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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 live on their own adventures, far 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 there was 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 also made 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 find out more about Young Justice, take a look at this complete 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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Cable Reading Order

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Cable looks straight at you with his signature intensity

Meet Nathan Summers, time-traveling soldier, powerful mutant, and original X-Force leader, with this Cable comics reading list, covering everything from his first appearance to his team-ups with Deadpool, his X-Men days, the Messiah Trilogy, and more.

X-Men Reading Order - X-Logo

Few characters at Marvel have a backstory as complicated as Cable (with the possible exception of Psylocke). Born Nathan Christopher Charles Summers, Cable is the time-traveling son of Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Madelyne Pryor (a clone of Jean Grey). Behind his conception lurks the mad geneticist Mr. Sinister, who planned to use the child as a weapon to destroy his archenemy, Apocalypse.

As an infant, Nathan was infected by a deadly techno-organic virus incurable in the present. To save him, Cyclops gave Nathan up, sending him 2,000 years into the future (Earth-493) where he could be treated and raised. There was no hope for Scott to ever see his son again… or so he thought.

In this future world, Nathan was raised by the Askani Clan to become the warrior known as Cable, a sworn enemy of Apocalypse. The religious order was led by Mother Askani, a time-displaced version of Rachel Summers, Cable’s half-sister.

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Big Trouble in Little China Comics, a Reading Guide

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Jack Burton is not your ordinary hero… because he’s not a hero at all! He is the iconic sidekick who thinks he is the leading man. This gave us the 1986’s cult classic Big Trouble in Little China, directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong.

Although Jack Burton was born ready, the amazing and hilarious adventure he had was almost impossible to predict. The wisecracking truck driver found himself embroiled in an ancient battle between good and evil when his friend Wang Chi’s fiancée was kidnapped by bandits in San Francisco’s Chinatown and had to be rescued.

Despite its lack of success at the box office upon release, the film has become a cult favourite. In fact, almost 30 years later, Boom! Studios continued Jack’s journey through multiple ongoing stories. Today, we are taking a closer look at the adventures of Jack Burton in comics for some serious trouble and serious fun. 

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Superman Reading Order, The Modern Age (Post-Crisis)

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It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman! Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in Action Comics #1 (1938), Superman is an alien from the planet Krypton who fights crime in Metropolis and the rest of the world. Under the costume is Kal-El, who was sent to Earth as a baby and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent and raised him in the small town of Smallville. As Clark developed superhuman abilities, his parents taught him to use his talents to help humanity.

Clark relocated to Metropolis to pursue a career in journalism. He landed a job at the Daily Planet, where he met the love of his life and journalist Lois Lane, photographer Jimmy Olsen, and editor-in-chief Perry White. In parallel, he put on a colorful costume and used the codename Superman to fight powerful enemies, including General Zod, Brainiac, and the most emblematic of them all, the narcissistic-genius Lex Luthor.

The superhero genre wouldn’t be the same without Superman. Although there were others before him who could be said to fit the bill, he established the conventions and popularized the entire genre, being the best-selling superhero in American comic books until the 1980s.

As the DC Universe was becoming more complicated and sales were declining, a new page of history was written following a Crisis like no one else: Crisis on Infinite Earths. This was the beginning of the Modern Age and the creation of new instant-classic stories. The event was used to retcon the history of most characters. The idea was to clean up the timeline (something DC is still trying to do, in vain) and to update the superheroes to appeal to a contemporary audience. 

This is when this Superman reading order begins. From his new origin story by John Byrne to his iconic death, The Triangle Era, and much more, this guide covers the Superman comics released over 25 years, before DC Comics relaunched their universe with New 52.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Reading Order

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First appearing in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (Jan. 1969), the Guardians of the Galaxy is a superhero team that originated from an idea Roy Thomas had about “super-guerrillas fighting against Russians and Red Chinese who had taken over and divided the USA.” Thomas didn’t have the time to research it so Stan Lee gave it to Arnold Drake. He took it and placed it in space.

Penciled by Gene Colan, the first story introduced us to an alternative timeline of the Marvel Universe known as Earth-691, in the 31st century. The members of the Guardians of the Galaxy were Major Vance Astro, an astronaut from 20th century Earth who spends a thousand years traveling to Alpha Centauri in suspended animation; Martinex T’Naga, a crystalline being from Pluto; Captain Charlie-27, a soldier from Jupiter; and Yondu Udonta, a blue-skinned “noble savage” from Centauri-IV.

Together, they fight against the Badoon, a reptilian alien species, determined to conquer Earth’s Solar System. The team grew as the fight went on. And when the Guardians defeated the Badoon, the evil Korvac became their main foe. They traveled in time, developed into a multiple-team organization, and simply continued to fight… up until Guardians of the Galaxy #62 (July 1995).

In May 2008, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning introduced a new version of the Guardians of the Galaxy following the Annihilation: Conquest event–the old team appeared as guest stars during the series and got a new title, Guardians 3000.

The new roster united Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Phyla-Vell, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Adam Warlock. Together, they play an important part in the Annihilation storylines that relaunched the Cosmic Universe of Marvel.

With the movie coming out, the team was pushed to the front, and, in 2012 with the launch of the Marvel NOW! initiative, Brian Michael Bendis became the main writer of the series (drawn by Steve McNiven). New members joined, spin-offs were developed, and guest appearances in other titles multiplied. The Guardians of the Galaxy became big players in the Marvel Universe.

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Hawkman Reading Order

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There is more than one DC Comics superhero named Hawkman. Created by writer Gardner Fox–who was apparently inspired by the sight of a bird while trying to come up with new superheroes–and Dennis Neville in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940) during the Golden Age of comic books, the first of the several incarnations of Hawkman was Carter Hall, a reincarnation of the ancient Egyptian prince Khufu.

Hall had discovered the “ninth metal” (aka “Nth metal”) that allows him to fly by negating the effects of gravity. He put on a costume and started to fight crime. He soon became a founding member of the Justice Society of America, and even became the chairman of the team. Also at that time, he started romancing Shiera Saunders, the reincarnated bride of Khufu, who became known as Hawkgirl.

Like most of the superheroes of the Golden Age, Hawkman disappeared for a while during the 1950s and was reinvented for the Silver Age under the guidance of famed DC editor Julius Schwartz. Revived in The Brave and the Bold # 34 (Feb–Mar 1961), his powers were quite similar, but Hawkman was this time a police officer from the planet Thanagar (not a human anymore!). Named Katar Hol, he came to Earth with his wife, Shayera, searching for a criminal and stayed. The couple adopted secret identities, becoming Carter and Shiera Hall, who worked at a museum in Midway City.

This time again, he joined the main DC Team, the Justice League of America, and met the original Hawkman during crossovers with the JSA from Earth-Two.

Like the rest of the DC Universe, the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths changed a lot for Hawkman and Hawkwoman. Everything became quite confusing until the 1989 Hawkworld series rebooted the Hawkman story. This time, Katar Hol and his partner, Shayera, were sent to Earth after rebelling against the Thanagarian government, whose policy was predatory against other worlds.

Their arrival on Earth forced a retcon of the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl, as they were still alive and well. It was then revealed that the Nth metal was in reality from Thanagar. Also, we learned that it was really Fel Andar, a Thanagarian agent, who was the 1980s Hawkman who previously joined the JLA in order to spy on the heroes. All these corrections didn’t simplify the Hawk mythology, as new events added complications to the point that DC decided to put the Hawks aside for a while.

It was in the 1990s, in the JSA series, that the continuity was revised. We then learned that Carter Hall and Shiera, who got their powers from Thanagarian Nth metal, had been reincarnated multiple times since ancient Egypt. Katar Hol came to Earth during the 1990s, and Fel Andar returned to Thanagar. The reincarnation angle was used to launch a new Hawkman series in 2002.

All of this is the simple version, things were even more complicated in the books…

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