Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Matt Draper

Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: The Stories Within Us

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They say if you want to bore someone, tell them about your dreams.

But for Neil Gaiman, the world of dreams was everything to his hugely popular comic The Sandman, gaining a legion of fans since it began in 1989.

The Sandman follows Morpheus, the lord of dreams and one of the 7 members of The Endless – an eternal family who each embody an aspect of life and have existed since the universe began. They are, alliteratively, Dream, Death, Destiny, Despair, Desire, Delirium, and Destruction. The story begins with Morpheus escaping from a 70-year imprisonment and quickly trying to rebuild his kingdom of The Dreaming, that amorphous realm of the subconscious from which all our dreams come from, which has fallen into disrepair in his absence. [Read more…] about Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: The Stories Within Us

When Captain America Quits: The History and Meaning of a Super Soldier’s Protest

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For generations, Steve Rogers, and several others, have stood as an example of an American ideal, charging into battle decked out in the red, white, and blue.

And when Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Captain America in 1941, it was to be as a symbol of America’s best qualities in the face of Hitler’s expanding Nazi empire, even before the United States became officially involved in World War II. But to have a character draped in the colors of a nation is to permanently tie that hero to the real world. In a time when the United States fought against true evil, it was easy for the morals and message of Captain America to be clear cut and inspirational. But what happens when that character is pulled into the modern era and a time of grey morality and murky politics? [Read more…] about When Captain America Quits: The History and Meaning of a Super Soldier’s Protest

The Compassionate Brutality of “Wonder Woman: Dead Earth”

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In the aftermath of a fiery apocalypse, humanity clings to life with little hope of a future. And into this world awakens Diana of Themyscira. But what can Diana save when so little of the world she loves remains? And what will become of Wonder Woman when she learns the truth of what happened centuries ago?

Daniel Warren Johnson’s 4-issue miniseries “Wonder Woman: Dead Earth” was published in 2020 under DC Comics’ Black Label imprint and follows Princess Diana, who has suddenly woken up in a post-apocalyptic earth. The causes of Earth’s destruction are vague, but centuries earlier the planet was scorched and now a small band of survivors fights to stay alive in a barren wasteland overrun by grotesque monsters known as the haedra. The fight to save what’s left of humankind will reveal what caused this apocalypse and challenge Wonder Woman’s values of love and compassion in a brutal, hopeless world. [Read more…] about The Compassionate Brutality of “Wonder Woman: Dead Earth”

BATMAN, INC. by Grant Morrison: The Dark Knight Undone

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Batman is everywhere. Batman is everyone. But what becomes of Bruce Wayne when his most personal enemy yet targets everything he holds dear? And what will become of a son who can never escape his father’s shadow?

Grant Morrison’s Batman saga is the experience of one hero facing the greatest evil imaginable and winning by conquering both time and death, asserting his own eternal nature. And when Bruce Wayne returns to conquer the devil after being sent hurtling through time by Darkseid, he’s compelled to become a greater version of Batman than the world has ever known. But with a worldwide Batman comes a worldwide threat. [Read more…] about BATMAN, INC. by Grant Morrison: The Dark Knight Undone

The Greatest Daredevil Stories of All Time!

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There’s something innately compelling about the character of Daredevil. From his powers being the direct result of his disability to his superheroic hope often being weighed down by chronic depression, the internal contrast lived out through stories that tip back and forth between swashbuckling daring-do and grimy urban crime illustrate a flexibility that has kept the character dynamic for decades.

Daredevil is one of the most artistically consistent comics throughout all of Marvel. While the character has never reached the staggering global success of someone like Spider-Man, few other comics can boast the murderers’ row of talent that has brought The Man Without Fear to life. Of course, the character has experienced some fallow periods over the years, such as the decade prior to Frank Miller’s time on the title or the mid-90s, there have been so many great, long Daredevil runs over the years, each comprising a specific multi-year arc and also filled with many great smaller stories. [Read more…] about The Greatest Daredevil Stories of All Time!