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Jupiter’s Legacy Reading Order, Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s comics series

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More than a decade after collaborating on The Authority, writer Mark Millar and artist Frank Quitely reunited to create Jupiter’s Legacy, a superhero comic book series published by Image Comics as part of the Millarworld imprint. First launched in 2013, the series combines superhero fiction with a multigenerational family narrative spanning several decades.

At first, the story is told across two interconnected series: Jupiter’s Legacy and its prequel, Jupiter’s Circle. It begins in the early 1930s, when a group of young Americans gains extraordinary powers and establishes a new generation of superheroes guided by a strict moral code. Jupiter’s Circle explores the early years of these heroes and the development of their ideals, while Jupiter’s Legacy follows their children and successors in the present day as differing views on power, responsibility, and justice create divisions that reshape both their family legacy and the wider world.

Because the story unfolds across different periods and companion series, following a proper Jupiter’s Legacy reading order helps place each event, character development, and generational shift into chronological context.

Jupiter’s Legacy Reading Order

The franchise originally launched through Image Comics and was published as an irregular series of limited comic arcs due to the highly detailed art style of co-creator Frank Quitely that required a long time to produce. In August 2017, Netflix acquired Millarworld, marking the first-ever corporate acquisition in the streaming giant’s history. This shifted the publication trajectory of the remaining books, but the development of the live-action TV adaptation led to the creation of new chapters in the saga.

The Jupiter’s Legacy Library Edition

Before taking a closer look at the complete series, let’s note that it has all been collected in the hardcover library collection, published by Dark Horse Comics.

The Jupiter’s Legacy Omnibus Collection? While you may think an omnibus would collect everything related to Jupiter’s Legacy in one big volume, this omnibus collection is really a reprint in paperback of the Jupiter’s Legacy Library Edition.

Reading Jupiter’s Legacy by series

Since moving to Netflix, reprints of Jupiter’s Legacy stopped following the original release order of the comics. As it’s now mostly available in that new order, the guide has been updated to reflect it and avoid confusion.

I. Jupiter’s Circle

Back in 2015, Jupiter’s Circle was released as a spin-off prequel series. The goal was to provide readers with new stories expanding Jupiter’s Legacy’s mythos while artist Frank Quitely finished up his work on the main series. So, between volumes 1 and 2 of Jupiter’s Legacy, Jupiter’s Circle was published as a 12-issue series. But then, in 2020, when Millarworld moved to Netflix, and the TV show was announced, the books were reprinted. From that moment on, Jupiter’s Circle became known (and reprinted) as the first two volumes of the Jupiter’s Legacy saga. 

This part of the series was done by writer Mark Millar and artists Wilfredo Torres, Davide Gianfelice, Chris Sprouse, Rick Burchett, and Ty Templeton. The story takes us to mid-century America. The world’s greatest superheroes triumph in their public battles, while struggling with private ones. Social and political unrest takes a personal toll: one member joins the counterculture movement, others grapple with personal demons, and suspicion and betrayal cast a shadow over the most trusted friendships.

As far as the collected editions go, those two volumes are available in Jupiter’s Legacy Library Edition Volume 1 and Jupiter’s Legacy Omnibus Volume 1 [2026], but also in individual trade paperbacks.

II. Jupiter’s Legacy

Launched in April 2013, the original Jupiter’s Legacy comics from Mark Millar and Frank Quitely faced delays and, after the fifth issue was published in January 2015, the series entered an 18-month hiatus. It came back in June 2016, and the story was finally concluded in July 2017. It was the end (or so it seems!). The ten issues, published as two separate 5-issue miniseries, were collected in two trade paperbacks, which were later reprinted as Jupiter’s Legacy Volume 3 and 4, as the story is chronologically set after Jupiter’s Circle.

The story starts in 1932. Sheldon Sampson’s dreams about a mysterious source of power lead him, his brother Walter, and a group of loyal followers on a quest around the world. What they discover sets them on a course that will wrench a family apart and alter the world’s political stage! Decades after their journey, Sheldon and Walter are superpowered legends, world-renowned for their heroism. But the offspring trained to live in their image have fallen desperately short. Rocked by one public scandal after another, Chloe and her brother Brandon are a dishonor to the generation before them. The rift reaches its breaking point when one branch of the family overthrows the government and struggles to rule at any cost, while the others must flee for their own safety. But when the failures of the corrupt leaders catch up to them, the world hovers on the brink of collapse, and the hidden heroes must emerge to take back their legacy!

Those are the comics collected in Jupiter’s Legacy Library Edition Volume 2, but you can still find the individual trade paperbacks.

Note: If one day you stumble upon Jupiter’s Children: Giant-Sized Edition #1, know that it’s not a one-shot, but a reprint of the first three issues of the series. It was originally published in late 2013.

Interlude: Supercrooks

Published in 2014, this 4-issue miniseries from writer Mark Millar and artist Leinil Francis Yu was presented as a spin-off of Jupiter’s Legacy, but you can read it independently of the rest of the saga (or just skip it) as it is not connected to the main plot. It is, however, set in the same universe. 

Presented as Ocean’s Eleven with masks, Supercrooks tells the story of Johnny Bolt and the team he’s put together to pull the ultimate heist in Spain and make them all richer than their wildest dreams.

It was previously available in a single trade paperback titled Supercrooks: The Heist.

III. Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem

In 2021, four years after the conclusion of the original Jupiter’s Legacy series, Mark Millar came back with a sequel, working this time with artists Tommy Lee Richards and Matthew Dow Smith. Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem is a 6-issue miniseries also known as Jupiter’s Legacy Volume 5.

Continuing the story of Chloe and Hutch, who have gotten married and had more children. The superheroes are working in harmony with humanity and creating a perfect world. But all is not well in the Garden of Eden as the Sampson family gets ripped apart and the secrets of the mysterious island begin to be revealed.

This miniseries is half of the stories collected in the upcoming Jupiter’s Legacy Library Edition Volume 3 [2027]. It’s also available in an individual trade paperback.

IV. Jupiter’s Legacy: Finale

Almost three years after Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem ended, the saga came back with its final chapter. Mark Millar, with artists Tommy Lee Richards, Matthew Dow Smith, and Lee Carter, picked up the story where they had left off and delivered the aptly named Jupiter’s Legacy: Finale, a 5-issue miniseries that put an end to the Jupiter’s Legacy epic.

This time, the superheroes have been trapped and murdered on an alien world while the enemies of Earth, who have been watching our planet with envious eyes, launch their invasion now that there’s no one to protect it. 

This miniseries is half of the stories collected in the upcoming Jupiter’s Legacy Library Edition Volume 3 [2027]. It’s also available in an individual trade paperback.

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