Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Matt Draper

DAREDEVIL: LAST RITES – The Fall of the Kingpin | Darecember #3

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Daredevil and The Kingpin. Two figures of light and darkness whose eternal battle has defined decades of Daredevil comics.

When The Kingpin entered the pages of Daredevil in 1981, he became a figure of monolithic evil. The embodiment of corruption that Daredevil would forever fight but never fully defeat. And it was The Kingpin that systematically destroyed Matt Murdock’s life in the pages of “Born Again.” But after years spent in purgatory, it was time for justice to be served. And it was incoming writer D.G. Chichester who would serve it in the pages of “Last Rites.” [Read more…] about DAREDEVIL: LAST RITES – The Fall of the Kingpin | Darecember #3

Daredevil: Roulette – The Devil Disillusioned | Darecember #2

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After an acclaimed run that permanently transformed the characterization and perception of the hero with collaborator Klaus Janson, Frank Miller had one final statement to make on Daredevil. After years of loss, love, new dangers, and brief redemptions, The Man Without Fear had one final confrontation in the pages of Daredevil #191.

A confrontation with the man who took away the woman he loved. A confrontation with his own worth in the world. And, beyond it all, a confrontation with the very idea of the superhero in the quickly changing landscape of comic books.

This is one of the darkest Daredevil stories ever written and one of Frank Miller’s greatest creations. This is “Roulette.” [Read more…] about Daredevil: Roulette – The Devil Disillusioned | Darecember #2

DAREDEVIL By Brubaker & Lark – The Downward Spiral of a Hero | Darecember #1

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Just how far can a hero fall? In the hands of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Michael Lark, we’re about to find out.

Over the last several years, I covered Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s Daredevil run – a story that saw Matt Murdock on a path of self destruction that inevitably found the hero of Hell’s Kitchen locked up in Ryker’s Island prison for his obstruction of justice. And this is where Ed Brubaker’s run begins. But if you think being in prison and surrounded by the countless criminals he’s helped put away is a bad place for Daredevil to be in, things will only get worse from here. [Read more…] about DAREDEVIL By Brubaker & Lark – The Downward Spiral of a Hero | Darecember #1

Aliens: Dead Orbit – A Lost Horror Masterpiece

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In the vast cold of space lurks a terrifying evil that knows no mercy. And soon, that evil will be inside you.

In James Stokoe’s Aliens: Dead Orbit, a four-issue miniseries from 2017, the xenomorph, first brought to the screen in Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece, returned in a lean, tense, modern comic book take that revived a well-known franchise. At least, for the few years it was available in print. [Read more…] about Aliens: Dead Orbit – A Lost Horror Masterpiece

How Spawn Changed Comic Books (Even Though It Sucks)

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In the late 1980s, artist Todd McFarlane exploded onto the comic book scene with his dark, hyper detailed superhero art. Alongside several other up-and-coming young artists, McFarlane represented the new age of comic books, and his art not only helped usher in an era of dark, edgy superhero stories, but also rode the massive financial wave of the speculator boom.

Eventually, McFarlane’s popularity led to him debuting his own new Spider-Man title as writer and artist, with Spider-Man #1 selling a whopping 2.5 million copies in 1990 thanks to a media blitz, variant covers, and collectors HILARIOUSLY thinking that owning a comic that had millions of copies in print would make them a millionaire. It did, however, make McFarlane a millionaire.

And in 1992, McFarlane and 6 other high profile comic book creators founded Image Comics as a place for their creator-owned books without ever giving up their rights and financial stake in the characters they made. The publication launched with several high profile, ultra-90s series – Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood, Eric Larsen’s The Savage Dragon, Jim Lee’s WildC.A.T.s. – but the Image flagship would be Todd McFarlane’s Spawn.

Spawn is the story of Al Simmons, a mercenary who comes back from hell to be reunited with his wife, only to be turned into a superpowered antihero caught in a war between the forces of good and evil. But really, the story of the Hellspawn is the story of Todd McFarlane – a superstar artist and writer who used his popularity and the booming comic book industry to help form a new publication and build a multimedia empire while entire publications floundered and ran out of money.

Spawn may be most well known for its chains, goo, and ’90s extremity, but the impact of the right comic at the right time can’t be understated, even if the years haven’t been kind to McFarlane’s signature creation.

As of this video’s publication, Spawn has published more than 300 issues and become the longest running creator-owned comic book in history. Along the way, it’s produced an animated series, a movie, many video games, and an entire toy company. And from its massive debut through its constant ups and downs both creatively and financially, Spawn has changed the comic book industry, even though it sucks. [Read more…] about How Spawn Changed Comic Books (Even Though It Sucks)