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Kick-Ass Comics, a Reading Guide for the Mark Millar series (including Hit-Girl)

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What would it look like to be a superhero in the real world? This is a question writer Mark Millar and artist John Romita Jr. explored in the famous Kick-Ass comic book series, originally published by Marvel Comics under the Icon Imprint, and later republished under Image Comics, between 2008 and 2019. The universe was expanded with two spin-off series, including one focusing on Hit-Girl. And it has been adapted by director Matthew Vaughn into a successful movie, followed by a less successful sequel.

But let’s go back to the beginning. Dave Lizewski is an ordinary New York teenage boy who loves superheroes. One day, he decides to cross the line, put on a costume, and become a vigilante. Soon enough, he discovers it’s very dangerous and way more real than what he reads in the comic book pages.

Despite the punch and the blood, his actions have some effects, inspiring others. And in his fight against crime, he meets the young Mindy McCready aka the ruthless Hit-Girl…

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The Joker’s Last Laugh Reading Order

The Joker was disrupting the DC Universe at the beginning of the noughties. He was  first accidentally given nigh-unlimited reality-shaping powers by Mr. Mxyzptlk and reshaped the universe in his image in Superman: Emperor Joker. Not long after that, the Joker was at it again, spreading chaos in the way less received event The Joker’s Last Laugh (also known as The Joker: Last Laugh), written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty with art by Pete Woods.

What The Joker’s Last Laugh is about? The Joker is a prisoner at the Slabside Penitentiary when a prison doctor informs them that they have found a malignant tumor after a brain scan. The Joker is going to die. Facing this news, The Clown Prince of Crime decides he wants to go out with a bang. He concocts a scheme to carry on his legacy by transforming his fellow villains into “jokerized” versions of themselves.

Published in 2001, this storyline comprises a six-issue miniseries and 25 tie-ins, covering almost everything that was published at the time, from the Batman titles to the Superman family, and more.

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Green Lantern Reading Order

Created in 1940 by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger in DC Comics’ All-American Comics #16 (July 1940), the first superhero named Green Lantern was Alan Scott–one of the founding members of the Justice Society of America.

Alan Scott was the first, but certainly not the last. He was a Golden Age hero (read all about Alan Scott here) and, with the Silver Age, a new Green Lantern appeared: Hal Jordan. This test pilot was given a power ring and a battery (the famous lantern) by a dying alien named Abin Sur whose spaceship crashed on Earth. The ring wants only go to someone “utterly honest and born without fear,” and there is more than one human being fitting that description as new Green Lanterns from Earth appeared in the DC Comics Universe through the decades: John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, and more.

Once chosen by the ring, Hal and the others automatically joined the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement organization founded by the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the planet Oa. The Green Lanterns must protect the 3600 “sectors” of the universe–Earth is in Sector 2814.

The Lanterns have only one weapon, but it’s the most powerful one in the DC universe: the power ring. Those who wear a ring gain incredible abilities and control them with their own willpower. The ring protects the Lanterns and, with it, they can form constructs of Oan energy: thoughts become physical constructs. There are downsides, like the need to recharge the rings or the effects of the color yellow (for a time thought).

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Generation X Reading Order (part of the X-Men Universe)

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After New Mutants and X-Force, Generation X is another Marvel Comics series set in the X-Men Universe. Created by Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo, the Generation X team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #318 (November 1994) during the “Phalanx Covenant” storyline and immediately got its own monthly series.

Generation X is the first team of X-Men not mentored by Charles Xavier, but by Banshee and former supervillainess Emma Frost (aka the White Queen). In fact, these young mutants did not attend Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in upstate New York, but the Massachusetts Academy, located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

During the first volume, Generation X consisted of Jubilee (Jubilation Lee), Chamber (Jonothon “Jono” Starsmore), Husk (Paige Guthrie), M (Monet St. Croix), Mondo, Penance, Skin (Angelo Espinosa), Synch (Everett Thomas), and Gaia.

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Captain America Reading Order

Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America was introduced in March 1941 to fight the AXIS powers during WWII. He was the most popular character from Timely Comics (a predecessor of Marvel Comics) during the wartime period before fading into obscurity with falling sales in the 1950s.

If several heroes bearing the flag motif didn’t survive and are forgotten today, the man known as Steve Rogers found his way back to the public when The Avengers got him out of ice in 1964. He became a man out of time but one still committed to fighting evil in all its forms. Though he sometimes struggles to maintain his ideals, Cap never gives up and always stands up for what he believes is right. It’s no wonder he became a highly respected figure both with the American public and in the superhero community, serving as the long-time leader of the Avengers.

More than a man, Captain America is an American icon, a symbol of hope. For this reason, other men have taken the mantle of Captain America in Steve Rogers’ various absences, including John Walker, Bucky Barnes, and Sam Wilson. 

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Heroes Reborn: Marvel Heroes, Image Style, the famous 1996 relaunch

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In 2021, Marvel published a new Heroes Reborn storyline. The company loves confusing readers by using the same titles over and over. But why Heroes Reborn? The 1996 original storyline was not a success and does in fact has not the best reputation. Let’s take a look back at that strange pure 1990s experiment.

Everything started in 1992 when Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, Whilce Portacio, Jim Valentino, and Marc Silvestri left Marvel to form Image Comics. Those creators found big success at Marvel. In fact, they were quite famous and wanted the company to recognize that in ways that were not agreeable for Marvel—they wanted better treatment, pay, and rights.

Everybody thought that they were coming back quickly, but Image became an instant hit that changed the industry forever. And then, the comic speculator bubble burst in 1993, changes in the distribution of comics created cash flow difficulties for some publishers, and poor sales numbers certainly didn’t help.

In fact, 1996 was a very bad year for Marvel. In January, the stock price dropped, and 275 staffers were laid off, and it was not the first time nor the last that year. In December, Marvel Comics declared bankruptcy—in truth, that was mostly the result of a battle to control the company between leaders that didn’t care for comics.

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Young Justice Reading Order

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They are the next generation of superheroes and want to have their own adventures, far away from their mentor. They are the Young Justice! The team was founded by Robin (Tim Drake), Superboy (Kon-El), and Impulse (Bart Allen) but will soon become a beacon for the young superheroes in the DC Universe.

Created by Todd Dezago and artist Todd Nauck, the Young Justice made its first appearance in 1998, in Young Justice: Secret #1 at a time when the Teen Titans had become the Titans and they were no current superheroes’ teen team.

The team’s base was established in the empty JLA headquarters in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, where they met Red Tornado. The sentient android stayed with the team as an adult supervisor and adviser. Soon enough, some new members were added to the team: Wonder Girl (Cassandra “Cassie” Sandsmark), Arrowette (Cissie King-Jones), and Secret (Greta Hayes). Other heroes would come and go from the team: Empress, Li’l Lobo/Slobo, The Ray, but also Teen Lantern, Jinny Hex, and Amethyst. Red Tornado was also eventually replaced with civilian Snapper Carr.

If Young Justice was created on paper, the team made also a name for itself on television, thanks to the Young Justice animated television series, launched in 2010 on Cartoon Network. It is not an adaptation of the comic book series (and not in continuity), but the adventures of another version of the team from another Earth. And there are tie-ins to the television adventures!

To know more about the Young Justice, let’s dive into this reading order!

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Adam Warlock Reading Order

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Originally introduced in 1967 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby under the name “Him” in Fantastic Four #66-67, Adam Warlock really started in Marvel Premiere #1 (April 1972) written by Roy Thomas and penciled by Gil Kane.

Adam Warlock is a synthetic lifeform created in the image of a perfect human being. He is one of the most powerful heroes of the entire cosmos–and possessed magical abilities and has to use them to fight The Magus, his malevolent future self.

At the start, a coalition of scientists known as The Enclave incubated Warlock in an artificial cocoon. Once out, he rebelled against his creators after realizing they were nefarious. When he re-emerged, years later, he was named “Warlock” by the High Evolutionary and was gifted the Soul Gem. He didn’t become a hero on Earth, but on Counter-Earth–a new planet generated from a chunk of Earth and set in orbit on the opposite side of the sun.

A few years later, Jim Starlin revived the character and made him more of a cosmic hero, twice. The first time, it only lasted for a few issues, but he brought Adam Warlock back for his Infinity Saga eleven years later–during the 1990s.

During the 2000s, when Marvel decided to revive its cosmic universe, Warlock made his comeback, playing his part in the Annihilation Saga.

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From Crisis to Crisis: A DC Comics Reading Order

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For decades now, every DC Comics reader has been dealing with continuity issues. Some see that as a problem and, in order to fix it, multiple reboots/relaunches were introduced, installing a new status-quos, and launching new “eras.” All that with the use of what are called “Crisis” events.

The original “Crisis” took place in Justice League of America #21, titled “Crisis On Earth-One!” The story introduced the idea of two different realities, explaining how the heroes of the Justice League teamed up with their predecessors from the Justice Society of America. This led to multiple crossovers between Earth-One and Earth-Two.

But what cemented “Crisis” as a synonym for “universe-altering event” was the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths, the famous crossover storyline from Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. This 12-issue limited series is now credited with popularizing the idea of a large-scale crossover in comics. At the time, the goal was to create a single and unified DC Universe.

Crisis on Infinite Earths was used to launch what is now called the Modern-Age era. It became–and still is for a lot of readers–a good entry point into the DCU. The event didn’t fix everything and other Crisis events try to do more. The DCU was just destined to become a confusing affair once more.

Nevertheless, reading from Crisis to Crisis is not a simple task as the series are numerous, as well as the crossovers. If you want to explore this rich story, the task is overwhelming. There are a lot of roads to follow, but you may only want the short version–or at least, the essential reading recommendation.

This reading guide is here to offer one possible road to follow. It’s not definitive, feel free to submit more books to read in the comment section (and tell us why they are a must-read!).

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Green Lantern Rebirth Reading Order

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After almost five years, the New 52 era came to an end to make way for a new era, a new beginning: Rebirth! It had, from a continuity point of view, minimal impact on the Green Lanterns, as their story simply continues from the previous era.

From a more behind-the-scene angle, new creative teams worked on the title. Or titles should I write, as the main Green Lantern series was replaced by two books. Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz headlined Green Lanterns, written by Sam Humphries for its first 32 issues and for the most part penciled by Robson Rocha. Humphries was followed by Tim Seeley (#33-47), Aaron Gillespie (#48-49), and Dan Jurgens (#50-57) with art from Ronan Cliquet, Carlo Barberi, V. Ken Marion, Mike Perkins and Marco Santucci. Our two Green Lanterns were also members of the Justice League during this period. At the same time, Hal Jordan was still flying with writer Robert Venditti and artist Rafa Sandoval in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps. 

Things changed not long after Dark Nights: Metal. Grant Morrison took over and teamed up with British comic book artist Liam Sharp for a run on Green Lantern. There was also some shake-up in the Justice League, following the No Justice arc, with the creation of different teams. Simon Baz stayed with the classic Justice League, but Jessica Crews joined the Justice League Odyssey, a team formed to bring order to the newly created space sector known as the Ghost Sector. And a little bit later, a new Green Lantern was introduced…

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