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The Boys Reading Order, A Guide to Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s Satirical comic book series

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The Boys Reading Order

The Boys is a hit TV series on Amazon Prime Video since 2019. Before the TV show, there was the comic book by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.

The comic book takes place in a world where superpowered individuals are recognized as heroes by the general public and work for the powerful corporation Vought International. In public, those superheroes are exemplary, but away from the camera, they are, most of them, arrogant, corrupt, depraved, and more.

The Boys are a team of vigilantes led by Billy Butcher, working for the CIA in order to keep an eye on the superhero community. And like the superheroes they worked so hard to stop, they are also fuck up people. Everything starts when Wee Hughie – based on Simon Pegg – watched his girlfriend being killed in front of him by a superhero who didn’t care about the collateral damages. Butcher invites him to join his team in the US and teaches him all he needs to know about the birth of superheroes and how they are just propaganda material for a failed military consortium.

The Boys is full of Marvel and DC references, there’s also an Animal House storyline and a lot of really dark and disturbing things, you know, like in a Garth Ennis comics. It’s a satirical comic, with The evolution of Hughie and Butcher at the heart of the story. And like a classic Ennis comic, it’s full of rage, violence, and dark and twisted humor, with interesting characters and some pure emotions.

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Death of Doctor Strange Reading Order

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Death of Doctor Strange Reading Order

Like numerous Marvel characters, Doctor Strange had died several times already. But until now, he didn’t have his classic “Death Of…” storyline, like Wolverine, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man, or The Mighty Thor. It’s all changed now, with the event Death of Doctor Strange, written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Lee Garbett.

Doctor Stephen Strange is known as the world’s greatest neurosurgeon and Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme (except for that time when, you know, Loki took that title). He defends our planet from the supernatural and interdimensional threats no other hero is equipped to handle. But what would happen if he unexpectedly died? Who would protect Earth and keep the mystical evils at bay? And most importantly…who killed Stephen Strange?!

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Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: Oz, a Comic Reading Order from the Zenescope Universe

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We’re not in Kansas anymore! We’re in the Grimm Fairy Tales universe from Zenescope, where authors and artists explore classic fairy tales with modern twists, sexy covers, and some gore inside.

Taking inspiration from L. Frank Baum’s children’s book, Oz is one of the realms of the Grimm Fairy Tales universe, alongside Myst, Neverland, Wonderland, and Earth. But this is not the Land of Oz from the books and the movie, as Dorothy is not some ordinary farm girl from Kansas.

If the following books take place in the Zenescope universe where you can also meet Robyn Hood and Van Helsing, they do not really connect to the others.

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Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers Reading Order

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After his run on the Fantastic Four and a few years before taking over The X-Men, Jonathan Hickman became the main writer on The Avengers titles of the Marvel Now era after Brian Michael Bendis left in 2012.

With the Avengers (Volume 5), Hickman introduced new threats, but also expand the roster and sphere of influence of the team to a global and even interplanetary level. This will lead to a cosmos-threatening event. In New Avengers (Volume 3), he focused more on the members of The Illuminati (Black Panther, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Black Bolt, Mr. Fantastic, Sub-Mariner, and the Beast) who are armed with the six Infinity Gems against an infinite legion of parallel realities. 

Here is the official synopsis: As threats to Earth mount, the Avengers expand! And while Iron Man and Captain America assemble their Avengers World and strive to decipher the meaning of the White Event, Tony Stark secretly tries to solve the biggest crisis of all, along with his influential allies, the Illuminati! While they seek to prevent the collapse of reality itself, the Avengers face a war on two fronts! Protecting Earth from the Builders may only hand it to…Thanos! 

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Spider-Man Noir Reading Order (member of the Spider-Verse)

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In December 2006, french writer Fabrice Sapolsky (creator of Comix Box Magazine) pitched the idea of a 1930s pulp version of Spider-Man to David Hine.  This led to Marvel Noir, a Marvel Comics alternative continuity combining elements of film noir and pulp fiction with the Marvel Universe. The Marvel Noir line was launched with Spider-Man: Noir #1 and X-Men Noir #1, in February 2009. For Spidey, Carmine Di Giandomenico drew the first stories and Marko Djurdjevic his cool costume.

Earth-90214, sometimes also called Earth-Noir, is a hard-boiled world. Spider-Man’s story begins in the 30s, during the Great Depression when New York is dealing with some economical issues and most of the people do not have jobs. Norman Osborn mostly rules the city, with Vulture, Kraven, and the Enforcers as members of his crew. Peter Parker has been raised by his paternal aunt and uncle, activists May and Ben Parker, and gained arachnid powers after being bitten by a supernatural spider. If you’re a fan of Batman, this Spider-Man is the closest version there is of the character in the Spider-Verse — his alias is The Spider-Man, for a good reason.

Spider-Man Noir became quickly a popular character, earning a sequel, but also appearing as a playable character in the 2010 video game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions — a year after his first comic appearance. Despite existing for less than 15 years, Spider-Man has featured already in a few crossover stories and quite a number of video games, but also in television and film (like in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). No doubt, Spider-Man Noir is photogenic!

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Snowpiercer, le Transperceneige: A Reading Order Guide

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Created by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette, Le Transperceneige, or Snowpiercer, is a french post-apocalyptic graphic novel where the last survivors of humanity are locked in a gigantic train that never stops.

Because even when humanity is on its last leg, we can’t get rid of social hierarchy, the train is organized with the rich at the head, in golden wagons going back to the poor at the end of the convoy. Coming from the tail wagons, Proloff is determined to go back up the train in order to understand the situation following some horrible events. 

Le Transperceneige has been adapted as a movie in 2013 by Bong Joon-ho and has also inspired a television series (on cable channel TNT). Following the movie’s success, several new albums have been published.

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Wonder Woman Reading Order

Princess Diana of Themyscira is Wonder Woman, the most famous female superhero in the Patriarch’s World and a powerful feminist icon. Known in her civilian identity as Diana Prince, she hails from the hidden island of Themyscira, home of the Amazons, and is a founding member of the Justice League.

Armed with her Lasso of Truth, indestructible bracelets, and razor-sharp tiara, Diana battles gods, mythical beasts, and formidable foes—including her most persistent enemies: Ares, Cheetah, Doctor Poison, Circe, Doctor Psycho, and Giganta.

Created by William Moulton Marston, a psychologist and writer inspired by his wife Elizabeth Marston and their partner Olive Byrne, Wonder Woman was brought to life by artist Harry G. Peter and made her debut in All-Star Comics #8 on October 21, 1941.

Her origin story has been reimagined many times, but its core remains the same: a champion of justice who fights with strength and compassion, even toward her enemies. It often begins with Captain Steve Trevor’s plane crashing on Themyscira, leading Diana to win the right to escort him back to the outside world—the “Patriarch’s World.” To honor her mission, her mother, Queen Hippolyta, bestows upon her a sacred uniform, marking her as Wonder Woman.

She is a princess, a warrior, and an ambassador. Beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, and swifter than Mercury—she is Wonder Woman!

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War of Kings Reading Order, a Marvel Cosmic Event (leading to Realm of Kings and The Thanos Imperative)

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War of Kings Reading Order

After Annihilation event (see reading order) and its direct sequel as part of the modern Marvel Cosmic saga, Annihilation: Conquest (see reading order), the Marvel Cosmic Universe kept going forward for a good year, then a new crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning titled War of King happened.

Here is the official synopsis: Intending to restore their strength and security in the aftermath of the Secret Invasion, Black Bolt finds he has to lead the Inhumans into direct confrontation with the Shi’Ar Empire and their insane ruler, Vulcan. What happens when an Inhuman-led Kree go to war with the Shi’ar led by the crazed Summers brother Vulcan? When these mighty powers turn their rage upon one another, what happens to those caught in the crossfire? When two mighty rulers wage war, who will rule?

What to read before War of Kings?

A lot happened since Annihilation: Conquest with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, but also the X-Men and the Secret Invasion. In order to go in fully prepared, you’ll want to take a look at those books:

  • War of Kings Prelude: Road to War of Kings Omnibus
    Collects Son Of M #1-6, X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1-6, Silent War #1-6, Secret Invasion: Inhumans #1-4, Guardians Of The Galaxy (2008) #1-12, Nova #13-22, Nova: The Origin Of Richard Rider, War Of Kings Saga.

War of Kings Prelude Road to War of Kings Reading Order Omnibus

Or in trade paperbacks:

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Anya Corazon Reading Order (Araña, Spider-Girl)

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Created by writer Fiona Avery and artist Mark Brooks, Anya Sofia Corazon is a member of the Spider-Verse since 2004 and is more known right now as being Spider-Girl. But she was Araña when she made her first appearance in Amazing Fantasy vol.2 #1.

She didn’t acquire her abilities following a bite by a spider, but after having her life saved by the mage Miguel Legar from the Spider Society. He performed a ritual on her by giving her a spider-shaped tattoo that endows her with spider-like powers and recruits her to be a Hunter for the Spider Society (a secret society worshipping Spider-Totems, created by J. Michael Straczynski during his run on Spider-Man).

The Latina daughter of a Puerto Rican father and a Mexican mother, she had been the star of her own (short) series and been affiliated with the Spider Society, the Young Allies (during the Heroic Age), the Avengers Academy, and the Web Warriors. Simply put, like all respected members of the Spider-Verse, Anya Corazon has her fair share of adventures, and to discover them, we made this reading order

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Doctor Who Comic Reading Order (by Titan Comics)

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Doctor Who Comic Reading Order

Launched in 1963, the iconic sci-fi television series Doctor Who evolved to become a multi-media franchise controlled by the BBC. The program depicts the adventures of the Doctor, a Time Lord — meaning an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor traveled through time and space in his spaceship, the Tardis, a blue British police box, which is much bigger on the inside. Those adventures are shared with a companion, often a human character, which acts as a friend or an assistant, as someone who reminds the doctor of his moral duty and helps the Doctor to combat foes and help people in need.

Today, we are going to explore the Doctor Who comic published by Titan Comics, who obtained the license in 2014 and released plenty of stories since then, mostly about modern incarnations of the Doctor, but also with some classic Doctors and a few crossovers!

Whereas you are new to the Whovian universe, a regular viewer, or an expert, Titans Comics has worked to make it accessible for everyone.

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