Created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben in 1984 in The Saga of Swamp Thing series, John Constantine is a working-class occult detective and con man from London. He is the antihero of the DC universe. Not loved by many, he still joined teams and help save the world, the universe, and reality.
Zero Year is a yearlong crossover event published between June 2013 and July 2014 and written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV.
This story takes us back six years in the past and redefines the origin of Batman in The New 52 version of the DC Universe (go to The Batman New 52 Reading Order for more details).
Everything begins with Bruce Wayne’s return to Gotham City. He starts fighting the Red Hood gang. Those events will lead to the birth of the Batman and to a flood in Gotham that will leave him for dead. When he comes back, he has to free the city that has fallen and is now under the control of one of his worst enemies.
What to read before Batman: Zero Year?
Zero Year is a prequel storyline that was published after the Death of the Family storyline (go to Death of the Family Reading Order for more). The story takes place a few years before The Court of Owls.
You can read it here or at another moment before. Some people recommend reading it before The Court of Owls, but I think that being familiar with the style and direction of Snyder’s Batman is better to appreciate this story.
With New 52, a new era began in the DC Universe (and we have a full reading order of this era). For some heroes, it was a complete reboot. For others, it was not totally the case, like with the famous dark knight. When Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo took over creative duties on Batman’s main series, they didn’t start over from scratch, picking up in a way where the post-crisis era ended. Yet, they offered Bruce Wayne a revised backstory as they built a new mythology around Gotham City.
Snyder and Capullo were not the only authors working on Batman. In fact, there are multiple series: Batman, Detective Comics, Batman Incorporated by Grant Morrison, Batman and Robin by Tomasi and Gleason, Batman Eternal and Batman & Robin Eternal, and Batman: The Dark Knight.
What to read before Batman New 52?
The DC Universe rebooted as the New 52 after the Flashpoint event. Therefore, you could take a look at it before reading anything else. Also, even if New 52 was a new entry point, Batman’s story was not fully rebooted and a few stories began before Flashpoint. You’ll need to take a look at Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated volume 1 before jumping into volume 2 and Batman and Robin by Tomasi, but also at Batman: Gates of Gotham written by Scott Snyder that leads into his run. Also, if you want more, take a look at our Batman: The Modern Age reading order.
The main event of 2019 in the Marvel Universe, The War of the Realms was written by Jason Aaron (with art by Russell Dauterman) who was, at that time, also the writer of the main Thor series. It was the culmination of his run, the conclusion of a story arc he started a long time ago.
For some time now, the Dark Elf known as Malekith the Accursed has been conquering the Ten Realms one by one until there is only one left: Midgard (Earth!). Thor lost his precious Mjolnir, but he’s still fighting to prevent the war. With a lot of Asgardian warriors and Earth’s heroes, they must now fight against a full-on invasion and defeat Malekith.
What to read before The War of the Realms?
Being a Thor Event, The War of the Realms story began in the Thor series. Jason Aaron wrote organically the progression of Malekith the Accursed’s plan into his series from The Goddess of Thunder storyline to the crossover – see the full reading order of his run. That said, you’ll only need to read the last relaunch of the series, Thor #1–11.
It’s optional, but Avengers by Jason Aaron Vol. 2: World Tour is a good introduction to the last iteration of the Avengers team (and the Agents of Wakanda) at the center of The War of the Realms event.
Also, the easiest way to read the essential issues before immersing yourself in The War of the Realms event is a book Marvel published called War of the Realms Prelude.
War of the Realms Prelude
Collects Thor (1966) #344; Thor: God of Thunder #13, 17; Mighty Thor (2015) #1-2, 13-14, 22 and material from Thor: God of Thunder #25; Mighty Thor (2015) #4, 700; Mighty Thor: At the Gates of Valhalla.
Introduced during the first Secret Wars event in the “80s, this alien symbiote was Spider-man’s black costume for a short period of time. When Reed Richards realized it was more than a piece of intelligent fabric, he helped Spidey to get rid of it. Following its rejection, the alien symbiote tried to get back to Peter Parker, but ended up bounding with Eddie Brock. This reporter for the Daily Globe wrote a story exposing the identity of the Sin-Eater but Spider-Man revealed it was not the truth and Eddie lost his job. At the end of his rope, Eddie met the symbiote. Together, they became Venom.
Friend or foe, Venom changed over the years and became a major Marvel player. He went from Eddie Brock to other hosts but came back to Eddie. When Donny Cates took over the writing duties on his title, Venom got back to Eddie who is searching for redemption. To do that, he aligned himself with heroes. During his fight with a cosmic monster, he discovered the real origin of the symbiote, opening a new way in the mythology of this iconic character.
What to read before Venom by Donny Cates?
There are a lot of Venom stories and some are referenced in Donny Cates’ run on Venom. That said, it’s a new start, a new mythology, and clearly a friendly entry point for new readers.
Written by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, Absolute Carnage is an event taking place in the Marvel Universe, and more precisely in the Venom continuity (go to Donny Cates’s Venom Reading Order).
The story is set around Cletus Kasady’s return as Carnage. After being resurrected by a cult dedicated to the worship of the god Knull and being bonded to the deific primordial Grendel symbiote, he makes his come back to New York in order to collect codices, traces left inside those who wore a symbiote, even once – and that’s a lot of potential victims, even for him!
Naturally, Kasady’s new reign of terror spells misery for Spider-Man and Venom – but the devastation is felt by Miles Morales, the Avengers, Deadpool, Ghost Rider, the Immortal Hulk, and more! But what is Kasady’s horrific endgame? Experience a new level of crazy as Carnage runs wild!
Venom and Spider-Man (Spidey’s Reading Order) must team up to stop him, but they will need even more firepower to achieve that. The heroes of New York City have to join the fight.
Probably the most popular character in the Marvel Comics Universe, Spider-Man needs no introduction. But if you need one, here is the story: bitten by a radioactive spider, teenager Peter Parker, an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents Richard and Mary Parker died in a plane crash, woke up with spider-related powers.
He can cling to surfaces, has superhuman strength and agility, and can detect danger with the help of his “spider-sense.” He couldn’t shoot a spider-web, but he corrected that by building wrist-mounted “web-shooter” devices that shoot artificial spider-webbing of his own design. When his Uncle Ben died after he let his killer go free, he learned that with great powers comes great responsibilities. Since then, he has fought crime, even if the Daily Bugle is telling everybody that he is a criminal.
What to read before Spider-Man by Nick Spencer?
Technically, nothing. It’s a new author on the title and a new beginning. Before Nick Spencer, Dan Slott wrote the main Spider-Man series for almost a decade. The time had come for a change.
That said, it would be a good idea to read Superior Foes of Spider-Man, also written by Nick Spencer. That series is about a team of bad guys, not really high caliber: Boomerang, Shocker, Speed Demon, Overdrive, and The new Beetle. They are Spidey’s enemies and they want to become real big criminals. They’re trying to do exactly that together, even if they can’t stand each other’s company long enough to get their hands on the legendary item that will put them in charge of the New York mob. In a way, Spencer is writing more of a follow-up to Superior Foes of Spider-Man than to Dan Slott’s run.
Also, you can check out our Spider-Man Reading Order that covers the adventures of Spidey from the start to today.
Written and drawn by David Lapham since 1995, Stray Bullets is an award-winning crime drama published in black and white by El Capitan Books (from 1995 to 2005) and then by Image Comics (since 2014, after a hiatus of several years).
Dealing with the criminal and often tragic misadventures featuring a nonlinear narrative and a rotating cast of characters, the Stray Bullets series is a collection of stories and story arcs that takes place from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s.
Here is the official synopsis: Follow the lost lives of people who are savagely torn apart by events beyond their control. As the innocent world of an imaginative little girl is shattered when she witnesses a brutal double murder. Or an introverted young boy on the verge of manhood gets a lesson on just how far is too far when he falls for a needy woman who lives life in the fast lane. Or party with a pair of low-rent hoods who learn about what is really important in life just when they shouldn’t. And even learn the story of the most infamous gangster who ever lived, Amy Racecar, who talks to God, lunches with the President, and just may be responsible for the end of the world. These are some of the tales that will rip out your guts and break your heart.
Coming from writers Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard and artist Pepe Laraz, X of Swords is the X-Men crossover event of 2020 that marked the end of the Dawn of X era.
The story of X of Swords is about the X-Men as they must go to battle against the ancient, long-lost mutant champions of Arakko (the sister island of Krakoa). In order to save their home and country, the mutant nation must send ten of the X-Men’s best fighters to confront their enemy with ten special blades, each with their own unique properties. A war began.
