• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

  • Reading Orders
    • Marvel
    • My Marvelous Year
    • DC Comics
    • All Comic Book Publishers
    • Most Recent
  • Beginner Guides
    • Beginner’s Guide To Comics In 2023
    • Marvel 2023: Where to Start?
    • DC 2023: Where to Start?
    • Best of Lists
    • Tablets for Comics
    • Guides for Digital Readers
  • Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
    • DC Comics
    • Comic Book Movies
    • Comic Book TV
    • Video Games
  • Podcasts & Video
    • My Marvelous Year
    • Best Comics Ever (CBH)
    • CBH on Youtube!
  • About Me
    • My Favorite Comics of All Time
    • Columns
    • CBH Email Newsletter
  • Support Comic Book Herald
    • Ways to support
You are here: Home / The Complete Marvel Reading Order Guide / Guide Part 8 (The Initiative)

Guide Part 8 (The Initiative)

The Initiative Brings Registered Heroes to America

Dave’s Note: There is now a more complete Initiative guide with comics getting you from Civil War to Secret Invasion. Check that out for more comics!

Following the implementation of the Superhuman Registration Act during Civil War, the Marvel Universe proceeds to enter a new non-event era: The Initiative. The Avengers Initiative is less an event than a universe-wide status quo where Superhumans are required to register with the government and Tony Stark is the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Initiative itself is Stark’s grand plan to train and register new heroes in all 50 states. It’s a similar idea as West Coast or Great Lakes Avengers (“Hey, all the heroes are in New York… shouldn’t we maybe we have some out here?”) except applied on a governmental, nation-wide scale. Hooray for government!



As you’d expect, there’s plenty of conflict during this time, including continued resistance from the losing side of the Civil War. You’ll also find that the initiative carries over into World War Hulk before continuing on with the Initiative landscape.

A bit of a change up in guide structure here as I have all the essential story lines from this time period compiled in my Initiative overview. That will give you all the necessary stories to transition from Civil War on to Secret Invasion without missing much of anything. The Initiative link above also includes links to Marvel Unlimited series and Amazon trades for the Initiative.

If you really want to go wild with all the Marvel issues released during this time period, I have a hodge podge list below. Again, personally, I prefer and recommend my essential story lines above, but want to make this available to those true believers out there:

Support For Comic Book Herald:

Comic Book Herald is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a qualifying affiliate commission.

Comic Book Herald’s reading orders and guides are also made possible by reader support on Patreon, and generous reader donations.

Any size contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. Support CBH on Patreon for exclusive rewards, or Donate here! Thank you for reading!

 Essential Initiative Reading Order List

Previously: Civil War reading order

Marvel The Initiative Comic Issues

Fallen Son – The Death of Captain America 1
Fallen Son – The Death of Captain America 2
Fallen Son – The Death of Captain America 3
Fallen Son – The Death of Captain America 4
Fallen Son – The Death of Captain America 5
Fallen Son – Daily Bugle Special
Ms. Marvel 13
Ms. Marvel 14
Moon Knight 11
Moon Knight 12
Omega Flight 1
Omega Flight 2
Omega Flight 3
Omega Flight 4
Omega Flight 5
Moon Knight 13
New Avengers 27
New Avengers 28
New Avengers 29
New Avengers 30
New Avengers 31
Thunderbolts 110
Thunderbolts 111
Thunderbolts 112
Thunderbolts 113
Fantastic Four 544
Fantastic Four 545
Fantastic Four 546
Black Panther 27
Black Panther 28
Black Panther 29
Black Panther 30
Mighty Avengers 1
Mighty Avengers 2
Mighty Avengers 3
Mighty Avengers 4
Mighty Avengers 5
Mighty Avengers 6
Captain America 26
Captain America 27
Captain America 28
Captain America 29
Captain America 30
Black Panther 26
Fantastic Four 550
Marvel Spotlight Captain America
Iron Man 16
Avengers – The Initiative 1
Ms. Marvel 15
Ms. Marvel 16
Ms. Marvel 17
Avengers – The Initiative 2
Avengers – The Initiative 3
Thunderbolts 114
Thunderbolts 115
Fantastic Four 547
Fantastic Four 548
Fantastic Four 549
Avengers – The Initiative 4
Iron Man 17
Iron Man 18
Avengers – The Initiative 5
Avengers – The Initiative 6
Avengers – The Initiative 7
The Punisher – War Journal 6
The Punisher – War Journal 7
The Punisher – War Journal 8
The Punisher – War Journal 9
The Punisher – War Journal 10
The Punisher – War Journal 11
Nova 2
Nova 3
New Warriors 1
New Warriors 2
New Warriors 3
New Warriors 4
New Warriors 5
New Warriors 6
New Warriors 7
New Warriors 8
Sub-Mariner 1
Sub Mariner 2
Sub-Mariner 3
Sub-Mariner 4
Sub-Mariner 5
Sub-Mariner 6
The Order 1
The Order 2
The Order 3
The Order 4
Penance 1
Penance 2
Penance 3
Penance 4
Penance 5

Next: World War Hulk

Heroically Support Comic Book Herald!

If you like Comic Book Herald, and are able to donate, any small contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. Donate here! Or, support CBH on Patreon for exclusive rewards! Or you can even check out the CBH Merch store and get something nice with a small portion benefiting the site! Thank you for reading!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TIMMMYTOM says

    July 18, 2015 at 4:02 pm

    seems you’re missing Iron Man 15 ?

    Reply
    • Dave says

      July 23, 2015 at 5:14 pm

      Totes here

      Reply
  2. Paine says

    July 16, 2015 at 9:53 pm

    New Avengers 26 isn’t listed here or in the Civil War reading order. Seems like one that shouldn’t be skipped…

    Reply
    • Dave says

      July 23, 2015 at 2:36 pm

      Agreed. I include in my essential Initiative reading.

      Reply
  3. JW says

    July 11, 2015 at 6:29 pm

    Dave – first, I wanted to say that this a fantastic site; thank you for taking the time and effort in putting all of this together.

    One question – where would the first few issues of the JMS run of Thor fit into your timeline? Apologies in advance if this has been answered elsewhere.

    Thanks again!

    Reply
    • Dave says

      July 13, 2015 at 1:03 pm

      Glad you like the site!

      Good question – Thor fits into this Initiative timeframe. I’m actually working on an update to this time period that will reflect this (and a bunch of other reads), but for now if you’re post Civil War you can start reading Thor from JMS. Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Matt says

    April 1, 2015 at 4:54 pm

    Hey Dave

    i have marvel unlimited so I’m reading EVERYTHING. You’re reading orders are always my go to for the big events but do you think it’ll screw me up too much if I read everything by release date? If I do that it puts iron man 17 well before ms marvel. Etc

    What’s your opinion?

    Reply
    • Dave says

      April 7, 2015 at 4:52 pm

      Release date is a pretty safe way to go most of the time. It’s not always perfect (hence the guides), but I’d say go for it. It’s like reading the books as they came out in the shop, which is generally fun.

      Reply
  5. gfsdf gfbd says

    February 5, 2015 at 6:00 pm

    I have no idea if this is intentional, but is there a reason why the Fantastic Fours are out of order?

    Reply
    • Vacone says

      May 31, 2015 at 6:49 am

      Ditto

      Reply
    • Lapidoth says

      May 31, 2015 at 9:58 am

      Same with black panther 26.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

The Comic Book Herald Podcast!

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsRSS
My Marvelous Year Podcast and Reading Club 1

Recent Posts

  • Pax Americana and The Infinite Loop Of Imperiums March 25, 2023
  • Fall of X Teasers & Al Ewing’s Sins of Sinister | Comic Book Herald Live! March 24, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 6: Immoral X-Men #2—in Review! March 23, 2023
  • DESTINY OF X | The Krakoan Empire Divided March 22, 2023
  • “Secret Identity” with Alex Segura | CBH Interviews #107 March 21, 2023
  • 2002 Pt. 3: Daredevil & Elektra March 20, 2023
  • Immoral X-Men #2 and Wolverine vs. Dark Beast! | Comic Book Herald Live! March 17, 2023
  • X-Men: The Animated Series Season 2 Rewatch! March 16, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 5: Nightcrawlers #2—in Review! March 15, 2023
  • My Marvelous Interview: Paul Jenkins on Wolverine Origin, Inhumans, Spectacular Spider-Man, & More! March 13, 2023
  • The Dark Knight Trilogy 15 Years Later: Film & Comic Influences! March 11, 2023
  • Sins of Sinister: Nightcrawlers, X-Men #20, New Mutants: Lethal Legion #1 | Comic Book Herald Live! March 10, 2023
  • 2002 Variant A: Ant-Man & Wasp Quantumania TAKEDOWN! March 6, 2023
  • Steve Orlando’s Marauders #1-5—Annotated! March 4, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 4: Immoral X-Men #1 in Review! March 3, 2023

Popular Articles

DC Rebirth Guide

Batman Reading Order

DC New 52 Reading Order

Marvel Ultimate Universe Guide

Civil War Reading Order

Marvel Cosmic Reading Order

The Best Comics of All Time!

Deadpool Reading Order

Justice League Reading Order

Complete Thanos Reading Order

X-Men Reading Guide (Modern Era)

Age of Apocalypse Reading Order

Modern Marvel Universe in 25 Trades

Best Tablet For Digital Comics

Is Marvel Unlimited Worth It?

Footer

New to Comic Book Herald?

Hey there - my name's Dave and this is my comic book blog. It's my way of sharing my borderline obsessive addiction to the comic book medium, and I hope you like some of what's going on here.

Most people that come here are looking for my (WIP) Marvel reading order guide. You can probably also get a sense if CBH is for you by taking a look at some of my columns.

If you like what you see, let's connect on Facebook or Twitter. Or, leave a comment on the blog here, I'm always looking for new awesome people in the comic book community.

More on Comic Book Herald

  • Home
  • About
  • Support CBH
  • My Marvelous Year
  • Join!
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

Recent Posts

  • Pax Americana and The Infinite Loop Of Imperiums
  • Fall of X Teasers & Al Ewing’s Sins of Sinister | Comic Book Herald Live!
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 6: Immoral X-Men #2—in Review!
  • DESTINY OF X | The Krakoan Empire Divided
  • “Secret Identity” with Alex Segura | CBH Interviews #107

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in