The post-crisis Modern Age, approximately 1985 to 1993.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

The Crisis was one of the most important events in DC's history.  Ideally, it was concieved to bring together all the multiple Earth characters into one, comprehensive timeline and world.  This Original World would be touted for years, continually undergoing revisions, updates, reboots and changes.  It was published in 1985-6 and is the foundation for the post-crisis age.

 

The Flash

Since Barry died in 1985's Crisis, Wally West assumed the mantle of the Flash in an all-new series in 1987.  This series began by trying illustrate Wally's character, which it did successfully, in his struggles with his powers.  His primary opponent was Vandal Savage and he was anything but a confident hero at the time.  However by 1990, he had regained his power and established himself as the pre-eminant Flash.  The first Superman/Flash race since the Silver Age occurred in 1990.

 

Superman/Action Comics/Adventures of Superman/Man of Steel

Superman expanded to four titles during this period because DC was about to reboot their icon for the first time since 1939.  All four books were connected in some way and most of the stories were engaged.  DC introduced Superman as the only Kryptonian to have survived the planet's explosion and maintained that ideal.  Spinoff Superman family characters would not come until the 1990s.  Superman and Lois Lane began dating in 1990 and it was in these stories that the character of Superman had began to progess to the point that DC finally wanted to take some chances.  The Superman of the pre-modern age was one of transition.

 

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman was rebooted in 1987 with the help of veteran writer George Perez.  She was taken all the way back to her Greek roots and given a mythological background.  Steve Trevor was not included, however.  She became an ambassador and a 'stranger in a strange land', that being the man's world.

 

 

Batman/Detective Comics

Batman was also revamped and started from the beginning, with a fresh, new image.  The darker, more gritty, urban-legend Batman was a hit.  He did not smile, but he sure sold a lot of comics for DC.  Batman: Year One and stories that stemmed from that reintroduced a whole new generation to Batman.  The Batman movie in 1989 also propelled Batman to all-new heights in media attention and popularity.  Jason Todd was also murdered in 1988 and set a precedent for high-impact Batman crossovers.  Another series is also started entitled Legends of the Dark Knight, which can tell stories separate from the ongoing stories.

 

Justice League International

Since the top-heroes had only met in the Legends crossover in 1988, the post-crisis League brought together some rather colorful heroes in 1987 with a new series, titled Justice League. The title would later be re-named to Justice League International, but it was cancelled in 1994.  Later, there would be other spinoff League series in the 90s, such as Justice League Europe and Extreme Justice, but the original League itself would not be rebooted until 1997 with the writing of Grant Morrison.

 

Hawkworld 1989

1989 saw the re-introduction of Katar Hol, the Silver Age version of Hawkman.  But this post-crisis version was grittier, much like the character of Batman was designed to be.  The mini-series, which was scripted by Tim Truman, was supposed to redefine the Hawkman character, but when DC ordered a Hawkworld series in the 90s, continuity and Hawkman, were made impossible to manage.  The Silver Age version then ceased to exist.  These post-crisis errors were just some of the problems DC had with its characters.  

Green Arrow

The Longbow Hunters in 1987 and the Mike Grell run from 1987 to 1993 are some of the most memorable Green Arrow stories to date. Grell redefined the character as a man who just happened to have extrodinary archery abilities.  Black Canary was also a supporting character, but her canary cry was elliminated and her character was arguable made a lot darker.

 

Green Lantern

These are arguable some of the worse years for Hal Jordan, Green Lantern, who is now set up to be more of an adversary to the Guardians, than an agent supported by them.  Hal had previously been resigned as Green Lantern since 1984, leaving the tasks to Jon Stewart and Guy Gardner, who had flourished.  Sinestro is executed in 1989 and the silly yellow weakness of the Green Lanterns is removed.  However, this would set up a series of events that would destroy the Central Power Battery and the Green Lantern Corps forever, in the 1990s.  

 

The Dark Knight Returns

Quite possibly one of the most influential mini-series of the 80s was the Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.  It proposed a possible future for Batman, pitted him against impossible odds and depicted characters the way they had never been shown before.  

 

Watchmen

The Watchmen series by Alan Moore is perhaps one of the most well-written series ever. In 1987 it enjoyed critical acclaim, but even moreso now, as people look back on it fondly.

 

Catwoman

1987 was also a reboot year for Catwoman, who appeared in Batman: Year One over in the Batman comics, written by Frank Miller.  Instead of Batman's love interest and wife, or a campy character based on Julie Newmar, Catwoman was a former prostitute out who turned to crime after her pimp got too rough.

 

Teen Titans

The Titans characters became very popular during the immediate post-crisis period.  Their writers were mostly George Perez and Marv Wolfman.  The title was changed to New Titans, as the characters were no longer teenagers, but grown-ups.  New Titans took a radical change in direction with the controversial "Titans Hunt" storyline with issue #71. The Titans Hunt story itself ran from New Titans #71-84. This title floundered in the mid-90s and was cancelled in 1995.

 

Sandman

The Sandman series was one of the most influential books of the early 90s and established itself as more original than any book being published.  It featured god-like characters, many introspective sequences and stories that were well-written.  It ended too early in 1996.  It influenced the establishment of the later Vertigo, mature-line of comics by DC.