Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Austin Gorton

Best New Graphic Novel: Eternals Vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen & Esad Ribic!

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Of the big three “non-human races” of the Marvel Universe, the Eternals have long been playing catch-up. The X-Men are, well, the X-Men. While the Inhumans have a rich and varied history interwoven into the fabric of the larger Marvel Universe dating back to the Silver Age (to say nothing of a failed TV series and that time when Fox still owned the X-Men movie rights so Marvel tried to position them as their new, more cinema-friendly, version of mutants).

The Eternals, while of a similar pedigree (all three share an artistic creator in Jack Kirby), have long existed on the fringes of the Marvel Universe: various artists and writers, often top-notch ones, step-up and present their take on the long-lived demi-gods secretly protecting humanity from the monstrous Deviants in the name of the cosmic Celestials, and when they’re done, the Eternals quietly fade once more into the background of the Marvel Universe.

Eternals: Only Death is Eternal is the latest such creative effort. Collecting the first six issues of a new ongoing Eternals series from writer Kieron Gillen and artist Esad Ribic, the book is clearly being positioned to capitalize on and contribute to the Eternals’ upcoming moment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe zeitgeist, with their feature film (after a lengthy pandemic-induced delay) scheduled to premiere just a scant few months after the publication of this volume. In Gillen & Ribic, Marvel has again entrusted top-tier talent to this effort, and Gillen and Ribic, to their credit, reward that trust. Every iteration of the Eternals attempts to put a new spin on the concept in some way, and the inaugural launch of this series is no different.

Gillen and Ribic don’t just put a new spin on things; they do so in a way that contextualizes and synthesizes all of the previous versions, creating a kind of grand unified theory of the Eternals that honors what’s come before in the Eternals history while breaking new ground. Along the way, they also tell a densely-plotted, gorgeously-illustrated, rip-roaring tale filled with moments of fist-pumping excitement and tragic heartbreak alike. The end result is the best possible entry point into the Eternals for a new reader.

Ed. Note: Story Spoilers Follow

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The Best Kang the Conqueror Comics of All Time!

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Ten stories highlighting Kang the Conqueror at his best and worst!

Kang in Avengers comics

Debuting all the way back in 1964, the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror is a bedrock villain in the Marvel Universe, frequently clashing with the Avengers but still possessing a rich history throughout the wider Marvel Universe, spinning off variants, divergents, and time paradoxes along the way. With Kang, played by Jonathan Majors, recently appearing in Disney Plus’ Loki series and set to appear again in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania, the character is posed to breakout in a big way – possibly even as the “Thanos” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s fourth phase of films (and beyond).

But with nearly sixty years of accumulated adventures, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the character’s long (and often complex) history. Here then is a guide to the best Kang stories, the ones which showcase the core attributes of the character, define who he is and what he wants, or simply have a lot of fun with the character and his propensity for time travel shenanigans!

Related:

Kang reading order

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The State of Star Wars (2021)

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When Marvel re-acquired the license to create new Star Wars comics in 2015, they quickly launched a core group of series chronicling the adventures happening long ago in everyone’s favorite far away galaxy. As an added bonus, for the first time, following two decades of Dark Horse holding the license to make Star Wars comics (which, in turn, followed Marvel’s initial licensing of the characters back in the 70s), these stories would be considered canon, “official” continuations of the overall narrative depicted in the films & TV shows. Since then, the assorted Marvel Star Wars comic book series have been relaunched, renewed, and built out into their own little sub-universe of comic books. Now, as fans wait patiently for the next Disney+ series to launch and the next movie to start filming, it’s the perfect time to give the Star Wars comic book universe a chance.

But with so many different books out there, it’s not always clear where to start or what might suit your tastes. To help, here’s a brief rundown of each current series, when it takes place, what it’s about, what creators are involved, to help guide your journey. May the Force be with you! [Read more…] about The State of Star Wars (2021)

Wolverine Epic Collection: Blood and Claws Review

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Throughout Wolverine’s long history, Larry Hama, having done more to develop the character than any writer aside from Chris Claremont. Blood and Claws, the third Epic Collection volume for Wolverine’s solo series, features the beginning of Hama’s storied run and showcases how the author put his stamp on the character right from the beginning. working alongside artist Marc Silvestri (who was also new to the series and became Hama’s chief partner on it) to transform the series as a whole from its history as a largely self-contained action/adventure book into a series with more overt comic book trappings and stronger ties to X-Men continuity, transforming Wolverine himself into a character that could support big story ideas and complex character development.

With that in mind, let’s break Blood and Claws down into its composite parts and look more closely at the stories collected in this volume. [Read more…] about Wolverine Epic Collection: Blood and Claws Review