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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!

Fantastic Four Reading Order

In November 1961, a page of comic book history was written when the Fantastic Four comic debuted. The first issue was an unexpected success, and the public simply fell in love with the First Family. It played a massive role in making Marvel the company we know, launching and influencing the superhero comics in a new direction.

Traditionally, the Fantastic Four are Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), scientific genius and leader; Susan “Sue” Storm (Invisible Woman), Reed’s partner and co-leader; Johnny Storm (The Human Torch), Sue’s little brother; and Ben Grimm (The Thing), pilot and best friend. They all gained superpowers following exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space.

The Fantastic Four are maybe the most famous superheroes in the Marvel Universe, as they chose to become celebrities instead of hiding their real identities from the public.

If the name of the team implies they are only four members, the roster of the famous ‘family’ has changed several times, and sometimes, other characters have been members. Crystal, Medusa (from the Inhumans), She-Hulk, Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Storm and Black Panther, and even Spider-Man have been at some point or other members of the team.

They fought and stop more than once the Supreme Leader Doctor Doom but also had several encounters with Galactus, Ronan the Accuser, Namor, Silver Surfer, the Mole Man, the Frightful Four, and more. They worked with the Avengers, the X-Men, and other Marvel superheroes to save the world.

This most emblematic team has lived a lot, and it’s time to explore those adventures with our Complete Fantastic Four reading order!

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Darth Vader Reading Order (Star Wars)

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Does Darth Vader really need an introduction? Darth Vader is one of the most iconic villains of all time. Created by George Lucas, he is the central antagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy.

But Darth Vader was not always Darth Vader. Before, he was Anakin Skywalker, The Chosen One. He was destined to bring balance to the Force and was trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi to become a Jedi. He was one of the main protagonists of the prequel trilogy.

When Skywalker chose to turn to the dark side of the Force, and pledged his allegiance to the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, his alter ego, Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, was created.

This is the story of a tragic hero who turned villain and became one of the most famous fictional characters ever. It’s no surprise that several stories have been featuring him in the Star Wars Universe, Legends or Canon timeline.

For this reason, Darth Vader deserves, without a doubt, his own comic reading order (with a few books). For an expanded experience, check out our Star Wars Canon Comics Reading order or our Star Wars Legends Comics Reading Order.

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Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) Reading Order

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From the beginning, Captain America wasn’t fighting AXIS alone. He had a sidekick: Bucky. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Bucky made his first appearance in Captain America #1 in March 1941, and remained by Captain America’s side throughout the war.

Both men disappeared while on a classified mission towards the end of the war, after which they were declared dead. Although Captain America was reintroduced in The Avengers #4 (1964) after being discovered frozen in ice by the Avengers, Bucky was considered dead. Captain America’s last memory of him was watching the plane he was on explode. And for a long time, Bucky was among a select group of comic book characters well known for remaining deceased, alongside Jason Todd and Uncle Ben.

Like the second Robin, Bucky was brought back to life in the noughties by writer Ed Brubaker in one of the most famous Captain America runs. More precisely, it was revealed that he hadn’t died at all. After being rescued by a Russian submarine, he was brainwashed and trained to become the deadly assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Back among the living, Bucky entered a whole new chapter, from being a brainwashed killing machine to Captain America and a quest for redemption, and back to the Winter Soldier. 

A classic character from the Golden Age, Bucky Barnes was successfully reinvented for the modern era. This version also came to life on the big screen, with Sebastian Stan playing the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

From Captain America to The Winter Soldier and leader of the New Avengers, discover all the comics featuring Bucky Barnes in our Winter Soldier Reading Guide.

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Earth 2 New 52 Reading Order

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Earth-Two (or Earth 2) is famously known as the home of DC Golden Age heroes, including the Justice Society of America. The setting was, after all, introduced in The Flash #123 (1961) to explain the differences between the Golden Age and the Silver Age versions of the characters.

When Crisis on Infinite Earths happened, Earth-Two was merged with other planets into one, and thus was the end of the Multiverse… for a time. The Multiverse was indeed reborn following the events of Infinite Crisis, although Earth-Two was not the same world.

It was the first time, but not the last time that the setting of Earth-Two was revised. The DC Universe was rebooted following another event, Flashpoint. The series changed the DC Status quo and lead us into New 52 and a new Earth-Two, now called Earth 2.

Earth 2’s history was different with an added tragic backstory. This was the home of a group of superheroes named the Eight Wonders of the World, led by Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. They have defeated grave threats from Apokolips, but not at a grave price.

Left in their stead is a group of young, untrained heroes who pick up the pieces in the dusty aftermath. The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and the Atom are humanity’s nascent guardians, but not the ones we’ve all known and revered. These are different heroes, in a strange and foreign world with dangerous new villains.

Dive into Earth 2’s history during New 52 with the following reading order!

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Duke Thomas Reading Order (member of the Batfamily, The Signal)

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This has been less than ten years since Duke Thomas made his debut in the DC Universe. Created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo during their already classic run on Batman, Duke first appeared in Batman (vol. 2) #21, as an unnamed character, then he made his real entry in Batman (vol. 2) #30 as Duke Thomas.

Raised in the Gotham Narrows by his mother Elaine, a social worker, and Doug Thomas, a humble construction worker, Duke had an ordinary childhood. He was then unaware of who his biological father was (a villain named Gnomon) and that he was a metahuman and had powers.

Anyways, no one in Gotham can claim to have an ordinary life too long. Like so many Gothamites, Duke’s life was changed by the Joker during the events of Endgame with the disappearance of his parents. He was placed into the foster system and soon after, became the leader of a youth movement inspired by Robin.

Duke’s parents were later found, but permanently jokerized. Following this discovery, Bruce officially took Duke under his wings to make him his latest ward and partner-in-crime-fighting. He officially became The Signal in Batman and The Signal #1 (March 2018). He also joined the Outsiders, under Black Lightning’s supervision. You can’t miss him in the streets of Gotham with his yellow armor! 

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Namora: The Origin and History of Namor’s Cousin

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Less than ten years after Namor made his debut, his female counterpart was introduced on the pages of Marvel Mystery Comics #82. Namora – full name Aquaria Nautica Neptunia – is, like her cousin Namor, a hybrid and one of Marvel’s first mutants.

Soon played by Mabel Cadena on the big screen in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Namora was created by artist Ken Bald (and an unknown writer), though several of her Golden Age appearances were written by Bill Everett who also designed her costume.

She’s the daughter of an Atlantean father and a human mother who lived several adventures next to her cousin in the Golden Age but was unfortunately killed off in the ‘60s. Namora continued to appear in a number of flashbacks but only made her permanent return to the Marvel Universe in 2006.

Though Namora didn’t have the chance to become a major player in the Marvel Universe, she still had the time to become a hero and make the undersea world safer!

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Little Nemo in Slumberland, Winsor McCay’s influential comic strip

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Little Nemo in Slumberland, New York Herald, January 7, 1906

One of the most famous Little Nemo in Slumberland comic strips today was published in July 1908. Considered a masterpiece, it shows the young Nemo atop his bed which had grown crazy long legs and was walking among buildings.

At this stage, creator Winsor McCay was working for the New York Herald for a few years and had already produced many illustrations and comic strips. He came to work for publisher James Gordon Bennett in 1903 where he was doing caricatures of officeholders. But it was in Telegram that he began experimenting with the comic strip form: a sequential panel called “Hubby Goes Shopping with the Usual Results” was published on December 24, 1903.

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Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) Reading Order

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The Huntress is a DC Character considered part of the Bat-family. But there is also more than one Huntress in the DC Universe, though the one that interests us today is one of the most famous women to bear the name: Helena Bertinelli. She was also the last one to date to become the Huntress…

Way before Helena Bertinelli made her debut, Huntress was a recurring villainess with no name from the Golden Age. Created in the pages of Sensation Comics #68 by artist Mort Meskin and an unnamed writer in 1947, she was retconned in the Bronze Age by writer Roy Thomas.

He gave her the name Paula Brooks and built her a real backstory in Young All-Stars, a title set in DC’s Golden Age. Over the course of the series, Thomas recounted Paula’s transformation, from the superheroine to the villainess named Huntress.

During her short stint, Paula stayed an obscure character. It was a certain Helena Wayne who popularized the name Huntress during the Bronze Age. Created by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton, she made her debut in DC Super Stars #17  (1977).

The daughter of Batman and Catwoman from Earth-2, Helena became a vigilante to avenge her mother’s death and choose the code name The Huntress when she decided to continue to fight crime. Later, Helena found herself fighting against Paula Brooks and winning the right to the name Huntress in All-Star Comics #72.

She bore the name until the destruction of the DC Universe in Crisis of Infinite Earths.

Following the reboot, Helena Wayne died and her family never existed. In this new continuity, Helena Bertinelli is introduced as the Huntress.

Created by Joey Cavalieri and Joe Staton, Bertinelli was conceived at first as a new interpretation of Helena Wayne. Making her debut in The Huntress #1 in 1989, this Helena has no link with Batman/Catwoman, but was born in one of the most powerful mafia families. She became a ruthless vigilante, ready to do justice by any means necessary. It puts her at odds with Batman, and she was for a long time the black sheep in the Bat-family, before Jason Todd/Red Hood was attributed that role. Her origins have been rewritten more than once, and she became the third member of the team Birds of Prey.

She was also recently played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the 2020’s film Birds of Prey.

To avoid confusion with Helena Wayne, what follows is a comprehensive reading order for Helena Bertinelli.

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Thunderbolts Reading Order

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Following the events of 1996’s Onslaught, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four were declared dead. A new group of ‘superheroes’ decided to step in to help protect the world: The Thunderbolts!

Considered the equivalent of DC’s Suicide Squad, The Thunderbolts was created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley and they made their first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997) before the launch of their ongoing series the following month.

What seemed to be a basic superhero team then changed on the last page, when it was revealed that The Thunderbolts, led by Baron Zemo, were actually the Masters of Evil in disguise! This is known as one of the most famous twists in Marvel history.

With themes of redemption and heroism, The Thunderbolts will walk away from their evil nature, choosing to reject Baron Zemo and try to become heroes in their own right. Throughout the years, this team of anti-heroes has worked to do good things when led by Hawkeye, Luke Cage, and the Winter Soldier, but has also been used as a dangerous and malevolent force by leaders like Norman Osborn and Wilson Fisk. As you can imagine, between changes in leadership and direction, the roster of the team has changed a lot over the years.

A new version of Thunderbolts will soon be on the big screen, as a movie featuring the team will be released in 2024. Before that, you can start reading The Thunderbolts, and exploring their past (and present) history with this reading order!

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Supergirl Reading Order (Kara Zor-El, Matrix, Cir-El)

It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Supergirl! One of Superman’s happiest moments in life was discovering he had a long-lost living relative when Supergirl made her first appearance in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). This was also one of the most important events in the development of the Superman Universe. Sent to Earth in a rocket by her father, Zor-El, Supergirl is Superman’s cousin from Krypton and she was chosen to star in the backup story of Action Comics even before making her debut.

The first adventures of the Girl of Steel were conceived with the idea of appealing to female readers who “were thought to be more interested in seeing a girl use super powers closer to home.” (American Comic Book Chronicles, The 1950s). While her earlier stories were clearly not as thrilling as the adventures of her more famous cousin, this was only the start for Supergirl, as the character would grow in popularity and complexity.

Since her creation, Supergirl has been killed off, replaced, rebooted, retconned and much much more. The Last Daughter of Krypton has used several names and been part of various teams, including the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Justice League, the Red Lantern Corps, and the DEO. Her history is not simple, complicated by the fact that Kara-Zor-El isn’t the only person to have taken on the mantle of Supergirl!

There’s also no doubt that the Girl of Steel gained popularity thanks to the several iterations of the character on the big and small screen. She first appeared in the film Supergirl (1984), played by Helen Slater. On TV, She has been played by Laura Vandervoort in Smallville and Melissa Benoist in the Arrowverse. Sasha Calle recently portrayed the character in The Flash (2023) while a new version of the character has been announced with Milly Alcock playing the character in Superman: Legacy (2025) and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2026). Naturally, she has also appeared in several animated movies and television series!

Let’s now explore the comic book history of Supergirl, from her first appearance in Action Comics as the Supergirl from Krypton to her recent adventures in space and beyond! Check out our Supergirl Comics Order for a guide to the many stories featuring the Maid of Might!

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