Black Lightning is a DC property that stands out for so many different reasons. The issues that Jefferson Pierce and his family face are unlike any other DC hero, and they make for interesting character moments and motivations throughout his long history in comics. He faces off with himself a lot, deciding between upholding his role as an upstanding member of society or turning his back on normal laws by becoming a vigilante.
The CW show takes place after Jefferson has retired as a hero and settled down to become a family man and principal of a local high school. Eventually, he's forced to return to his superhero ways, and that's about where the CW show starts. It's a unique series that also explores themes other properties in the Arrowverse haven't touched, making it worth a watch. Here are some comics that help contextualize who Jefferson was before the show, and contextualize the world he lives in.
Outsiders #34-#43
In the comics, Black Lightning is the leader of the Outsiders and helped establish the group himself. The story arc reflects some of the characters in the CW show as well, so it seems that the series might eventually tell the Outsiders' story.
Early in season 1, a copy of The Outsiders comic can be seen sticking out of someone's pocket, referencing that it might get its own adaptation at some point. If fans want to learn more about characters like Anissa, The Outsiders is a great place to start.
Cold Dead Hands
Cold Dead Hands is a mini-series of comics that focuses on a younger Jefferson Pierce. The events of this storyline take place before he marries and has children and focuses on different issues than the standard ones the comics talk about. The conflicts of the mini-series line up more with the social issues of the show, making it a good companion read.
Justice Society Of America Vol 3 #12
Black Lightning's children have superpowers in the show as well as in the comics, and they each have their own stories highlighting their origins and what happens after their powers manifest themselves. In Black Lightning season 1 and early season 2, the younger Pierce daughter, Jennifer, learns of her powers and becomes Lighting.
Jennifer's character debuts in the Justice Society Of America Vol 3 #12 comic in a similar fashion. She learns of her powers and needs help controlling them, so Black Lighting asks the Justice Society for help. It's an interesting story following the development of a superhero whose lineage has changed since her whole family seems to have special powers.
The Janus Directive
The Janus Directive is a long-running crossover storyline that branches into five different comic stories. It follows similar events to the show in relation to the Proctor, the main villain of Black Lightning's season 1. In the comics, the government sends in whatever groups they have to take down the ASA, including the Suicide Squad and Task Force X.
It's a cool storyline where the groups are pitted against each other by Kobra. Not only that, false information is spread, corrupting the groups into thinking everyone else is plotting against them. These comics inspired the events of the show, they just changed things around to make a new villain.
Manhunter
Manhunter is one of DC comic's more layered and interesting characters because of how her struggles are reflected in her private and hero life. She lives a double life of a federal prosecutor who turns to crime-fighting to punish criminals who get away with crimes daily. The concept is pretty similar to Daredevil.
If fans like the double life Black Lightning lives as a principal at school, this series is a good read that reflects similar themes. Living as a member of society while maintaining hero status comes with so many moral questions that nobody can always know the right answer. It's cool to see DC take this approach to its heroes, unlike some characters in the Justice League who barely have to deal with a dual identity.
Static Shock
Rebirth of the Cool is a comic that shares many similarities with Black Lighting. The protagonists are both black heroes with electric powers who are sucked back into the life of crime-fighting. Static Shock also had a series on television, but it was mostly independent of anything DC, unlike Black Lightning and anything in the Arrowverse.
That animated television show turned into Rebirth of the Cool, a comic book mini-series. The series is an interesting read because it also follows the question of why Static turned into a meta-human. The explosion at the chemical plant is the cause, but what caused that explosion? Exploring his origins, just like Black Lighting uncovering the ASA experiments, is another similarity between the two.
Chase
The ASA is the source of Black Lightning's powers and the shady experiments done on the children of Freeland in season 1 of the show, and they play a major role in other comic stories as well.
Chase follows the story of Cameron Chase, a DEO agent who has to monitor certain metahumans that could pose a threat to humanity. Chase plays a similar role to Peter Gambi in the show, so if that part of the story was intriguing, check out this comic storyline.
Black Lightning
There's no better place to start than the beginning when it comes to learning about a superhero. The original Black Lightning comic debuted in 1977 and was among the first to portray a black superhero in their own story in the DC universe.
The themes of these comics are much different from the modern take on superheroes fans know today, but it's still a fun and interesting read. Black Lightning's powers are a bit more contrived nowadays to make him diverse in a universe full of super-powered people, but in the original comics, DC kept things pretty simple.
Batman And The Outsiders
This story tells how Batman left the Justice League briefly to form the Outsiders with the help of Black Lightning and others. The plot is interesting and gives the reader a lot of development for Batman, Black Lightning, and a lot of other heroes.
What made this story so special is that DC didn't develop second-string heroes like this very often so it was great to learn more about their backstories and motivations. Black Lightning is also one of its stars since he's arguably the most powerful at the time.
Black Lightning Year One
Year One is a mini-series that demonstrates how Black Lightning got to the point he's in at the start of the CW series. He returns to his childhood home of Metropolis's suicide slum and takes over as the principal of the High School, overturning its crime organizations and violence.
The inner conflict Jefferson Pierce feels as he is forced to use his powers is what makes him an interesting protagonist in these stories. He wishes to leave his superhero days in the past. He doesn't want to resort to violent vigilante work and instead wishes to reform the system and save people from oppression and gang violence. In these stories, he's forced to put on the suit again and become a symbol of hope.