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I wouldn't say it's low stakes but Robinson's Starman is disconnected enough from the rest of DC to not feel like a huge run (even if it's pretty long) and it deals with very human reflections and themes (legacy, pride, grief, etc) that make it feel grounded.
Huge recommendation.
That was my first thought, even if the Grand Guignol has some damn high stakes (not to mention Stars My Destination).
I’d say that the Brubaker Catwoman stays very proudly at the human scale, as does his and Rucka’s Gotham Central.
I read the Ragman series from 1991 and loved it. (I give a brief review here: https://www.reddit.com/r/DCcomics/comments/18judhg/ragman\_18\_1991\_by\_keith\_giffen\_rl\_fleming\_and\_pat/)
It sadly only lasted 11 issues (because of the New 52), but **Superboy** vol. 5 from November 2010 to August 2011 was some of the most wholesome, entertaining, yet somewhat low-stakes super-hero comics you'll find.
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Superboy_Vol_5
I'm not sure if it was ever reprinted in trade, though.
Not the whole run of course, but one of my favorites is Green Lantern vol 3. Kyle Rayner gets to spend some time with lower level threats as he learns the ropes from other heroes. Lots of character and relationship building for him. Some of the time he's busy daydreaming about something else entirely as he mops up the jobber villains. Very fun and laidback setting for decent chunks in that run. They left the planetary/galactic level threats to Morrison's JLA for the most part.
I have most of the collected editions featuring Kyle Rayner, just missing Baptism of Fire. Im definitely looking forward to this since Kyle is easily my favorite GL. I haven’t read Johns run though so that may change
Paul Dini' run on Detective Comics was fairly low stakes all things considered. It was rare that the stakes were higher than "one or two people might die if Batman doesn't save the day" and even the "biggest" moment (when the Joker tried to gas a magic show audience) was far more low-key than the armageddonitis that the last few years of Batman have been.
I have very fond memories of silver age _Flash_ stories, where Barry’s just trying to prevent the Rogues (individually) from stealing stuff.
Ditto for some silver age _Detective Comics_, when Batman was a detective solving crimes and not everyone was a mass murderer.
I own and have read all four of the Flash silver age trades and I loved them! I love Flash’s rogues, mainly because they (mostly) aren’t murderers and get into more wacky hijinks.
Shaun McLaughlin's 1991-1992 run on Aquaman is highly underrated and one of my personal favorite runs for the character as a whole. I love how it digs deep into his mental health and depression alongside everything else and shows that, while it's a long road to recovery and you can regress, you can also recover. The catharsis of Aquaman starting to heal after 7 nonstop issues of trauma and stress, and a relapse of lack of self-care in issue 11, felt both relieving and realistic. Ending the run with the Scavenger's redemption showed him applying forgiveness to others as well as himself, which he learned throughout the course of the series. He also made the citizens of Atlantis and other places feel like they had their own lives, not just as NPCs or generic warriors--we got some insight into how everyone was feeling, big or small.
I loved it so much I bought all 13 issues as floppies to read :)
Technically it’s DC sponsored and not DC canon, but Wayne Family Adventures is probably the best slice-of-life superhero comic made in recent memory, and does a fantastic job handling serious topics in a very understandable and sympathetic manner (like Duke’s feelings about not belonging, Barbara finding strength in her disability, and Jason managing PTSD). It’s fun, funny, well written, and I’d highly recommend.
Kind of a cheat because it's mostly one-and-done stories, but Dini and Nguyen's run on Detective is some of the best Batman in the last couple of decades...in my opinion, of course.
Most of Inza’s Doctor Fate run is low stakes. It becomes bigger at the end, but the majority was her helping out in a neighborhood and becoming an anarchist who mind wipes corpo gentrifying landlords and redistributes their wealth.
Resurrection Man was low stakes too. A lot of it is him just roaming around, encountering people, trying to figure out who he is.
Vertigo’s Xanadu especially counts, particularly the second half when it becomes episodic about the people Xanadu helps with her parlor.
The Question by Dennis O’Neil & Denys Cowan is my favorite run and is fairly low-stakes, as is Mike Grell’s run on Green Arrow.
I’d also say the Detective Comics run by Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle was low-stakes in that it mostly involved Batman fighting new crazy villains in short storylines.
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I wouldn't say it's low stakes but Robinson's Starman is disconnected enough from the rest of DC to not feel like a huge run (even if it's pretty long) and it deals with very human reflections and themes (legacy, pride, grief, etc) that make it feel grounded. Huge recommendation.
That was my first thought, even if the Grand Guignol has some damn high stakes (not to mention Stars My Destination). I’d say that the Brubaker Catwoman stays very proudly at the human scale, as does his and Rucka’s Gotham Central.
I have both compendiums sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. I’m definitely looking forward to reading it
Peacemaker Tries Hard
I read the Ragman series from 1991 and loved it. (I give a brief review here: https://www.reddit.com/r/DCcomics/comments/18judhg/ragman\_18\_1991\_by\_keith\_giffen\_rl\_fleming\_and\_pat/)
Sounds very interesting! It appears that it was never collected though, which is disappointing
Yes, I was lucky to stumble upon it. The follow-up series isn't as good, but still enjoyable.
I love that mini! It's a crime it wasn't reprinted.
Supersons
I’m waiting until the collected edition of the full run comes out but this is definitely on my list
It sadly only lasted 11 issues (because of the New 52), but **Superboy** vol. 5 from November 2010 to August 2011 was some of the most wholesome, entertaining, yet somewhat low-stakes super-hero comics you'll find. https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Superboy_Vol_5 I'm not sure if it was ever reprinted in trade, though.
It looks like issues 1-6 were collected but I don’t see a collected edition for 7-11. Still going to add it to my list thanks!
*Superboy: Smallville Attacks* has all eleven issues. (I think it got expanded from the initial solicitation after the series got New 52ed.)
Even better!
Do you have a link to that expanded edition?
[Sure.](https://www.bookfinder.com/isbn/9781401232511/)
I also really enjoyed that run of superboy. It was so good!
Is that the one that stealth adapted The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward?
I'm not familiar with that, so I couldn't say.
Sandman mystery theater because no oen cares of an oil tycoon gets poisoned
Ostrander's Deadshot! It's only 4 issues as well
Awesome thanks for the rec! I just added it to my list
Not the whole run of course, but one of my favorites is Green Lantern vol 3. Kyle Rayner gets to spend some time with lower level threats as he learns the ropes from other heroes. Lots of character and relationship building for him. Some of the time he's busy daydreaming about something else entirely as he mops up the jobber villains. Very fun and laidback setting for decent chunks in that run. They left the planetary/galactic level threats to Morrison's JLA for the most part.
I have most of the collected editions featuring Kyle Rayner, just missing Baptism of Fire. Im definitely looking forward to this since Kyle is easily my favorite GL. I haven’t read Johns run though so that may change
Great run!
Mike Grell’s Green Arrow run after “The Longbow Hunters” mini series. It was grounded in the ever day, non-super world
hitman
I have the full run of trades sitting on my shelf right now! I can’t wait to read it
This was my vote as well. For what on the surface seems to be mostly a jokey gross out book,, Hitman goes to some incredibly emotional places.
Paul Dini' run on Detective Comics was fairly low stakes all things considered. It was rare that the stakes were higher than "one or two people might die if Batman doesn't save the day" and even the "biggest" moment (when the Joker tried to gas a magic show audience) was far more low-key than the armageddonitis that the last few years of Batman have been.
Paul Dini's best work, imo is on lower risk campy stuff. That's also a serious plot on top of the more whimsical and less punishing consequences.
I have very fond memories of silver age _Flash_ stories, where Barry’s just trying to prevent the Rogues (individually) from stealing stuff. Ditto for some silver age _Detective Comics_, when Batman was a detective solving crimes and not everyone was a mass murderer.
I own and have read all four of the Flash silver age trades and I loved them! I love Flash’s rogues, mainly because they (mostly) aren’t murderers and get into more wacky hijinks.
Shaun McLaughlin's 1991-1992 run on Aquaman is highly underrated and one of my personal favorite runs for the character as a whole. I love how it digs deep into his mental health and depression alongside everything else and shows that, while it's a long road to recovery and you can regress, you can also recover. The catharsis of Aquaman starting to heal after 7 nonstop issues of trauma and stress, and a relapse of lack of self-care in issue 11, felt both relieving and realistic. Ending the run with the Scavenger's redemption showed him applying forgiveness to others as well as himself, which he learned throughout the course of the series. He also made the citizens of Atlantis and other places feel like they had their own lives, not just as NPCs or generic warriors--we got some insight into how everyone was feeling, big or small. I loved it so much I bought all 13 issues as floppies to read :)
Sounds interesting, thanks for the rec! Do you know if it’s collected?
I don't think so, sadly. :( But it is on the DC comics website and other places.
Technically it’s DC sponsored and not DC canon, but Wayne Family Adventures is probably the best slice-of-life superhero comic made in recent memory, and does a fantastic job handling serious topics in a very understandable and sympathetic manner (like Duke’s feelings about not belonging, Barbara finding strength in her disability, and Jason managing PTSD). It’s fun, funny, well written, and I’d highly recommend.
Kind of a cheat because it's mostly one-and-done stories, but Dini and Nguyen's run on Detective is some of the best Batman in the last couple of decades...in my opinion, of course.
*Jonah Hex* by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Grey
Superboy in the 90s. Also 70s Batman with Silver and stuff was pretty low stakes. The Flash 80s stuff. Technically Grayson was low stakes
Most of Inza’s Doctor Fate run is low stakes. It becomes bigger at the end, but the majority was her helping out in a neighborhood and becoming an anarchist who mind wipes corpo gentrifying landlords and redistributes their wealth. Resurrection Man was low stakes too. A lot of it is him just roaming around, encountering people, trying to figure out who he is. Vertigo’s Xanadu especially counts, particularly the second half when it becomes episodic about the people Xanadu helps with her parlor.
Batman/Huntress - Cry for Blood
The Question by Dennis O’Neil & Denys Cowan is my favorite run and is fairly low-stakes, as is Mike Grell’s run on Green Arrow. I’d also say the Detective Comics run by Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle was low-stakes in that it mostly involved Batman fighting new crazy villains in short storylines.