There are a whole lotta great comics in between Civil War and Secret Invasion, and I’ve highlighted them all for you below. The below timeline includes Tony Stark’s Initiative following Civil War, as well as some universe wide events like Silent War and World War Hulk. All before driving to Secret Invasion!
I’d highlight a handful of comics that made my best 100 stories of the millennium as well. Check out Spider-Man: Back in Black, Thunderbolts, Immortal Iron Fist, Ghost Rider, Nextwave, and Silver Surfer: Requiem for some personal favorites that were published during this era.
Previously: Civil War
Issues: Incredible Hulk #92 to #95, Giant-Size Hulk #1, Incredible Hulk #96 to #105
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Note: Planet Hulk will take you up to World War Hulk, which is an event included below. Additionally, a number of the series below will hit World War Hulk tie-ins in the middle of the run (typically I will note which issues apply). My recommendation is to read until you approach a WWH tie-in, move on to the next series, rinse and repeat until you hit World War Hulk. You can then return and finish the series.
Issues: #15 to #32
Note that issues #19 and #20 are World War Hulk tie-ins.
Civil War: Fallen Son – The Death of Captain America
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #26 to #45
Issues: #1 to #11
Issues: #1 to #13
WWH tie-ins in issue #4 and #5.
Issues: #1 to #10
Matt Fraction writes this Initiative tie-in!
Issues: #539 to #545
Back in Black through “One More Day.”
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Issues: #17 to #24
One More Day tie-in w/ final issue.
Issues: #35 to #41
One More Day tie-in w/ final issue.
Issues: #26 to #37
Issues: #110 to #121
Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato put together one of my favorite Marvel series, and one of the most influential bits of continuity for the next 3 years.
Issues: #4 to #23
Punisher #12 is WWH tie-in.
Issues: #1 to #12
Begins before Civil War, during Wolverine: Enemy of the State
. #10 is WWH tie-in
Issues: #475 to #486
Hey, what’s up with the X-Men? Rise and Fall of the Sh’iar Empire fits reasonably nicely in this time period, although note that you may have already covered those issues during Decimation!
Issues: #1 to #6
Issues: #1 to #6
Warren Ellis! Salvador Larroca!
Issues: #9 to #24
Issues: #13 to #24
Brian K Vaughn and Adrian Alphona Runaways era ends!
Issues: #25 to #30
Joss Whedon Runaways era begins!
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #33 to #43
Issues: #1 to #6
Issues: #16 to #32
Issues: #1 to #6
Issues: #1 to #24
Issues: #6 to #12
Issues: #16 to #24
Issues: #1 to #4
Issues: #33 to #50
Issues: #90 to #100
Issues: #6 to #35
Ghost Rider #12 and #13 are WWH tie-ins. I would say to just go ahead and read the full series once you start Jason Aaron’s run beginning with Ghost Rider #20. If memory serves there is no Secret Invasion crossover.
Issues: Ghost Rider Heaven’s on Fire #1 to #6
Issues: #15 to #30
Issues: #11 to #25
Issues: #50 to #72, Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant Size #1
Takes you through the ultimate Sabertooth showdown, Jason Aaron’s “Man in the Pit” and “Get Mystique” and the alternate reality “Old Man Logan.”
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #10 to #32
Issues #25 to #27 are Messiah CompleX tie-ins.
Issues: #4 to #15
Issues #11 to #15 are WWH tie-ins.
Silent War
Issues: #1 to #6
Mentioned in the Complete Marvel Reading Order main guide, but mentioning again here so it doesn’t get lost.
Issues: #1
World War Hulk
Issues: #113 to #116
Note that if you’re looking at the trades, these Hercules issues are packaged alongside the World War Hulk Incredible Hulk tie-ins. Minorly confusing, I know.
Issues: #1 to #9
Issues: #487 to #491
Takes you right up to Messiah CompleX.
Messiah CompleX
Issues: #200 to #207
Issues #205 to #207 are Messiah CompleX tie-ins. Note that the Messiah CompleX link above will provide the issue by issue event reading order.
Uncanny X-Men: Divided We Stand
Issues: #495 to #499
Issues: #208 to #219
Issues: #1 to #6
Issues: #1 to #11
Issues: #88 to #115
Issues: #1 to #12
You could just as easily read this prior to Civil War, but it occurs to me I haven’t included in the guide yet and this is a top 100 best stories pick with no hesitation.
Issues: #1 to #27
Once you begin, if you enjoy (and this is top 100 best story pick), you can just carry on through to the end.
Issues: #1 to #9
Issues: #544 to #561
Spider-Man: Brand New Day: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
Issues: Amazing Spider-Man #546 to #564
Amazing Spider-Man started shipping, like, daily after “One More Day,” meaning there are a BOATLOAD of issues to read over a relatively shorter publication timeframe.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day: The Complete Collection Vol. 2
Issues: Amazing Spider-Man #565 to #577, Annual (2008) #1
Issues: #26 to #38
Issues: #1 to #5
Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four
Issues: #1 to #4
Issues: #1 to #16
Issues: #1 to #4
Issues: #1 to #13
Issues: #1 to #6
Issues: #1 to #12
Issues: #1 to #15
Nova will inevitably fit better with the Marvel Cosmic reading order.
Annihilation Conquest
Issues: #1 to #3
Pretty quickly swallowed up by Secret Invasion, and definitely fits better with the Marvel Cosmic guide.
Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK’s 11
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #1 to #6
Shanna, The She-Devil: Survival of the Fittest
Issues: #1 to #4
Issues: #1 to #6
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #1 to #10
Issues: #1 to #4
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #1 to #4
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #1 to #8
Issues: #1 to #18
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #1 to #3
Issues: #1 to #6
X-Factor: The Quick and The Dead
Issues: #1
Issues: #1 to #12
Issues: #1 to #7
Issues: #1 to #5
Issues: #1 to #6
Issues: #1 to #5
Next: Secret Invasion
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Note that The Invincible Iron Man is weirdly labeled on Marvel Unlimited. #1-#15 and #17-#28 are under The Invincible Iron Man. Then #16 and #29 – #35 are under Iron Man Director of SHIELD.
the time you said to read x-men was to read xmen 182 – 187 amd that was before civil war, now in this list you say to read xmen 200? very confusing and messes up the timeline with cable deadpool as it says to continue in xmen 198. Unsure when we are supposed to read this. This guide is very messy compared to other ones previously made
Yeah I feel like especially with the X-Men stuff there is way too much jumping back and forward, it gets really hard to Track
hey man! thanks for ruining the already infuriating one more day storyline by telling to read it in the wrong order!
why not just tell us to read the back in black tie-ins then one more day in order
I just finished Civil War and i have a question about my future plans which to read.
I tend to have a bad feeling leaving something out but actually i am quite happy to just read the Marvel Unlimited Event Guides with the reading order of yours.
So i finished Civil war next up for me:
Marvel Cosmic with Annihilation etc., basically all that you covered in your marvel cosmic guide until Annihilators Earthfall
After this i am confused:
Civil War is considered Number 7 but there is no Number 8 (i think this thread is number 8 so far, just without number)
But your next link when i finish this guide is to go to secret invasion, which is number 11. WWH and Aftersmash are 9 and 10. So is this before WWH or in between Aftersmash and Secret Invasion?
Also this is a pretty huge guide and i would really like to go to secret invasion as fast as possible, so are there alot of important issues or can i go for the ones i like without missing anything important? I would read things from avengers and their solo characters like Iron Man, also ghost rider and xmen comics but i would definetly skip some things from that list.
Btw i would you say i could just read the whole Planet Hulk and WWH with its tie ins before all of this and then go into the other stories? Otherwise i think this might overwhelm my mind 😀
How does one go back and forth between earth and cosmic? I went Civil War to Initialive leading up to WW Hulk and stopped there. Went back and read Planet Hulk and WW Hulk. Now I started on Annihilation. Do I go thru with Annihilation Conquest to do I stop and head back to Initiative??? Just trying to keep the timeline together but it’s overwhelming for the first time since I started with Rebirth of Thanos\Infinity Gauntlet…
New Avengers should probably be read in and amongst the Back in Black Spider-Man arc, but at least noy after One More Day because…
*****SPOILER*****
*****SPOILER*****
Spider-Man mentions his wife in New Avengers.
Is it possible some of these arcs aren’t in 616?
Just in the last week or two I’ve read Captain America: The Chosen, Omega: The Unknown, and Marvel Zombies 2, and I’m fairly sure none of these square with 616 continuity. I wonder if there are others on the list that are slipping in.
Is there any reason Thunderbolts 106-109 weren’t included in this guide? They take place after the Civil War tie-ins, but is there a better time to read them? Or is it just a mistake? Either way, keep up the good work!
Hey Dave,
Love the list so far, but I’d just like to point out that Mighty Avengers #7 is a secret invasion tie-in, even though the list says to read 1-11. I’ll come back to rest of the series after SI, but you might want to edit the guide.
Never mind, that’s just part of the infiltration. Ignore my previous comment
Dave. Just got to Amazing Spidergirl in the marvel reading guide. Is this series relevant at all to continuity or completely a “what if?” series? Love your guide…..Zeb
It’s definitely MC2 instead of the main universe (982 as opposed to 616 continuity), so I think I’m just gonna skip it. If she shows up in a later event I can come back to it.
I think Dave probably just really likes the run or something similar.
Hi, it looks like X-Men #188-199 aren’t in any of these reading lists (Comics getting you from House of M to Civil War has up to #187, and this list starts at #200 in Messiah CompleX).
Was that intentional? Looks like Bachalo art, which I love. And it would have been good background for the Cable & Deadpool where Cable shows back up with a team of X-Men, seemingly in the middle of an adventure (which the issue concludes by stating will finish in X-Men #199).
I would consider moving Thor up the list to be in front of the Hulk Run post WWH. Since this will explain how Thor is back before he shows up in Hulk.
So I was so confused with starting marvel (still am), so confused that I started reading DC (new 52). What’s the best place to start win marvel? I can’t read through all of your order, like from the start, is this a good starting place? I read civil war with tie ins from your list, now I’m thinking of continuing from here, is it good? Is avengers vs X men a good place to start? I start from there and keep reading? What’s the best place? I also want to know as much about characters as possible, but I can’t read a lot. So, where do I start? DC has new 52, what about marvel? I JUST WANT TO START 😛
Also, Dave. Man, I love your posts, keep up the good work!
Your best options are to start at the first reading list for marvel he has which starts just before the Marvel Knights era (1998-2000).
I think this section is a great place to start as well if you are familiar with the major events that occurred during civil war.
I’m pretty sure Old Man Logan doesn’t conclude in the pages of Wolverine, but instead in the “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” or “Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-size”. IIRC they kept slipping the release of Old Man Logan’s conclusion so Marvel continued with Wolverine #73. A few months later (or what felt like an eternity to my buddy and I back then) The special finally concluded the story.
I just wanted to start off by saying that i LOVE this reading order you’ve put together. I’ve been going through it for at least 6 months now. I don’t read everything. I pick and choose based on what characters i enjoy.
So take this as a very small criticism. This section of the list is the first time i’ve had a problem figuring out what to read next. It’s hard to figure out when to read some of the side stories. Like War of Kings. I only see that referenced in the Cosmic Reading order. Should that be read before Secret Invasion?
And with the Hulk series after WWH, In the world war hulk listing you have AfterSmash but you don’t see it anywhere else. On the After Smash list you have Hulk 1-6 but you don’t show issues 7-9 that are referenced on the Main list.
I’m not sure if any of this needs to be fixed. I just found it really confusing. Thank you for taking the time to put a list like this together!
I don’t really trust Marvel Unlimited. They’ve had a lot of problems putting issues in the correct reading order.
Quick note – She-Hulk #10-18 should come before Avengers: The Initiative #3 (probably just before 1-3). Events in She-Hulk #18 are referenced in Avengers: The Initiative #3.
Forgive me if I’m being stupid but in xmen #200-207 description you state that the messiah complex link above leads to the complete reading order however when I follow it links to the trade paperback on Amazon. Is the reading order just the description on that or is this a mistake?
You’re right, that’s just a mix up on my part! I’ve edited the link above, but this will have the reading order I’m referring to: https://www.comicbookherald.com/herald-guided-tour-x-men-messiah-complex/
Hi, awesome guide as per usual.
But I have a small correction, a couple of the very last Wolverine: Origins issues that are listed fairly high on the list cross over with some other X-titles that are posted after Messiah CompleX. It’s the “Original Sin”-story (not the later event).
Just to clarify further, Wolverine Origins 29 is actually part 3 of a 2008 mini-event called Original Sin. 28 is the proglogue, X-Men: Origin is the first part. X-Men Legacy #217 is part 2, abovementioned Origins 29 is 3, Legacy 228 is 4, and Origins 30 is the conclusion.
Just curious as to what’s happening with the Spider-Man titles here. They are out of order concerning the One More Day storyline. Isn’t it The Amazing Spider-Man #544, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24, The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #41, and then Amazing Spider-Man #545? Here you have ASM #545 be read before any of the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man issues. Just curious.
Excalibur/Exiles note. A mini series called “X-Men: Die By The Sword” fits nicely just after Excalibur but between issue 99 and 100 of Exiles or 100 won’t make sense 🙂
I’ve been enjoying the big list so much, in large part due to how it follows continuity. Is there any reason this section doesn’t? For example, you have us reading Mighty Avengers through to #11, even though the reveal of Elektra-Skrull happens in New Avengers, and that series only is listed several titles below after going through The Order, The Initiative, and the bulk of Spider-Man continuity for this time period, which really takes the reader out of the Secret War: Infiltration mindframe
Yeah most of these arcs stand-alone, but Mighty Avengers / New Avengers cross over a bit. New Avengers also happens before One More Day in the Spider-man continuity.
I found going NA 26-32, MA 1-11, NA 33-37 + Annual works fairly well, where MA is in the current list.
Been following your guides religiously for a year now, and have thoroughly enjoyed them! I just finished NewUniversal, and was disappointed that it appears to end after issue 6. Am i missing something, or did the series get cancelled and not attempt to close out the arc? Anyway, thanks a ton for these guides, takes some stress out of trying to figure out what to read!
Yeah, unfortunately went on hiatus after issue #6. There was a “shockfront ‘continuation in 2008, but to my knowledge that’s uncollected.
For the first time I’m very very confused. I’ve been reading the list religiously for 18months and have just started this portion. Just ready to start iron man #19 to find out it’s a world war hulk issue. I haven’t even read PLANET hulk yet? Can you tell me where that fits in the guide Dave. I’ve completely missed it and I’ve been proud of following you to the letter. Last Incredible Hulk issue I read was #91
Good points! I’ve added Planet Hulk at the top of this list with a note. I thought I had included Planet Hulk earlier, but I guess I just mentioned it and said to wait until now.