DC’s “Infinite Frontier” begins in 2021, hot on the heels of the “flash forward” stories of the two-month long “Future State.” Here you’ll find a complete reading order and checklist for the relevant DC Comics as they’re released!
Previously: Future State and Endless Winter
By: Nathan Payson
Road to Infinite Frontier:
Infinite Frontier is fairly straightforward to start, but there are a couple of things to read that will make your experience easier. Specifically, the Batman family begins with James Tynion IV run which continues straight into Infinite Frontier. While you can definitely jump into Infinite Frontier without any context, I strongly recommend reading the following books to get ready.
Road to Infinite Frontier: Batman
Batman: Infinite Frontier is the expansion of the bold ideas that Tynion IV that Tynion established in his Batman including new heroes, and villains. His run is coming off an 85 issue run on Batman by Tom King where King focused on two things: the romantic relationship between Batman and Catwoman, and the masterplan of Bane. At the end of his run, Bane basically left Gotham in near collapse and desperately in need of repair. Bruce, obviously, decides to help rebuild it in his image, and chaos breaks loose. First off, you should read Tynion’s opening arc.
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Collects: Batman #86-94
Dark Design leads into DC’s Joker War which is the final big event for the Batman family in Rebirth. You can check out CBH’s Joker War reading order here, but if you want the fast track, make sure to read these three essential books:
Collects: Batman #95-100
Detective Comics #1027: Story “The Black Casebook”
And the Joker War story in Catwoman #25 (The First One)
Following Joker War, most of the bat books are concluding plot threads from before Joker War, but there are three stories you should make sure to read.
Collects: Batman #101-105, a story from Detective Comics #1027 (probably “The Black Casebook”), and Batman Annual #5
Detective Comics: Joker War Aftermath
Collects: Detective Comics #1028-1033
Punchline #1 is a must read to enjoy the back-issue of the Joker series, and it’s surprisingly super fun.
Road to Infinite Frontier: Justice League
The Justice League Family has two very important books to read going into Future State.
First, you should check out Endless Winter Reading Order. Though the crossover isn’t a must read, it does provide a bunch of really cool teases for Infinite Frontier including the establishment of the Teen Titans academy and the increasing importance between Black Adam and Hypolyta.
Secondly, you should read Dark Knights: Death Metal. Death Metal is the big event that concludes DC Rebirth. It’s ending directly leads into Infinite Frontier #0 and is essential to understanding ideas like the omniverse and the current origins of the DC Universe. You can read all of Dark Knights: Death Metal #1-7 and you should be all set to go, or if you want you can read the entire event with Comic Book Herald’s Death Metal Reading Order.
Road to Infinite Frontier: Future State
Following Death Metal, the future is full of infinite possibilities. To explore the possible future of DC, multiple creators wrote books and back-issues with a possible future of their run. These stories take place anywhere from 3 to 1000000 years in the future, and reveal the dangers of enemies like the Magistrate and Merlin, and introduce us to new heroes like Yara Flor. You can check out the Comic Book Herald Reading Order here.
Infinite Frontier Part 1:
This book kicks off the era with an incredibly important set of stories that define the universe’s direction for the next couple of years. It includes important teases for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the upcoming Infinite Frontier Event and More.
Batman Family Part 1:
Follow the Jokers newest attacks the Batman family is forced to react. With Gotham full of new threats and allies, the Batman Family begins a new era. The Batman Family is trying to create a very connected line of books. Events in Catwoman will inform your reading of Harley Quinn, while the back-issue of a Batman book may spin-off into another series like Robin.
Batman Vol. 4: The Cowardly Lot Part 1
Collects: Infinite Frontier #0, Batman #106-111, and the Ghostmaker Back-issues from #107-111
Collects: Detective Comics #1034-1042 and the Huntress back issues
Collects: Joker #1-6 and the Punchline Back-Issues in those issues
Collects: Parts of Batman: Urban Legends #1-6 (But see below for specific contents)
Red Hood: Cheer in Batman: Urban Legends #1-6
Grifter: The Long Con in Batman: Urban Legends #1-5
In series, but has no trade info yet:
- The Outsiders: The Caretaker in Batman: Urban Legends #1-3,
- Harley Quinn: New Roots in Batman Urban Legends #1
- Oracle: Batman: Urban Legends #2
- Lady Shiva: Batman: Urban Legends #3
- Tim Drake: Batman: Urban Legends #4-6
- Luke Fox: Batman: Urban Legends #4
- Batgirls: Batman Urban Legends #5
- Zealot: Batman Urban Legends #6
Nightwing Vol. 1: Stepping into the Light
Collects: Nightwing #78-83
DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1
Catwoman Vol.4: Come Home Alley Cat
Collects: Catwoman #14-15, and #22-29
There is no way to really get into Infinite Frontier: Catwoman without reading Catwoman #25-28. While it is possible to start at 29, 29 assumes you’ve read #25-28. Don’t worry about the rest of the issues in that volume. Just read Catwoman #25-28. Catwoman #28 also sets up a plot point for Harley Quinn’s Batman: Urban Legends story, so it’s good to read too.
Catwoman Vol. 5: Shadow of the Valley of Death
Collects: Catwoman #29-33, Catwoman 2021 Annual #1
Harley Quinn Vol. 1: No Good Deed
Collects: Harley Quinn in Batman: Urban Legends #1 and Harley Quinn #1-6, Harley Quinn Annual 2021 #1
Collects: The Prelude (“Demon or Detective”) in Batman #106 then Detective Comics #1034, and then Robin #1-8.
The Next Batman: Second Son
Collects: The Next Batman: The Second Son #1-4
Digitally this collection is the shortened issues 1-12
Read: Batman: Secret Files: Signal #1, Batman: Secret Files: Oracle #1, Batman: Secret Files: Clownhunter #1,
Out of Continuity Batman Stories:
Read: Batman: The Detective #1-6
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
Read: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1-6
Read: Batman/Catwoman #1-12 and Batman/Catwoman Special #1
Collects: Batman/Fortnite Zero Point #1-6
Batman: The Adventure Continues Season 2
Collects: Batman: The Adventures Continues #1-7
Superman Family Part 1:
Collects: Superman #29, Action Comics #1029, and Superman #30-32
Back-Issue: Tales of Metropolis in Superman #29-32
Action Comics Vol. 1: War World Rising
Collects: Action Comics #1030-1033 and the Midnighter Back issue in Action Comics #1029-1035.
Midnighter 2021 Annual #1
Read: Superman and the Authority #1-4
Superman: Son of Kal-El Vol.1
Read: Superman: Son of Kal-El #1-3
Read: Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow #1-8
Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom
Read: Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom #1-6
Out of Continuity Superman Stories:
Collects: Superman #1-6
Wonder Woman Family Part 1:
Everyone on Earth thinks Diana is dead and is grieving her death, meanwhile, Diana is taking on a mysterious new role.
Wonder Woman Vol 1: Afterworlds
Collects: Wonder Woman #770-779 and The Young Diana back-issues from those books.
Read: Wonder Girl #1-5
Out of Continuity Wonder Woman Stories:
Collects: Sensation Wonder Woman #1-12
Read: Wonder Woman: Black and Gold #1-6
Justice League Family Part 1:
The Justice League books are shifting dramatically after the Snyder era. Each team is trying to mess with unique compositions and every single title has new characters. Suicide Squad is trying to level up it’s strength while the original Teen Titans have created a school to train new heroes.
Read: Justice League #59-63 and the Justice League Dark back-issue: Justice League #59-63
The Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Becoming
Collects: Swamp Thing #1-4 and Future State: Swamp Thing #1-2
Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Give Peace a Chance Part 1
Collects: Future State: Suicide Squad #1-2 and Suicide Squad #1-2
Note: Trade collects: #1-6 of Suicide Squad but there is a crossover in the middle of the book
Teen Titans Academy Vol. 1: X Marks His Spot Part 1
Collects: Teen Titans Academy #1-2
Note: Same as Suicide Squad Vol. 1
Teen Titans Academy/Suicide Squad Crossover
Read: Suicide Squad #3, Teen Titans Academy #3, Suicide Squad #4
Note: Issues are likely in the trade separately for each series
Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Give Peace a Chance Part 2
Collects: Suicide Squad #5-6
Suicide Squad Annual 2021 #1
The Swamp Thing Vol. 2 Part 1
Read: Swamp Thing #5-6
Suicide Squad/Swamp Thing Crossover
Read: The Suicide Squad #6 and The Swamp Thing #7
The Swamp Thing Vol. 2 Part 2
Read: The Swamp Thing #8–10
Teen Titans Academy Vol. 1: X Marks His Spot Part 2
Collects: Teen Titans Academy #4-5
Teen Titans Academy 2021 Yearbook #1
Shazam
Read: Shazam #1-4
Read: Lobo and Crush #1-8
Collect: Flash #768-771 and Flash 2021 Annual #1
Batman/Superman: The Archive of Worlds
Collects: Batman/Superman #16-21 and Batman/Superman 2021 Annual #1
Stargirl: Spring Break Special #1
Green Lantern Vol. 1: Invictus
Collects: Green Lantern #1-4 and Future State: Green Lantern #1-2
Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-Page Spectacular #1
Collects: Crime Syndicate #1-6 which includes the back-issues
Out of Continuity Justice League Stories:
Read: Justice League #1-6
Collects: Truth and Justice #1-7
Infinite Frontier Part 2:
The next phase of Infinite Frontier focuses on the Infinite Frontier event. Though the event is smaller in number of titles, its impact is still very large.
Collects: Infinite Frontier #0, Infinite Frontier: Secret Files #1, and Infinite Frontier #1-6
Batman Family Part 2:
The Scarecrow makes his move as Fear State begins.
Prelude to Fear State:
Batman FCBD #1
Catwoman #34
Harley Quinn #6
I am Batman #0
Fear State:
Batman: Fear State: Alpha #1
Read: Batman #112-113
I am Batman Vol. 1: Fear State
Read: I am Batman #1
Batman Secret Files: Miracle Molly #1
Catwoman Vol. 6: Fear State
Read Catwoman #35
Nightwing Vol. 2: Fear State
Read Nightwing #84
Detective Comics Vol. 2: Fear State
Read Detective Comics #1043
Harley Quinn Vol. 2: Fear State
Read Harley Quinn #7
The Joker Vol. 2
Read: Joker #7
Justice League Family Part 2:
Read: Checkmate #1-6
Read: Justice League #64-68
Note: Spins off into Deathstroke Inc! And the Aquaman Special #1
Deathstroke Inc. Vol. 1
Read: Deathstroke Inc. #1
Aquaman 80th Anniversary Special #1
Note: Spins off into Aquaman: The Becoming and Black Manta
Aquaman: The Becoming
Read: Aquaman: The Becoming #1-6
Black Manta
Read: Black Manta #1-6
Suicide Squad Vol. 2
Read: Suicide Squad #7
FCBD Suicide Squad: King Shark #1
Suicide Squad: King Shark
Read: Suicide Squad: King Shark #1-6
Green Lantern Vol. 2
Read: Green Lantern Annual 2021 #1, Green Lantern #5-6
Teen Titans Academy Vol. 2
Read: Teen Titans #7
Flash Vol. 2
Read: Flash #772-774
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Does anyone know if the house of Kents came out and if not do you know the date exactly? I’ve looked up bubt all of them have different dates so I’m not sure.
I assume that you are referring to the last volume of Bendis’s Action Comics run. My understanding is that that book is coming out September 22nd
Hey, I have the unholy mixture of Autism and Depression, so my interests in things like comics tend to wax and wane, and I’ve recently been getting back into DC Comics, but, as usual, I now find myself wondering what is NEEDED to read for me so I can get a hold on the necessary basics for understanding stories. I have read basically just The Batman Who Laughs and the Event Leviathan and Witching Hour series (no tie ins except JLD, since I love magic stories, but I’ve still only finished volumes 1 and 2 of that), and a few bits of Rebirth and Sandman Universe stuff here and there that interested me. Bless DC, I love them, but this event and crossover stuff makes choosing what to read really confusing because I don’t want to go into a series only to discover that I need to read some other single issue of a comic with a character I don’t care about starring in it in order to understand what’s going on. Could I get a reading list of stories that will give me enough information to basically pick up any series and not be confused, because if so, that would be amazing! Thanks!
Actually, you’re looking at it. Infinite Frontier is DC’s latest brand-wide jumping on point. Start at the beginning of this article, read what’s suggested and you’re up on modern DC. If you want to go back a little further then you can start at the DC Rebirth Reading Order.
Infinite Frontier is a great starting point. I would say the only thing you really need to know if what happened in Tynion’s run of Batman (#86-100). Otherwise, knowing that Diana “died” to connect the universe together at the end of Death Metal #7 should be good.
So I think
Batman Vol. 1: Their Dark Designs
(Just know Bane just tried to level Gotham)
Batman Vol. 2: Joker War
Batman Vol. 3: Ghostmaker
Death Metal: #1-7
(Just know the batman who Laughs took over the earth)
Detective Comics Vol. 6: Road to Ruin
(Just know Damian is on bad terms with Batman)
Future State: Dark Detective #1-4
(Just so you can know the basics of the magistrate)
Otherwise Infinite Frontier is a stellar place to start. It’s very continutity-lite and is full of new ideas that make it very accessible.
Thanks to the both of you so much!
Actually, is there any way someone can explain the transition from Batman Rebirth to Batman Infinite Frontier? Does the order go Tom King’s Rebirth, James Tynion’s Rebirth, Death Metal, Future State: The Next Batman, then Infinite Frontier. Any replies I would appreciate. Thank you!
Yes. Sio by Time line it’s Tom King Batman –> James Tynion Batman (up to the end of Ghost makers)–> Infinite Frontier Batman –> Future State
However, Future State is intended to be read in between Ghostmakers and Infinite Frontier Batman.
Mild Spoilers below
Tom King’s Batman focuses on the rise and fall of Bat/Cat and the masterplan of Bane. At the end of his run #85, Gotham is left torn apart and Bruce plans to rebuild. Tynion begins a couple months later now that Gotham is rebuilt with a Wayne centric design. However Joker comes and causes chaos resulting in Detective Nakano deciding to run on an Anti-mask policy for Mayor of Gotham. He wins in Detective Comics #1033 (I think), and promises a new future for Gotham. This is the end of ghost makers (Batman #105 as well). Then we flash forward to Future State and see how Nakano’s mayorship changes Gotham. Now the Magistrate is in control. We don’t know how, we just know it happens. Now we got back to Infinite Frontier and continue the story where the magistrate is jut being conceived of as an idea. The readers now understand the threat of the Magistrate on the future, even if the heroes don’t. Timeline wise Future State hasn’t happened in Infinite Frontier, but as readers we’ve seen basically a flash forward.
Looking at the Next Batman stuff specifically, Jace (formerly Tim) Fox’s story begins with Future State: The Next Batman where we learn that he is the next Batman through the flash forward before we begin with his origins in the currently releasing Next Batman: Second Son Digital-first mini-series. Chapter 8 of that came out today, but if you want to read physically, it is releasing in single issues right now with issue 1 coming out early this month.
Hey man, sorry I haven’t gotten back in a while. But, thank you so much for explaining all this for me. Batman has been a hobby of mine for a long time and I’ve really been wanting to understand the current storyline. So, once again thanks man, this really clears things up.
Don’t worry about it!!!
Actually future state is a future that could happen but might not happen depending if certain characters can change them
Thanks a lot! Really helped me understand better!
Thanks so much for the kind words!!
Awesome! Thanks for this!
awesome, thank you. love comicbook herald