Greetings and welcome to our latest installment of the Super-Blog Team-Up, where we are focusing on our personal “Staff Picks.” This gathering of talented bloggers and podcasters has come together to highlight some of our favorite comic book recommendations. To keep things interesting, we have broken our suggestions down into four distinct categories: a timeless classic pick, a treasure found in the dollar bins, an essential key issue for collectors, and a personal favorite from the modern era of comics. Below, I will walk you through my own selections, and once you’ve finished reading, I will provide links to the rest of the gang. You definitely want to make sure you check out what everyone else has to say!
Classic Pick – Superman (Pre-Crisis)
I went around and around trying to come up with my recommendation for the “classic pick”. Should I pick one of my favorite comic book series like All-Star Squadron, Groo the Wanderer, or Daredevil? Should I pick a specific story like Born Again, Kraven’s Last Hunt, or the Elfquest Original Quest? Those would have all been good choices, but in the end I went in a different direction.
In the last couple of months I have been reading quite a few of my facsimile edition comics, particularly Superman and Action comics. If you don’t know, facsimile comics are modern reprints of classic comics printed exactly like they were when they were released, ads and all. What makes the facsimile edition so special is that the reader can experience the story just as it was when it first came out on the newsstands years ago. For someone of my vintage there is something very gratifying about picking up a single issue of a comic and reading an amazing story just like when I was young. I’ve got nothing against digital comics, or trade paperbacks, or omnibus editions. You cannot go wrong with whatever way you choose to experience a good comic.
And speaking of good comics, let’s get to why I am recommending Superman, specifically the pre-Crisis stories. Superman might seem like an obvious pick. He’s the original superhero. He’s the most famous and recognizable character. He’s invincible, practically a god. That’s all true, but that is not why I am recommending Superman comics. I want to encourage people to read Superman comics because they are GOOD stories.
I mentioned that Superman is basically invincible, and that meant he was a real challenge for writers to come up with conflicts that challenged him. He cannot just stop bank robbers in every story, one punch, fly them to the police station and that’s it. That would be boring. He also cannot just solve all the world’s problems by ruling over all of humanity, forcing his will upon us, that would make him evil. Instead, the writers and editors had to challenge themselves to come up with a story where Superman has to think, he has to make choices, he’s got to figure out the problem and do his best to resolve it.
In Action Comics, issue 454, originally published in 1975, The Toyman has robbed a bank and Superman has to stop him from getting away with the cash. Toyman is able to defeat Superman because Superman has become weak and has no energy. As Superman’s alter-ego, Clark Kent is experiencing the same energy issues. He falls asleep while on the air delivering the nightly news. He decides that he’s got to consume thousands of calories in order to build up his energy but no matter how much he eats he does not improve. The emboldened Toyman strikes again, and Superman tries to stop him, despite his lack of energy. This time the Toyman uses anti-gravity balls that stick to Superman and send him into the earth’s outer atmosphere. Once Superman is that far away from the planet’s surface he feels his energy coming back, and powers returning to normal. He quickly flies back to the surface, captures the Toyman, and then heads to S.T.A.R. Labs.
With the help of his scientist friends Superman is able to figure out there is a problem at the Earth’s core. Something is absorbing all the energy that comes from our sun, drawing it away from Superman’s body, and also solar power plants. Using a suit made of “super solar cells” Superman travels to the Earth’s center to find a “hybrid of metal alloys” that is causing the problem. He uses the suit to cover the blob of metals and that cancels out the energy draining effect. Superman, Clark Kent and his appetite return to normal and the day is saved.
This story from Action Comics is just one of many examples of how comic professionals have shaped Superman into the character we know today. There are tons of wonderful villains that were created to give Superman a hard time; The Parasite, Metallo, Mister Mxyzptlk, and Lex Luthor are just a few of the pantheon of enemies that have stepped up and gone toe to toe with the man of steel. And it wasn’t just criminal masterminds that were a problem for Superman. The energy absorbing metal alloy in this story is not too different from the array of kinds of Kryptonite that were created to give Superman problems. There was also a cast of characters like Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and hundreds of others that would inevitably need to be helped by the man in red trunks.
I want to stress that I am recommending Superman stories from before The Crisis era started. In 1985 DC Comics created an event that changed their comics forever, Crisis on Infinite Earths. It is one of the most important stories in the history of DC comics for many reasons. One of the things that was done following the event is that continuity was changed, most of the comics were re-launched in one way or another, all with the idea of making it easier for readers to follow the stories. The post Crisis Superman was introduced in John Byrne’s Man of Steel mini-series.
One of the most significant changes that John Byrne and the DC editors made was to make Superman less powerful, and limits were imposed on the things he was able to do. There were other changes, and he could still leap over tall buildings, and fly faster than a speeding bullet, but gone were the days when the writer could just use one of Superman’s powers to do things that were so fantastic they worked because the writer said they did. Something like wearing a suit of super solar cells, “fly” to the center of the earth, and cover a metal ball that absorbs the sun’s energy was no longer done.
These changes were not bad for Superman, or the comics. They gave writers new ways to develop stories, just in different ways. With all the things that happened after Crisis, one thing that was lost was the “comic-bookieness” of the character. Things got a bit more serious, the stories were a bit more “grown up”. The tone of the stories was different. That is why I am recommending going back and revisiting those old stories (well, I guess they are old now) from when Superman ate thousands of cheeseburgers and still could not stop the Toyman.
Superman always defeated the villain, saved the people who needed to be saved, or stopped the menace that would have destroyed Metropolis. That’s why the character has endured for 88 years. Those fantastic, goofy, and wild stories defined what a good comic was for decades. They encouraged young people’s imaginations to run wild. It was because of those stories that people like John Byrne and Christopher Reeve grew up and were inspired to tell the stories they did. And I think they are still worth your time to read today.
Dollar Bin Classic – The Defenders
The cheap bins are where any comic book reader can find gold. I’m not talking about finding a copy of New Mutants #98 for a buck in a comic box because someone didn’t know what they had. No, I am referring to finding great comics that are fun to read.
For my dollar bin recommendation I would suggest picking up any issue of the Defenders, volume 1, if you come across them. The Defenders ran from 1972 to 1986 for 152 issues, and there are not many single issues that would command high prices or be considered major key issues by collectors. And while the prices of comics from the seventies and eighties have been steadily increasing in cost, the Defenders can still be found pretty regularly for a bargain.
The series started off as the “non-team” superhero team book. It was a group of outsiders all thrown together to do some good. It started off with Doctor Strange, the Incredible Hulk, and Prince Namor but others were quickly added, and some cases just as quickly removed. Characters like the Silver Surfer, Valkyrie, Hawkeye, Nighthawk, Hellcat, and even the Son of Satan himself Damien Hellstrom.
The Defenders is a great comic to just pick up and read because it featured many of Marvel’s most interesting but not featured characters in colorful and action packed stories. There was something different about the Defenders that makes it very accessible. There is not a lot of complicated continuity to bog the reader down. The characters should be familiar enough to almost any reader so that they can pick up an issue, kick back, and enjoy a well told tale, often for a great price.
Collectors Key – New Teen Titans #1
Key issues can be a source of consternation for some collectors, myself included. Collecting comics for me has been a passion for finding and reading good comics. For many though the hobby is about finding the most valuable comics and either selling them for a profit, or holding on to them in order to see their investment rise in value. If that’s your thing, that’s fine with me, I’m not going to judge. Both groups of people keep the hobby going and are also not mutually exclusive.
I am basing my collector key recommendation on a book that was one of the first comics I bought at a convention that felt like a lot of money, New Teen Titans #1. This is the first issue of the series that was written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by George Perez. It kicked off the a new era for the Teen Titans that would become one of DC’s best selling series in the eighties and would eventually rival the X-Men for sales.
I like this book for collectors because it is not too expensive, it is a number 1 issue, and it was the beginning of an amazing series. I bought my copy for $25 over ten years ago, and it can still be found around that price today. The cover is a famous team shot with the characters running straight at the reader. It has been featured on tee-shirts, posters, trading cards, you name it. It would be a nice piece for any collector to have in their collection.
Personal Fave New Title – Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics)
For my final recommendation, “personal fav new title”, I want to offer up Conan the Barbarian and the comic magazine; The Savage Sword of Conan, both from Titan Comics. Robert E. Howard’s sword and sorcery hero has been a comic mainstay since Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor Smith first brought him to life in Marvel comics in 1970. Since then he’s been published by several different companies and been written and drawn by many, many talented individuals.
The comics that Titan Comics are producing now are something special. Jim Zub is doing really amazing things with the character in the main comic series. For me the stories harken back to the Marvel seventies hey-day as well as Howard’s prose stories. Zub is capturing the magic of the character and weaving stories across Conan’s timeline that I simply have not experienced with other modern Conan comics. The art duties have been split across different story arcs, but the main artist, Roberto De La Torre, for my money is drawing the best Conan comics ever. His Conan is powerful, gritty, and brutal. The battles are cinematic and filled with action. His women are voluptuous, but not ridiculous. I could go on and on but I think I have made my point.
The Savage Sword of Conan brings us back to the wonderful world of black and white comics in a magazine format. These stories are a chance for writers to tell longer stories than what normally appear in a 32 page comic. The pages are bigger so the artist can really stretch their limits. There are pin-ups and back up stories, featuring other Howard creations like the adventurous Solomon Kane.
Both series are filled with wonderful adventures and dark magic. The art is visually stunning and the stories are as good as any novel. Anyone who is a fan of the genre should take a look at what Titan Comics, Jim Zub, Roberto De La Torre and others are doing with everyone’s favorite barbarian.
Well there they are, my personal recommendations of old and new comics. I hope you’ll consider what I’ve mentioned and maybe go out and find yourself something new to read. Before you do that though please check out the rest of the recommendations for the rest of the Super Blog Team Up gang to see what their staff picks are. I’m sure they’re writing and talking about great comics too.
The SuperHero Satellite – https://charltonhero.wordpress.com/2026/07/15/super-blog-team-up-presents-staff-picks/
Dave’s Comic Heroes – https://davescomicheroes.blogspot.com/2026/07/daves-sbtu-staff-picks.html
Between The Pages – Amazing Spider-Man Comics On Marvel Unlimited – https://www.betweenthepagesblog.com/2026/07/amazing-spider-man-comics-on-marvel-unlimited.html
Teal Productions – https://tealproductions.substack.com/
The Telltale Mind – Four Hulks! – https://thetelltalemind.com/2026/07/15/four-hulks/
Magazines and Monsters – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/magazines-and-monsters/id1459643898
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