Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

Comic Book Herald Reading Orders

Click the following link if you're looking for the CBH Marvel Reading Order. Otherwise, enjoy a smattering of comic book reading orders below!

Who Watched the Watchmen? Watchmen and The Darkness Within

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There is a great lie about Watchmen.

They repeat the lie over and over again, pretending it says a lot, when it says very little. It is not a lie of malice, but a lie of ignorance. It is a lie predicated on omission of truth. It is a lie that only emerges when one understands history. It is a meaningless statement presented as meaningful to those who don’t know better.

It is the first lie of American comics that every new reader is confronted with, when surveying the scene of the superhero.

And it is a lie that holds, despite everything else.

The lie is this: [Read more…] about Who Watched the Watchmen? Watchmen and The Darkness Within

Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur Reading Order Guide!

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I always wondered which characters or stories would pull my own kids into the world of Marvel Comics. The animated Spidey, Miles and Ghost-Spider show got the ball rolling, but it was really the first time my son saw Devil Dinosaur in Marvel Snap! that suddenly the floodgates opened. Not surprising because guess what: Kids love dinosaurs.

In recent years, after decades of obscurity, Devil Dinosaur has had a renaissance, paired with Lunella Lafayette aka Moon Girl for one of Marvel’s most young-readers friendly comics, alongside the likes of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl or The Unstoppable Wasp. Nonetheless, only one of these books has a giant red T-Rex, so naturally there can be only one winner. [Read more…] about Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur Reading Order Guide!

Spawn Reading Order!

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Absolutely nobody oozes 1990s cool like Spawn and the artistic vision of Todd McFarlane. Sure, Al Simmons is “What if Venom but… Chains?” and I’m here to confirm it works. Spawn marked McFarlane’s flagship comic launch after leaving Marvel Comics and co-founding Image Comics in 1992, and the franchise has been incredibly successful, if wildly variant in quality. [Read more…] about Spawn Reading Order!

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.

[Read more…] about Tatsuki Fujimoto Manga Reading Guide!

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.

[Read more…] about Static Shock Reading Order!