Skip to content

Fabien

Co-founder of Comic Book Treasury, your Hellboy Specialist and the man behind the Batman Modern Age and the Amazing Spider-Man Guides.

Powers Reading Order (Comics by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming)

  • by

Powers Reading Order

Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, Powers is a superhero noir comic. More precisely, it’s a noir crime drama set in a world with superheroes. It tells the story of two homicide detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, assigned to investigate crimes involving “powers”, people with superhuman abilities.

Turns out that Walker used to be one of them, but he lost everything and became a cop. And now, he is working with Deena Pilgrim. She kicks ass and takes names like almost nobody else in the comic universe, just so you know. They started to work together on the famous Retro Girl case, a murder case that will define their lives, even if they don’t know it yet.

The publishing history of Powers is almost chaotic (chic?). Everything started at Image Comics in 2000, but when Bendis’s role at Marvel began to grow, Powers followed him and became one of the first series published by Icon—the created owned imprint by Marvel for Marvel authors. The problem is that Bendis started to work on so many books that the publication of Powers slow down and became erratic. Then, he joined DC Comics where he created his own imprint, JinxWorld, dedicated to his created own work. Powers was reprinted, then a new and final graphic novel was published to end the series. And now, everything is moving again to Dark Horse Comics.

Read More »Powers Reading Order (Comics by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming)

Lucifer Reading Order (The Sandman spin-off)

  • by

Lucifer Reading Order

Straight from the world of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, here comes Lucifer Morningstar himself. Let me start by saying that, if you are here to read about the TV version of Lucifer, you’ll probably be disappointed. Even if the FOX/Netflix show was based on this character, the similitudes are quite limited. That said, those books are really good.

From The Sandman Universe, Lucifer Morningstar is a fallen rebel archangel who was cast out of Heaven as punishment for leading the revolt of the angels. Once upon a time, he rebelled against the Kingdom of Heaven and end up in what became Hell, until the day he decided to close shop. He retired to Earth and ran bar named Lux with his mistress Mazikeen at his side.

Read More »Lucifer Reading Order (The Sandman spin-off)

The Sandman Reading Order, Neil Gaiman’s comic universe

  • by

Before becoming one of Vertigo’s hits, The Sandman was a DC Comics series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and published between 1974 and 1976, not to be confused with Wesley Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman. When DC offered Neil Gaiman the possibility to write a new series, his only obligation was to keep the name.

This Sandman comic is about Dream, one of the seven Endless. He is the all-powerful master of the Dreamworld. In simple terms, he is the personification of dreams.

The story began with the capture of Dream (aka Morpheus). During his 70 years of captivity, nobody controlled the dream world and, when Dream won back his liberty, he needed to rebuild his kingdom to get back his powers. It’s a journey in a metaphorical world that blends mythology and history.

From the success of The Sandman comics grew a whole universe of series, miniseries, and one-shots, from the successful Lucifer to the cult Death miniseries.

Read More »The Sandman Reading Order, Neil Gaiman’s comic universe

Dark Nights: Death Metal Reading Order, the sequel to Dark Nights: Metal

After the big success of the Dark Nights Metal event, writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo are back with Death Metal, the 2017–2018 massive follow-up with the help of James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett, Joshua Williamson, Peter J. Tomasi, Garth Ennis, Daniel Warren Johnson, Frank Tieri, Tony S. Daniel, Jamal Igle, Joëlle Jones, Daniel Warren Johnson, Riley Rossmo, Francesco Francavilla and more.

Here is the official synopsis: When the DC Universe is enveloped by the Dark Multiverse, the Justice League is at the mercy of the Batman Who Laughs (see the reading order dedicated to the character). Humanity struggles to survive in a hellish landscape twisted beyond recognition, while Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman have all been separated and must fight to survive.

Along the way, Wonder Woman roars across the horrifying Dark Multiverse landscape in the world’s most demented monster truck, with Swamp Thing riding shotgun! And when the Justice League launches its assault on New Apokolips, the team’s goal is to free Superman from his solar prison—but it all goes off the rails when they learn that the Man of Steel is gone for good thanks to the Anti-Life Equation.

What to read before Dark Nights: Death Metal?

When the Earth is enveloped by the Dark Multiverse, the Justice League is at the mercy of the Batman Who Laughs. But how did we end up in this situation? The following is a short guide through the Dark Multiverse to help you better understand the events taking place in Death Metal:

Read More »Dark Nights: Death Metal Reading Order, the sequel to Dark Nights: Metal

Dark Nights: Metal Reading Order, a DC Comics event introducing the dark multiverse

  • by

Published in 2017, Dark Nights: Metal is a Batman Event written by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. The two collaborators are back with a new ambitious story about the mysterious Nth metal and the dark multiverse.

Investigating a strange metal, Batman discovers the existence of a dark multiverse and eventually releases seven evil versions of himself into his own universe. That event is led by Barbatos, the dark god who plans to unleash darkness across every Earth. Stopping him will change the DC Universe forever.

What to read before Dark Nights: Metal?

Like any big comic book event, you don’t really need to read anything as all the information necessary should be provide in the story! The event kicked off with a two-issue prelude titled Dark Days, collected in Dark Days: The Road to Metal as well as in the Dark Nights Metal Omnibus – which are the issues you shouldn’t miss before diving into the main event.

For those interested in exploring for more backstories, Dark Nights: Metal event builds on elements introduced during Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on Batman during the New 52 era. This run is collected in two omnibuses, but the most important issues for Metal are the last part of the run, collected in the second omnibus.

If you want to familiarize yourself a little with the myths of Barbatos, you can check out The Return of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison.

Read More »Dark Nights: Metal Reading Order, a DC Comics event introducing the dark multiverse

Batman: Zero Year Reading Order (Batman New 52)

  • by

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.

Read More »Batman: Zero Year Reading Order (Batman New 52)

Batman New 52 Reading Order, from The Court of Owls to the end of the DC You

In 2011, DC Comics launched the New 52 initiative, a company-wide relaunch that redefined the status quo of its characters, presenting new origins and updated continuity for many heroes. Some characters received a complete reboot, while others experienced more subtle revisions. Batman was among the latter.

When writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo assumed creative duties on Batman (Vol. 2), they did not discard the core elements of the character’s history from the Post-Crisis era. Instead, they integrated much of that history while introducing a revised backstory and developing a new mythology around Gotham City. Their run became one of the most influential of the modern era, beginning with the acclaimed “Court of Owls” storyline and continuing through major arcs such as “Death of the Family” and “Endgame.”

During the New 52 period, Batman appeared in multiple ongoing series, reflecting his central role in the DC Universe. These included: 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 comics should you read before Batman New 52?

The DC Universe was rebooted as the New 52 following the events of Flashpoint (2011), which is not a necessary read before going into this era of Batman stories (but it’s still a good book to read). 

Although the New 52 was designed as a new entry point for readers, Batman’s continuity was not fully rebooted. Key elements of his Post-Crisis history were retained, and several storylines launched before Flashpoint remained relevant. In particular, 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.

Also, while optional, Batman: Gates of Gotham by Scott Snyder, Kyle Higgins, and Trevor McCarthy is a miniseries that explores Gotham’s history and acts as a thematic prelude to Snyder’s run on Batman. And if you want more, you can go through our guide to reading the Batman: The Modern Age comics in order.

Read More »Batman New 52 Reading Order, from The Court of Owls to the end of the DC You

X of Swords Reading Order: Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men 2020 crossover

  • by

marvel x-men X of swords Reading Order crossover

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.

Read More »X of Swords Reading Order: Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men 2020 crossover

Hello world!

  • by

Welcome to comicbooktreasury.com, a website about reading comic books in order. If you want to know more, go to our about page.