15 DC Comics Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

15. 52 Omnibus

DC's big name heroes may usually get all the spotlight, but the company has a whole treasure trove of excellent, lesser known characters and no series better exemplifies that than 52.

Set in the aftermath of the event comic Infinite Crisis, in which an evil clone of Superboy tried to destroy the multiverse (it isn't really required reading to understand 52 though), the series sees Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman all disappear for a year and chronicles the adventures of various other heroes as they try to fill the void.

52 really gives a chance for these characters to shine, highlights include Superman fanboy Steel stepping up as the protector of Metropolis and taking on Lex Luthor, burned out cop Renee Montoya teaming up with the philosophical Vigilante The Question and jerk from the future Booster Gold going from fame hungry narcissist to time-travelling, multiverse saving superhero and narcissist (even proving popular enough to get his own sequel series). All of this is written by a team of top tier writers including Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Keith Griffen, Greg Rucka and Grant Morrison.

52 is also notable in how it breaks from the format of traditional comics. Each issue occurs a week after the last over the course of a year in real time and the story continually jumps between plotlines, giving the book an addictive TV like quality, much like Game of Thrones.

And of course, we all know the best way to enjoy that type of series is to binge it.