Before Calvin and Hobbes, there was Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts which is actually one of the influences of Bill Watterson’s creation.
One of the most popular and influential comic strips, Peanuts was a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz between 1950 and 2000. It has also been described as “the longest story ever told by one human being”.
Peanuts tells the story of a young boy named Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy and his friends. Philosophical, psychological, and sociological overtones with complex humor made Peanuts one of the most celebrated comic strips.
You can now have the complete collection thanks to publisher Fantagraphics!
Created by writer Mort Weisinger and artist Paul Norris, Aquaman debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), where he co-starred with Doctor Fate, The Spectre, Johnny Quick, and Green Arrow (who made his first appearance in the same issue as Aquaman). In his first story, Arthur was saving refugees whose ship was torpedoed by a Nazi submarine.
A few years later, he left the pages of More Fun Comics in favor of Adventures Comics, but it was during the 1950s and 1960s that the character took a more important role. New elements to his backstory were introduced, as well as new supporting characters. And he was a founding member of the Justice League!
Still, despite growing popularity in the 1960s thanks to his animated series, and having his own title, Aquaman fails to grab readers the same way the other major DC superheroes did. Launched in 1962, his first solo series was canceled in 1971, before being revived in 1977 for a short time. After that, it would take 8 years for the character to have his own title again, yet again for a brief time.
Aquaman will have to wait for the nineties and Peter David to be redefined for a new generation, but the title will lose in popularity after the writer’s departure and poor Arthur Curry was again without a title.
Aquaman was not considered a bona fide superhero for a long time, and was perceived as a lesser one, even a joke — everybody who watched Entourage will never forget that Aquaman storyline in seasons 2 and 3!
But all of that changed with Geoff Johns, who confronted the public perception and rehabilitated the character. It was the beginning of a new era for Arthur Curry, one that launched the character towards good to great storylines. And of course, the cherry on the cake for his fans was the DC movie, where Jason Momoa plays the famous King of Atlantis, making him as mainstream as he has ever been.
Arthur Curry well deserved some love, and Comic Book Treasury has put together a recommended Reading list to discover the best Aquaman stories.
Meet Liesel Van Helsing, the daughter of the legendary vampire hunter, Abraham Van Helsing, who lives in the Grimm Fairy Tales universe by Zenescope Entertainment.
She spent years trapped in a hell dimension known as the Shadowlands. She has been brought to the present day and uses her skills to take on all forms of the undead, from Dracula and Frankenstein to mummies and werewolves. Liesel is a deadly force to be reckoned with for all creatures who stick to the shadows.
One of the most popular Zenescope characters, Van Helsing has inspired a Syfy television series. Beware, if you discovered the television version before, it does not have a lot in common with the comic version, except maybe the last name and vampires.
Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, Dick Grayson is one of the most compelling characters from DC. From The Flying Graysons to being Robin (aka Batman’s sidekick), then to becoming Nightwing and finding his own way in life, he’s the friend you need, the leader who listens, the guy who wants to help and does good because it’s the right thing to do. And he’s always working to become a better version of himself and to make the world a better place. What’s not to love here?
Dick Grayson made his first appearance as Robin in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940), but today we are more interested in his history after he became Nightwing, in Tales of the Teen Titans #44 (July 1984).
What to read before Dick became Nightwing?
As said above, we’re focused on this reading order in stories taking place after Dick became Nightwing, meaning stories where he is not Robin anymore. Before diving in, you can check out a few stories to know more about the time Dick Grayson was Robin:
Batman Dark Victory – A sequel to The Long Halloween, this story by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale takes place three or four years into Batman’s career as a crime fighter. It’s a Batman story that doubles as an origin story for Robin.
Robin: Year One – Written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty and illustrated by Javier Pulido and Marcos Martin, it takes place after Dark Victory and tells of Dick Grayson’s first year as Batman’s sidekick, Robin.
Teen Titans: Year One – A light miniseries that retraces the early days of the Teen Titans, by Amy Wolfram and Karl Kerschl.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a supernatural television drama series that aired between 1997 and 2003. It follows the adventures of Buffy Summers, the Chosen One. She is gifted with the strength and skills to fight vampires, demons, and other supernatural creatures. As Buffy grows up, she must face the challenge of every teenager (and after) life and also the darkness. She is surrounded by friends and family who help her in her mission.
Now, you can continue this adventure in comic book form. Some depict events and situations unseen during the series’ run, while other comics follow the characters after the conclusion of the show’s official run. Some are canon, some are not.
What to read (and watch) before the Buffy and Angel comics?
If you are here, it means you are familiar with Buffy Summers for at least the television series, Buffy the Vampire Series. Our heroine made her first appearance in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, before becoming the badass heroine of her own television show and comic books. Obviously, you want to have watched both Buffy (seasons 1-7) and Angel (seasons 1-5) at least once before diving into the comic books.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic publication began during the television show aired. Most of those stories during that time take place in parallel with the series’s events. Despite that, they are not all considered canonical.
Started in 2008, Amulet is an American graphic novel series illustrated and written by Kazu Kibuishi. The story follows the adventures of Emily and Navin, two young siblings who moved into their great-grandfather’s country house after their father’s death in a car accident.
While exploring the house, the brother and sister discover a magical amulet that gives Emily extraordinary powers. As they try to uncover the amulet’s mysteries and protect their mother from the Elf King, the siblings find themselves having to fight a formidable and malevolent monster and battle for the freedom of a parallel world. Thankfully, they can count on the help of newfound friends to face all those new dangers.
Discover the fantasy adventures following the Amulet Reading Order!
The end of New 52 is around the corner, as Justice League: The Darkseid War is the penultimate story of this era, leading into DC Rebirth. Written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Jason Fabok, the story shows the return of Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips, but this time he’s set his sights on the world-shattering Anti-Monitor.
The Justice League is caught in a war between those two gods, and are they enough to protect Earth from becoming collateral damage in this fight?
What to read before Justice League: Darkseid War?
Darkseid War takes place at the end of the New 52 Justice League, written by Geoff Johns. There are hints and setup for the event throughout the series. That said, if you haven’t read his Justice League (you can find a full reading order here), you’ll find the most essential background in the first volume (with the introduction of Darkseid) and the sixth volume. Then, Forever Evil leads into the event…
Created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, the Young Avengers are a superhero team featuring numerous adolescents with powers, costumes, and codenames inspired by classic Avengers members.
The newspapers labeled those young heroes the “Young Avengers”, a name that they didn’t like, but better than Avenger babies or Avengers sidekicks.
Here is the official synopsis: When the original Avengers disband, costumed teens Patriot, Asgardian, Hulkling, Iron Lad, Hawkeye, and Stature unite to fill the gap. Their first order of business: surviving the wrath of Kang the Conqueror! Second? Weathering the disapproval of the adult Avengers! But when their teammate Billy’s magical powers spiral out of control, the Young Avengers set out to find the one person who might help: the Scarlet Witch, who might be Billy’s mother…and whose own uncontrollable powers caused the Avengers’ dissolution! Once the young heroes find her, nothing will ever be the same!
Since their formation in 2005, the Young Avengers had only two runs, but some members are now popular characters in the Marvel Universe.
What to read before Young Avengers?
There is no prior reading for Young Avengers, as their adventures are self-contained, but it’s the perfect place to indicate that the series follows the events of the 2004–2005 Avengers Disassembled storyline (check out the Reading Order).
The Power Rangers is an American franchise based on the Japanese franchise Super Sentai. The first Power Rangers entry, the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, aired between 1993 and 1998 on FOX Kids and became a 1990s pop-culture phenomenon with a large line of toys.
The franchise has pursued its extension with other television series, movies, toys, video games, books, and, of course… comic books! Throughout the years since the 90s, there are been multiple publishers (like Marvel, Image, and Disney).
Today we’re talking about the line of Power Rangers comics launched in 2016 by Boom Studios, presented as a mix of classic concepts and new ideas.
What to read/watch before the comics Power Rangers?
The Boom comics are based on the 90s television series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with the stories taking place in a more modern setting (with smartphones).
Being familiar with it is a good thing, but it’s not an obligation. even if the comics assume you possess some familiarity with the series and the characters, you can still read them and enjoy them without it. It’s your choice.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the television series
Beyond the television series, it’s also a great place to indicate that Boom Studios republished old stories from other publishers:
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Archive, Vol. 1 (also in Deluxe Edition)
Collects Mighty Morphin Power Rangers [Hamilton Comics] Volume 1-2, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Saga #1-3, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers [Marvel Comics] #1-7, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Ninja Rangers #1-5, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers [Image Comics] Zeo #1.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Archive, Vol. 2 (also in Deluxe Edition)
Collects comics from Valiant, Image and Papercutz such as Power Rangers Zeo Image #1, Power Rangers Turbo #1-2 Power Rangers Super Samurai #1-2, Papercutz Megaforce #1-2, Papercutz MMPR #1-2, Papercutz FCBD 2014, as well as additional Power Rangers activity pages and letters!
Following our New 52 Reading Order, I thought about doing something similar for Rebirth, but have to admit not being quite content with my work. I found it way too massive and, in consequence, not easy to tackle. So, for the Rebirth era, I decided to not go full order and opt to highlight some of the best this era has to offer (what follows does not include out-of-continuity).
But first, what is Rebirth? We are in 2016 when DC relaunched its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the DC Universe to a form much like that prior to the 2011 “Flashpoint” storyline while still incorporating numerous elements of The New 52, including its continuity. Like New 52, it was also a new entry point. Nearly all characters had their designs revised, some (like Wally West) reappeared, and others were revised.
It all begins with DC Universe: Rebirth (2016) #1. DC also issued one-shot Rebirth specials for the major characters, which are all collected in the DC Rebirth Omnibus Vol. 1, for those who want a taste and maybe choose the series you want to read. You don’t have to read them, and most of them are also collected in the first trade paperback of each character.
And now… Let’s explore a little bit of the DC Rebirth era!
