Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Gabriel Rodrigues

Angela Reading Order

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Angela has a complicated history, this time not because of convoluted plots or time-travel shenanigans. She started as an Image Comics character, but Neil Gaiman sued Todd McFarlane for some of his characters’ ownership and won the battle for Angela’s rights. After that, Neil Gaiman sold her to Marvel.

In Image, she was part of Spawn and was an Angel that started as an enemy of the titular character. She gained a lot of popularity, receiving many solo series and crossovers with other characters from the universe. She also became an ally of Spawn, appearing in a lot of his issues. Her last appearance was in a fight against Malebolgia, one of Spawn’s greatest enemies and his creator, in Spawn #100.

Later, in 2013, she was reintroduced in the Marvel Universe. Despite receiving a new origin, she still has many similarities. Her name is still Angela, her costume is pretty much the same (although it has seen a few more changes throughout the years), and she is an angel created to hunt evil creatures. Her new origin also makes her part of Thor’s family, so they have a few adventures together. Here’s hoping Al Ewing makes great use of her in Immortal Thor. [Read more…] about Angela Reading Order

Demon Days Universe (Peach Momoko) Reading Order

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Peach Momoko is one of the most popular cover artists now, thanks to her distinct and almost dream-like style inspired by horror and Japanese cinema. In 2021, Momoko also filled the insides of comics with her watercolors in the “Momomo-verse,” starting with Demon Days: X-Men #1. Its premise is to create a new Marvel universe, but more inspired by Yokai stories and Japanese folktales, creating new versions of popular characters and transporting them to different settings.

As of 2023, the Momoko-verse has two main stories: Demon Days and Demon Wars. Each has a character called Mariko as the protagonist. She is a new character created by Momoko who suddenly finds herself between the world of humans and Yokai. That’ll bring changes to her own life but also to many others.

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Tatsuki Fujimoto Manga Reading Guide!

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If you know at least a little bit about anime, you probably know Chainsaw Man and his creator Tatsuki Fujimoto; after all, everyone is talking about it right now. He has many other works of note, mainly his newest one-shots. If you haven’t read anything by him, I really recommend you start with Goodbye, Eri, or Look Back. You will easily understand his style of art, storytelling, and character creation (not to mention I actually think Look Back is better than Chainsaw Man, sorry).

Fujimoto loves films with all his heart, to the point that he feels more inspired by movies than manga and anime. That makes his stories have a different feeling than many others out there, not to mention that a lot of them revolve around themes related to cinema and the making of films, mainly in Fire Punch and Goodbye, Eri.

Besides his love of films, I’ll constantly talk about his comedy and characters. He can make you cry on one page and then burst out laughing right next through smart paneling and dialogue. It’s incredible. And most of it is thanks to his characters. It’s a weird compliment, but they are all so human; Fujimoto says he tries to think of people he already met or feels like he knows, and it definitely shows. More than the story or the messages, his characters keep drawing my attention to his works.

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Static Shock Reading Order!

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Everyone knows Virgil Hawkins, or Static, from the Static Shock TV Show, but some (like me before writing this guide) might not know his history with Milestone Media. It was made by black creators who wanted a universe with black and more diverse heroes, and they nailed it. The comics discussed problems of the time – many that we still have today to some degree – and had characters of different ethnicities, nationalities, and sexualities, but that weren’t only defined by them. They were so much more. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to guarantee great sales.

Most of these stories were set in Dakota, making the universe also called the Dakotaverse. Virgil lives in Dakota and gained his powers during a gang fight there; making him a “Gang Baby,” what the people who obtained powers because of the fight are called. His best run by far is the original Static by Milestone, but he also has stories in the main DC Universe and the new initiative, Milestone Returns.

Since I was younger, I’ve loved Static; Virgil has all the great traces of the greatest teen heroes: he’s powerful, your age, and funnier than you. But what the comic does best is making him heroic and human. The chapters try to bring discussions, but it’s not a message you have to understand at the end, the characters are literally talking about it. Virgil, and many of the characters featured, seem like real people, with complex opinions and personalities. That’s something I really hope the newer comics manage to do too; it’ll definitely be great.

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Rogue Sun Review!

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Earlier this year, we met the hero Rogue Sun during Supermassive, but we also learned he would die. So this is the set-up for the Rogue Sun comic. Dylan, the newest person to assume the mantle, has to find out who killed his dad and how to defeat a threat capable of that without knowing anything about being a hero. Writer Ryan Parrott and artist Abel craft a whodunnit mixed with a great superhero story.

In the first pages, we see Marcus Bell fighting a mysterious hooded being that knows who he is and how to mess up with the source of his powers, the sun stone. He is easily defeated. Then it cuts to Dylan, the son which Marcus abandoned. And Dylan, not surprisingly, hates his dad with all his might because the man didn’t even try to get to know him. He only seemed good at one thing: making Gwen, Dylan’s mom, sad. [Read more…] about Rogue Sun Review!