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Batman New 52 Reading Order, from The Court of Owls to the end of the DC You

In 2011, DC Comics launched the New 52 initiative, a company-wide relaunch that redefined the status quo of its characters, presenting new origins and updated continuity for many heroes. Some characters received a complete reboot, while others experienced more subtle revisions. Batman was among the latter.

When writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo assumed creative duties on Batman (Vol. 2), they did not discard the core elements of the character’s history from the Post-Crisis era. Instead, they integrated much of that history while introducing a revised backstory and developing a new mythology around Gotham City. Their run became one of the most influential of the modern era, beginning with the acclaimed “Court of Owls” storyline and continuing through major arcs such as “Death of the Family” and “Endgame.”

During the New 52 period, Batman appeared in multiple ongoing series, reflecting his central role in the DC Universe. These included: Batman, Detective Comics, Batman Incorporated by Grant Morrison, Batman and Robin by Tomasi and Gleason, Batman Eternal and Batman & Robin Eternal, and Batman: The Dark Knight.

What comics should you read before Batman New 52?

The DC Universe was rebooted as the New 52 following the events of Flashpoint (2011), which is not a necessary read before going into this era of Batman stories (but it’s still a good book to read). 

Although the New 52 was designed as a new entry point for readers, Batman’s continuity was not fully rebooted. Key elements of his Post-Crisis history were retained, and several storylines launched before Flashpoint remained relevant. In particular, you’ll need to take a look at Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated volume 1 before jumping into volume 2 and Batman and Robin by Tomasi.

Also, while optional, Batman: Gates of Gotham by Scott Snyder, Kyle Higgins, and Trevor McCarthy is a miniseries that explores Gotham’s history and acts as a thematic prelude to Snyder’s run on Batman. And if you want more, you can go through our guide to reading the Batman: The Modern Age comics in order.

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Super Sons Reading Order, Damian Wayne and Jon Kent team-up

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Super Sons Reading Order, Damian Wayne and Jon Kent team-up

In appearance, Jonathan Kent, the son of Superman, and Damian Wayne, the son of Batman don’t have much in common. One grew up on a small town farm, ignoring his father was a superhero, while the other was trained from birth to be an assassin and take over the world as an Al Ghul.

When Robin (Damian Wayne) discovers a connection between a series of mysterious crimes and the aftermath of the bizarre and deadly Amazo Virus, he needs Superboy (Jonathan Kent) to aid in the investigation. This is the start of the Super Sons, the odd couple of young heroes and one of the best friendships in the DC Universe! Facing dangers and many adventures, they will learn to work together and save the world like their fathers in some already classic DC stories.

This specific duo was created during the Rebirth era and has no connection to the imaginary or alternate-dimension versions existing of the team-up before the Rebirth Era.

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The War of the Realms Reading Order, the Marvel Event from Jason Aaron

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The main event of 2019 in the Marvel Universe, The War of the Realms was written by Jason Aaron (with art by Russell Dauterman) who was, at that time, also the writer of the main Thor series. It was the culmination of his run, the conclusion of a story arc he started a long time ago.

For some time now, the Dark Elf known as Malekith the Accursed has been conquering the Ten Realms one by one until there is only one left: Midgard (Earth!). Thor lost his precious Mjolnir, but he’s still fighting to prevent the war. With a lot of Asgardian warriors and Earth’s heroes, they must now fight against a full-on invasion and defeat Malekith.

What to read before The War of the Realms?

Being a Thor Event, The War of the Realms story began in the Thor series. Jason Aaron wrote organically the progression of Malekith the Accursed’s plan into his series from The Goddess of Thunder storyline to the crossover – see the full reading order of his run. That said, you’ll only need to read the last relaunch of the series, Thor #1–11.

It’s optional, but Avengers by Jason Aaron Vol. 2: World Tour is a good introduction to the last iteration of the Avengers team (and the Agents of Wakanda) at the center of The War of the Realms event.

Also, the easiest way to read the essential issues before immersing yourself in The War of the Realms event is a book Marvel published called War of the Realms Prelude.

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Donny Cates’ Venom Reading Order

Introduced during the first Secret Wars comic book event in the ‘1980s, this alien symbiote was Spider-man’s black costume for a short period. When Reed Richards realized it was more than a piece of intelligent fabric, he helped Spidey to get rid of it. Following its rejection, the alien symbiote tried to get back to Peter Parker but ended up bounding with Eddie Brock. This reporter for the Daily Globe wrote a story exposing the identity of the Sin-Eater but Spider-Man revealed it was not the truth and Eddie lost his job. At the end of his rope, Eddie met the symbiote. Together, they became Venom.

Friend or foe, Venom changed over the years and became a major Marvel player. He went from Eddie Brock to other hosts but came back to Eddie. When Donny Cates took over the writing duties on his title with artist Ryan Stegman, Venom got back to Eddie who was searching for redemption. To do that, he aligned himself with heroes. During his fight with a cosmic monster, he discovered the real origin of the symbiote, opening a new way in the mythology of this iconic character.

What to read before Venom by Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman?

There are a lot of Venom stories (we have a big article about that) and some are referenced in Donny Cates’s comic book run on Venom. That said, it’s a new start, a new mythology, and a friendly entry point for new readers.

However, you may not be familiar with a character named The Maker who plays a part in this story, so check out our article about this Ultimate Reed Richards.

Read More »Donny Cates’ Venom Reading Order

Batman: Death of the Family Reading Order: How to read the Batman’s event by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo ?

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Batman: Death of the Family is a cross-over event in the Batman universe, a 23-issue story arc published in 2012-2013 including the titles Batman, Batgirl, Batman and Robin, Catwoman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Red Hood, and the Outlaws, Suicide Squad, and Teen Titans. The event takes place during the Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo run.

The story deals with the Joker’s return to Gotham with a plan to get revenge on all the people Batman has come to rely on over the years, and then destroy the family. The title is, obviously, a reference to the classic story arc A Death in the Family, published in 1988.

What to read before Batman: Death of the Family?

There is no reading requirement before going into the Batman: Death of the Family event. At best, Detective Comics #1, collected in Detective Comics: Faces of Death can serve as a prelude, but completely unnecessary to understand the story as everything you need to know will be mentioned in the main storyline.

All there is to know is that the Joker cut his face off then vanished for a long time – a piece of information mentioned in the story. The main story takes place in Batman.

Read More »Batman: Death of the Family Reading Order: How to read the Batman’s event by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo ?

Absolute Carnage Reading Order

Absolute Carnage Reading Order

Written by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, Absolute Carnage is an event taking place in the Marvel Universe, and more precisely in the Venom continuity (go to Donny Cates’s Venom Reading Order).

The story is set around Cletus Kasady’s return as Carnage. After being resurrected by a cult dedicated to the worship of the god Knull and being bonded to the deific primordial Grendel symbiote, he makes his come back to New York in order to collect codices, traces left inside those who wore a symbiote, even once – and that’s a lot of potential victims, even for him!

Naturally, Kasady’s new reign of terror spells misery for Spider-Man and Venom – but the devastation is felt by Miles Morales, the Avengers, Deadpool, Ghost Rider, the Immortal Hulk, and more! But what is Kasady’s horrific endgame? Experience a new level of crazy as Carnage runs wild!

Venom and Spider-Man (Spidey’s Reading Order) must team up to stop him, but they will need even more firepower to achieve that. The heroes of New York City have to join the fight.

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X of Swords Reading Order: Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men 2020 crossover

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marvel x-men X of swords Reading Order crossover

Coming from writers Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard and artist Pepe Laraz, X of Swords is the X-Men crossover event of 2020 that marked the end of the Dawn of X era.

The story of X of Swords is about the X-Men as they must go to battle against the ancient, long-lost mutant champions of Arakko (the sister island of Krakoa). In order to save their home and country, the mutant nation must send ten of the X-Men’s best fighters to confront their enemy with ten special blades, each with their own unique properties. A war began.

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