Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Best of Lists

The Five Essential X-Men “Generation X” Comic Book Stories!

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Generation X has a special place in the hearts of X-Fans of a certain age. If you were born in the 80s, you probably just missed reading New Mutants as the issues hit shelves (unless you were an especially precocious pre-teen), Shadowcat had already moved to Excalibur by the time you were old enough to read, and Jubilee wasn’t exactly a central character in X-Men plots.

I was twelve when the Phalanx Covenant kicked off what would be the first team of mostly-original mutants in nearly fifteen years, helmed by two Academy headmasters that hadn’t exactly enjoyed the spotlight. I’d been reading X-Men in sporadic chunks for a couple years, but already knew I wanted to see more of Banshee, and that having the White Queen working for Charles Xavier was going to cause issues. [Read more…] about The Five Essential X-Men “Generation X” Comic Book Stories!

Best Comics of the 2010’s: 50 – 41

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Welcome to Comic Book Herald’s countdown of the best comic books of the decade! Throughout the remainder of 2019, Dave and John will be picking the best 70 books of the 2010’s, and writing a few thoughts on their picks.

As you’d expect, many of these will come from Comic Book Herald’s 500 best comics of all time, of course editing for those that have been released in the past 10 years. The list will inevitably leave out plenty of very exciting comics, so let us know what would make it onto your list in the comments! [Read more…] about Best Comics of the 2010’s: 50 – 41

Best Comics of the 2010’s: 60 – 51

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Welcome to Comic Book Herald’s countdown of the best comic books of the decade! Throughout the remainder of 2019, Dave and John will be picking the best 70 books of the 2010’s, and writing a few thoughts on their picks.

As you’d expect, many of these will come from Comic Book Herald’s 500 best comics of all time, of course editing for those that have been released in the past 10 years. The list will inevitably leave out plenty of very exciting comics, so let us know what would make it onto your list in the comments! [Read more…] about Best Comics of the 2010’s: 60 – 51

Magic’s a Nasty Game – Best Starting Places for Hellblazer

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About John Constatine

History:

There was a time where every famous wizard was a member of the aristocracy, from Merlin on Arthur’s court to Prospero being an archduke in the Tempest.

Then came Alan Moore, who wanted to throw a brick through the windows of Camelot. Moore created John Constantine in The Saga of Swamp Thing #37 as an act of class warfare. Constantine was a working class magician, a grifter barely getting by in Thatcher’s England.

The Character Himself:

The first and only thing that you need to know about John Constantine is that he is a con man. It is critical that you know that John Constantine will trick you, personally. Worse yet, knowing he’ll do that only makes it easier for him to do so. Hell, he does it to his creative teams.

This makes Constantine hard to do right. People get tangled up in his trademark coat, cockney swagger, and cigarette smoke. Or else they get charmed by his magic, criminality, and sexual promiscuity. But these are just cons, tricking people into playing “Spot the Red Queen,” all the while John’s behind them picking their pockets. Even Brian Azzarello, one of my favorite authors at the time, got his pants pulled down on that title.

This makes him a hard hero to start reading. Which is why we’ve gathered up the perfect places to start, no matter if you’re brand new to the character or an old salt looking start at the beginning.

[Read more…] about Magic’s a Nasty Game – Best Starting Places for Hellblazer

Best Comics of the 2010’s: 70 – 61

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Welcome to Comic Book Herald’s countdown of the best comic books of the decade! Throughout the remainder of 2019, Dave and John will be picking the best 70 books of the 2010’s, and writing a few thoughts on their picks.

As you’d expect, many of these will come from Comic Book Herald’s 500 best comics of all time, of course editing for those that have been released in the past 10 years. The list will inevitably leave out plenty of very exciting comics, so let us know what would make it onto your list in the comments! [Read more…] about Best Comics of the 2010’s: 70 – 61