Skip to content

DC Comics

Batman: The Animated Series: A Look Back at The Best Adaptation That Ever Is (and ever will be?)

  • by

We chose to publish this article today as this is the third Saturday in September, which means it is Batman Day! For more Batman-related articles and reading orders, we invite you to check out our Batman archives!

Batman Logo (pré New 52)

During the 1980s, as Disney dominated the afternoon on TV, some affiliate stations contacted FOX to ask if the young network wouldn’t be interested in entering that market. This led to the creation of the Fox Kids Network which debuted on September 1990. Margaret Loesh who was head of Marvel Productions at that time was recruited to launch the new venture. To achieve her goals, she started working with Warner Bros. Animation.

It started slow, but things became serious in the third season with shows that eventually impacted a generation of kids and the comic book industries: X-Men and, of course, Batman: The Animated Series!

Read More »Batman: The Animated Series: A Look Back at The Best Adaptation That Ever Is (and ever will be?)

Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War Reading Order

The Dawn of DC line is full of events to the point that one is spinning off the other. Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War is indeed taking place right after the Nightmares of Knight Terrors: Batman.

In Gotham City, a concerted effort has reduced violent crime, but at what cost? Villains disperse as their lives under the new rule start to fall apart. One name comes to Batman’s mind as he recovers from his epic struggle through the Multiverse and the horrors of Knight Terrors. Catwoman is the driving force behind this new, safer Gotham.

The Bat-Family will be torn apart when a feud that has been festering for well over a year finally breaks out on the streets!

Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War is a crossover event that takes place in Batman and Catwoman, as well as in special one-shots and a miniseries. Mostly written by Chip Zdarsky and Tini Howard, with art by Jorge Jimenez, Mike Hawthorne, Nico Leon, and Adriano Di Benedetto, the story is sold as an all-out war between the Bat and the Cat.

Read More »Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War Reading Order

Scooby-Doo Comics, Your DC Comics Reading List

  • by

Scooby-Doo is one of the most famous fictional dogs, the star of his own popular franchise launched in 1969 and still ongoing.

This journey began with the original Hanna-Barbera Productions series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. The Saturday morning cartoon series focused on four teenagers named Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy, as well as their talking Great Dane, Scooby-Doo. They traveled in their Mystery Machine van to solve mysteries involving seemingly supernatural creatures, only to learn that the culprit was a disguised human looking to profit from a local tale or myth – or for personal gain.

Gold Key Comics released the first Scooby-Doo comic book only three months after the television premiered. The comics began with adaptations of episodes before transitioning to original storylines. It ran for 30 issues until being canceled in 1974.

This was merely the beginning of the Scooby Gang in comic book form, as additional titles would be released throughout the years. Charlton Comics took over in 1975, followed by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1979.

In 1993-1994, Harvey Comics released various reprints and specials, while Archie Comics began publishing a monthly Scooby-Doo comic book in 1995. the series came to an end when Warner Bros.’ DC Comics acquired the rights to produce comics based on Hanna-Barbera characters in 1997. Since then, there has always been a Scooby-Doo comic book series in print.

This article is devoted to the Scooby-Doo comics published by DC Comics. Following is a reading list of what the publisher released since owning the rights.

Read More »Scooby-Doo Comics, Your DC Comics Reading List

Wonder Woman, The Origin Story: The Inspirations and Multiple Retcons Behind the Amazon’s Creation

  • by

She’s the most recognizable female superhero in the history of comic books, and even beyond that. Wonder Woman was not the first one, but she certainly is the first to find success. Her story began a long time ago…

At the end of the 1930s, the kids read comic books in masse, especially Superman and Batman! But as it is always the case, some people thought that these stories full of heroes fighting criminals would transform a generation of children into hardened criminals themself, probably resorting to violence before anything else. Not everybody feared the worst. In fact, psychologist William Moulton Marston thought that comics were wonderful and made it known. This led him to get recruited by Maxwell Charles Gaines–then publisher of All-American Publications, aka DC–into the Editorial Advisory Board of the company.

As a consulting psychologist, Marston was in a position of influence and convinced Gaines to try a female superhero to discredit a good part of the arguments used against the violent men of comics. It turns out that Marston was a hardened feminist with a particular lifestyle (living with 2 wives, and 4 comics-reading children) and was in search of a way to disseminate his views.

Using the pen name Charles Moulton, he started to develop the story of “Suprema, The Wonder Woman”–editor Sheldon Mayer quickly got rid of the Suprema name. Inspired by the way the women’s suffrage movement used the myth of the Amazons to develop the narrative behind the changes they wanted, his beliefs in the superiority of women, his work in lie detection and in the spectrum of emotions, his interest in bondage, and a lot of elements taken directly from his life (and the ones of the women in his life), William Moulton Marston was determined to build a feminist tale.

Read More »Wonder Woman, The Origin Story: The Inspirations and Multiple Retcons Behind the Amazon’s Creation

Who is The Penguin? The Origin Story of Oswald Cobblepot

  • by

The Penguin has long been a fixture in Batman’s rogues gallery. With villains like The Joker, he is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable among the public, thanks to some iconic appearances on television and in movies.

The Penguin thrived as a more traditional villain during the Golden Age and Silver Age of comics. His criminal exploits often revolved around stealing precious items, frequently with bird-related themes. Unlike many of Gotham’s criminals, The Penguin is depicted as sane, relying on his intellect and persona to set himself apart and achieve his ambitions.

The Penguin’s popularity soared to new heights with the 1960s Batman television series, where Burgess Meredith memorably portrayed him. This iconic depiction influenced future iterations of the character, infusing the Penguin with more explicit bird-like features and distinctive personality quirks. Behind the appearance and the campiness hides a criminal mastermind and one of the more obscure villains in the Batman comics.

Read More »Who is The Penguin? The Origin Story of Oswald Cobblepot

The Phantom Stranger: What are the origins and powers of the mysterious guardian of the DC Universe?

  • by

In 1952, there was a boom in the horror comic genre and National Comics Publications (the previous name of DC Comics) wanted its slice of the cake. Created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino in the comics’ Phantom Stranger #1 was part of the strategy to capitalize on the craze—the series was canceled after six issues though.

Nevertheless, this was the introduction of the Phantom Stranger, a mysterious figure—wearing a blue fedora and overcoat—who, at first, used to prove that supernatural events were hoaxes perpetrated by criminals. His most evident talent was his capacity for appearing where and when he was needed before simply disappearing.

Read More »The Phantom Stranger: What are the origins and powers of the mysterious guardian of the DC Universe?

DC Comics Timeline, Your Guide to each era from the Golden Age to Dawn of DC

  • by

DC Comics, one of the biggest American comic book companies today, began under a different name in 1934. Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson established National Allied Publications in order to produce New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 (February 1935), subsequently renamed More Fun, the first comic book to feature original tales in several genres rather than comic strip reprints.

Soon after, Wheeler-Nicholson launched a second magazine, New Comics, which later became Adventure Comics. His third and last title was Detective Comics, which debuted in March 1937 and is credited with introducing Batman to the world. Wheeler-Nicholson had to collaborate with magazine distributor Harry Donenfeld to produce this third title since he was in debt. Detective Comics, Inc. was founded at the time, but Wheeler-Nicholson’s financial difficulties persisted, and he was forced out a year later. After National Allied declared bankruptcy, Detective Comics, Inc. purchased it.

Not long later, Action Comics #1 was published, creating the Superman universe. As the character gained popularity, the Golden Age of Comic Books began, and the publisher launched an array of new superheroes. Throughout the history of comic books, DC Comics has been forced to reestablish its universe and main continuity several times, with various events bringing in a new era each time.

The following is a presentation of each era, consisting of amazing comics, dreadful comics, bizarre, humorous, and much more.

Read More »DC Comics Timeline, Your Guide to each era from the Golden Age to Dawn of DC

DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults, The Complete Reading List

  • by

In 2017, DC Comics announced a new imprint to publish original one-shots, graphic novels, and a few reprints targeting young readers in the hope to attract an audience that wasn’t familiar with DC in the first place. The imprint was first named DC Ink, with Mera: Tidebreaker as the first title published.

But in a classic DC move, it didn’t take long for the company to relaunch. One year after the official launch of DC Ink, DC Comics made a few changes. It was mostly tied to a simple internal reorganization, shuttering previous imprint lines in favor of new imprint lines defined by age. DC Zoom was renamed DC Kids (ages 8-12) and Vertigo became DC Black Label (17+).

DC Ink was replaced by DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults with the goal to present DC characters with stories outside of the main continuity, directed at readers aged 13 and older. They explore a large array of characters, heroes, anti-heroes, and villains.

Below you’ll find a list of the stories published in the DC Comics Young Adult Graphic Novels line, with the Teen Titans, Batgirl, Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing and more…

Read More »DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults, The Complete Reading List

Conner Kent Reading Order (Superboy, Kon-El)

For a long time, Superboy designated simply the adventures of Kal-El primarily set in Smallville when he was a boy, teenager or young adult. This changed in 1993 when a second Superboy was introduced.

Created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett, our new Superboy was introduced in The Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993). For the first ten years, he was portrayed as a genetically-engineered metahuman clone created by Project Cadmus as a copy and closest genetic counterpart to Superman. His origins were retconned in 2003 in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #1 (September 2003) where he was established as a human/Kryptonian binary clone derived from Superman and Lex Luthor’s DNA.

Also, Superboy didn’t have a real name for more than five years (in real-time). He had to wait until Superboy (vol. 4) #59 (February 1999) where Superman invited him to the Fortress of Solitude and offered him the Kryptonian name of Kon-El. He will later take the civilian identity of Conner Kent (see Teen Titans Vol.3).

Blending Superman’s moral attributes with a young and rebellious personality, Kon-El is known for having to grapple with conflicting influences of his genetic heritage. He had to face many challenges, by himself or with his best friends, Tim Drake and Bart Allen, and the rest of the Young Justice/Teen Titans team.

To know more about Kon-El, let’s read some comics with this Superboy/Kon-El reading order!

Read More »Conner Kent Reading Order (Superboy, Kon-El)

Superman’s deaths : Exploring the Multiple Deaths of the Man of Steel in the comics

  • by

It’s no secret that Superman is nearly indestructible, except when he’s in the presence of Kryptonite. But, like all other comic book characters, he is not immune to death. On the contrary, killing off Superman is a popular notion that has been explored several times over the years.

Readers are naturally intrigued by the stories dealing with Superman’s death. Because he is one of the most popular and powerful superheroes, his death has a significant emotional impact as well as a mythical meaning. Those storylines may also have high stakes and epic conflicts in order to create a spectacle based on what Superman means to the readers, his allies, and his foes.

Whatever attracts the readers towards Superman’s death, it is a subject that has been explored throughout the years, from forgettable tales to iconic stories.

Warning! As this article discussed how Superman died in several stories, it is full of spoilers. Tread carefully.

Read More »Superman’s deaths : Exploring the Multiple Deaths of the Man of Steel in the comics