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Blade Runner Comics Reading Order (Titan Comics)

In 1982, Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, premiered in movie theaters and didn’t become a hit. However, it became a Marvel Comics title as it was adapted into a two-issue miniseries by Archie Goodwin, Al Williamson, and Carlos Garzon. With the film becoming a cult classic, those comics are not the last to be associated with the franchise.

Based on the 1968 novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner follows Rick Deckard of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Replicant Detection Unit. In Scott’s neo-noir science fiction film, it’s 2019, and Deckard is charged to hunt down a group of replicants, biorobotic androids virtually identical to adult humans, that have escaped an off-world colony and now hide on Earth. 

The cyberpunk franchise had extended to other media with novels, video games, and comics, even before the 2017 movie Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve, which brought back Harrison Ford as Deckard on the big screen. This sequel set the stage for the subsequent comics series published by Titan Comics and Alcon Publishing, a collection of maxiseries focusing on LAPD’s best Blade Runner and detective, Aahna ‘Ash’ Ashina, but also a few more spin-off miniseries.

Blade Runner Comics Reading Order

Titan Comics’ expansion of the Blade Runner universe went in two directions. The first is the Aahna Ashina saga, a large continuing story divided into three time periods. The second is a small collection of prequels. 

  1. The Aahna Ashina saga
  2. The Blade Runner Prequel Stories 
  3. The Blade Runner Comics in Chronological Order 

The Aahna Ashina saga

Written by Mike Johnson with art by Andres Guinaldo, the Aahna Ashina saga covers three decades, starting the same year as the original movie, then moving forward as Aahna ‘Ash’ Ashina evolves from a seasoned Blade Runner embedded in the system to someone who works outside of it. Her story adds layers to the universe established by the films, exploring shifting politics, technology, and ethics around replicants.

The Aahna Ashina Omnibus Collection

The Aahna Ashina Trade Paperback Collection

Blade Runner 2019

Co-written with Michael Green, the screenwriter for Blade Runner 2049, Blade Runner 2019 is set against the neon-drenched streets of Los Angeles in 2019. This first story arc introduces veteran Blade Runner Aahna “Ash” Ashina, who is assigned to investigate the disappearance of Isobel and Cleo Selwyn, the wife and daughter of powerful industrialist Alexander Selwyn, a close associate of Eldon Tyrell. Her search takes her from the crime-ridden streets of a decaying city to the distant Off-World Colonies and back, uncovering a conspiracy that challenges her beliefs and forces her to confront her own hatred of replicants—the very beings she hunts.

Blade Runner 2029

Set a decade after the events of the first series, this chapter follows Ash as she returns to the streets of Los Angeles with a secret agenda that could make her an enemy of humanity. When she crosses paths with Yotun, a Nexus-6 replicant who has defied his four-year lifespan and now leads a militant replicant uprising, Ash is drawn into a deadly struggle to stop his revolt before the city falls.

Blade Runner 2039

The last chapter of the saga sees Ash drawn back to Los Angeles. Now, Niander Wallace, heir to the Tyrell empire, seeks to capture Cleo, believing her DNA holds the key to replicant fertility. To protect Cleo and honor an old promise, Ash must confront Wallace’s schemes and his deadly enforcer Luv, the first replicant Blade Runner. The fate of the city—and the future of all replicants—hangs in the balance.

The Blade Runner Prequel Stories

Blade Runner Origins

Written by Mike Johnson, K. Perkins, and Mellow Brown, with art by Fernando Dagnino, Blade Runner Origins is a 12-issue prequel maxi-series. Set in 2009, a decade before the events of the first Blade Runner film, Origins explores the early days of the Blade Runner Division. When a Tyrell Corporation scientist is found dead under suspicious circumstances, LAPD detective Cal Moreau is assigned to investigate. His search through a rain-soaked Los Angeles on the brink of environmental collapse uncovers a conspiracy reaching the highest levels of Tyrell, revealing the dark foundation on which the world of Blade Runners is built.

Blade Runner: Black Lotus

Set in 2032 after the events of the Blade Runner: Black Lotus anime, this series, written by Nancy Collins with art by Jesus Hervas, follows Elle—aka Black Lotus—as she seeks to leave her violent past behind and forge a new life. But in a world where replicants are still hunted and feared, escape may prove impossible.

Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus

Written by Kianna Shore with art by Mariano Taibo, Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus is about twelve Nexus-6 combat replicants, led by their human NCO, who go AWOL from the war-torn planet Kathanlia, seeking a peaceful life on an Off-World colony. To fund their escape, they target a corrupt Tyrell syndicate executive. When the theft is discovered, the CEO dispatches a team of corporate Blade Runners to track them down and retire them with extreme prejudice, setting the stage for a deadly pursuit across the galaxy.

The Blade Runner Comics in Chronological Order 

To conclude, here is the full chronological order for the Blade Runner comics published by Titan Comics, with the films and the animated series that are canon to this universe.

  1. Blade Runner Origins
  2. Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus
  3. Blade Runner (1982 film)
  4. Blade Runner 2019
  5. Blade Runner 2029
  6. Blade Runner: Black Lotus (2021-22 animated series)
  7. Blade Runner: Black Lotus
  8. Blade Runner Black Lotus: Las Vegas
  9. Blade Runner 2039
  10. Blade Runner 2049 (2017 film)

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