Carole

25 Best DC Comic Books to Read: Our selection of the best DC Comics

by Carole
Updated on October 23, 2024

Everybody knows Batman and Superman and with the DC Universe expanding on the big screen, the general public has been introduced to less familiar characters such as Shazam and Blue Beetle.

Like the Marvel Superheroes, those characters have lived decades of adventures on paper before. As DC is also renowned for its complicated timeline, those characters have been rebooted and rewritten (some more than others) throughout the years, making it sometimes more discouraging for new readers to dive into this world.

It would be regretful to miss out on great stories because of some temporal shenanigans that, more often than not, are not so important to enjoy the wild, fun, and diverse style of adventures you can find on the DC Universe. From some good detective stories to adventures in time and space, horror, comedy, and more, there is something for everybody.

To help you find some of the best DC stories out there, Comic Book Treasury has made a selection of 25 of the Best DC Comics to read. This is not an exhaustive list, and there are easily more great stories from DC out there.

Whether you are a new reader, an old one, or someone who read DC Comics for some past decades and wants to reconnect with the characters, we hope you’ll find something you want to read or re-read in this list.

As said above, this is not an ultimate list, so don’t hesitate to leave your own suggestions for the best DC Comics in the comments below!

Here is our selection of what we consider 25 of the best DC comics to read (in chronological order):

Who is Monica Rambeau? From Captain Marvel to Photon, a brief history of Marvel’s heroine

by Carole
Updated on May 7, 2024

What do you know about Monica Rambeau? As the character is back on the big screen with the release of The Marvels, we take a new interest in the Marvel superheroine created by Roger Stern and John Romita, Jr. who has been known as Captain Marvel, Pulsar, Photon or Spectrum and a leader of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

With four decades of history behind her, Monica Rambeau has proved more than once that she was worth reading about!

The Creation of Monica Rambeau

Her story started in the late 1960s, when Marvel gained the trademark “Captain Marvel”, leading to the creation of the first Captain Marvel comic book. But Captain Marvel was not popular, and the decision was made to kill him in one of Marvel’s first-ever graphic novels, The Death of Captain Marvel, in 1982.

If Marvel wanted to keep ownership of the name “Captain Marvel”, the company needed to use it. Enters the scene: Monica Rambeau. Created by Roger Stern and John Romita, Jr., Monica was conceived to take the mantle of Captain Marvel, though she had no connection with the First Captain, Mar-Vell. Even her powers were different. Monica was still a trailblazing in her own right, as a black female superhero was rare then, but Marvel never intended to give her her own series.

It didn’t mean Monica Rambeau wasn’t destined for great things. On the contrary, since her first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16, Monica joined and ultimately became the leader of the Avengers. She has also been a member of Nextwave and the Ultimates. Her superhero identity has evolved throughout the years, leaving the Captain Marvel name behind her to take other aliases: Photon, Pulsar, and recently Spectrum being the most famous of them.

DC Black Label Comics, The Complete Reading List

by Carole
Updated on April 30, 2025

The World of DC always finds a way to expand and craft new and/or stand-alone stories, mostly outside the current DC Continuity, in the specific case of DC Black Label. Presented at first as an imprint for adults featuring alternate versions of familiar DC Comics characters, DC Black Label was founded in 2018, with Batman: Damned, the first title of the imprint. The limited series made more of a splash for a scene with full frontal nudity than for the story.

Before the official end of Vertigo Comics, DC Black Label had clearly been developed to take the place of the famous imprint under which classic titles like Hellblazer, Fables, Preacher, The Sandman, and more have been published. However, Vertigo declined in the 2010s and was officially discontinued in 2020. New and old titles published under the now-defunct imprint were now published as part of DC Black Label. Things became more confusing recently with the revival Vertigo imprint, with the original Black Label title Nice House By The Sea repositioned as a Vertigo title… but still collected under Black Label (?!).

In all cases, you’ll find under the Black Label imprint many Batman stories, as well as several stories with Harley Quinn and the Joker, but also some new takes on Superman, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, and more…

Pokémon Adventures Manga Order, Read them All!

by Carole
Updated on October 4, 2025

Almost 30 years ago, Pikachu was introduced to the world in the Japanese video games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green. This was the start of what would become the gigantic Pokémon franchise, bigger than Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman or Spider-Man. Set in a world where people and animals known as Pokémon coexist, human trainers must run around and catch some Pokémon to then train them and engage them in battle where they gain experience and get stronger.

This simple, classic but effective concept spawned many video games, animated series, films, trading card games and, you guessed it, many many manga!

There are several Pokémon manga series out there, the most important one–and generally the one being referenced when someone is talking about the manga–is Pokémon Adventures. Launched in 1997, this is a manga adaptation of the Pokémon game series. As such, each manga arc (or chapter) corresponds to a specific game. Each story is set in a region that is introduced in the video game and focuses on different characters. The series is written by Hidenori Kusaka and was illustrated by Mato for the first nine volumes and has subsequently been illustrated by Satoshi Yamamoto.

Kathy Kane: The Short History (and Reading Order) of the First Batwoman

by Carole
Updated on February 9, 2024

If Robin debuted only one year after Batman, it took more than 15 years for another member of the ‘Bat Family’ to be created. Batwoman first appeared in Detective Comics #233 (July 1956). She was created by writer Edmond Hamilton and artist Sheldon Moldoff to counter Fredric Wertham’s accusations that our dynamic duo was homosexual! Despite this, she was a pioneer, becoming the first female superhero to take on a major male superhero in the pages of DC Comics.

Throughout the next decade, Batwoman fought crime next to Batman and Robin and even puts on a Cat-Woman costume at some point to help obtain some information! And though Batwoman was popular with readers, her career came to a halt when Julius Schwartz took over as editor of the Batman-related comic in 1964, before being killed in the 1970s, then completely removed from the main continuity following Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Nothing is set in stone in the DC Universe, and the characters can have multiple existence as well as being completely reimagined. It is what happened to Kathy Kane when she was reintroduced during Grant Morrison’s run on Batman, with some changes.

There is no doubt that Kathy Kane, as the first Batwoman, is a part of Batman’s rich history, a figure who found her place in the Batman Family and paved the way for future female superheroines to combat crime in Gotham alongside Batman and Robin. So, today, we’ll take a deeper look at Kathy Kane’s background and explore her past and appearances.

Junji Ito: Your Reading Order to the Japanese horror manga artist

by Carole
Updated on February 26, 2025

Welcome to Junji Ito’s World of Horror! Junji Ito, one of the best horror mangakas, has established himself as a renowned manga artist and gained a cult following for his works, which include Tomie, Uzumaki, Gyo, and The Enigma of Amigara Fault.

Reading Junji Ito is entering an unforgiving and irrational world that is dominated by phobias, obsessions, fears, and paranoia, with the every day turning bizarre. Junji Ito, influenced by artists such as Hidesho Hino, Shinichi Koga, and the Father of Cosmic Horror, H.P. Lovecraft, frequently has his characters deal with malevolent supernatural circumstances for no obvious reason or suffer excessive punishment for small offenses. He evokes beauty and terror and a sense of dread with powerful imagery.

Previously published by Dark Horse in America, Junji Ito’s works are now released by Viz Media, under the Viz Signature Imprint. Let’s enter the Ito-Verse!

17 Horror Comic Books for a Chilling October

by Carole
Updated on October 8, 2025

The horror genre always finds a way to creep out of some dark corners to find its public. Thanks to pulp magazines in the early 20th century, horror stories quickly established themselves via the “weird menace” subgenre, giving readers tales with sadistic villains and graphic scenes of violence.

By the late 1930s, and the influence of Universal horror films, vampires, mad scientists, and other creatures began appearing in superhero stories. The horror genre peaked in the comic book sphere in the late 1940s and early 1950s before some worries and the establishment of the Comics Code Authority came to put a halt to numerous graphic tales while simply leading to the toning down of many others.

The Kingpin: The Origin Story of Wilson Fisk, Daredevil’s Archenemy

by Carole
Updated on October 23, 2024

Wilson Fisk, known as the Kingpin, has established himself as one of Marvel’s most memorable comic book villains. His rise to this position, however, was not so quick. This dangerous criminal lord has progressively carved out a significant place among Marvel’s rogues’ gallery since his debut in 1967, owing in large part to Frank Miller’s famous portrayal in Daredevil and, more recently, Vincent D’Onofrio’s gripping portrayal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Wilson Fisk commands attention with his intimidating size, bulging muscles, and fearsome combat skills. He emanates unquestionable authority and strength while wearing his suit jacket and distinctive cane. The presence of the Kingpin cannot be ignored, whether in comic books or on the screen. Today, we retrace the origins of this now iconic character.

Titans Beast World Reading Order, a Titans crossover for the Dawn of DC era

by Carole
Updated on October 9, 2024

Following the events of Dark Crisis, the Justice League decided to disband and let the younger superhero take care of the world instead. So, Titans became the world’s premier superhero team, with their new Titans Tower based in Bludhaven. As the new number-one team, it was only a matter of time before they found themselves embroiled in an event!

The World is naturally in peril and it seems that the only superhero who can save it is… Beast Boy?! At least, this is what DC teases in their official synopsis: “Clawing its way out of the pages of Titans comes an unprecedented threat to the DC Universe. Superman, Wonder Woman, Starfire—all are powerless to stop the Necrostar from ending all life on Earth. The only hero who can save the world is…Beast Boy?! With Nightwing, Raven, Cyborg, and the Titans beside him, can Garfield Logan rise to battle an ancient evil? What will Amanda Waller do to take advantage of the situation as millions of people are changed into rampaging creatures? Can humanity survive all-powerful heroes and villains transformed into ferocious beasts? Friends will fall. Heroes will rise. And nothing will ever be the same again. Earth is about to become…Beast World.”

Starting in October, this event is brought to you by the creative team of writer Tom Taylor and artist Ivan Reis.

The Best of Emma Frost Comics, our Recommended Reading Order for the White Queen

by Carole
Updated on May 27, 2024

She started as a foe of the X-Men before becoming a superhero and one of the most important members and leaders of the team. She is one of the strongest telepaths out there and has the power to transform her body into an unbreakable diamond. Today, we’re talking about Emma Frost, a.k.a. The White Queen.

Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne in 1979, Emma Frost is one of the most striking X-Men who found her way to the hearts of readers thanks to great character developments throughout the years. She has evolved to become more heroic without betraying who she is at her core. Importantly, Emma is devoted to her students, and the children she helps, and tries to give them all they need to survive in this cruel world.

Labeled as a femme fatale, Emma Frost is undoubtedly a complex and strong character. She never shies away from her past, but also has to endure many traumatic experiences and losses since her first appearance, more than 40 years ago!

Emma Frost finds herself right now in the spotlight with this essential reading order, listing the best White Queen comics to read to understand her character, motivations, and transformations. Beware! A Best/Essential Comic for a character can be a mediocre or okay story with great characterization or important for the character’s evolution.