Suggested Reading Order: Superman - New Krypton

In the last few years the Superman family of books has had a lot of crossovers, collectively titled New Krypton. The general gist of these stories is that Krypton, Superman's long dead homeworld, is recreated leading to lots of interesting and unexpected conflict situations.  It's a cross between a family drama, a detective story, a crime thriller, a war story and a space epic.

As someone new to the genre, or new to Superman books generally, looking through the bookshelves you would be forgiven for feeling a little lost and perhaps not knowing quite which one to pick up.  Which is where we come in.  What will follow is a brief explanation (without spoilers) of the major things that have been been happening in the books over the last few years, and a suggested reading order.


Asterisked titles are particularly recommended and are the most important books to read.

Firstly, lets clarify what 'Superman family of books' means.  Basically it means the books that are about one or more important characters within the Superman mythos.  Broadly speaking, this covers:
Superman
Supergirl
Action Comics
Adventure Comics
Superboy (when published)
Various maxi or mini series - World Of New Krypton, Last days of Krypton, War of the Supermen.

As for how the various stories have been collected, here is a rough guide:

Superman: Last Son (reviewed here)
Superman and the Legion of Superheroes - contains background information to the upcoming crossovers, but is not necessary to understand and enjoy what comes later.
Superman: The Coming of Atlas - again, this contains background information to the upcoming crossovers, but is not necessary to understand and enjoy what comes later. 
* Superman: Brainiac - This is the first really important one to read.  Brainiac is super intelligent villain from the future. Many years ago he shrunk one of Krypton's most important cities - Kandor.  This book sees the city regrown and the citizens freed.
* Superman: New Krypton volume 1 - Thousands of super powered Kryptonians are on earth.  How will they and the humans cope?
* Superman: New Krypton volume 2 - Tensions rise as the Kryptonians and humans struggle to find a common bond.
* Supergirl - Who Is Superwoman? - recommended if you want to read more of Supergirl.  Introduces Superwoman, a pivotal character in the saga.
Superman: Mon-El volume 1 - Mon-El is an alien with similar powers to Superman.  He takes over as protector of Metropolis when Superman has to leave.
* Superman: New Krypton volume 3 - The displaced Kryptonians create a new planet for themselves on the other side of our moon.  Collects the first 6 issues of the maxi series World of New Krypton.  This is the main title in the crossover.
Superman: Nightwing and Flamebird volume 1 - Nightwing and Flamebird are mythological heroes from Krypton's distant past.  In this volume two new heroes take up the mantles and settle on Earth to help defend it.
* Superman: Codename Patriot - As well as being a mystery in it's own right, this sets up the scene for later stories and contains a lot of important plot twists.
* Supergirl: Friends and Fugitives - Recommended if you want to read more about Supergirl  Like Codename Patriot, this volume is also important in terms of what happens later in the story.
Superman/Batman: World's Finest - Reviewed here.  This doesn't really have a lot to do with the overall story arc but it does feature Nightwing, Flamebird, Supergirl and Superman so if you are a fan of these characters you may want to pick this up.  Additionally, it's a good standalone book in it's own right.
* Superman: New Krypton volume 4 - Collects the remaining 6 issues of the maxi series World of New Krypton.  On New Krypton, Superman is adjusting to the realities of Kryptonian political life.  This is the main title in the crossover.
* Supergirl: Death and the Family - This starts setting up for the final book, War of the Supermen.
Superman: Mon-El Man of Valor - Against all the odds, Mon-El continues in his duties on Earth.  What will happen when Superman returns to Metropolis? 
Superman: Nightwing and Flamebird volume 2 - Superman is on New Krypton and Mon-El, Nightwing and Flamebird are left to defend Earth and New Krypton against the plots of General Sam Lane, previously believed to be dead.
* Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton volume 1 - Brainiac returns and threatens to destroy New Krypton once more.
* Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton volume 2 - Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes join forces to try to defeat Brainiac
* Superman: War of the Supermen - What it's all been leading up to.  Masterminded by General Zod of Krypton and General Lane of Earth, the war between New Krypton and Earth commences.

There you have it.  A slightly annotated, hopefully useful guide to what could be considered a confusing crossover.

Full disclosure:  I did not find the Mon-El or Nightwing & Flamebird books particularly enjoyable, hence why they have not been asterisked.  For completeness, you would probably want to read all books, but I am not sure how necessary it is to read every single volume.  If you only wanted to pick a few to read, then may I suggest:

Superman: New Krypton volume 3
Superman: New Krypton volume 4
Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton volume 1
Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton volume 2
Superman: War of the Supermen (due to be published later this year)

These contain the meat of the story and are the most self contained arcs.