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Nightcrawler Reading Order, Your Kurt Wagner Comic Book Guide!

In another Earth, Nightcrawler is part of the DC Universe, as creator Dave Cockrum first submitted the character to the competitor of Marvel. But in our reality, DC rejected him, and Cockrum used him when he started working in the X-Men in 1975. Nightcrawler then became German as editor Roy Thomas wanted the new X-Men to be an international team.

The character made his debut in the now classic Giant-Size X-Men #1, an issue written by Len Wein and penciled by Dave Cockrum. The first X-Men story in five years, it also serves as a bridge between the original X-Men and the New Team, introducing several new X-Men such as Wolverine (who already made his first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181), Storm, Colossus, Thunderbird, and as already said, Nightcrawler.

Nicknamed ‘Elf’ by Wolvie, Nightcrawler would go on to become one of the most well-liked and respected members of the X-Men. Born Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler is a former circus acrobat and skilled swordsman fan of Errol Flynn! His physical mutation made it impossible for him to go unnoticed in a crowd, with his dark blue fur, two-toed feet and three-fingered hands, yellow eyes, pointed ears, long sharp canines, and a prehensile tail. His demonic look contrasts with his Catholic faith. He also possesses superhuman strength, the capacity to teleport and to wall climb.

Since his introduction almost 50 years ago, Nightcrawler has lived many adventures with the X-Men but also as a founding member of Excalibur, in solo, and more recently as Spinnenmann. Following is a reading order to help you learn more about the character, or rediscover his rich history!

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From Xebel to Atlantis: The Origins of Mera, Aquaman’s Queen

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The World of Atlantis wouldn’t be complete today without his Queen, Mera. As the wife of Aquaman, Mera has lived many adventures undersea and on land, showing what a formidable force she represents in the DC Universe.

Mera possesses the ability to control and manipulate water, showcasing strength and durability. She stands as a formidable superheroine in her own right, although she hasn’t consistently received such recognition since her debut over 60 years ago.

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Fairy Tail Reading Order (including 100 Years Quest and other spin-offs)

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For Christmas, my niece received as a present a volume of Fairy Tail: Happy’s Heroic Adventure. I read a few volumes of Fairy Tail myself, but I hadn’t realized the series inspired several manga! So I recently took a closer look at the franchise created by Hiro Mashima and discovered it was bigger than I thought…

But first… What is Fairy Tail about? Set in a world where magic is commonplace and wizard guilds exist, the story follows the adventures of Lucy Heartfilia, a Celestial Spirit Mage, who joins the Fairy Tail Guild and teams up with Natsu Dragneel, who is searching for the Dragon Igneel. What follows are many missions and adventures!

Created by Hiro Mashima, the shōnen started in 2006 and lasted 11 years, for a total of 63 volumes. But the adventures of Natsu, Lucy, and the other members of Fairy Tail proved to be quite popular and led naturally to an anime adaptation and two movies, but also several manga spin-offs, including a sequel still ongoing!

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Agents of Atlas Reading Order

This was in 1958. The government had formed a superhero team to rescue President Eisenhower, who had been kidnapped by the Yellow Claw. Following the team’s success in completing this mission, they existed briefly before being disbanded by those in authority. However, nearly 40 years later, their former leader, Jimmy Woo, reunited them to defend humanity. They are the Agents of Atlas!

You may never have heard of the Agents of Atlas because this retro team didn’t actually exist in the 1950s. They originated from an old ‘What If?’ issue which asked, ‘What if the Avengers had fought evil during the 1950s?’, featuring an alternate team of Golden Age heroes. This team reappeared in Avengers Forever, where their reality was destroyed.

Conceived as a love letter to the forgotten heroes of Atlas Comics, the team was finally reintroduced to the twenty-first century and made part of the main continuity as the Agents of Atlas. Although they never became popular, the group gained a cult following, enough to save the world in several short comic book series.

After several years of inactivity, Marvel relaunched the team in 2019 with the creation of a group now made up of Asian and Asian American superheroes. They are the New Agents of Atlas. Despite not having a title of their own for the past years, the team still exists and pops up on some rare occasions.

To find out more about these underrated heroes, check out our Agents of Atlas Comics Guide!

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From Russia, With Love: A Brief History of Black Widow and Winter Soldier’s relationship

 

During February, love is in the air because of Valentine’s Day. In the Comic Book World, you’ll find many classic and great tales of love stories, from the iconic couple of Clark Kent and Lois Lane and the more complicated relationship of Batman and Catwoman at DC Comics, to the long history between Sue Storm and Reed Richards or Mary Jane Watson and Peter Parker at Marvel Comics. And many many more!

Today, we turn the spotlight on a ‘more’ recent romantic relationship in the pages of Marvel with the tragic history of Black Widow and Winter Soldier — Natasha Romanova and James ‘Bucky’ Barnes. This spy couple was created during the classic modern run of Ed Brubaker on Captain America. As the writer said himself “One of the reasons I thought she and Bucky made sense together was that they both have that brainwashed aspect, and I also thought it was a clever way to integrate her preexisting continuity as the femme fatale/fake ballerina.”

The perfect mix of espionage, thriller, and romance, Black Widow and the Winter Soldier’s romantic history is as complicated as it is tragic. Today, we revisit their history in comics!

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Metal Men, DC’s robotic superhero team

In 1962, a year before the more famous Doom Patrol team made its debut, a unique group of superheroes made their first appearance in the pages of Showcase #37. Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru, the Metal Men is a team of robots created by brilliant scientist Dr. William “Will” Magnus. Each Metal Man was named after a different metal and possessed abilities that mirrored the unique properties of their namesake.

Despite their somewhat obscure status among today’s DC Comics characters, they were, once upon a time, quite popular among readers. Their run during the Silver Age is still considered one of the best DC has produced during this era.

So, let’s turn the spotlight on the Metal Men, the coolest team of neurotics robot superheroes out there!

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Who Is Spider-Ham? The Origin Story of the coolest anthropomorphic pig from Marvel Comics

Now a well-established character in the Spider-Family, Spider-Ham started his life more than 40 years ago as a character for a one-off Marvel comic, without any real future. But who could resist this funny animal version of Spider-Man? Not long after his introduction, Spider-Ham headlined his own series for a short while before slowly fading into relative obscurity.

This situation changed in the 2010s when Spider-Ham came back slowly but surely into the spotlight. First, with his cameo in the video game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Then, making his real comeback into the comic book world in the big Spider-Verse event, followed by a stint as a main member of the Web Warriors team. And finally, making a splashing entrance in the mainstream area with the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018. 

Today, let’s explore Spider-Ham’s creation and origin story, from his improbable invention to his also improbable transformation into a superhero pig!

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Demon Slayer Manga Order

The manga series Demon Slayer only started in 2016, but is already one of the best-selling manga series and has spun one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

Written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a Shōnen manga that follows Tanjiro Kamado, a young man on a quest to restore his young sister’s humanity after she was transformed into a demon and the rest of his family was slaughtered. For this purpose, he goes on rigorous training to become a Demon Slayer and join the Demon Slayer Corps.

Tanjiro’s story is now complete as the shōnen consists of 23 volumes, all released between 2016 and 2020. The Demon Slayer Universe has naturally expanded beyond the main manga, with light novels, spin-offs, and of course, an anime television series which is a smashing hit and still ongoing! There are also anime films and video games, per usual.

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Doctor Occult, DC’s legendary Ghost Detective

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John Constantine wasn’t the first occult detective in a trenchcoat at DC Comics. Long before him, there was Doctor Occult, also known as The Ghost Detective—one of the oldest characters in the DC universe. Making his debut during the Golden Age, Doctor Occult paved the way for one of the most iconic superheroes of our time.

Doctor Occult, a prototype for Superman?

Doctor Occult made his first appearance in New Fun Comics #6 in October 1935—the last issue before the title was renamed More Fun Comics. Billed as a Mystic Detective but more often referred to as The Ghost Detective, he was introduced as a trenchcoat-wearing private eye the style of Sam Spade, specializing in cases involving the supernatural.

During the Golden Age, Doctor Occult did not possess particular superpowers, but he was aided by his “mystic symbol”—a powerful magical weapon that allowed him to defend himself and launch attacks against supernatural enemies such as vampires and werewolves. Doctor Occult wasn’t battling alone; he had the help of Rose Psychic.

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Who is Clea? Marvel’s Sorceress Supreme and Daughter of the Dark Dimension

Wanda Maximoff can be considered Marvel Comics’ most famous sorceress, but she isn’t the sole possessor of mystical powers. Clea, introduced the same year, stands out as a superhuman spellcaster and illusionist, deserving readers’ attention.

She was first introduced as a damsel in distress to be saved by Doctor Strange in the Dark Dimension before she became her disciple and lover. Endowed with vast magical powers and knowledge, Clea dedicates much of her life to fighting oppression, on Earth or in her dimension, with Strange and as part of the Defenders. She fought many menaces (including her own family), led the rebellion in her dimension, took over as the new ruler, and became the Sorceress Supreme of The Dark Dimension.

Despite those prowesses, Clea appeared sporadically in Marvel Comics for a long time and was mostly used in service of other characters, mainly Stephen Strange. Her origins started to be explored only ten years after her debut, and it took many more decades before the character was offered a real chance to shine away from Strange. She had to undergo numerous tribulations, but her fate started to change in the noughties. She finally became a main character in her ongoing series in 2022, completing her transformation from the “mysterious silver-haired girl” into the Sorceress Supreme we know today.

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