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DC Comics Bombshells Reading Guide, a reality where superheroines guard the homefront during World War II

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DC Comics Bombshells Reading Guide

First and foremost, DC Comics Bombshells is a line of variant covers and collectible statues created by Ant Lucia and featuring superheroines reimagined in a 1940s-era pinup style. The line was launched in 2013 with Wonder Woman and the brand became soon enough popular enough for DC Comics to expand the line with art prints, T-shirts, mugs but also an out-of-continuity series.

Written by Marguerite Bennett and illustrated by rotating artists, DC Comics Bombshells is a reality where female superheroes guard the homefront during World War II. When the story began, Kate Kane is the Batwoman, a player in an all-women’s baseball league where the players’ identities are kept secret to protect them from sexist backlash. Kate Kane plays baseball and fights crime in her Batwoman identity. Soon enough, she is recruited by Commander Amanda Waller who offers her to join her Bombshell, her team working to end the war.

Bombshells is an ensemble comic book series, in which you can also find alternate versions of Queen Mera Curry (Aquawoman), The Question (Renee Montoya)Stargirl (Kortni Duginovna), Supergirl (Kara Starikov), Diana Prince (Wonder Woman), Zatanna “Zee” Zatara, and more.

As a digital-first ongoing series, Bombshells ran for 100 digital issues (the equivalent of 33 print issues), with the final issue released in August 2017. That same month, the second digital-first series named Bombshells United was launched, picking up from the end of the previous Bombshells series. The first arc introduced Bombshells versions of Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark. This second series was less successful as the title was canceled after 38 digital issues and 19 print issues.

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Grant Morrison’s JLA Reading Order

In 1986, Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis launched Justice League International, a series that quickly became popular (see the reading order for details). By the mid-1990s, though, the success had faded, and the titles were canceled. DC Comics tried to revamp the League with Mark Waid and Fabian Nicieza’s miniseries Justice League: A Midsummer’s Nightmare. But it wasn’t until 1997, when Grant Morrison and artist Howard Porter launched the new JLA series, that the team found success again.

After years without A-listers, Grant Morrison brought the core team back together—Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest—and introduced the idea of JLA as a modern pantheon of gods. To match this larger-than-life vision, the League moved into a new headquarters on the Moon, the Watchtower, and faced villains who threatened the world—or the entire universe. The creative team revisited and rebranded classic threats such as the White Martians, The Injustice Gang, and the Key, while also introducing new foes like Prometheus and Mageddon. Simply put, “JLA has rallied to save humankind from the brink of extinction. These are the adventures that have made them living legends.”

Grant Morrison’s run on JLA lasted four years, from 1997 to 2001. He wrote the series for the first 41 issues, along with a brief crossover during JLA’s “World War III” arc. During that time, the Justice League became one of DC’s best-selling titles and completely redefined the team for decades to come. It’s one of the most important runs in JLA history, and now you can explore it with our reading order!

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Elektra Reading Order, Marvel’s most deadly assassin

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Created by Frank Miller, Elektra Natchios is a dangerous woman and a true antihero. The daughter of a Greek ambassador with a troubled childhood, Elektra is a highly trained assassin and martial artist who never goes out without her pair of sai. She is also known as a love interest to Matt Murdock aka Daredevil, both of them having a very complicated relationship, where love, passion, violence, and ideals merge and collide.

As a character evolving in a gray area, between a hero and a villain, Elektra has been associated with several groups, one of the most important being the Hand, an order of evil mystical ninjas who are heavily involved in organized crime and mercenary activities. Since her first appearance, she has also been part of Hydra, The Shield, The Thunderbolts, and Heroes for Hire. Whatever the team she’s part of, Elektra is a deadly character who will prefer to die than show you what she feels.

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Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four Reading Order

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Jonathan Hickman Fantastic Four Reading Order

Following “Secret Invasion,” the 2008 crossover storyline, came the “Dark Reign” era which leads to a shift of power in the Marvel Universe toward “reformed supervillain” Norman Osborn. Mark Millar who was writing the Fantastic Four series – with art by Bryan Hitch – left the title and Jonathan Hickman took over and started to revamp and redefine Marvel’s First Family.

Here is the official synopsis: it all begins when Mr. Fantastic decides to solve everything! As the team contends with Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign, an older Franklin arrives from the future with an ominous warning! And as the Fantastic Four fight the War of the Four Cities, Mr. Fantastic assembles a band of genius youngsters. But when Nathaniel Richards returns, Galactus rises and a new Annihilation Wave threatens to invade from the Negative Zone, tragedy suddenly strikes. Grieving, the surviving members of the Fantastic Four dissolve the team – but from its ashes rises the Future Foundation!
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Batman RIP Reading Order

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Batman RIP Reading Order

Some storylines are more complicated than you can think – or they just seemed weirdly confusing for no reason. In the case of Batman R.I.P., the complication (and confusion) comes from the fact that it’s connected to the Final Crisis event. This story concluded the first third of Grant Morrison’s Batman run (full reading order here), leading to a new status quo as the series was renamed Batman and Robin for a time.

Here is the official synopsis: The troubled life of Bruce Wayne seems to spin out of control when his relationship with the mysterious Jezebel Jet deepens. Soon Bruce Wayne drops out completely, having seemingly become the victim of mental illness and abandoning his Batman identity for a life on the streets of Gotham City. Capitalizing on the fall of their greatest foe, the Club of Villains begins a crime spree through the streets of Gotham that threatens to bring the city to its knees.

What to read before Batman R.I.P.?

  • Batman: The Black Casebook
    Collects Batman #65, 86, 112, 113, 134, 156 And 162, Detective Comics #215, 235, 247 And 267, And World’s Finest Comics #89.
  • Batman and Son (collects previous editions Batman & Son and The Black Glove in one volume)
    Collects Batman issues #655-658, #663-669 and #672-675.
  • Batman: Heart of Hush
    Collects Detective Comics #846-850.
  • Grant Morrison’s run and Batman R.I.P. take place during the Modern Age period. For more Batman’s adventures during this time, check out our Batman reading order, the Modern Age.

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Harley Quinn Reading Order

Harley Quinn is a rarity in the Comic Book World because she was created on TV by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm in Batman: The Animated Series, in 1992. She became a recurring character on the show and, because of her popularity, she made the transition to paper, joining the Batman comic book canon seven years later.

Here was her story at the beginning, as told in the Mad Love comics: When she was only seven years old, Harleen Quinzel witnessed her father being beaten up by thugs, and then arrested by the police. That night, she ran away to the safest place she could think of: Coney Island amusement park. But there, pursued into the Funhouse by the men who brutalized her father, she beheld unimaginable horrors. Years later, Harleen has put her past behind her and used her intelligence and ambition to escape her childhood of poverty with a career in psychiatry. Assigned to her first position at Arkham Hospital, she will discover, deep in the asylum, something dangerous and alluring, something quite unlike anything else she has ever known before: The Joker.

She became Harley Quinn and, after having been injected with a special formula by Poison Ivy, she got new abilities, such as immunity to toxins and enhanced strength and agility. She left Joker behind and became a solo criminal. It was not a hit at first, but Harley came back a few years after the end of her first solo series to team up with Catwoman and Poison Ivy (forming the Gotham City Sirens).

Harley was a criminal, then an anti-heroine. Her backstory was refined, as was her relationship with Poison Ivy. She became quite popular on paper (especially during the 2010s), and later on the big screen too.

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Archie Horror Reading Order (with Afterlife With Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)

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Archie Horror Reading Order

As a publisher that exists since 1939, it’s understandable that once in a while, the people at Archie Comics feel the need to go out of their comfort zone to expand their audience and modernize their image. It’s what happened in 2010, with Afterlife with Archie.

It’s the early 2010s, when we are in a full-blown Zombie renaissance, thanks to successful zombie comedies (like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, and more). So, what would happen if a zombie apocalypse happened in Riverdale? It gave us Afterlife with Archie, the first title in the company not to be aimed at children, containing graphic horror scenes and moderate language.

The successes of Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina lead to the creation of the imprint Archie Horror in 2015,  with Afterlife #8 the first to feature the company’s Archie Horror logo.

Soon they published other titles, each taking place in their own alternate universe existing independently of each other, full of zombies, evil witches or werewolves. They all exist independently of each other, with one exception to that rule–the crossover story between Jughead and Vampironica.

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Shadow War Reading Order, a Batman, Robin & Deathstroke, Inc. crossover event

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Since James Tynion IV stopped writing Batman, Joshua Williamson is the main writer of the series. He also writes Robin, Deathstroke, Inc., and everything linked to Infinite Frontier. This summer, he will be in charge of the Dark Crisis event, but before that he organized another crossover event in the Batmanverse called Shadow War—illustrated by Viktor Bogdanovic.

Here is how it starts: When Deathstroke assassinates Ra’s al Ghul, Talia al Ghul demands revenge and sends her League of Shadows to kill Deathstroke and Deathstroke Inc.! Batman and Robin must team up to track down Deathstroke and bring him to justice … but do they?

Expect over-the-top fights, action, mystery, and betrayal as this crossover event creates a major impact on the DCU!

What to read before Shadow War?

With this kind of event, it’s always better to be up-to-date, especially with Joshua Williamson’s writing. First, we’ve got Batman, the first story after the Fear State event, then Damian Wayne in Robin (see Damian Wayne Reading Order for more info), and Deathstroke in the new Deathstroke, Inc. series.

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Hunt for Wolverine (and Return of Wolverine) Reading Order, the follow-up to Death of Wolverine

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Hunt for Wolverine - Reading Order

At the end of 2014, Marvel did the unthinkable: kill Wolverine! It would take almost four years for our favorite mutant to reappear (don’t worry so, Old Man Logan was here during that period). But before Logan could really come back, he had to be found. And this is how was launched the Hunt for Wolverine!

Per Marvel official synopsis: Wolverine is back – but where is he? Just as the X-Men have finally come to terms with Logan’s death, a terrible secret means old wounds are reopened, truths are questioned, and an epic quest begins across the Marvel Universe. But who will solve the puzzle first? Will it be Daredevil and his crack squad of investigators, including Misty Knight? Or Logan’s former fellow New Avengers, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage? Or perhaps Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike and Daken will be the ones to track him down! With mystery in Madripoor and around the globe, the return of Wolverine will keep you guessing!

What to read before the Hunt for Wolverine?

Hunt for Wolverine is a follow-up to the Death of Wolverine storyline, which had happened almost four years before. To know more about it, check out our Death of Wolverine reading order.

  • Death of Wolverine: The Complete Collection
    Collects Death Of Wolverine #1-4, Death Of Wolverine: The Weapon X Program #1-5, Death Of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy #1-7, Death Of Wolverine: Deadpool & Captain America #1, Death Of Wolverine: Life After Logan #1

To discover more stories with our favorite Canadian mutant, check out the Wolverine reading order.

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X-23/Wolverine, Laura Kinney Reading Order

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Created by writer Craig Kyle, X-23 first appeared – not in a comic book! — in the television series X-Men: Evolution, in season 3 episode 10. At the time, Kyle created her in an attempt to make a Wolverine to “connect more to the younger kids”.  It was a success and, after a second episode, she became so popular, that she ended up in the comics, like Harley Quinn in her time. Her first appearance in comics was in NYX #3, published in February 2004 and written by Joe Quesada before headlining two miniseries written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost where her origins were explained.

In the beginning, X-23 is simply a product of The Facility, an organization that attempted to recreate Weapon X and failed. The geneticist Sarah Kinney thought that cloning was the way to go, but the genome recovered from Wolverine was too damaged. Sarah decided to alter the DNA against the Facility orders and Laura was born. She was trained to kill Wolverine, but when she got the opportunity, she joined the X-Men. Since then, she has realized she was Wolvie’s biological daughter, and eventually, his successor.

Since her first appearance on television, Laura has made quite a name for herself, on the comic book pages, but also on the big screen in the movie Logan. She’s a perfect example of a legacy character done right, well worth having her own reading order.

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