DC Comics: Essential Reading for the New DC Universe

Welcome to the first chapter of the rebooted DC Universe. In January, DC Studios Co-Chairmen and CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran announced part one of the DCU titled Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. Officially taking flight with Gunn’s Superman: Legacy in 2025, the first 10 film and television projects of the new and unified DC Universe begin a long-term interconnected story across film, television, and animation. Featuring DC’s “most well-known characters as well as the next generation of marquee characters,” these cohesive stories will “highlight love, compassion, and the innate goodness of the human spirit,” according to Safran and Gunn.

The DC Studios slate includes the films Superman: Legacy, The Authority, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and Swamp Thing; and the TV series Creature Commandos, Waller, Booster Gold, Lanterns, and Paradise Lost. Gunn and Safran also assembled a DC brain trust, bringing together the writers’ room of Drew Goddard (Marvel’s Daredevil), Christina Hodson (The Flash), Christal Henry (Watchmen), Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), and comics writer Tom King (Batman, Wonder Woman, Mister Miracle).

Influences on the forthcoming universe include Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman, Morrison’s Batman and Batman and Robin runs, King’s Supergirl miniseries Woman of Tomorrow, Warren Ellis’ Authority, and the prolific Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. 

For readers wanting to get in on the ground floor, DC Comics has included the official Gods & Monsters reading list in the DC Essentials Catalog (2023) published on July 18th. The digital catalog, which is available for free ebook download on DC Universe Infinite and Amazon Kindle, is “an easy entry point for all those who want to know exactly how to break into our rich backlist of titles,” said Jim Lee, President, Publisher & Chief Creative Officer, DC. “This catalog is the perfect gateway from which to start exploring the breadth and depth of DC’s comprehensive library. We realize how daunting it can be to look at a wall of graphic novels, but we hope to help guide readers to what we feel are the best entry points.”

The 84-page catalog features a handy reference for DCU reading, which you can see below:

All-Star Superman

The spectacular reimagining of the Superman mythos, from the Man of Steel’s origin to his greatest foes and beyond. This Eisner Award-winner goes back to basics to create a new vision of the world’s first super hero.

The Authority: Book One (New Edition)

Ruthless and unforgiving, this group of insanely powerful superhumans face down countless menaces to Earth, protecting mankind with their cold version of justice. This is The Authority. Pay allegiance. Or get your head kicked in.

Batman & Robin Vol. 1: Batman Reborn (New Edition)

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, the creative team of All-Star Superman, reunite to tell the adventures of the all-new Batman and Robin. The new Dynamic Duo hit the streets with a bang in their new flying Batmobile as they face off against an assemblage of villains called the Circus of Strange.

Batman and Son (New Edition)

The mysterious Talia, daughter of arch-villain Ra’s al Ghul and Batman’s one time love, returns with a boy named Damian and claims the child is Batman’s. Is Damian really just a misguided boy trying to prove himself to his father — or have long years of Talia’s indoctrination left him an operative solely designed to destroy Batman?

Booster Gold: 52 Pick-Up (New Edition)

A scoundrel from the future intent on making a name for himself in the present, Booster Gold has nevertheless exhibited his share of heroism. Now, Booster Gold must repair the damaged timeline of the DC Universe… if he’s going to earn membership in the Justice League of America!

The Creature Commandos (New Edition)

Named by James Gunn as an influence for Gods and Monsters, the first chapter of the new DC Universe film and television slate! This volume inspires the upcoming series Creature Commandos. In one of DC’s strangest comics ever, a werewolf, a vampire, a gorgon, and Frankenstein’s monster fight against the German forces during World War II.

Saga of the Swamp Thing Book One

Alan Moore’s take on the classic monster stretched the creative boundaries of the medium and became one of the most spectacular series in comic book history.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Just when Supergirl thinks she’s had enough, everything changes. An alien girl seeks her out for a vicious mission. Her world has been destroyed, and the bad guys responsible are still out there. She wants revenge, and if Supergirl doesn’t help her, she’ll do it herself, whatever the cost.

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons

Millennia ago, Queen Hera and the goddesses of the Olympian pantheon grew greatly dissatisfied with their male counterparts… and far from their sight, they put a plan into action. A new society was born, one never before seen on Earth, capable of wondrous and terrible things… but their existence could not stay secret for long. When a despairing woman named Hippolyta crossed the Amazons’ path, a series of events was set in motion that would lead to an outright war in heaven — and the creation of the Earth’s greatest guardian!

Wonder Woman: Paradise Lost (New Edition)

Batman finds himself in the need of help from Wonder Woman.Gotham City is being transformed into a land resembling ancient Greece,lorded over by evil gods. The Amazon princess finds thateven the aid of Gotham’s other protectors, Nightwing and Robin, as wellas her own protégé, Wonder Girl, may not be enough to end this evilreign.

Wonder Woman: Paradise Found (New Edition)

Wonder Woman’s world is falling to pieces.Her home of Paradise Islandhas faced a devastating civil war, and her mother, Queen Hippolyta, hasabolished the monarchy, ending Diana’s status as a princess. With battle after battle facing Wonder Woman, is there any hope that Diana can find paradise?

Waller Vs. Wildstorm

In the early 1980s, as the Cold War stubbornly refuses to thaw, a new battle heats up… for the soul of the intelligence agency Checkmate. As the agency’s super-heroic public face, Jackson King-a.k.a. thearmored Battalion, former leader of Stormwatch and the symbol ofAmerican might-has long suspected that Adeline Kane is up to dirtytricks overseas, engineering horrors that betray everything he believesabout service to one’s country. But King doesn’t know that Kane has aclever new ally-an ambitious young woman named Amanda Waller. She hasher own ideas about how metahumans can serve their country. And honor,dignity, and long lives don’t factor into them…