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Star Wars: Crimson Reign Reading order, the follow-up to War of the Bounty Hunters

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If the War of the Bounty Hunter is over, the story continues in another Star Wars event, Crimson Reign. Written by Charles Soule and penciled by Steven Cummings, this is the second part of a trilogy that is supposed to reshape the Star Wars galaxy during the Age of Rebellion! 

As the official synopsis reveals, “The criminal organization known as the Crimson Dawn has risen — but what is their goal, and how do they plan to achieve it? And how will the Rebel Alliance and the Empire both react to this new galactic power player? Featuring the return of beloved characters, shocking twists, epic feats of the Force, and a story that will reach from the darkest underworld all the way to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant.”

What to read before Star Wars: Crimson Reign?

This event takes place during the Age of the Rebellion. Check out our Star Wars Comics Canon Reading Order to learn more about it.

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Stargirl Reading Order (Courtney Whitmore)

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Created by Geoff Johns and Lee Moder, Courtney Whitmore made her first appearance in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0 (July 1999)–she was in part based on Johns’ sister Courtney, who died in the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

Courtney is the stepdaughter of Pat Dugan, the inventor of the powered armor suit S.T.R.I.P.E. and former sidekick of the original Star-Spangled Kid. Before becoming Stargirl, she was in fact the new Star-Spangled Kid. She joined the Justice Society of America (JSA) and, after being given Starman Jack Knight’s cosmic staff, she officially became known as Stargirl.

She stayed with the JSA for a long time, until the moment when DC rebooted its universe and launched the New 52 era. Then, Stargirl became a member of the new Justice League of America title. Her origin story was also rewritten. In this version, she found the staff and the rest of the uniform in Pat Dugan’s office who was then Barbara Whitmore’s boyfriend. Pat agreed to train her, and she became a full-time superhero.

Of course, there’s now a Stargirl TV Show. You may have seen it. Brec Bassinger is playing the young Courtney/Stargirl. The character also appeared in other TV shows, live or animated, through the years (and also in Video Games).

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Green Lantern New 52 Reading Order, with the Green Lantern Corps, Red Lanterns, New Guardians and Sinestro

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Green Lantern New 52 Reading Order

A new era started in the DC Universe with the New 52. But the impact on the Green Lantern was quite limited. Geoff Johns took over creative duties on Green Lantern with the limited series Green Lantern: Rebirth in 2004 and was still the main writer for this relaunch with Doug Mahnke as penciler.

Like most DC characters, Green Lantern Hal Jordan was five years younger than his previous incarnations but there was no change in his history — all of Johns’ run on the Green Lantern title was still part of the continuity. During Geoff Johns’ time, Green Lantern Corps vol. 3 was written by Peter Tomasi, and the new Red Lantern series (written by Peter Milligan) was launched, as well as the Green Lantern: New Guardians series (written by Tony Bedard).

After issue #20, all the teams were changed with writer Robert Venditti and artist Billy Tan taking over as the main creative team for Green Lantern Vol. 5. Venditti also co-wrote Green Lantern Corps vol. 3 with Van Jensen before the latter became the sole writer. The Red Lanterns series continued with Charles Soule (#21-37) and Landry Q. Walker (#38-40), and the Green Lantern: New Guardians series was written by Justin Jordan (#21-40). The new Sinestro was launched, written by Cullen Bunn.

What to read before Green Lantern New 52?

First, you can check out our Green Lantern Reading Order which covers the history of the GL characters from start to finish. But it may be a bit too big. After all, we are here for the New 52 era. The DC Universe was rebooted after the Flashpoint event. It is not required reading, but you could take a look at it before reading anything else.

If New 52 was presented as a jumping point for new readers, Geoff Johns was the main writer for Green Lantern for almost 7 years at this stage, and, as said above, his run stayed in continuity. The events in Green Lantern Vol. 5 take place immediately after the last two books, War of the Green Lanterns and Aftermath. Don’t hesitate to check out Geoff Johns’ massive and celebrated run before entering the New 52 era. 

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Amadeus Cho Reading Order, from sidekick to Totally Awesome Hulk and Brawn

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Amadeus Cho is a 19-year-old Korean-American genius, one of the smartest people on earth. Actually, he was credited as the 7th smartest person in the world, a title he obtained after winning the Excello Soap Company’s “Brain Soap” competition (he’s maybe only the 8th or 10th smartest person in the world, but who’s counting?). It’s also where his story begins, as the game’s creator tries to kill Cho to preserve his ranking. His attempt failed but Cho’s parents were killed, and our young man had to flee for his life.

It didn’t take long for him to run across The Hulk who saved his life. As a result, Amadeus became his sidekick, a sort of modern-day Rick Jones before moving on to Hercules. But Amadeus Cho was too smart and too cocky to stay in this sidekick role and was destined to become a hero in his own right. Cho became the Totally Awesome Hulk but lost control at some point. He was somehow depowered when he finally succeeded in destroying the rage monster inside him. Amadeus chose to be called Brawn in this new form. He has also been a member of two superhero teams: The Champions and Agents of Atlas.

This reading order was requested by one of our readers! Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or write to us with some other suggestions!

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Birds of Prey Reading Order

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A force to be reckoned with, the Birds of Prey is traditionally an all-women group of DC vigilantes founded in the late ’90s. Discover all their adventures in Gotham and beyond with our Birds of Prey comics reading list, covering the full history of the team, from their first appearance to Gail Simone’s celebrated run and the recent relaunch by Kelly Thompson.

Birds of Prey Logo

At its core, the Birds of Prey started as a partnership between Black Canary and Oracle, gradually expanding over time to include more superheroines. Their relationship was first established in Showcase ’96 #3, written by Jordan B. Gorfinkel—who also gave the team its name in the first issue of the ongoing series by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Gary Frank.

Chuck Dixon described the dynamic between Oracle and Black Canary as a clash of values, with “Dinah’s more idealistic approach” being at the heart of the book. Dinah Laurel Lance, alias Black Canary, is portrayed as passionate and idealistic, while Barbara Gordon, alias Oracle, has a strong sense of morality but is also less morally conflicted, per Dixon’s words who described her as a woman who knows that, sometimes, you have to kill to save lives–even if she’s not comfortable with that fact.

While Barbara and Dinah formed the heart of the team, other crimefighters joined throughout the series. One of the most prominent additions was Helena Bertinelli, a.k.a. Huntress, who became a key member during Gail Simone’s run.

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Scarlet Witch Reading Order, The Wanda Maximoff Story

Also known as Wanda Maximoff, Scarlet Witch first appeared in the comic book The X-Men #4 (March 1964) by legendary Marvel writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Initially, her powers were limited to probability manipulation, but over time, she evolved into one of the most powerful sorceresses in the Marvel Universe—capable of reshaping reality itself. For decades, she was considered a mutant, but her origins were retconned in recent years.

Wanda’s journey has been full of important transformations. She debuted as a reluctant supervillain alongside her twin brother, Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver), as members of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. However, disillusioned by Magneto’s ruthlessness, the twins soon abandoned the Brotherhood and switched sides, joining the Avengers and becoming true heroes.

Her personal life has been just as tumultuous. She married her fellow Avenger, the android Vision, in 1975 and later found a way to have children—only for it all to end in tragedy (they would later reappear and are now the heroes called Wiccan and Speed). Over time, Wanda’s story took darker turns, involving brainwashing, newfound abilities, struggles with mental instability, and a reality-altering catastrophe that changed everything.

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Big Nate Comics in Order

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Coming from writer and illustrator Lincoln Peirce, Big Nate is an ongoing American comic strip syndicated since January 7, 1991. It emerged from a comic strip by Peirce that was based on the little neighborhood in New Hampshire where he grew up. Instead of focusing on one character, it had a large cast of characters, including two brothers. After some feedbacks from comics editor Sarah Gillepsie, Peirce made some modifications, creating Nate and renaming his comic strip “Big Nate.”

Big Nate tells us about the colorful life of Nate Wright. This spunky eleven-year-old holds the school record for detentions and is in little chance of losing that distinction, but that doesn’t stop him from dreaming big! He’s a self-described genius, a sixth-grade renaissance man, and a full-fledged believer in his future as a cartoonist. Equipped with a No. 2 pencil and the unshakable belief that he is No. 1, Nate fights a daily battle against overzealous teachers, undercooked cafeteria food, and all-around conventionality.

For many years, Big Nate wasn’t the huge success it is today, although it was selling reasonably well. Its popularity exploded when Big Nate joined Potropica, a website created by Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and when the first Big Nate book was released.

Since then, Big Nate has become a franchise, with more children’s books, activity books, an animated television series (launched on the Paramount+ streaming service in 2022) and a stage musical adaptation (in 2013).

Today, we are taking a closer look at the Big Nate comic collection, which spans strips from 1991 to the present. 

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Black Canary Reading Order (Dinah Laurel Lance)

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Despite having few solo title comics, Black Canary is one of the most important female characters in DC Comics. She’s a legacy character, following in the footsteps of her mother, who was an important member of the Justice Society of America in the Golden Age.

Dinah Laurel Lance doesn’t live in the shadow of her mother, first kicking ass as part of the Justice League of America, and also as a co-founder of the Birds of Prey team. She is also the longtime partner of Oliver Queen and, as a member of the Arrow Family, has been an important part of the Green Arrow comics.

Created by Dennis O’Neil and Dick Dillin, our famous Black Canary made her first appearance in Justice League of America #75 (1969), almost 60 years ago. Let’s now explore every comic featuring Black Canary with our Reading Order!
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The Defenders Reading Order, Marvel’s premier non-team!

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The Defenders are not your typical Marvel team. In fact, they are known as Marvel’s premier non-team! The group consists of powerful Marvel loners who have no interest in being part of a team, but who sometimes ally together to defend Earth. The Defenders don’t have a leader or a particular structure like a classic team; they came together through some successful team-ups!

It all began when the Doctor Strange series was abruptly canceled in the middle of a story due to low sales. Writer Roy Thomas would then tie up loose ends in Sub-Mariner (Vol. 2) #22 and Incredible Hulk #126. After that, Strange would choose to retire, but Namor and the Hulk would be reunited in a two-part story in the Sub-Mariner and allied themselves with the Silver Surfer. The trio became the “Titans Three”.

The combination of these non-conformist characters proved successful, prompting Roy Thomas to bring them together in a team series that he wanted to call The Invaders. As Kurt Busiek explained, “Stan Lee didn’t approve the name at that time and wouldn’t let Roy use the Silver Surfer as a regular member, so he launched the Defenders in Marvel Feature without him. Once the regular Defenders series had begun, Roy and Steve Englehart wanted to feature the Silver Surfer, but Lee would only allow him to appear as a guest star. Consequently, Steve featured him as a guest star as frequently as possible.” Although the Silver Surfer wasn’t an official core member of the Defenders, Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart treated him as such and made him a significant part of the team. Today, readers and writers alike treat the Silver Surfer as a core member.

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Alan Scott, the comic origins of DC’s first Green Lantern

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If Hal Jordan can be considered the most famous Green Lantern, he was not the first human to bear the name. That title belongs to Alan Scott, the Green Lantern of the Golden Age.

A selfless and dedicated man, Alan Scott could only become a role model for others and inspired other men to take up the fight. Even though he serves as an inspiration for many Green Lanterns, Alan Scott always holds himself to a higher standard than anyone else.

Though Alan Scott has never been a member of the Green Lantern Corps, he was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. With or without other superheroes, Alan Scott always fought to protect others and choose to make his emerald glow a sign of hope and a source of inspiration for decades…

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