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Carole

Co-founder and owner of Comic Book Treasury. The woman behind the Batfamily Guide (and the many Robins Guides), the Fables Universe and some of your favorite Spider-People among others!

Poison Ivy Reading Order

Created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, Poison Ivy made her debut in Batman #181 in June 1966. She is a botanist with the power to control all plant life. Determined to protect all plants, whatever the costs, she became an “eco-terrorist of global importance,” as she calls herself.

Also known under the name Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, Poison Ivy is also part of Batman Rogues Galleries, and one of his most famous enemies, at first juggling between wanting him to fall in love with her or kill him.

Poison Ivy walks the fine line between antagonist and antiheroine, as her several team affiliations illustrate it. She has been a member of the Injustice Gang and Secret Society of Super Villains, as well as part of the Gotham City Sirens,  the Birds of Prey, and Suicide Squad.

Today, she is most famous for her partnership with her best friend, recurring ally, and love interest Harley Quinn. And like all relations in comic books, it’s complicated!

She has been featured in several adaptations of live-action, animated, and video games. She has been portrayed by Uma Thurman in the movie Batman & Robin; Clare Foley, Maggie Geha, and Peyton List in the television series Gotham, and Bridget Regan in the third season of Batwoman.

This reading order was requested by Nani, one of our readers! Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or write to us with some other suggestions!

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Doctor Aphra Reading Order (Star Wars)

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A young character in the Star Wars Universe, Doctor Aphra made her first appearance in Star Wars: Darth Vader #3 in March 2015. Created by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Salvador Larroca and editors Jordan D. White and Heather Antos, she was a breakout character and soon will headline her own comic title.

Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, called Doctor Aphra, is a criminal archaeologist who is recruited by Darth Vader to help him get an army of droids.  Aphra is quickly established as an anti-heroine, a morally ambiguous and sometimes unreliable character who tends to use people to serve her own interests, but also makes mistakes that put her in grave danger. If she succeeds to stay alive, it’s simply because Aphra is quite smart and is good at improvisation.

The best way to become familiar with Aphra is, of course, to read her adventures following this Doctor Aphra reading order! For an expanded experience, check out our Star Wars Canon Comics Reading order.

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Superman Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC Reading Order (with Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Tom Taylor & Joshua Williamson)

Following recent events (with Dark Nights: Death Metal, Generations, and Future State), the DC Multiverse has expanded into a larger Omniverse, where everything was now canon. It was a way for DC to continue what was launched with Rebirth, meaning re-establishing popular past stories and relationships while retaining the new characters and simple backstories from the modern era. DC simply wants the best of both worlds!

This situation leads us to the Infinite Frontier era, where Clark Kent and his son Jonathan Kent are both Superman. Each one of them is the star of his own title, with Clark starring in Action Comics by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Phil Hester, and Jon Kent starring in Superman: Son of Kal-El by Tom Taylor and John Timms.

During this period was also published the ongoing series Batman/Superman (vol. 2), Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, and the limited series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Superman ’78, Superman and the Authority, and Superman: Red & Blue.

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Nova Reading Order (Richard Rider & Sam Alexander)

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If Nova made his first appearance in The Man Called Nova #1 (September 1976), the character originated ten years earlier by Marv Wolfman in issue #3 of his fanzine, Super Adventures.

At first, he was known as The Star, real name Denteen. He was a doctor who found a spaceship containing alien pills giving him a different superpower every five minutes. Three issues later, Wolfman and Len Wein reinvented the Star into a new hero, now a prisoner named Kraken Roo who becomes the superhero Black Nova. Black Nova’s life was short as he died in Super Adventures #9.

Black Nova was an adult wearing a black and yellow costume with 5 chest stars and a helmet antenna. There were differences alright, but no doubt that, years later, Marv Wolfman and John Romita Jr. revamped the character, with some changes to the costume and a new origin story to create Nova.

It also has to be said that Richard ‘Rich’ Rider was intended as an homage to Spider-Man (with some elements of Green Lantern). They clearly wanted to create a new character with the same essence, with his working-class origins, his tendency to banter in battle, and his inferiority complex. Though, Richard Rider was not as smart as Peter Parker, far from it, and was more of an average student

Rich was first an insecure teenager who inherited the mantle of an intergalactic Nova Centurion, became part of the Nova Corps (an intergalactic police force) and later of the New Warriors. He had to fight in a space war, experienced tragedies, loss of power, and much more.

But Richard Rider is not the only character called Nova at Marvel. There is also Samuel ‘Sam’ Alexander, who made his debut in Marvel Point One #1 (November 2011) at a point where Richard Rider was out of the picture (if we can say that). He starred in his own series beginning in 2013.

Created by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, Sam was named after Loeb’s dead son. He was a teenager living in Arizona with his family. His father was an alcoholic who talked about being a member of the Nova Corps, though Sam didn’t really believe him. It all changed when his father disappeared, discovered he was telling the truth, and put on his father’s helmet to become, in turn, a member of Nova Corps. Sam also became part of the New Warriors, the Avengers and Champions.

Let’s dive into some comics with this Nova Reading Order!

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Reckoning War reading order, a Fantastic Four event

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After concluding his Iron Man run with the Iron Man 2020 event, Dan Slott also choose to wrap up his four-year run on the Fantastic Four with an event! But not any event as The Reckoning War (penciled by Marco Checchetto) was, as Marvel said it, fifteen years in the making! 

Here is the official synopsis: FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE MAKING – AND IT ALL KICKS OFF HERE! In a time before the Kree, Skrull or Shi’ar Empires. Before the emergence of Galactus. Before the birth of Asgard. There was the First War. The greatest war to ever rage across the Multiverse. Today, it is reignited. This is the Day of Reckoning. And all that stands between all of reality and revenge from the dawn of time are the heroes of Earth, the Fantastic Four and the mind of Mister Fantastic. Starring the FF, She-Hulk, Jack of Hearts, the Unseen, the Silver Surfer and everyone in the whole damn Marvel Universe.

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How old is Deadpool in the comics?

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Trying to guess the age of a comic book character can be considered a sport in itself, as the timeline is never completely fixed, and relaunches and retcons often disrupt the timeline. It becomes yet more complicated when your character is shrouded in a little bit of mystery.

It worsens when your character has a particular relationship with the truth, like Deadpool. It’s not completely his fault, though. Deadpool’s brain doesn’t function normally because of the regenerative nature of his cells and the bizarre experiments he was subjected to, with drugs, virtual simulations, death, and memory implants.

Some rumors on the web imply that Deadpool was born Wade Wilson in Regina Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1973, but that information has never been verified (and comes from the movie, anyway). He may have had an ordinary childhood. Or not. He may have killed his parents. Or maybe they’re alive.

Wade Wilson has a lot of pasts, making it difficult even for him to know the truth about himself. If we’re not sure when and where Wade Wilson was born, what do we know?

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DC Vs. Vampires Reading Order, a DC Vampire Apocalypse by James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg

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After depicting a Zombie Apocalypse in DCeased, another reality in DC Comics was confronted with undead creatures. This time around, the creatures of the night known as vampires were responsible for the Apocalypse set in Earth 63, the Earth of DC Vs. Vampires! 

Coming from James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg, with artwork by Otto Schmidt, Simone Di Meo, Daniele Di Nicuolo and Francesco Mortarino, this superhero horror comic book is set on a alternate universe where the Justice League has protected the planet from many alien invaders but failed to realised a new threat were emerging among them, with vampires infiltrating their ranks and making our heroes unsure on who they could trust… until it was too late! 

A mysterious new vampire lord has already put a plan in motion to conquer the Earth, and his horde is hunting on the streets of Gotham. Can Batman save his city—or will he succumb to the undead plague? The answer and more in the DC Vs. Vampires comics! 

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Lazarus Planet Reading Order, a DC Magical Crisis

Barely one month after the conclusion of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, the DC Universe is affected by another crisis. Writer Mark Waid teams up with Riccardo Federici, Gene Luen Yang, Billy Tan, Nicole Maines, Skylar Patridge, Francis Manapul, Dan Watters, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Josie Campbell, and more, for the Lazarus Planet, a Magical Crisis where heroes are transformed, secrets are revealed and powers are unleashed. Here is the official synopsis:

Following the events of Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar’s Batman vs. Robin #4 this December, the Lazarus Volcano has erupted—spewing dangerous and transformative chemicals into Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in chaos across the DC universe! As these Lazarus clouds rain down upon the planet, people across the globe begin to develop strange new abilities, watch their already-extraordinary abilities change, and witness a whole host of chaos, unlike anything the DCU has experienced before!

A lot of DC characters are involved in this event, from the obvious Batman and Robin (Damian Wayne), but also Martian Manhunter, Red Canary, Jon Kent, Poison Ivy, Power Girl, but also Monkey Prince, Shazam/Billy Batson, Mary Marvel, and Yara Flor.

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Titans/Teen Titans Reading Order

Not long after the Justice League made its debut in 1960, the sidekicks came together to form their own team: The Teen Titans.

The first partnership between Robin (Batman’s sidekick), Aqualad (Aquaman’s sidekick), and Kid Flash (Flash’s sidekick) happened in the pages of The Brave and the Bold #54 (1964), written by Bob Haney and penciled by Bruno Premiani.

This team-up must have been a success as they came together again five issues later — this time with Wonder Girl and a name for the group: The Teen Titans. After another adventure in Showcase #59, the Teen Titans finally had their own title.

Soon enough, the team was expanded ranks with characters like Speedy (Roy Harper), Aquagirl (Tula), Bumblebee (Karen Beecher), Hawk (Hank Hall), Dove (Don Hall), Harlequin (Duela Dent), and three non-costumed heroes: boxer Mal Duncan, psychic Lilith, and caveman Gnarrk.

But success will really knock at their door in the 1980s with the revival titled the New Teen Titans and today’s classic Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s run. The group was more adult and independent, while still maintaining their status as teenagers.

New characters were introduced: Cyborg (Victor Stone), Starfire (Koriand’r), and Raven (Rachel Roth), as well as the former Doom Patrol member Beast Boy (Garfield Logan). The team also created one of the most iconic critical and commercial storylines with The Judas Contract.

In short, the New Teen Titans established the standard for all the Teen Titans/Titans that were to come. Throughout the decades, Teen Titans were canceled and relaunched many times, had seen its roster change with new and old members coming and going, and fought many enemies.

There have been many versions of the Teen Titans, and you can explore all of them with our reading order!

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Who is Poison Ivy? The origins of Dr. Pamela Isley

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Batman Rogues Galleries is, almost without a doubt, one of the most iconic, and Poison Ivy is no exception to the rule. She’s also one of the most visually striking characters, often barefoot with a green costume made of leaves and vines.

Poison Ivy was created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, at a time when Batman was massively popular thanks to the 1960s live-action television series. As a result of the show and Catwoman’s popularity in it, they wanted more female villains. To respond to this demand, Carmine Infantino and Robert Kanigher created Poison Ivy who made her debut in Batman #181 in June 1966 (where she was penciled by Sheldon Moldoff). The character never made it to the show.

The character was in part inspired by the short story “Rappaccini’s Daughter” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is about a young woman who tends a garden of poisonous plants and becomes toxic herself. Her design was modeled on Bettie Page, with Ivy having the same haircut and figure.

Poison Ivy is a woman with a poisonous touch who can manipulate all plants. She also possesses a complex and rich history and became more and more powerful with time and several retcons…

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