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Fabien

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

Thor by Jason Aaron Reading Order

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In 2012, Jason Aaron took over writing duties on Thor. Before that, Matt Fraction was writing The Mighty Thor, while Kieron Gillen was in charge of the Loki-focused title Journey Into Mystery. This was during Marvel’s Heroic Age initiative, which gave way to Marvel NOW! later that same year.

As part of Marvel NOW!, Aaron began his run with Thor: God of Thunder, with artist Esad Ribić. While Ribić didn’t stay on the book, which was renamed multiple times throughout the run, Aaron went on for almost seven years, finally ending in 2019 with the crossover event The War of the Realms. During that period, he explored multiple eras of Thor’s life, juggling between storylines in the past with a brash Young Thor, the present Avenger Thor, and the future All-Father King Thor at the end of the universe. 

During this period, the series introduced iconic characters such as Gorr the God Butcher and Jane Foster as the Goddess of Thunder. After being deemed unworthy of wielding Mjolnir, Thor Odinson experienced a prolonged identity crisis that explores his ‘worthiness’ as a God and a leader in Asgard. 

This era is now considered one of the most influential, next to Walt Simonson’s. It put back the emphasis on the Gods and focused on epic fantasy and cosmic adventures storytelling. 

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Flashpoint Reading Order, a DC Comics event by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert

Since the conclusion of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the DC Universe has existed in an era now referred to as the Modern Age. This period began in 1986 and ended in 2011 with Flashpoint. This comic book crossover story arc, written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Andy Kubert, radically altered the status quo by ending the New Earth continuity and leading to the relaunch of the New 52.

Following his recent resurrection at the end of the Final Crisis, Barry Allen is back, fighting the Rogues in the streets of Central City. The world has moved on in his absence, but one thing has not changed: Eobard Thawne’s hatred towards him. The Reverse Flash is back with a plan to get his revenge, but something even bigger is lurking on the horizon. As he was ready to take his enemy down, Barry woke up in an altered DC Universe in which he seems to be the only one aware of significant differences between the regular timeline and the altered one.

In the Flashpoint version of the universe, Cyborg occupies the place of the world’s quintessential hero, much like Superman is in the main timeline, with Superman himself being held captive as a lab rat by the United States government within an underground facility in Metropolis. In addition, Thomas Wayne is Batman, and a war between Wonder Woman and Aquaman has decimated Western Europe.

Flashpoint consists of 61 issues, with sixteen separate three-issue miniseries, and a number of one-shots.

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The Goon Reading Order

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Making his first official appearance in 1998 in the pages of Avatar Illustrated, The Goon has since moved to other publishers (going back and forth between Albatross Funnybooks and Dark Horse Comics), completed a full run, had a few one-shots, a graphic novel, and eventually came back for a new run. It certainly is a tumultuous adventure in comics publishing, but it’s nothing compared to the craziness of The Goon and Franky’s daily life!

We first meet The Goon when he is working as an enforcer for a gangster named Labrazio. He is a hulking, rough-edged enforcer with a tragic past who runs his operation by collecting money, killing deadbeats and generally being violent, with the help of his best friend and foul-mouthed, wisecracking (and equally violent) sidekick, Franky.

We are in Lonely Street, a crumbling American town filled with zombies, mutant creatures, ghostly priests, fishmen, mad scientists, hobos, and monstrous babies, a grotesque caricature of 1930s-50s pulp Americana, with everything from dingy alleys to dilapidated carnivals.

The Goon and Franky must deal with any sort of craziness, taking us on a journey going from absurd comedy one day to grim tragedy the other. It’s a very violent life and, even drawn in a gorgeously painted and cartoonish manner, it’s a gory one, a dark comedy with a sad heart and an affinity for anarchy, mixing noir-style crime fiction, horror, slapstick humor, and supernatural. Definitely, it’s for a mature audience. 

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Stray Bullets Comics: Looking Back At David Lapham’s 30-year-old Crime Classic

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After starting his career as a penciller at Valiant Comics, David Lapham followed Jim Shooter when he left to launch Defiant Comics, but thirty years ago, in 1995, it was his turn to open his own indie publishing house: El Capitan Books. His flagship self-published title was something quite different from what he was known to draw. No superheroes, but black & white crime fiction with the award-winning Stray Bullets series.

Entirely written, illustrated, and lettered by Lapham himself (who won the Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist in 1996), the long-running series targets a mature audience with bleak stories of violence dipped in drama, romance, desperation, and disillusionment. It’s about regular people and criminals, children and adults, growing up and dying, at the periphery or in the heart of the crime world.

David Lapham’s Stray Bullets is not about one character going forward, as it follows a panel of different characters in stories told in a non-chronological fashion. It builds a large narrative, piece by piece, focusing on human experiences, developing thematically complex, rich tales defying clichés and tropes, notably about the consequences of violence and the cyclical nature of trauma. They are tragic vignettes revolving around people pushed to their limits. Every bullet makes an impact.

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Galactus Origin Story, The Creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Devourer of Worlds

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One of Marvel Comics’ most powerful cosmic entities, Galactus was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966).

Initially, Galactus was just imagined as another super-villain that was to be bigger than the previous antagonists. But in order to differentiate him from the others and avoid delivering a stereotypical bad guy, Lee and Kirby decided to reimagine the character on a grander scale. The writer wanted him to be really evil. The artist went biblical. They wanted something new and created it. As a result, unlike typical antagonists, Galactus was not a villain in the traditional sense but a cosmic force of nature, an ancient being who consumes planets to sustain his existence.

This was different to the point of creating a shift in comic book storytelling at the time. But this article is not here to talk about Galactus’ impact on the medium, but to explain who he is as a Marvel character. As he is making another appearance on the big screen this summer, it’s the perfect moment to revisit his comic book origins.

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Transformers IDW Reading Order

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Like with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Buffyverse, or the G.I. Joe comic book franchise, IDW took over the Transformers comics and launched its own continuity–and there are some discussions about the more legitimate continuity, but it’s not the subject of this article. We are here to talk about the third Transformers comics series.

The first was published by Marvel (from 1984 to 1991), and the second by Dreamwave Productions (from 2002 to 2004). After that, IDW Publishing took over with the third series (the Generation 1 continuity) written by Simon Furman starting with issue #0 in October 2005 and a regular series starting in January 2006 (and ending in November 2018). The fourth series is a relaunch at IDW that started in 2019.

And so, as the official synopsis tells it, it began on Earth, in 2006. The fate of the planet is already sealed, its destiny decided… by the marauding mechanical beings known as Decepticons. In their way stand an embattled crew of seven hardy Autobot warriors, sworn to prevent the impending Armageddon at any cost, and an unlikely trio of human misfits, pulled kicking and screaming into a hitherto hidden world of pain and hurt. The can of worms is open, the genie is out of the bottle… and nothing will ever be the same again! It begins again — here, now — the saga of the war-torn robots in disguise, the Transformers!

In 2022, IDW Publishing lost the license to publish Transformers comics. Skybound Entertainment (an imprint of Image Comics) took it over and created the Energon Universe.

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The X-Files Comics: A Reading Guide to Mulder and Scully’s Comic Book Adventures

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Not many live-action TV shows have expanded their stories into comic books. Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Firefly are the most successful examples, of course. Science fiction is a genre that lends itself perfectly to the medium. So it’s no surprise that The X-Files, the biggest sci-fi sensation on TV during the 1990s, expanded into the world of comics. 

Since the first issue was published in 1995 by Topps Comics, multiple comics have starred the famous FBI agents Mulder and Scully. Some are based on actual episodes of the show created by Chris Carter, while others are original stories that run alongside or continue the series after its cancellation. And now that there are talks about reviving the X-Files comics at Marvel, let’s take a look back at the long history of the franchise in print.

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Reading Jason Comics: A Guide to Explore the Norwegian Cartoonist’s World

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John Arne Sæterøy, known professionally as Jason, is a Norwegian cartoonist born in Molde in 1965. He began publishing comics in magazines during the 1980s but gained wider recognition in 1995 with his first graphic novel, Pocket Full of Rain (Lomma full av regn). Two years later, he launched his own comic book, Mjau Mjau, before shifting his focus exclusively to graphic novels in 2002.

Influenced notably by Hergé, Jason’s work is defined by clear line drawing, minimal text, and the frequent use of anthropomorphic characters. He often uses a four-panel grid (or nine) and favors a muted color palette, but a good part of his oeuvre is in black & white. His visual style remains consistent across his body of work, making his oeuvre coherent and immediately distinguishable from that of other cartoonists.

However, he doesn’t stick to one genre when it comes to the stories he tells. He can write crime and science fiction tales, historical pastiche, romance, and monster stories, often blending historical fiction with pulp tropes. He references Buster Keaton, explores Hemingway’s life with a twist, and talks about his long hikes in Europe. But he always focuses on human problems, exploring solitude, unspoken desire, or the absurdity of routine, often with a touch of melancholy, a dry humor, and an emotional edge.

Since 2001, Jason’s comics have been published internationally, with English editions appearing through Fantagraphics Books. His books are often released earlier in France, where he has lived since 2007 (currently in Montpellier). His work has received multiple awards, including the Eisner Award, the Inkpot Award, the Brage Prize, and the Sproing Award.

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Marvel’s Secret Wars Explained: The Events That Changed Comics

Fans had been dreaming about it for years, but it was ultimately the call for a toy line that would finally give life to the biggest team-up Marvel Comics could put together in 1984. Secret Wars was a commercial opportunity and became an industry-altering event that forever changed comics. No matter what people think about Jim Shooter’s tenure as Marvel editor-in-chief, this is his legacy.

Secret Wars (1984): The Original Battleworld

It was 1984, and toy manufacturer Kenner was about to launch its DC Comics-inspired line of action figures, Super Powers. At Mattel Toys, it was necessary not to let the comic book market go to the competition. That’s what led to a collaboration with Marvel Comics. Jim Shooter was all in and proposed to produce a story to promote the new line of Marvel action figures, “Cosmic Champions.” The title would eventually change, but the idea would stay the same: to provide a showcase of marketable superheroes and supervillains.

Following focus group tests, the twelve-issue limited series became “Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars.” The story starts with an omnipotent being called the Beyonder abducting dozens of characters to a patchwork planet named Battleworld. There, he announced, “I am from beyond! Slay your enemies and all that you desire shall be yours! Nothing you dream of is impossible for me to accomplish!” What follows is constant action, alliances, twists, and lasting developments that impacted the Marvel Universe.

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Peacemaker Reading Guide: Exploring Christopher Smith’s DC Comics Quest For Peace

“A man who loves peace so much that he is willing to fight for it!” That’s the original tagline from 1966 Fightin’ 5 #40. Published by Charlton Comics and created by writer Joe Gill and artist Pat Boyette, Peacemaker is Christopher Smith, a pacifist American diplomat, who is wearing red and white tights and a strange helmet to fight against super-criminals and other warlords. At least, he did it during the 5 issues his self-titled series lasted. He was just a bland hero of another era, but one that DC Comics acquired alongside The Question, Blue Beetle, and Captain Atom.

Peacemaker Kills For Peace in The DC Universe

It was the 1980s, and Peacemaker was one of the characters that was going to be reintroduced, making their debut in the new Alan Moore-Dave Gibbons series, Watchmen! But things got too dark, and DC Comics decided not to follow this road. Instead of Peacemaker, we got the Comedian, a character who made a bigger mark on the history of the comics industry than Christopher Smith’s vigilante alter-ego. At least, until James Gunn put him in his movie The Suicide Squad. Played by John Cena, the character is now the star of his own TV Show.

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