The 1970s were hot on horror and supernatural comics. Marvel was no exception with Tomb of Dracula and Ghost Rider putting up respectable numbers. This lead to Stan Lee making the buck-wild suggestion that Marvel should do a comic about Satan himself. Editor Roy Thomas decided “baby steps” and pitched doing Satan’s son instead. And thus was born Daimon Hellstrom, “The Son of Satan,” who was demonic enough to appear in Ghost Rider, but man-in-tights enough to be in Marvel 2-in-1 adventures. [Read more…] about Son of Satan (Daimon Hellstrom) Reading Order!
Marvel Characters
Carnage Reading Order
Carnage is pure 90’s comics meets Spider-Man, the byproduct of the ever popular Venom symbiote leaking into a serial killer’s open wound. Carnage, aka Kletus Casaday, is one of the bloodiest and most horrifying villains in Spidey’s rogue’s gallery, encompassing the dark history of serial killers inside one superpowered weaponized body.
Although both Carnage and the mega-crossover Maximum Carnage exude 90’s aesthetics (see: blood red symbiote violence oozing across the edges of every panel), the character has a variety of renewals throughout the 2000’s, from his time taking over small-town America in Carnage U.S.A. to 2019’s event, Absolute Carnage.
Spider-Man 2099 Reading Order
My introduction to Miguel O’Hara actually came via the excellent (and Spider-Verse predecessor) Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Classic Captain America Reading Order (1940’s to 2000)
Although I’m sure Namor takes great offense to this claim (and I can hear Jim Hammond’s fan shouting at me from an undisclosed location), Captain America is easily the most relevant character from Marvel’s Golden Age, debuting in the early part of the 1940’s. Very few Marvel characters can claim the lengthy history of Steve Rogers, meaning his full comics chronology is more on par with Superman or Batman than anyone in the Marvel canon. [Read more…] about Classic Captain America Reading Order (1940’s to 2000)
Shang-Chi (Master of Kung Fu) Reading Order!
Shang-Chi is an unlikely Marvel success story, born from an unholy alliance of 1970’s Kung Fu craze and Marvel’s fallback plans to utilize the public domain character Fu Manchu. The end result is a surprisingly contemplative action showcase, where Shang-Chi, the son of Fu Manchu, goes on a journey to become a heroic master of martial arts. [Read more…] about Shang-Chi (Master of Kung Fu) Reading Order!