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The Sandman’s Death Reading Order: What to read with Death of the Endless?

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The world of Vertigo’s The Sandman has inspired numerous spin-offs, a whole comic book expanded universe with anthologies, one-shots, miniseries, and other specials.

The character of Death is not one of those who were lucky enough to get a comic book ongoing series, unlike Lucifer Morningstar and Dead Boy Detectives, even if she is extremely popular. Despite that, we can still find Death in a few publications outside the main Sandman comics.

If you are not too familiar with the world of Sandman, in it, we met the Endless, the personification of concepts, who all play a specific part in the human world. Dream (or Morpheus) is the king of the Dreaming World, where you go when you sleep. His older sister is Death and she mostly meets with the recently deceased and guides them into their next existence.

Death is the second eldest of Endless and possibly the most powerful being in the Universe. In The Sandman, Death takes the appearance of a young goth woman. She is omnipotence and omnipresence, being with all those who die when they die.

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Spider-Man Sinister War Reading Order

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Before leaving Marvel and The Amazing Spider-Man behind him, Nick Spencer teamed up with Mark Bagley for a new epic Spider-Man event storyline that bring back a lot of Spidey’s enemies.

In fact, as the official synopsis tells it, Doctor Octopus is Back! Ock’s got a new Sinister Six and if you think he’s thought big in the past, think again. What Ock DOESN’T know is that the VULTURE has a sextet of his own: THE SAVAGE SIX! It’s an all-out WAR between two of the greatest villains in the Marvel Universe, and the only person they hate more than each other is SPIDER-MAN!

What to read before Spider-Man Sinister War?

It’s the tradition to start teasing a new event in advance and, in the case of Sinister War, it started with Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #64. Of course, being the last event of the Nick Spencer era, you could go back earlier and read everything, why not? Go to our Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer reading order for more information.

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House of M Reading Order, a Marvel event full of X-Men and Avengers

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After Brian Michael Bendis took over the Avengers (see reading order), the Marvel Universe became a series of events, starting with “Avengers Disassembled.” The second one was “House of M”, a bigger event that changed the X-Men a lot—also, take a look at our X-Men Reading Order for more.

So, The Avengers and the X-Men are faced with a common foe that becomes their greatest threat: Wanda Maximoff!

The unstable Scarlet Witch has rewritten reality—into a world where Magneto is king! In this “House of M,” mutants are Earth’s dominant species, living glamorous lives and reigning over the oppressed Sapien class. But Wolverine, now a member of Magnus’ peacekeeping force S.H.I.E.L.D., remembers how the world used to be. And his quest to find and awaken his former allies in the Avengers and X-Men sparks a revolution that aims to tear down Wanda’s strange new world!

What to read before House of M?

Being a direct follow-up to “Avengers Disassembled,” I recommend the full reading order of this event. In any case, you could read Brian Michael Bendis’s New Avengers, but also Excalibur for a prelude to the event and (more optional) Astonishing X-Men for some background on the X-Men team of the moment.

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Avengers Disassembled Reading Order (aka The beginning of Brian Michael Bendis’s era)

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Avengers Disassembled Reading Order

After Chuck Austen’s run on The Avengers series ended, Brian Michael Bendis took his place and rebooted the series with the “Avengers Disassembled” storyline. This is the start of a new Marvel era full of events. Avengers Disassembled was not supposed to become an event, it was and mostly is a storyline, with tie-ins.

As the official synopsis described it: it begins with the return of a team member thought dead – and by the time it’s over, everything you know about the Avengers will have changed! The event that will rock the entirety of the Marvel Universe starts here!

What to read before Avengers Disassembled?

Being a new entry point, the beginning of Bendis’s run (see the full reading order of The Avengers by Bendis), you can start The Avengers with “Avengers Disassembled,” even if it took the form of a conclusion.

Most of the tie-ins are barely connected to the event, they take place in the continuity of their own series (especially Fantastic Four and Excalibur, at least Spectacular Spider-Man offered a team-up with Cap).

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Batman Knightfall Reading Order

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Batman Knightfall Reading Order

The famous ’90s saga, during the Post-crisis era, the back-breaking introduction of Bane! “Knightfall” is a 1993–1994 story arc. More precisely, it’s a trilogy of storylines: “Knightfall”, “Knightquest”, and “KnightsEnd”. It’s the Batman equivalent of “The Death of Superman” storyline. An event that was destined to change the hero forever (to sell more comics). It’s the fall of Batman, his replacement by Jean-Paul Valley (a.k.a. Azrael) who ended up tarnishing Batman’s reputation, and Bruce Wayne comeback, with some Robin drama in the middle.

This is how the story started: the inmates of Arkham Asylum have broken free and Batman must push himself to the limits to re-apprehend the Joker, Poison Ivy, the Riddler, Killer Croc, and more. Pushed to the limits, he comes face-to-face against the monstrosity known as Bane, who delivers a crippling blow destined to change the Caped Crusader forever!

What to read before Batman Knightfall?

There are two books you can read before Batman Knightfall. The First is Batman: Sword of Azrael, a storyline from Dennis O’Neil, Joe Quesada, and Kevin Nowlan that introduced Azrael, a prominent figure in the crossover. Then, the aptly named Batman: Prelude to Knightfall.

For more information and readings about the two big characters introduced at this time, check out:

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X-Men Reading Order, Part. 5: Marvel NOW, All-New, All-Different Marvel & ResurrXion (2012-2019)

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Our exploration of the ever-expanding world of the X-Men comics is continuing. The following reading guide covers the comic books published between 2012 and 2019, before Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Power of X. This era includes major events like Battle of the Atom, The Trial of Jean Grey, AXIS, The Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier, Death of Wolverine, Inhumans vs. X-Men, the Terrigen Mist Crisis, Apocalypse Wars, Civil War II, Phoenix Resurrection, Hunt for Wolverine, and Extermination.

After the event of the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover event and the relaunch of the Marvel Comics Universe under the banner “Marvel NOW!,” most X-Men titles were either concluded or restructured. Wolverine and the X-Men continued, while All-New X-Men was launched, featuring the original five X-Men—brought to the present day by Beast—who eventually formed a separate team under the leadership of Kitty Pryde. Astonishing X-Men also continued but was later canceled, and in its place, Amazing X-Men was launched, initially focusing on the return of Nightcrawler. Meanwhile, Uncanny X-Men was relaunched with Cyclops leading a faction of mutant revolutionaries.

Then the All-New, All-Different Marvel era introduced a major relaunch for X-Men comics following Secret Wars (2015). This era was defined by the Terrigen Mist crisis, which made Earth inhospitable for mutants, leading to tensions between mutants and Inhumans. Many X-Men went into hiding, while others took a more aggressive stance to protect mutantkind. And finally, the ResurrXion era, a soft relaunch of X-Men comics following Inhumans vs. X-Men, marked the end of the Terrigen Mist crisis and was focused on the mutants rebuilding their future.

This is Part #5 of our tentative to compile a comprehensive X-Men Reading Order using the collected editions–You can find the first part here (The Silver Age & Chris Claremont, 1963-91), the second part here (Age of Apocalypse & Onslaught, 1991-2001), the third part here (From the Grant Morrison era to Civil War), the fourth part that leads us to Avengers Vs. X-Men, and the sixth part here.

This is a massive reading guide, so here is a menu to help you navigate. Some parts are under construction for now. I’ll keep updating this article regularly.

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X-Men Reading Order, Part. 4: The Messiah trilogy, Dark Reign, Schism, Avengers Vs X-Men (2007-2012)

This is Part #4 of our tentative to compile a comprehensive X-Men Reading Order using the collected editions – You can find the first part here (The Silver Age & Chris Claremont, 1963-91), the second part here (Age of Apocalypse & Onslaught, 1991-2001), and the third part here (From the Grant Morrison era to House of M).

In 2007, the “Messiah Complex” storyline redefined the world of the mutants, first with the destruction of the Xavier Institute, then with the disbanding of the X-Men. This time, X-Men was renamed X-Men: Legacy. That said, The X-Men reformed in Uncanny X-Men #500.

More major events follow with “Messiah War”, the new New Mutants volume, “Second Coming”, the new series Young X-Men and Generation Hope, and more. Later, there was  “X-Men: Schism” that led to “Regenesis” and the new main series titled Wolverine and the X-Men.

This is a massive reading guide, so here is a menu to help you navigate. Some parts are under construction for now. I’ll keep updating this article regularly.

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’90s X-Men Reading Order (1991-2001) – Part. 2: Fatal Attractions, Age of Apocalypse, Onslaught, Zero Tolerance, and more

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This is Part #2 of our tentative to compile a comprehensive X-Men Reading Order using the collected editions – You can find the first part here (The Silver Age & Chris Claremont, 1963-91). Now, it’s the ’90s!

A new decade full of events. Yes, it’s when Marvel almost perish under the weight of its commercial ambitions and gave us too many events and series to follow. For the mutants, it was a period of big storylines, some of them became iconic, others are almost forgotten today. But first, there was the launch of a new X-Men series. Xavier and the original X-Men are back. As a result, we got two teams, two books: Storm’s “Gold Team” (in The Uncanny X-Men) and Cyclops’s “Blue Team” (chronicled in X-Men). Also, new spin-offs joined the line-up: X-Force, Generation X, and numerous solo series like Deadpool, Cable, Bishop, X-Man, and Gambit. At one point, Excalibur and X-Factor ended and the latter was replaced with Mutant X.

This is a massive reading guide, so here is a menu to help you navigate. Some parts are under construction for now. I’ll keep updating this article regularly.

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X-Men Hellfire Gala Reading Order (2021), A Marvel Crossover Event

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Less than a year after their last crossover event that concluded the Dawn of X era, the X-Men are preparing for another one. This time, it’s not a war, but a big party: The Hellfire Gala. The guests’ list is impressive, and the twists will be surprising. Here is the official synopsis:

The X-Men are rolling out the red carpet for the biggest Krakoan event of the season—and this high-class hardcover details every drink, dance, dalliance, and deception at the Hellfire Gala! You are cordially invited to join the mutant party to end all mutant parties. Everyone will be there—all of your favorite X-Men, their closest allies … and even their worst enemies.

For Emma Frost and the Hellfire Trading Company, it’s an opportunity to show off the newfound power for both herself and for Krakoa as a nation. The very first elected team of Krakoan X-Men will, at last, be revealed to the world … and that’s just the first of the surprises in store for the evening!

What to read before X-Men Hellfire Gala?

Following the X of Swords crossover (reading order here), a new era in the X-Men by Jonathan Hickman epic started, it’s called Reign of X and you can find the reading guide here.

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Marvel’s Eternals Reading Order

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Making their first appearance in The Eternals #1 (July 1976), The Eternals were created by Jack Kirby. The series was thematically similar to DC’s New Gods that Kirby didn’t finish … like his Eternals’ saga. Other artists used the characters after that, but they never became really that big. Maybe the movie will help change that.

Who are the Eternals? They formed a race of immortal beings possessed with seemingly limitless superhuman abilities. Once worshipped as gods, this fantastic group left Earth to explore the stars after warring with the Greek, Roman and Norse pantheons for supremacy over humankind. One million years ago, the Celestials visited Earth and performed genetic experiments on early proto-humanity.

As a result, they created two divergent races: the Eternals and their enemies, the Deviants. The Eternals have mostly protected the human race, especially during their fights against the Deviants. But some of the Eternals want to conquer the other races… Their history is full of conflicts and power struggles.

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