10 Best DC Comics Ever (That Aren't About Batman)

For over eight decades, Batman has been one of the leading superheroes under DC Comics, appearing in more comics than not. In fact, the Gothamite detective is said to have so many comic appearances that, if they were their own publisher, would be second only to Marvel. Despite the Caped Crusader’s dominance in the company’s publishing schedule, there are many stories that have nothing to do with Bruce Wayne or his Bat-family.

Considering the fact that DC is actually rooted in characters like Superman, it’s no surprise that many of the company’s greatest stories don’t feature Bruce Wayne. The company has an extensive and diverse roster of other characters, many of whom have been written by some of the industry’s best storytellers. Ranging from brilliant detectives to stories not even set within the core DCU, the company has no shortage of deep, meaningful and entertaining tales that don’t rely on The Dark Knight. These are the best DC Comic stories (that aren’t all based on Batman).

10 Doom Patrol

Rachel Pollack, Richard Case, Stan Woch, Linda Medley, Tom Sutton and Ted McKeever

Doom Patrol started out as DC’s X-Men, actually making their debut before Xavier’s team of Mutants. While their early adventures were always notable for their strange stories, it wasn’t until Grant Morrison took over the comic that it gained the depth it’s known for today. After that run concluded, Rachel Pollack took over and managed to outdo her predecessor in the title’s weirdness and oddities in the best way possible.

Rachel Pollack’s Doom Patrol run is defined by her exploration of personal identity, namely through Cliff’s existential crisis and Coagula, whose story mirrors the writer’s own journey as a trans woman seeking acceptance. For people who want to read a comic dedicated to what it means to be human, the experience of ostracism and the complex nature of identity, it doesn’t get much better than Pollack’s take on DC’s strangest — and most tragic — superhero team.

9 Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Tom King and Bilquis Evely

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow follows Kara Zor-El as she aids a woman from a medieval-style planet, Ruthye Marye Knoll, in her quest for vengeance against the warlord Krem, who murdered her father. Together, the women set off on a cosmic adventure, hopping from planet to planet in search of the villain. Along the way, they grow closer and begin to understand one another’s personal journeys.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow combines the revenge plot of stories like True Grit with an examination of the superhero genre, questioning the difference between revenge and justice. As with many of King’s stories, the series is first and foremost a blend of character study and deconstruction, exploring the effect that the responsibilities of being a superhero takes on Supergirl.

8 Wonder Woman: Dead Earth

Daniel Warren Johnson

Wonder Woman: Dead Earth takes place in a post-apocalyptic DCU, where Diana Prince is forced to lead a band of survivors to safety. With a wasteland full of monsters in her way, the Amazon warrior showcases her fighting prowess, even defeating the Man of Steel himself along her journey to refuge. The story’s tragedy is compounded by the fate of Diana’s fellow Amazons, who have mutated in the very monsters that now haunt the wastelands of Earth.

Wonder Woman: Dead Earth is made all the more enjoyable by Daniel Warren Johnson’s unique, kinetic art style, which turns good action sequences into epic grudge matches. The miniseries is one of Diana’s best stories of the 21st century, exploring her strengths as a leader and unmatched determination as a warrior.

7 Mister Miracle

Mister Miracle

Scott Free is the greatest escape artist who ever lived. So great that he escaped Granny Goodness’ gruesome orphanage and the dangers of Apokolips to travel across galaxies and set up a new life on Earth with his wife, the former Female Fury known as Big Barda. You might say Scott Free has everything…so why isn’t it enough? Mister Miracle has mastered every illusion, achieved every stunt, pulled off every trick—except one. He has never escaped death.

Writer

Tom King

Penciler

Mitch Gerads

Letterer

Clayton Cowles

Tom King’s work at DC has made for some of the more controversial stories in the eyes of readers, particularly his treatment of iconic heroes in stories like Heroes In Crisis. However, one of the more universally-loved of his stories is Mister Miracle. The series follows the hero in the aftermath of attempting to take his own life, later being summoned by Orion to join New Genesis in their ongoing war with Apokolips.

Mister Miracle is among Tom King’s best-received works at DC, thanks to its exploration of Scott Free’s dual life as a family man on one hand, and a tragic superhero caught between three worlds on the other. The series explores the effects of Scott’s trauma, particularly the horrors he endured on Apokolips and how they haunt him today.

6 Superman: The Warworld Saga

Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Rafa Sandoval, Mikel Janin, Ricardo Federici and Daniel Sampere

Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s tenure on Action Comics almost immediately earned the spot for the best Superman run in decades, as well as the best thing to come from the Infinite Frontier era. The story follows Kal-El as he accompanies the Authority to liberate Warworld after an attack by Mongul II. However, with the Man of Steel weakened following an altercation in space, almost all the heroes are captured by the villain and his minions — with the Blue Boy Scout forced to fight as a gladiator.

“The Warworld Saga” is a combination of high fantasy, gritty action, pulp-inspired sci-fi adventure and a revolution, as Superman leads the enslaved people of Warworld to freedom. As arguably the greatest mainstream comic book story of the last decade, this epic is a must-read story for fans of the Man of Tomorrow and classic science fiction.

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5 Watchmen

Watchmen

In the mid-eighties, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created Watchmen, changing the course of comics’ history and essentially remaking how popular culture perceived the genre. Popularly cited as the point where comics came of age, Watchmen’s sophisticated take on superheroes has been universally acclaimed for its psychological depth and realism.

Writer

Alan Moore

Penciler

Dave Gibbons

Colorist

John Higgins

Watchmen takes place in an alternate timeline, one where Richard Nixon won a third presidential term, and the world operates on the edge of nuclear war. Against the harrowing backdrop, the masked vigilante detective Rorschach investigates the murder of Comedian, an old teammate from his days on the Watchmen superhero team. Turning to his old friend, Nite-Owl, the antihero traces the murder to a terrifying conspiracy.

Watchmen combines political commentary, conspiracy thriller, science fiction and character deconstruction all in one place. Through his various characters, the author explores the core superhero archetypes, explaining, in his mind, what superheroes would be like if they really existed — and the impact they’d have on society.

4 Hawkman

Robert Venditti, Bryan Hitch, Fernando Pasarin, Olclair Albert, Marco Castiello and Danny Miki

Shortly after the end of DC’s Rebirth era, Robert Venditti rebooted Hawkman, setting out to complete the seemingly impossible task of simplifying and explaining the Hawks’ history in one contained series. The series follows Carter Hall on one of his adventures when he begins remembering chapters of his past selves, seemingly jumping through time and space as he comes into contact with artifacts from his past. From his life in Ancient Egypt to his time on Thanagar, the hero sets out to understand his past once and for all. However, things become complicated when a cult named the Deathbringers target Earth.

Venditti’s Hawkman series isn’t just the best story for the JSA co-founder, it’s one of the greatest ongoing runs in DC history, though it was unfortunately cut short at twenty-nine issues. The series honors the deep love and intertwined destiny between Hawkman and Hawkwoman, adding a layer of tragedy and hope to their past. Full of space-based adventure, classic characters, tons of fan service and a look at ancient mythology, this series is everything comics should be.

3 Hellblazer

Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, John Ridgway, Dave McKean, Will Simpson, Stan Woch, Mike Hoffman and Steve Dillon

John Constantine made his debut in the pages of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, but immediately caught on with readers as DC’s grim British occult detective. In 1988, the antihero received his own ongoing series, which explores his life in the supernatural underworld, where he cheats demons in card games, takes on exorcisms and is forced to fight for the fate of his very soul.

Hellblazer offers readers everything from social commentary of Thatcherite Britain to explorations of supernatural horror, turning in one of the eeriest DC comics to date. The series explores key points in Constantine’s history, explaining why the character is so cynical and how his carefree nature endangers others, keeping him in a perpetual state of self-loathing and emotional distance.

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2 The Saga of the Swamp Thing

Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch and John Totleben

To call Alan Moore the most prolific comic book writer of the 1980s outside of Batman would undersell the impact the writer had on comics, especially DC. While Watchmen may be his best-selling work, his finest stories come from his tenure on Swamp Thing. Beginning with “The Anatomy Lesson,” Moore immediately reinvented Wein and Wrightson’s hero, changing his origin to become the Avatar of the Green — and explaining that Alec Holland was just a memory.

Moore’s “Saga of the Swamp Thing” remains one of the greatest works of the American comic book industry to this day, and showcased, the author’s expertise as a horror writer. Where the original series had paid homage to Universal Monsters, the British writer veered off into the realm of Gothic horror, even borrowing from HP Lovecraft at times. The saga added even more tragedy to the creature’s story, following his love for Abby Arcane and beginning his complex friendship with John Constantine.

1 All-Star Superman

All-Star Superman

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN! Topsy-turvy madness on the backwards Bizarro planet. A bottled city that proves you can never go home again. A living sun hell-bent on destroying humanity. A world without the Man of Steel. Twelve impossible labors and mere moments to save the Earth.

Writer

Grant Morrison

Penciler

Frank Quitely

Colorist

Jamie Grant, Neal Adams

In 2005, DC Comics began their All-Star initiative, an attempt to deliver the definitive take on their biggest superheroes from their best creative teams. What failed in Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s All-Star Batman series worked brilliantly in Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman. The limited series follows the Man of Steel as he learns that he’s slowly dying from over-exposure to the Sun, and undertakes a series of Herculean labors for the benefit of humanity and Kryptonians before his death.

All-Star Superman explores Superman’s unending compassion, showing that nobody is so small, hopeless or even villainous that he won’t step up to help them. Morrison and Quitely set out to deliver readers the definitive window into why Superman is DC’s greatest hero — and they passed with flying colors. The series focuses on the hero’s love for Lois, his drive to help people and the impact he has on those he saves.