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The Authority Reading Order, The DC/Wildstorm series

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The Authority Reading Order

Created in 1999, when Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics (After Jim Lee left Image Comics), The Authority is a dark and violent superhero comic created by Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan) and illustrated by Bryan Hitch (JLA).

The Authority is a spin-off set in the StormWatch universe. Following the events of the WildC.A.T.S/Aliens one-shot that saw the deaths of multiple characters, Jenny Sparks (aka “The Spirit of the Twentieth Century”), Jack Hawksmoor (aka “The God of Cities”), and Swift (aka “The Winged Huntress”), the survivors of the StormWatch Black team, went on to form a new team: The Authority.

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Kang the Conqueror: Everything You Need to Know About the Infamous Marvel Villain

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Kang the Conqueror

Since his first appearance in Avengers #8 in 1964 (he was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby), Kang the Conqueror has been established as a Marvel Comics supervillain, a recurring enemy of the Avengers and other superheroes. “Established” may be a strong word as even his villainy can be debated (rarely, though) as his motivations are not always purely malevolent.

In fact, Kang the Conqueror is a time traveler from the future who has appeared in various forms throughout Marvel continuity, and this led the character to develop a complex and convoluted history. Even his true identity and origins have been the subject of much debate and speculation over the years.

When you’re talking about Kang the Conqueror, starting with “it’s complicated” is the best way to resume the characters’ apparitions through the years.

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Clint Barton Reading Order, the First Hawkeye

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Today, Clint Barton is known for being a major player in the Avengers as Hawkeye. But before joining the superhero team, he was introduced as a supervillain in Tales of Suspense #57 in September 1964. His career on the wrong side of the law was short as he joined the Avengers less than a year later, in The Avengers #16 in May 1965.

Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, Clint Barton is one of the most famous Marvel heroes and a regular member of the Avengers, who had come and gone from the team several times. He has founded the West Coast Avengers, been the leader of the Thunderbolts, worked with the S.H.I.E.L.D, and served as a mentor to Kate Bishop, the Superior Hawkeye. He also sometimes changed codenames and has been Goliath, the Golden Archer, and Ronin.

Clint has no superpowers but he is a skilled archer, and a very dangerous martial artist and swordsman. In a way, Hawkeye/Clint Barton is a mix between Green Arrow and Nightwing (from DC Comics). His private life is also complicated, as he was first in love with Black Widow, married and divorced Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird, and also had a relationship with Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman, Maya Lopez/Echo, and Moonstone.

On the big (and little) screen, Clint Barton/Hawkeye is played by Jeremy Renner in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he has also appeared in numerous animated series and video games.

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Godzilla Comics Reading Order, From Marvel to IDW and Legendary

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Like King Kong, Godzilla is a monster and an international pop culture icon. This prehistoric reptilian monster made his debut in the 1954 movie directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. A movie franchise was developed, and the kaiju appeared soon enough in various other media. It never stopped since.

Naturally, he was featured in several mangas, but we’re here today to talk about Godzilla in American comics.

Following a deal with Toho Studios, Marvel Comics published a Godzilla Comics set in the Marvel Universe. The King of Monsters was depicted more as an anti-hero way too big for our time! It lasted two years before Marvel lost the rights to the monster. Following this loss, Marvel would find a way to continue to use Godzilla for a few years afterward by introducing a mutated version of the character who no longer looked like the Toho versions.

Years later, Dark Horse acquired the comic rights to the Godzilla franchise. The company published various comic books (one-shots, miniseries, ongoing series) based on the monster for the next 12 years.

But no one has used Godzilla as much as IDW, a company that also published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Sonic the Hedgehog, and more. They began publishing Godzilla comics in 2011 and still hold the license, offering a variety of stories and several continuities (the miniseries are all standalone stories).

IDW is not, right now, the only publisher putting comics with Godzilla out there. Legendary has also released several tie-in graphic novels with Godzilla, all part of their Monsterverse Universe.

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Booster Gold Reading Order

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Not to be confused with Green Lantern, Booster Gold was created by Dan Jurgens and made his debut in Booster Gold #1 in February 1986. He’s the first significant new hero introduced after the famous Crisis on Infinite Earths!

Booster Gold, aka Michael Jon Carter, is presented as an opportunist hero who likes a good publicity stunt and making money. Simply put, he’s no Superman and he knows it!

Michael and his twin sister Michelle were born in the 25th Century Gotham. They had a loving mother and debts inherited by a gambling father who abandoned them. At first, Michael was dreaming of a career in football but had to stop when his mother fell ill. He turned to illegal gambling to help pay for treatment but was caught by the authorities.

Michael tried to rebuild his life in Metropolis where he worked at the Space Museum and studied superheroes and villains from the 20th century. This is where Michael stole several devices in order to go back in time and make money as a superhero. For his first adventure, he saved the life of the President of the United States Ronald Reagan.

Our gold-seeking hero would soon join the Justice League (International), until the group disbanded in 1996. This is where he met his new best friend, Blue Beetle II (Ted Kord), known together as “Blue and Gold”.

Like other DC Comics Superheroes, Booster Gold goes through a lot of personal tragedies and other traumatic experiences, and all those events push him to become a more honest hero, despite having quite a reputation for being a glory-seeking character!

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Black Widow Reading Order (Natasha Romanoff)

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Created by Stan Lee, Don Rico, and Don Heck, Black Widow made her debut as Tales of Suspense #52 in 1964. During her first decades on the pages of Marvel Comic books, the woman also known as Natasha Romanoff has been a villain and a hero, a femme fatale and a spy, a love interest and a superhero. Once she chose the path of heroism, she was at first reduced to being Hawkeye’s girlfriend, then Daredevil’s.

Trained by the “Red Room” to be the ultimate Super Spy, Black Widow is a former Russian KGB Agent who defected to the United States of America and joined the S.H.I.E.L.D. Later, she would also become a member of the Avengers and has been part of the team on several occasions. A woman with a mysterious past, Black Widow served for a long time as a female sidekick or team member in Daredevil, Captain America, The Champions, and of course, The Avengers.

It took her almost 40 years to finally have her own title, a limited series part of the Marvel Knights line when she found herself having to defend her codename from a certain Yelena Belova. From then on, Black Widow became a more prominent figure in the Marvel Universe, and her introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2010, played by Scarlett Johansson, clearly helped solidify her place.

She is now one of the most famous Marvel characters, and it’s time to explore her history with this Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff reading order!

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Red Sonja Reading Order

At the beginning of 1973, the Conan the Barbarian comics was a success, and writer Roy Thomas wanted to expand Marvel’s sword and sorcery line with a spin-off title. With artist Barry Windsor-Smith, Thomas created Red Sonja, a character loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino from Robert E. Howard’s short story “The Shadow of the Vulture.”

Red Sonja was to be a fierce warrior that could be Conan’s match. She could battle at his side and keep her feminine side. That was the author’s ambition and, in Conan the Barbarian #23, their last book together, Thomas and Smith introduced Red Sonja as she was wielding a sword against guards, wearing a long-sleeved chain mail shirt. One issue later, Conan declared that she was his equal.

She made a few appearances in Conan the Barbarian, The Savage Sword of Conan, and Kull and the Barbarians before finally getting her solo series in 1975. She became quite popular and Marvel Comics published stories featuring Red Sonja for a good decade—she also appeared in novels and, in 1986, got her movie starring Brigitte Nielsen in the title role.

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The Question Reading Order, from Vic Sage to Renee Montoya

Like The Peacemaker, The Question was originally a Charlton Comics character. In fact, he made his first appearance in Blue Beetle #1 in 1967–in the backup feature. Created by Steve Ditko, he was based on Mr. A, a hero based on Ditko himself. The Question was however more mainstream, even if he was more ruthless than what readers could expect at that time.

The Question is Vic Sage, a TV investigative journalist who fights crime, hiding his true identity behind a special mask created by his former professor, the scientist Aristotle Rodor–inventor of an artificial skin called Pseudoderm. That mask transformed Sage into a man without a face. He had no power, but a great sense of what is right or wrong.

After only a few stories in Blue Beetle, and a compilation of unpublished materials in Mysterious Suspense #1, The Question‘s run at Charlton Comics ended. He only reappeared briefly in the anthology Charlton Bullseye years later, before joining DC Comics in 1983.

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Hercules Reading Order (Marvel)

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Based on the Greek mythology hero Heracles, Hercules Panhellenios is a Marvel character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Young Allies #16 in May 1945, but his formal introduction was twenty years later, in Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (published in October 1965).

He is presented as a rival to the Norse god of Thunder, Thor Odinson, and a screw-up demi-god who is repeatedly cast out of Olympus by Zeus.

He became a regular guest star in Thor’s adventures before smashing against Hulk and, teaming up with the Avengers–without being an official member until the nineties.

But the Avengers wasn’t the only team Herc was working with, as he moved to Los Angeles for The Champions.

At this stage, Hercules was still sharing the spotlight with other characters. In the eighties, Herc headlined two limited series but, surprise! it was not the character readers were familiar with, but a 24th-century version of the character.

The Herc from Earth-616 became a more prominent character in the noughties, where he had his own title, then took over Hulk’s title and became The Incredible Hercules for a time. More recently, Hercules joined the Guardians of the Galaxy for some space adventures.

Hercules also recently joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the mid-credits scene of Thor: Love an Thunder, played by Brett Goldstein.

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Blacksad: An unmissable Crime Noir Comic Series

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When you hear the words Franco-Belgian comics, series like Tintin and Asterix are the first ones to cross the mind, and for a good reason. Depending on your tastes and interests, you could also be well-versed in the adventures of Blake and Mortimer, Corto Maltese, The Incal, Snowpiercer, or XIII.

Among the famous characters of the franco-belgian comic series, you’ll find a black cat named Blacksad. Created by Spanish writer Juan Díaz Canales and artist Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad was conceived with the French market as the primary target. He made his debut in 2000 in the first volume called Quelque part entre les ombres published by Dargaud. He quickly became a prominent figure and the release of a volume is now a sort of mini-event — as it doesn’t happen often!

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