A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans
Click the following link if you're looking for the CBH Marvel Reading Order. Otherwise, enjoy a smattering of comic book reading orders below!
One of my absolute favorite Arrested Development gags comes from that master of sleuthery, Gene Parmesean. His ability to sneak into nearly any scene (to the delighted terror of Lucille) tickles me every time. Just when you forget about good ol’ Gene, there he is again, ready and waiting.
The Skrulls are the Gene Parmesean of the Marvel Universe, but significantly less jovial. [Read more…] about Skrulls Reading Order: Essential Skrull Comics!
Neil Gaiman’s work writing Sandman (co-created by Mike Dringenberg and Sam Keith) is a towering achievement in comics, defining the 90’s Vertigo aesthetic and welcoming in a new generation of readers. The first issue was published in early 1989, and the series ran for 75 issues (plus a handful of specials and short stories) until 1996.
While the initial recommendations are easy – Sandman is my *second* favorite comic book series of all time, and the first 10 volumes of collected editions are absolutely the best starting place – once you get past the core series, there’s a whole Sandman Universe that is significantly more challenging to follow. [Read more…] about Sandman Universe Reading Order!
Since his creation in 2001, Robert “Glob” Herman has become an unlikely fan-favorite member of the young mutants debuting throughout the 2000’s. Created as part of Grant Morrison’s time writing New X-Men (with art by Ethan Van Sciver), Glob even has the cinematic credit of a cameo in X-Men: The Last Stand to his name. [Read more…] about Glob Herman (X-Men) Reading Order!
Starting around Marvel’s 2015 Secret Wars, I started thinking more about the concept of creative visions creating their own shared universe tapestry within Marvel or DC Comics. This came on the heels of what I viewed as the cohesive-yet-separate visions of a Hickman-verse, Remender-verse, and Bendis-verse within the broader boundaries of Marvel.
Of course, the grandaddy of all modern creative visions is Grant Morrison’s now thirty-plus year writings across the DC Universe. The Morrison-verse is genuinely captivating entirely on its own terms, without reading much DC in between (not that that’s a *bad* idea!). [Read more…] about Grant Morrison DC Comics Reading Order!
There’s an intriguing dissonance between the simplicity of Swamp Thing’s creation (big ol’ fun bronze age horror monster created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson) and the character’s influence on the entire superhero comics medium. In many ways The Saga of the Swamp Thing is the godfather of the mature readers targeting Vertigo movement that swept the late 80’s and 90’s, perhaps unsurprising when you consider Watchmen