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The Story of The Hulk: From Gamma Radiation to World-Breaking Power

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The Story of The Hulk

The year was 1962. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were changing the face of the comics industry with the Fantastic Four—even if they probably didn’t suspect up to what point at the time. Of course, when it was time to find a replacement for the recently canceled Teen-Age Romance, the team came up with something that didn’t really have anything romantic in it: The Hulk.

Who is the Hulk? The story goes like this: Bruce Banner is a brilliant scientist who was exposed to gamma radiation during an experimental “accident.” As a result, he can transform into a massive, green-skinned (or gray!), superhuman creature with incredible strength and durability known as The Hulk.

The problem is that Banner struggles to control the transformation and as the unpredictable Hulk, he often causes widespread destruction in his wake. But not always. In fact, through the years, the Hulk has not always been a destructive rageful monster, his nature evolved as well as his relationship with the puny Banner.

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DC Millennium Reading Order, a DC Comics Event

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DC Comics Millennium Reading Order

Published through January and February 1988, Millennium was the first event of the year, and certainly the most ambitious for the production department with one new issue every week, plus tie-ins—something that was simply not done at that time.

Written by Steve Englehart, with art by Joe Staton and Ian Gibson, Millennium was a story about choosing the New Guardians of the Universe. Everything starts with the Guardian named Herupa Hando Hu, and his Zamaron mate, Nadia Safir, as they arrived on Earth to announce to the world that they were here to select 10 persons who would become the new Guardians of the Universe, and give birth to a new race of immortals.

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Judge Dredd Reading Order

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Cover art Judge Dredd Megazine 423

In Mega City-One, one man is the law: Judge Dredd! Created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra in the second issue of the British weekly anthology 2000 AD (1977), Judge Joseph Dredd is a lawman in a massive dystopian city where crime is rampant. In this world, Dredd is a judge, jury, and police officer – he can arrest, convict, and execute criminals. And he is the toughest of them all! As we already said: he is the law!

Judge Dredd exists to bring justice and is constantly working. He’s never without his signature helmet, though he has no secret identity and no life outside of work. He’s here to deliver instant justice in a city on the verge of chaos. And he has done it since 1977, getting older as the years pass. It’s been 66 years of active service for Dredd, and 46 years worth of stories!

Through decades of comics, Judge Dredd became one of the most popular comic book characters of all time, and one the most famous satire of American and British culture, exploring authoritarianism, policing, mass surveillance, and every other aspect of society.

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Sam Wilson Reading Order, The Falcon and Captain America

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Sam Wilson is The Falcon

When Rick Jones stepped down as Captain America’s sidekick, a new partner was on the horizon. In Captain America #117, released in September 1969, writer Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan introduced Sam Wilson as he worked to rally people against the Red Skull’s forces. Wilson’s meeting with Steve Rogers inspired him to adopt the mantle of the Falcon and create a distinctive green costume. Together, they won their fight against their common enemy, and Sam quickly became Captain America’s trusted partner.

Sam Wilson became Marvel’s first African American superhero. His origins were retconned over the years—from a Harlem social worker to a thug whose life was transformed by the Cosmic Cube. He was also briefly portrayed as a mutant, though this was later revised. Sam’s most significant evolution over the decades was headlining his own title, not as Falcon but as Captain America.

Sam Wilson has fought alongside Captain America, the Avengers, the Defenders, S.H.I.E.L.D., the Winter Soldier, and more. He shares a telepathic bond with his bird, Redwing, and later discovered he can also control other birds and see through their eyes. With his mechanical wings granting him the ability to fly, Sam was also trained in hand-to-hand combat by Steve Rogers himself—and he’s well-versed in using Captain America’s shield.

Samuel Thomas Wilson also became a major figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the past decades, making his first appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a skilled combatant and tactician who became a close friend of Stever Rogers and even being recruited by him to join the Avengers. Played by Anthony Mackie, the character is making his comeback on the big screen wielding the shield in Captain America: Brave New World (2025)!

In the meantine, it’s the perfect occasion to explore his comic book history, from his first appearance as the Falcon to his debut as Captain America and beyond! Check out our Sam Wilson Comics reading order for a comprehensive guide to the many stories featuring Marvel’s winged warrior!

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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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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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