DC Comics has the richest history in comics. They were the first superhero publisher, and were able to absorb many smaller publishers like Charlton, Fawcett Publications, Quality, and several others. The publisher has been responsible for some of the greatest series in the history of the industry. There’s the old standards like Action Comics, Detective Comics, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and the like. There’s the various Teen Titans books, as well as the teen heroes’ series and many, many more. Everyone has their favorite DC series, and some of them are the ones you expect.
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However, that’s not always the case. Sometimes, there were series out there that no one really thought about as a greatest of all time series, but looking back on them, they’re actually pretty amazing. These seven older DC series deserve a second look; they were better than they get credit for and still stand up today.
7) Titans (Vol. 3)
DC Rebirth was an early success, but one book that doesn’t really get the credit it deserves from that time was Titans (Vol. 3). The book brought together the ’60s roster of the Teen Titans: Nightwing, Donna Troy, Arsenal, Aqualad, and Omen, with Wally West, who had just come back in DC Rebirth #1, rejoining his old friends. The book was written by Dan Abnett throughout its entire 40 issue run, with Brett Booth and Brandon Peterson as regular artists with numerous fill-ins. Abnett is a wizard with teams, and he was able to work his magic with the Titans. This run of the team concentrated on the pre-New Teen Titans members of the group, and it was fantastic because it wasn’t something we’ve gotten often. The Fearsome Five were a force to be reckoned with in the run as well, and we got to see Mal Duncan and Bumblebee, who rejoined the group. The first 22-issues are better than the last 18, when the book changes status quo after Justice League: No Exit, but even those are still pretty good.
6) Reboot Legion of Superheroes/Legionnaires
The Legion of Superheroes can be confusing, and all of that came from Crisis on Infinite Earths. That story did away with the concept of Superboy, which meant he never joined the Legion. This completely changed Legion history; DC tried to fix it, but eventually decided to end the whole thing and reboot it after Zero Hour: Crisis in Time. Starting with Legion of Superheroes (Vol. 4) #0 and Legionnaires (Vol. 1) #0, an entirely new Legion origin began. Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Cosmic Boy teamed up to save R.J. Brande on a shuttle to Earth, starting the Legion ball rolling. From there, Tom McGraw and Mark Waid restarted the Legion mythos, reintroducing the characters and changing them for the ’90s. Over the course of Legion of Superheroes (Vol. 4) #61-125 and Legionnaires (Vol. 1) #19-81, readers were given an all-new Legion and it was sensational. Over the course of the series, artists like Stuart Immonen and Chris Sprouse and writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning gave readers some amazing stories. The reboot Legion doesn’t get a lot of love, but it deserves it.
5) Manhunter (Vol. 3)
The mid-2000s were a great time to be a DC fan. The publisher was firing on all cylinders, giving readers some brilliant lower level books that no one would ever expect to be good. Manhunter (Vol. 3) came along and no one really thought much about it. Manhunter is one of those Golden Age legacy heroes that no one but the most devoted DC fans know, and this series starred a whole new one, Kate Spencer, a lawyer who took up the mantle. From there, Manhunter (Vol. 3) became one of the best low key legacy books out there. Original series writer Mark Andreyko was able to create an entirely new version of the character (the series feels a lot like the ’80s Vigilante series in the best ways), and everyone who read it loved it. It was a C-list book that sold just well enough, and it gave its small community of readers some great stories. The book ran for 38 issues from 2004 to 2009, and it’s one of those hidden gem series that fans need to rediscover.
4) Outsiders (Vol. 3)
Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day crossed the two teams over and ended both of them with the death of Donna Troy at the hands of a Superman Robot. Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven decided to train the main members of Young Justice as the Teen Titans. Meanwhile, Nightwing knew that he needed another team, but after Troy’s death in Graduation Day, he wanted a team full of people he didn’t care about, so he take a page from the Batman handbook and formed the Outsiders. Outsiders (Vol. 3) told the story of Nightwing, Arsenal, Jade, Grace, Thunder, Indigo, and Shift as they fought evil. Original series writer Judd Winnick played up the conflicting personalities and the “non-team” aspects of the book, and was able to get more mature than most other DC superhero books of the time. The series ran from 2003 to 2007 for 50 issues, before a failed reboot. It fleshed out its heroes beautifully, had amazing battles with cool villains like Sabbac and the Fearsome Five, and great art from artists like Tom Raney and Carlos D’Anda.
3) Resurrection Man
DC Comics in the ’90s was sensational, with some of the best B-list titles in comics. One of the best books of the mid to late ’90s was Resurrection Man, a title that was launched by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning with the late great Jackson “Butch” Guice. The book told the story of Mitch Shelley, a man who was loaded with tektites by a mysterious organization. Every time he died, he would come back to life with a new superpower, and he decided to use his powers for good, a twist on the classic DC hero the Immortal Man. That’s the basic premise for this 28-issue series, and it’s perfect. DnA are amazing writers, and they made Mitch into one of the most unique heroes out there. Guice’s art is gorgeous; he was a master and his pencils made this one of the best looking books ever. This is peak DC, and it will knock your socks off.
2) Aztek
Grant Morrison is one of DC’s greats, and they were a huge part of why the publisher was doing so well in the mid to late ’90s. At the time, they were working on JLA and The Invisibles, while working on other titles alongside their protege Mark Millar. The two of them teamed up for a new DC series, one meant to introduce a new hero and their mythos to the DC Universe: Aztek (Vol. 1). A young man is chosen to Aztek, all to stop a terrible prophecy from destroying the planet, and it rocked. This series only lasted ten issues, so the creators weren’t able to do what they wanted to with the character — Morrison would finish up their story with the character in JLA — but these ten issues are actually really great. If you can hunt them down, find them, because this series is a forgotten gem (and then go read Morrison’s last JLA story “World War III” to learn how it was all going to shake out).
1) Chase
Chase is another criminally short series that is nearly impossible to find, but it’s completely worth the hunt. The ten issue series, nine regular issues with a #1,000,000 as part of the crossover DC One Million, introduced readers to DEO agent Cameron Chase. Over the course of the series from Dan Curtis Johnson and J.H. Williams III, readers get to know Chase, what her jobs entails, and why she hates superheroes. The series didn’t have a huge print run and was never collected, but it’s the best of the best, a series that you haven’t heard of that deserves to be much better known than it is.
What are your favorite forgotten DC series? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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