Recommended Reading: Best of DC Comics

[Blindzider, Moderator]

This thread is for all group members to give suggestions on what stories they would recommend to people that are new to the group and/or to reading graphic novels. This particular thread will be about The Best of DC Comics. All DC Imprints are acceptable (Vertigo, Wildstorm, Icon, etc.)

The idea is to compile a list of books on each subject/topic from the group members and have a central thread that people can use to decide where to begin.

Preferably, the suggestions should be limited to stories that are available in some type of hardcover: Absolute, Omnibus, Deluxe HC, etc.

Make as many suggestions as you like, but do try to keep it to an "essential/best reads". Please remember to clearly mark which titles are your recommendations.

[Blindzider, Moderator]

My recommendations:

America's Best Comics
Top Ten by Moore/Ha
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen V1 and V2 by Moore/O'Neill

Wildstorm
Planetary by Ellis/Cassaday
The Authority V1 by Ellis/Hitch

Vertigo
Scalped by Aaron/Guéra

DC
Watchmen by Moore/Gibbons
Batman: Year One by Miller/Mazzuchelli
Batman: The Killing Joke by Moore/Bolland
The Dark Knight by Miller
The Long Halloween by Loeb/Sale
Black Mirror by Snyder/Various
Hush by Loeb/Lee
Batman run by Morrison (varied opinions across all the books)
Kingdom Come by Waid/Ross
Superman: Red Son
Superman for All Seasons by Loeb/Sale
Green Lantern Omnibus V1 and V2 by Johns/Various
JLA by Morrison/Various
JLA: Year One by Waid/Kitson
Justice by Krueger/Ross/Braithwaite
Starman V1-V5 by Robinson/Various
Identity Crisis by Meltzer/Morales

[Saugata]

From the list I want to read, Scalped (just want all the deluxe books to be out, before I start reading them), StarMan and Authority.

I will propose some other titles, most of them vertigo stuff
Y The Last Man
Superman Secret Identity
Killing Joke (have to read, but heard great things about it )
100 Bullets (have to read, but heard great things about it )
Ex Machina (have to read, but heard great things about it )
DMZ (have to read, but heard great things about it )
Transmetropolitan (have to read, but heard great things about it )
Gotham Central (in mail, can not wait to start it)

While listing them, I get this feeling I have to read a lot to catch up with Vertigo. Can somebody help me choose between 100 Bullets, Ex Machina and DMZ. I definitely want to read them all. But which to read first?

Also, I have heard good things about Northlanders (I will probably wait for the Hardcovers to come out) and many people are swearing by Hellblazer titles (supernatural is not really my thing). What is the consensus about these two?

[Blindzider, Moderator]

I'm not going to be much help with Vertigo stuff. I've only read Scalped, Swamp Thing by Moore and Y the Last Man (both of the latter I liked, just not sure it's the "best").

I debated internally on a lot of my recommendations. There are plenty of things that are worth reading, but I tried to minimize the list to the real top tier stuff.

Starman seems to wander in the middle but the ending ties everything together and there's a father/son story in there that I really connected with.