B5Erik

...to a Marvel guy.

I always marched to the MMM drumbeat (Make Mine Marvel), but every now and then I bought a DC comic book. Brave and the Bold 119 & 122 in the 70's, a couple Justice League issues in the 80's, most of the first 20 issues of The New Teen Titans, etc.

But I just bought the 3 New Teen Titans Omnibuses, and the 2nd Brave and the Bold Omnibus (with, and because of, the two above issues), and I have really enjoyed them.

So what 70's or 80's titles should I try next? (Maybe even 90's...)

The only catch is it would have to be something collected in a TPB or Omnibus (a book, not individual comics).

I've read that George Perez' run on Wonder Woman was really good, and there are two Omnibus editions of those, but how good are they? And what else should I look at?

Thanks!

Trevor

It might be mostly horror, but the first two volumes of Swamp Thing are worthy reads, with connections to DC mainstream heroes and commentary on superhero tropes. The first 24 issues of the 70s run features some brilliant Bernie Wrightson art to start. The 80s reboot wasn’t bad the first 18 issues, but then Alan Moore has perhaps the best run of writing in mainstream comics history.

ddrknghtrtns

For 70's titles, you can't go wrong collecting Batman, Justice Society, and The Phantam Stranger trades.

Red Hood

Batman, Detective Comics, Swamp Thing, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Watchmen, Man of Steel, Perez's run on Wonder Woman, Superman Annual 11, and DC Comics Present

B5Erik

Maybe I should clarify - what TPB or Omnibus type collections should I check out? Titles?

davidh777

B5Erik

Funny that you mention that one, as I've still got The Legion of Super Heroes 293 & 294! I bought those when they came out, but didn't continue with the titles. I couldn't tell you why, other than maybe a financial concern (tons of Marvel Comics to buy, lots of records to buy, etc). Good issues.

That would be a collection worth buying for sure.

movieguru

Have you read Mike Grells run on Green Arrow? I read then for a few years in the late 1980's. It fells more like a Marvel comic than the types of storylines DC usually has. If you like something more grounded like Daredevil or the Punisher, I would try those. I believe his run on Green Arrow ran for about 80 issues plus The Long Bow Hunters miniseries.

fujishig

It's a crime that the Legion isn't in more collections.

Post Crisis, I would recommend the aforementioned Perez WW volumes, Grell's Green Arrow, Morrison's Doom Patrol and Animal Man, DeMatteis and Giffen's Justice League International (the bwah-ha-ha era), and Ostrander's Suicide Squad. And, of course, if for some insane reason you haven't read it yet, Gaiman's Sandman.

I'd also recommend stuff like the post Crisis Dr. Fate by DeMatteis and O'Neil's Question but I don't think those are as readily available.

That era of Flash, where Wally West took over, is also great but I think is largely overshadowed/eclipsed by the subsequent runs of Flash by Waid, Johns, and co.

B5Erik

What book titles should I look for (TPB, etc) for them? Particularly for Grell's Batman, but any of the others as well.

fujishig

Sorry, I meant Grell's green arrow, which was mentioned earlier. Batman has some great runs in that period but they're more collected by creator: see Legends of the Dark Knight series with titles for Michael Golden, Norm Breyfogle, etc.

If you do a search on amazon for the creators I mentioned plus title, you'll find it. Do you want specific links?

For instance:

B5Erik

Awwww, and here I was getting excited about the idea of Grell doing Batman. I really thought he had a run on Batman. His style would seem to be a great fit.

fujishig

He did do some Batman work, like an issue here or there in the 70s:

https://13thdimension.com/mike-grell...ge-that-wasnt/

and an elseworlds, but nothing as notable as the Green Arrow stuff, Superboy and the Legion, or Warlord.

B5Erik

Well, I just got the George Perez Wonder Woman Omnibus Vol 1 on eBay. The price was right so I couldn't pass it up.

Who did the art for the issues collected in the Omnibuses (Omnibi?) after that?

rw2516

Wrath of the Spectre TPB. Collects Spectre stories from Adventure 431-440. Aparo art.

Paul_SD

Here's a great mini-series from the mid 80's, that channels the sword & sandal/sorcery genre and fuses it with more conventional superhero operatics. The TPB is unfortunately OoP at the moment but it is available on Kindle and Comixology if you do digital though. And you could always buy a used copy somewhere.

fujishig

I loved this series. Also not easily found but I loved Amethyst as a kid as well.

B5Erik

Ordered.

Thanks for the suggestion. Now if I don't like it I'll know who to blame.

Hokeyboy

Off the top of my head:

Levitz/Giffen/Laroque Legion of Super-Heroes
John Byrne/Roger Stern's Superman
Mike W. Barr's Batman
EVERYTHING ALAN MOORE TOUCHED. Seriously. Seek out the Alan Moore DC TPB. He did Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, Vigilante, and all of it was gold.
Justice League International -- the first two years were the best, before it devolved into out-and-out parody, but even that was still good fun
Batman and the Outsiders -- Batman quits the JLA and forms his own team to work outside the law
Infinity Inc -- Earth-2 children of the Justice Society. Went off the rails after Crisis on Infinite Earths, but those first 12 issues were insanely good.
Animal Man -- The entire Grant Morrison run (about 24 issues, 3 TPBs). Mind-blowing existential comics that were also fun superhero stories, but that ending... wow.
Shade The Changing Man -- the Neil Gaiman limited series. Sandman too of course but your mileage may vaery
Hellblazer -- those early Jamie Delano stories were fantastic
Green Arrow -- start with "The Longbow Hunters" miniseries, then go with anything Mike Grell wrote in the ongoing series.
Wonder Woman -- the George Perez issues. About 2-3 years worth of great stuff.

Trevor

I’ll second that Animal Man recommendation.

mrhan

Neal Adams is my favorite Batman artist but Marshall Rogers is the definitive Batman artist IMO. His version is way better than either Adams or Aparo.

PhantomStranger

An underrated Batman artist from the same period is Michael Golden. He's rarely mentioned but I always liked his stuff.

fujishig

You mean that dude that did Bucky O'Hare?

Both Golden and Rogers have "Legends of the Dark Knight" collections... Golden's is coming out in June but Rogers' seems out of print at the moment.

mrhan

Same here. When DC started publishing Mr. Miracle again with Marshall Rogers I thought it was excellent and when Michael Golden took over I didn't mind at all. Too bad they cancelled it again without resolving the existing storyline.

Also, I never knew that Marshall Rogers lived one town over from me. I only found out after he passed away. If I had known I would have looked him up.

Josh-da-man