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How to start reading DC Comics in 2025: Part 2, The Adventure Continues!

You have taken your first steps into the DC Universe, met the Trinity, read a few origin stories, and had fun adventures across Gotham, Metropolis, the Seven Seas, and outer space. But that’s only the beginning. With nearly nine decades of comics behind it, the DC Universe is full of tales still waiting to be discovered, characters to meet, and major events to experience.

You’re now a bit more familiar with this rich world, and chances are, you already have a few favorite heroes or villains you want to know more about. We encourage you to check if we have a dedicated reading guide for them (and if we don’t, shoot us a word!) to read more of his or her adventures. You have, after all, now dipped your toes into this vast ocean of stories, and now it’s time to dive deeper.

This guide is here to help you expand your reading, with more classic stories and celebrated runs, encounter more DC characters, and even step outside of continuity for original and timeless tales on some of the more iconic members of the DC Universe. 

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Comic Book News of The Week: Deadpool/Batman team-up and More!

What’s going on in the Comic Book World? Life can be pretty busy, so we highlight recent news and articles that may catch your interest in our eighth edition of Comic Book News.

More than twenty years after their last collaboration, Marvel and DC Comics are teaming up again for a major crossover event, bringing together Deadpool and Batman in a one-shot launching this September. Deadpool/Batman #1 will be written by prolific Spider-Man comics writer Zeb Wells and drawn by Greg Capullo. On the DC side, Grant Morrison and artist Dan Mora are creating the companion Batman/Deadpool one-shot set for November.

“I don’t do many comics these days, but there was no way I could turn down the chance to work with Dan Mora again, one of my all-time favorite artistic collaborators — and definitely no way I could turn down Batman and Deadpool!” Morrison says in a statement. “Expect 4th wall-busting mayhem, owls, blood, blades, and at least one giant typewriter!”

Both companies plan to continue their crossover efforts, with more one-shots scheduled for 2026, promising fans more exciting team-ups ahead.

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John Henry Irons, Steel Reading Order, Superman’s Ally

In the aftermath of The Death of Superman storyline, the DC Comics Universe was without a Man of Steel, but not for long, as soon appeared one man who became Steel, John Henry Irons (a reference to the African American folk hero John Henry).

First appearing in The Adventures of Superman #500 (1993), Irons was created by writer Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove as part of the Reign of the Supermen storyline, which followed the death of Superman at the hands of Doomsday. With Superman temporarily gone, four potential successors to Superman appeared to try to replace him as defender of Metropolis. Steel was one of them.

A brilliant engineer and weapons designer, Doctor John Henry Irons had once created powerful weaponry for a defense contractor, AmerTek, only to watch it fall into the wrong hands. Haunted by guilt, he abandoned his former life, faking his death and moving to Metropolis, where he was saved during a construction accident by Superman himself. Inspired by this event and Superman’s words (“live a life worth saving”), Irons finds a way to redeem himself, and, after Superman’s death, he takes up the mantle. He wanted not to replace Superman, but to honor him. To do this, Irons built a high-tech suit of armor and wielded a mighty hammer as the armored hero Steel.

When Superman eventually comes back, he accepts Steel as an ally. Since then, John Henry Irons kept fighting the good fight and was eventually joined by his niece, Natasha Irons, who would eventually become a hero in her own right. A brilliant teenager assisting her uncle, Natasha got her own armor of steel, and her relationship with John evolved as he became a true father figure for his niece. Being Steel became a family affair.

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What to Read This Month: The Best Comics of June 2025

Between Marvel Omnibus, DC Omnibus, the Epic Collection, DC Finest, Compact editions, and everything else publishers put out, there’s always way there’s always more to discover! Launched this past March, What to Read This Month highlights each month’s notable releases. Here’s our selection for May, featuring some great stories from… And if you missed last month’s picks, you can find them here.

June’s Comic Picks

All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from the copy provided by the publisher.

Superman Adventures Compendium One
By Scott McCloud, Mark Millar, Terry Austin, Marie Severin, Rick Burchett, Mark Evanier, Paul Dini

With the release of the new Superman movie approaching, it’s a good time to be a Superman fan! DC Comics is putting out many classic and new stories in various formats, including the first Compendium volume of Superman Adventures, the beloved comic inspired by Superman: The Animated Series. My biggest wish is that DC wouldn’t take so long to release the next volume (as it usually does for Compendium).

Superman: The Animated Series defined the Man of Steel for a whole new generation of young viewers. Now go beyond the adventures from the screen in the acclaimed comic book series set in the continuity of the show with stories written by the original series writers and in the style of the animated series, witness Superman battle Doctor Fate and Lobo wreak havoc upon Metropolis. Relive the show that brought the Man of Steel to life.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Comics – A Guide to the Stories Beyond the Game

The future in comics is not always post-apocalyptic; it can also be cyberpunk! A dystopian future is the setting of the famous Cyberpunk 2077 franchise. Based on a tabletop RPG, the Cyberpunk 2077 video game was launched in 2020. While not making a splash at the time (it was massively hyped and led to disappointment at the release), it has since become one of the best-selling games of all time.

You guessed it, the year is 2077. The action is mostly set in Night City, a place that’s known as the worst to live in America. Violence is at an all-time high and more people are living below the poverty line here than in any other location. MecaCorps control every aspect of life, while the streets are run by gangsters, tech hustlers, and illegal braindance dealers. And yet, nothing can stop humans from dreaming. Dreaming about the unattainable American Dream!

In recent years, the world of Cyberpunk 2077 has expanded in various directions, including a spin-off anime and several comic books. And today, we are taking a closer look at the Dark Horse comics set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, telling new stories of people trying to survive and make a profit in this cutthroat world. 

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Batman and Superman: A Reading Guide to DC’s Finest Team-Ups

Batman is one of the smartest superheroes in the DC Universe, while Superman is one of the most powerful. Together, they make up the World’s Finest team! 

Their friendship is one of the most enduring and iconic in comic books. These are two men with very different approaches to crime-fighting who have learned to respect and admire each other. They’ve faced many hardships, challenges, and conflicts together. While they don’t always agree and have had their share of fights, their partnership has stood the test of time and their victories and team-ups are legendary.

Batman and Superman’s relationship dates back to the Golden Age, where their Earth-Two counterparts were honorary members of the JSA, though they weren’t present in the title, to busy living many adventures in the pages of their solo titles at the time. It wasn’t until the Silver Age that their partnership truly took off, beginning with World’s Finest Comics #71 and continuing nearly uninterrupted until the series ended with issue #323.

More than 70 years later, the two heroes still work regularly together—whether it’s for a single issue, a complete storyline, a major comic book event, or as co-leads in an ongoing comic series.

If you’re curious about Superman and Batman’s friendship but don’t know where to start and what to read, this reading guide is here to help you read about one of the best team-ups in the comic book universe!

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The Best of Juggernaut Comics, A Recommended Reading Order

There may be no other family tree as complex as the Grey-Summers one in the X-Men Universe, but it doesn’t mean that other characters haven’t had their share of pain and problems with their relatives. Case in point with Marko Cain, better known as Juggernaut, who is also the stepbrother of Professor X!

Unlike Charles Xavier, Juggernaut is not a mutant, but a human empowered by an ancient jewel powered by the deity Cyttorak, which transformed him into the unstoppable Juggernaut. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he made his first appearance in X-Men #12 (1965) as an enemy of the X-Men. For a long time after his introduction, Juggy was a one-note villain, popping up in one or two issues to rampage and disappear (or get thrown into prison for a while). Still, that didn’t stop him from making a name for himself as a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants and as the criminal partner and BFF of Black Tom Cassidy. For many decades, he fought against the X-Men, as well as Spider-Man and the Hulk.

Things changed for Juggernaut in the early 2000s during Chuck Austen’s infamous run on Uncanny X-Men. While that era is often panned, it is also when Ol’ Jughead got some noticeable character development as he joined the X-Men and officially crossed the line between villain and hero, becoming more of an anti-hero (or anti-villain).

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Comic Book News of The Week: Powers celebrates 25 Years and More

What’s going on in the Comic Book World? Life can be pretty busy, so we highlight recent news and articles that may catch your interest in our seventh edition of Comic Book News.

While there is no bigger anniversary this year than Peanuts’ 75th Diamond Anniversary, it’s not the only one. Creators Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Oeming are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Powers with a new project titled Powers 25. Here’s Dark Horse’s description, now the official publisher after several reprints across different publishers:

This new tale is a fun, dangerous, adult look at a world of heroes through the eyes of special homicide officer Detective Kutter and her brand-new partner, and the first power to ever make the powers division, Moebius Moon. Under the watchful eyes of legendary Captains Deena Pilgrim and Enki Sunrise, the new detectives run through a minefield of all-new dangers. A new unsolvable powers murder has Kutter and Moon questioning EVERYTHING about the world and their place in it.

Powers 25 will take the form of a 12-issue ongoing series, with each issue featuring art from Dark Horse creators including Mike Mignola, Stan Sakai, David Mack, Scott Hepburn, Eric Powell , Jill Thompson. The first issue will be released on September 10.

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Marvel Runaways Reading Order

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First published by Marvel Comics in July 2003, The Runaways is a comic book series created by writer Brian K. Vaughan (Saga) and artist Adrian Alphona. It launched as part of Marvel’s “Tsunami” imprint, an initiative designed to attract readers who were fans of manga and other youth-oriented genres. Although the Tsunami line was discontinued after a brief period and despite modest initial single-issue sales, The Runaways found new readers with the help of the trade paperback collections, which led Marvel to revive the title in 2005 after an initial cancellation.

This starts as the story of six teenagers from Los Angeles: Nico Minoru, Chase Stein, Karolina Dean, Gertrude Yorkes, Molly Hayes, and Alex Wilder. They have little in common beyond the annual gatherings of their wealthy parents. When they accidentally discover that their parents are part of a secret criminal cabal known as the Pride, an organization that has covertly controlled much of the city’s underworld, their lives are upended. Shocked by the revelation, the teens band together and flee from their homes, determined to put an end to their parents’ criminal activities while struggling to survive on their own.

Over time, the group members each develop distinct roles and abilities that aid them in their fight against the Pride and other adversaries. Nico Minoru wields a powerful magical artifact called the Staff of One; Chase Stein utilizes advanced technology stolen from his parents; Karolina Dean learns she is an alien with the ability to manipulate solar energy; Gertrude Yorkes bonds telepathically with a genetically engineered dinosaur; Molly Hayes manifests superhuman strength and invulnerability; and Alex Wilder emerges as a strategic leader, though his loyalty becomes a pivotal point in the early narrative.

Following Vaughan and Alphona’s departure after 30 additional issues, The Runaways was continued by other creative teams, including notable writers such as Joss Whedon and Terry Moore. The Runaways inspired a 3-season (2017-19) live-action adaptation for the streaming service Hulu.

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Etrigan The Demon Reading Order

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Created by Jack Kirby for DC Comics, Etrigan the Demon made his debut in 1972. The character was first teased in the last issue of The Forever People (issue #10), announcing the launch of the new series simply titled “The Demon.”

Inspired by a character from Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant comics, Etrigan is a demon from Hell whom Merlin originally summoned to help him seek and protect the Eternity Book. The Wizard bound him to Jason Blood, one of his loyal knights. This fusion condemned Jason to immortality and a constant inner struggle with the demonic entity he now shared a body with. Blood worked with Harry Matthews, Glenda Mark, and Randy Singh to face powerful foes, including Morgaine Le Fey and her followers.

Jack Kirby only wrote and drew the original 16-issue series, but The Demon came back a few years later, in 1977, first in his second team-up with Batman in Brave and the Bold #137 ( the first one was in B&B #109 by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, the only Demon story not by Kirby at the time, in 1973). After all, Jason Blood was based in Gotham City, so he had to meet the Caped Crusader from time to time. DC Comics continued to bring Etrigan back in Batman Family, Detective Comics, Wonder Woman, and DC Comics Presents, before appearing notably in The Saga of Swamp Thing.

That’s when a change appeared in The Demon’s characterization. In SOTST #26 (1984) by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, and John Totleben, Etrigan started to speak exclusively in rhyming verse, which quickly became a defining trait of the character. Other renowned writers and cartoonists continued to bring The Demon back after that, like Matt Wagner, Jim Starlin and Mike Mignola, John Byrne, and more. The character was recurring inside the DC Universe with his story being developed from one book to the other, but he never became a major one. Still, he is a memorable and captivating figure.

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