My history with DC:

Also taking the time to reflect back on the few DC issues I have read, so you know where I'm coming from. Let's see now.

I first tried out DC as a kid when I had bought out every Finnish language Marvel issue I could find. Bought a bunch of Superman and Batman issues, but just didn't find them on the same level as the Marvel stuff. So the budding collecting just kinda fazed out, as I decided to get into English language Marvel back issues instead.

I remember some of the stories I read. One was a Superman issue that started off with Superman having destroyed Lex Luthor's home planet of Luthoria, and killed his wife Lexa and son Lex. The issue also had twins that were conjoined in the ass. Haha, I admit I thought the stuff was soo lame. Who recognizes this issue?
I also had the Alan Moore one where everyone ends up killing each other. It was a lot better, but color me surprised when later on I discovered it was like an all-time Superman classic. A third one I remember is the Byrne issue with the Legion that had the same cover as Fantastic Four 249.
Surprisingly I don't remember much about my Batman issues. Only one I can remember is the one that started with a dead Jason Todd.

After reaching adulthood I tried some of the most legendary DC material, which was available at the library. Dark Knight Returns was absolutely terrible! Like really lamely grim and gritty. I dunno, I guess it was a big deal back in the day, but it's really aged terribly, what with every other comic since being a grim and gritty alternate reality take. So tired of that stuff! Watchmen was excessively grim and gritty, too, but that one was a legitimately great story. Alan Moore could cheer up bit, though.

Besides that, I read the entire O'Neill/Adams run, such as it is. This was supposed to be like a really big deal, so I was underwhelmed by that run, too. As a Marvel fan, I vastly prefer more character-driven stuff, so I was disappointed this run was basically just a collection of random single issues from here and there with no real character arc, subplots or development. I also read some Best of Superman trade, but can't remember much of it, actually, even if it was just a while ago. I only remember kinda liking the Supergirl debut issue. Somehow they managed to infuse this quaint but raw emotion into a simple story, and just a couple of panels.

Anyway, that's all the stuff I remember reading. This is the basis from which I'll start my next DC-crusade. I don't really expect to fall in love with the material I read, but it'll be interesting to see what happens!

nero9000 - loved your take on the first issue! I'm a long-time Marvel Zombie myself, but I have been making an effort to branch out into some DC in the past couple of years. Picked up the TPB of this series from my local library last fall and made it through three issues worth of material before realizing I had no idea who 75% of the characters were and that I didn't give a crap about anything that was happening to any of them.

Keep up the good work and I'll keep reading.

Well, let me offer the Democratic Response, here. Everyone reacts to stories differently, which is what makes storytelling, and art , in general, great. Crisis is not necessarily a great jumping on point, for anything. It is essentially an ending to the Silver and Bronze Age DC and the launching point of a more unified fictional realm for all of DC (or, to Marvelize DC). You do need to be familiar with characters to really understand what is going on, not so much for the events, as they are deliberately chaotic and almost no one knows what is going on. No, you need to be familiar with them to understand their reactions and motivations, not to mention their power level and place within the DCU.

The Monitor had actually been making cameo appearances (unseen) for over a year. He was cataloging Earth's heroes and villains and actually helped arm a few minor gimmick villains, to test the heroes (as seen in Wolfman & Perez's New Teen Titans). We did get a glimpse of the Monitor in Green Lantern. The first issue is throwing you into the storm, while also introducing some key players. Blue Beetle is there to launch DC's use of the Charlton Action Heroes. Firebrand is there more to add another female and one with a bit of power, for Earth 2. Earth 1 Superman is there because he is the big gun. The Earth 3 Luthor was relatively new, having been introduced in DC Comics Presents Annual #1, in 1982. That featured a team-up of the Earth-1 and Earth-2 Supermen and their respective Luthors, all of whom end up on Earth-3. There, the Justice League counterparts are criminals (the Crime Syndicate). Ultraman, Earth-3's Superman, aids the Luthors; but, the Supermen encounter that world's Alexander Luthor, who uses his super-science to become their first hero. His science works better than Lex and Alexei Luthor, because his judgement isn't clouded by thoughts of revenge and hatred. Alex is there to show a parallel to the Superman story, as he and Lois die, sending their child across the dimensional barrier to save him. This will be important to the entire story. Then, we see the Crime Syndicate go down, defending their universe, to show the stakes are high.

Firestorm is a nuclear-based hero, not a fire-specific one. He can transmute inorganic matter into other forms.

Arion was basically cannon fodder, to tie his past to the actions of the present, just as the Legion will be tied to it, in the future, to show that this threat goes across time and dimensional space. You don't know that the heroes will win (well, you do; but, it ain't gonna be easy), because the Legion, in the 30th Century, is facing the same universe-destroying threat. We see it in that future, and the ancient past of Anthro, across dimensions and parallel universes, affecting the physical and the magical.

Crisis, itself, really wasn't the place to be introduced to most of the characters. That would come in their own books. Crisis brought everyone together, launched a few new characters, and set events in motion to transform DC.

As I say, issue 1 is throwing you into the chaos. The next issues will see heroes and villains work together to make sense of it. Harbinger's collection of a team has specific reasons, that get revealed, though things don't go as planned (never does). Personally, I thought this series did much to re-establish the greatness of Superman, both the original form and the modern one, as well as truly capture the heroism of Supergirl. The series upped stakes with the bloodbath that flows across the 12 issues (and in the individual titles) and it had major repercussions (until some of it was undone, later). What it mostly did was bring the cosmic saga to DC, then upped the ante, big time. What happened after is what is really significant, as this is the real catalyst for DC's 1980s renaissance, though that really began around 1978, in bits and pieces) After this, it kicks off massively.

I read both DC and Marvel (and everyone else) from the time I began with comics (the Dawn of the Bronze Age). I tended to favor DC, as their characters acted more heroically, to my young eyes. Some of Marvel's got a bit too whiny (Spider-Man) when I read their adventures, in the 70s. Some I really liked, like Daredevil and the Defenders, as well as the better runs on Captain America and Avengers. Fantastic Four was hit and miss, in that era, and it would take a while for me to discover the really good stuff there. Meanwhile, Marvel's fringe books were their most interesting; things like Master of Kung Fu, Killraven, Deathlok, Steve Gerber's defenders, Howard the Duck, Kirby's Eternals, Roy Thomas' Invaders, and some of the stories in the try-out books, like Marvel Premiere and Marvel Spotlight.

DC had its wealth. Early 70s Batman, aside from O'Neil and Adams, had plenty of great stuff. Irv Novick handled a lot of it, and the later 70s Englehart/Rogers Batman, in Detective Comics, is some of the best, ever. Jim Aparo on Brave and the Bold had some great team-ups with Batman and guests. Michael Fleischer and Jim Aparo's Spectre was amazing and Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson's Manhunter (in Detective Comics) is the best adventure strip of the 70s, if not in comics' history. Denny O'Neil's "Kryptonite No More" Superman stories, from the early 70s, presented a new wrinkle to Superman and shook up the status quo, for a little while. After that, there are excellent stories from Cary Bates and Elliot Maggin, in the mid-70s. The best late-70s Superman is mostly in DC Comics Presents, the Superman team-up book. DC's war books had it all over Marvel's Sgt Fury, while Jonah Hex was pretty much the lone western left standing, and a great, mature take on the western. In fact, the writing in DC's war books and Jonah Hex was some of its best, with spectacular art, to boot.

Post-Crisis, DC starts to really push their characters into more mature boundaries, with John Byrne giving Superman a make-over, George Perez revamping a new Wonder Woman, which greatly informed the movie and most stories that followed. The Legion of Superheroes had already undergone a renaissance, under Paul Levitz and Kieth Giffen (The Great Darkness Saga) and would continue. Flash got a new take, that would inform the next couple of decades. new action-adventure material, like Suicide Squad, would become cult favorites and critical darlings. Justice League became a major hit, mixing biting humor and terrific action, much like the Gerber Defenders. DC made great use of Charlton Action Heroes Blue Beetle, the Question (in one of the most unique series, ever) and Captain Atom. The horror books were critical darlings, with Alan Moore's Swamp Thing (soon followed by Rick Eitch's) and Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol and Animal Man. They would soon e followed by Neil Gaiman's Sandman, launching what would become Vertigo. For my money, post-Crisis, DC's offerings were far more mature than the bulk of Marvel, especially as X-Men's glory days were behind them and innovation mostly fell in favor of the status quo. I went from reading a lot of Marvel in the 70s (and just as much DC) to reading very little Marvel, through the 80s and 90s, and a ton of DC and independents.

Regardless, it was interesting to see a different take on things and I look forward to more.

I agree with cody. For me DC > Marvel in the 70's & 80's. I know sales didn't reflect that but I enjoyed DC's stories so much more in those decades. I like both companies but like DC a bit more overall than Marvel.

I was working in a LCS back then & there was more buzz about DC & Crisis than Marvel's Secret Wars.

The Luthor of Earth=2 always had red hair.  He didn't go bald which was one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Earth-2 version. 

rberman put it so well in the Secret Wars thread: It (Crisis) would certainly lose its impact for those who didn’t cut their teeth reading stories in the lineage of “Crisis on Two Earths,” or the annual JLA/JSA crossovers, etc.

I totally agree. New readers wouldn't enjoy it as much. But for those of us that read comics in the 60's & 70's it was mindblowing. It was the ultimate (good name for an imprint!) JLA/JSA crossover with everyone else thrown into the mix.

ps. The whole point of the title is to reflect the history of the parallel universe concept, begun in "Flash of Two Worlds." That meeting led to the JLA/JSA crossovers, which were titled "Crisis on...", starting with JLA #21 ("Crisis on Earth One") and 22 ("Crisis on Earth Two"). After that, their meeting was a Crisis. This was the ultimate; Crisis on Infinite Earths!

Personally, I always felt the rationale behind unifying things was false and robbed DC of some of its unique charm, especially the JSA. They had been allowed to grow older and have families, with a new generation introduced. That was unique. Plus, Captain Marvel worked better in his own little world, apart from Superman and the rest. It took quite a while for DC to really integrate the generational aspect, as, at first, they tried to bury the JSA (but the fans wouldn't have it). I don't think it was that difficult a concept to handle, as it was usually covered in a single panel. I can see paring the number down a bit; but, not to the point they did. The ironic thing is that Marvel had introduced its own parallel worlds, with the Squadron Supreme. DC eventually rolled back on the decision, though mostly after it had fallen into the doldrums in the regular books, after too many mega-crossovers.