it's a bit of a shame because of the fact that batman the animated series is so acclaimed that
people often forget about the one for superman it's still set in that bruce team universe and it
might be the case that you've already watched some of the justice league series but i think between
the movies and comics the animated series are sometimes the best bridge for people to get into
either because you've got some of that similar art style and they often are quite loyal to the
source material but you can also figure out what storylines you like and then research which comics
are most likely to be like that so for somebody who has no knowledge of superman i really think
this would be good for you if it is that maybe you prefer tv over books although admittedly if
that is you i don't think there's many other videos on this channel that might be for you
but you know do you put your favorite and still click on them next up and this is one for people
who just want to dip the toe into the superman related universe because i've got super family
books so you've got super sons you've also got supergirl the one by peter david i have
always heard recommended but it hasn't really been collected a lot so i haven't had a chance
to read it and if you like more of your golden bronze and silverage type of storytellings you
had series that were based around lois lane and jimmy olsen so if it is that maybe you don't want
to read superman just yet but you want to learn a lot about the world that he's in then there's
other titles that you can explore it's like with batman i'm always going to recommend bat family
boots so that you can get that wide of exposure and a lot of time there is still overlap because
superman is the most important character in any super family book and there's also going to be
more of these rogues galleries like it always seems like mr mixel pitalic is just appearing
everywhere so if it isn't maybe you don't want to just jump into superman then definitely look
at some of these other options but before i recommend this next one i do have to remind you
that where to start isn't about recommending the best superman stories that have ever existed it's
about the best starting points for new readers in which case i do have to recommend grant morrison's
action comics this was part of the new 52 and yes of course it's my jam and i know a lot of people
don't like this one because it wasn't really the superman that they were used to he is trying to
show a bit of respect to the golden age of comics when this character first debuted so even though i
think it's very niche and it won't be for many people there are still going to be some people
that will appreciate this story and the new 52 like what i was saying about the man of steel one
was a time when they were trying to bring new readers into these comics so even though it
isn't going to bring you into the main continuity it's still at least going to tell you a superman
story and it might be one for you if you don't want something that's following the same trend as
all the other superman books that have come before it sometimes something different and obscure works
for the people and if you're that type of person then this is one that i feel like you have to at
least look into but trust me if you say that you like this book there are gonna be people that will
jump down your throat so just be prepared for that now we're talking about the first superman run
that i followed in single issues because i've got the new krypton event i remember getting all of
these issues it stretched across so many different titles and i really enjoyed this i was still a
new reader when i was buying this so i think it's also going to be accessible for other people today
although admittedly i'm saying accessible but it does seem like dc's forgot about this part of the
man of steel's history you might have to hunt down quite a few trade paperbacks and things like that
but i do think they'd be worth it if you've got something like dc universe and you can just access
it digitally for free i definitely recommend looking into this one but this is one of those
superman stories that works because of the fact that he isn't really entirely set underneath he
is more about the political side of krypton and if kryptonians are actually good people and what it
would be like if krypton still existed today and there's also quite a lot of characters that have
spawned out of this so yes it does require you to know a little bit about the superman mythology
but either way i think this is great if you are looking for something that's in main continuity
and that span for quite a long amount of time but from recommending books where superman's
working as part of a bigger team how can i not recommend jla by grant morrison i said it earlier
but superman often works best when he's around other people in this he is the leader of the
justice league he's the person that they all look towards he's also blew superman at one point which
you know still pretty cool but again you've got big intergalactic threats and this was a
series that was written so that new readers could jump into it there's a brief introduction into
every character including superman so if it isn't you don't know anything about him but maybe you
know more about other members of the justice league this is the perfect starting point for
you because of the fact that he also has to juggle all that other continuity you're gonna learn more
about the history of superman as a result of reading this title but the same time it never
really weighs the story down it just carries it on its back and keeps moving forward so even though
this may seem a bit daunting to a new reader it's very accessible and i'd recommend that you check
it out now this is one of the most recent ones that i'm going to recommend but it's superman
by peter j tomassi and patrick gleason this is the rebirth era dc comics so if you're looking
for something a bit more contemporary this is the one that's going to get the recommendation from me
but having already done a run on batman and robin which i reviewed a few months ago this creative
team then decided to take a run on superman but this isn't your standard superman story because
he's now got a child and that factors into the majority of their story so if you're looking for
a good father-son dynamic with a superman that's got even more maturity than what we're normally
used to seeing with just a creative team that really enjoys the stories that they're telling
and always make sure that the reader has a good time then this has to be the boot for you and
i know that organic price books does have this in stock so again i'd recommend checking them out and
using that discount code that we spoke about but even though it's quite recent i still feel like i
can already say that this is one of those timeless stories that's always going to be enjoyable to new
people we're coming into my last couple of pics now and of course i have to recommend
superman secret origin again jeff johnson you know this is going to be great for new readers
but if when i was describing man of steel in the first pick you thought that maybe comics from the
80s are a little bit outdated for you then this is the one that you need to buy this does pretty
much a similar job but in a different way because it's looking at the origin story and how clark
kent became the man of steel it's only six issues long and you've got beautiful r from gary frank
and he also designed his superman so that you look like christopher reeve but you get to see
stuff like the first meeting between superman and lex luthor there's also a good amount of
stuff that's done with the legion of superheroes and he gets to see superman when he was first
trying out his powers and i just think that this is a great story i think as well i read this in
one setting it's really enjoyable it's got a great amount of heart to it and i think it's
something that every new reader can enjoy now my next pick's a little bit of a cheat because
i've got this on my shelf but i haven't read it just yet but i've had so many people recommend
it to me i trust this creative team so it has to get a mention on the list because i feel
like if i later read it i'd wish that i'd put it on anyway so to future marcus you're welcome
for this one because i've got superman for all seasons jeff loeb tim sale the creative team
that brought you batman the long halloween which was the first book that i ever reviewed on this
channel told a four-issue story that set out a continuity but has all the heart and passion
that every superman story should have from what i'm told it really captures the essence of the
character so similar to what i said about all-star superman if you've got these misconceptions about
him that you think he's a boring character or you don't really know what he stands for besides the
obvious truth justice in the american way then this sounds like one of those books it's just
trying to change your perspective on how you look at this character it's really close to the top of
me to read list so it's going to get a review soon so make sure that you're looking out for
that one as well but with how many people have told me to read this book it has to get a spot
on this list but in a similar way my last pick is pretty much every superman story that i know
other people are going to recommend but i haven't read yet and that's why i wanted to do this where
to start series because there's so many jumping on points that i haven't even read them all stuff
like superman's secret identity by kurt boussik superman american alien even stuff like luther
which was done by brian azarello in libermijo who also did joker he even seems like books like
superman unchained by scott snyder and jim lee are great for new readers as well and that's the joy
of comics it's about finding and discovering these runs that you really enjoy and whatever starting
point is going to help you get into superman in comics in general is what should be on this list
so even if i haven't necessarily read it there's probably others that you might really enjoy
because superman is a great character and there's a reason why we still know where he is even 80
years after his debut so that's my list and i'd like to know in the comments below what
the first superman story was that you ever read i'm gonna keep doing these where to start i know
people have been asking for thor and spider-man don't worry they are coming it's just these
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stay safe stay reading the best books that you can find and stay mad all you dogs see the next video