Skip to content

Event

Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive Reading Order

  • by

Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive Reading Order

In the middle of the Post-Crisis era, The end of the 1990s was quite exhausting for Batman with the “No Man’s Land” storyline during which Gotham City was ravaged by a large earthquake. Now, Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka started to write for the main Batman series and they put Bruce Wayne on the run in a two-part storyline called Bruce Wayne: Murderer? and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive.

Here is the official synopsis: After being found with the dead body of Vesper Fairchild in his arms, Bruce Wayne is arrested for her murder. Looking to prove Bruce’s innocence, Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl quickly begin an investigation to discover the true killer. But as the mystery unfolds, evidence of Bruce’s guilt mounts, and even his closest allies begin to question their mentor’s innocence. Tired of portraying himself as someone he is not and further embracing the freedom of his masked identity, Bruce decides to lay his millionaire playboy alter ego to rest and live life only as the Batman.

What to read before Bruce Wayne: Murderer?

After the No Man’s Land story-arc, Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker started to write Detective Comics/Batman stories, leading to this two-part crossover event. It was the New Gotham era. You don’t need to read them to understand the Murderer/Fugitive story, of course, but it’s still

Read More »Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive Reading Order

Extreme Carnage Reading Order: the follow-up to the King in Black event

  • by

Extreme Carnage Reading Order

Introduced as a summer event in July 2021, Extreme Carnage is coming from Phillip Kennedy Johnson and other writers, telling us about the other symbiotes after what recently happened to the Marvel Universe.

As the dust continues to settle after the symbiote-redefining King in Black saga (full reading order here), Eddie and Dylan Brock aren’t the only ones adjusting to a new normal (see Venom Reading Order). The Life Foundation symbiotes — Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony — are trying to reconcile the sometimes noble intentions of their hosts with the all-too-often bloodthirsty impulses of their others! But another symbiote is facing a stunning reinvention as well…and that means Carnage! What will happen when the refreshed Carnage symbiote targets the rest one by one? Be here for an event that truly lives up to its name!

What to read before Extreme Carnage?

There are probably too many comics to list here if we want to cover every character present in this Extreme Carnage event, but there’s a simple and logical road to follow, the event that preceded it:

  • Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Maximum Carnage (if you want to really go back)
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #378-380, Web of Spider-Man (1985) #101-103, Spider-Man (1990) #35-37, Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #201-203, Spider-Man/Punisher/Sabretooth: Designer Genes (1993) one-shot, material from Spider-Man Unlimited (1993) #1-2.
  • Absolute Carnage Omnibus (see also full reading order)
    Collects Absolute Carnage (2019) 1-5, Absolute Carnage Vs. Deadpool (2019) 1-3, Absolute Carnage: Captain Marvel (2019) 1, Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk (2019) 1, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Spider-Man (2019) 1, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Of Vengeance (2019) 1, Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors (2019) 1-3, Absolute Carnage: Avengers (2019) 1, Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales (2019) 1-3, Absolute Carnage: Weapon Plus (2019) 1, Absolute Carnage: Scream (2019) 1-3, Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety (2019) 1, Amazing Spider-Man (2018) 29-31, Venom (2018) 16-20, And Absolute Carnage Stinger Pages
  • King In Black
    Collects King In Black (2020) #1-5. For more, see the full reading order here.

Also, you can find more about Carnage with its reading order.

Read More »Extreme Carnage Reading Order: the follow-up to the King in Black event

Spider-Man Sinister War Reading Order

  • by

Before leaving Marvel and The Amazing Spider-Man behind him, Nick Spencer teamed up with Mark Bagley for a new epic Spider-Man event storyline that bring back a lot of Spidey’s enemies.

In fact, as the official synopsis tells it, Doctor Octopus is Back! Ock’s got a new Sinister Six and if you think he’s thought big in the past, think again. What Ock DOESN’T know is that the VULTURE has a sextet of his own: THE SAVAGE SIX! It’s an all-out WAR between two of the greatest villains in the Marvel Universe, and the only person they hate more than each other is SPIDER-MAN!

What to read before Spider-Man Sinister War?

It’s the tradition to start teasing a new event in advance and, in the case of Sinister War, it started with Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #64. Of course, being the last event of the Nick Spencer era, you could go back earlier and read everything, why not? Go to our Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer reading order for more information.

Read More »Spider-Man Sinister War Reading Order

Avengers Disassembled Reading Order (aka The beginning of Brian Michael Bendis’s era)

  • by

Avengers Disassembled Reading Order

After Chuck Austen’s run on The Avengers series ended, Brian Michael Bendis took his place and rebooted the series with the “Avengers Disassembled” storyline. This is the start of a new Marvel era full of events. Avengers Disassembled was not supposed to become an event, it was and mostly is a storyline, with tie-ins.

As the official synopsis described it: it begins with the return of a team member thought dead – and by the time it’s over, everything you know about the Avengers will have changed! The event that will rock the entirety of the Marvel Universe starts here!

What to read before Avengers Disassembled?

Being a new entry point, the beginning of Bendis’s run (see the full reading order of The Avengers by Bendis), you can start The Avengers with “Avengers Disassembled,” even if it took the form of a conclusion.

Most of the tie-ins are barely connected to the event, they take place in the continuity of their own series (especially Fantastic Four and Excalibur, at least Spectacular Spider-Man offered a team-up with Cap).

Read More »Avengers Disassembled Reading Order (aka The beginning of Brian Michael Bendis’s era)

Batman Knightfall Reading Order

  • by

Batman Knightfall Reading Order

The famous ’90s saga, during the Post-crisis era, the back-breaking introduction of Bane! “Knightfall” is a 1993–1994 story arc. More precisely, it’s a trilogy of storylines: “Knightfall”, “Knightquest”, and “KnightsEnd”. It’s the Batman equivalent of “The Death of Superman” storyline. An event that was destined to change the hero forever (to sell more comics). It’s the fall of Batman, his replacement by Jean-Paul Valley (a.k.a. Azrael) who ended up tarnishing Batman’s reputation, and Bruce Wayne comeback, with some Robin drama in the middle.

This is how the story started: the inmates of Arkham Asylum have broken free and Batman must push himself to the limits to re-apprehend the Joker, Poison Ivy, the Riddler, Killer Croc, and more. Pushed to the limits, he comes face-to-face against the monstrosity known as Bane, who delivers a crippling blow destined to change the Caped Crusader forever!

What to read before Batman Knightfall?

There are two books you can read before Batman Knightfall. The First is Batman: Sword of Azrael, a storyline from Dennis O’Neil, Joe Quesada, and Kevin Nowlan that introduced Azrael, a prominent figure in the crossover. Then, the aptly named Batman: Prelude to Knightfall.

For more information and readings about the two big characters introduced at this time, check out:

Read More »Batman Knightfall Reading Order

Heroes Reborn 2021 Reading Order, a world without the Avengers

What would be the Marvel Universe without the Avengers? That is the storyline explored in Heroes Reborn, the last Marvel event written by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness, which has no relation to the 1996–97 storyline of the same name.

In this Heroes Reborn from 2021, the Marvel Universe was altered so that the Avengers were never formed. Tony Stark never built an Iron Man armor. Thor is a hard-drinking atheist who despises hammers. Wakanda is dismissed as a myth. And Captain America was never found in the ice. So who is the biggest superhero team of this altered Marvel Universe? The Squadron Supreme of America.

But there is one man alive who seems to remember that the entire world has somehow been… reborn: Blade. And so begins his search for the cause behind this ominous shift in reality.

What to read before Heroes Reborn?

The event is pretty new reader-friendly, so you don’t have to read anything before if you want to.

But if you want, this event is actually an extension of Jason Aaron’s Avengers run, and the following is a list of his run in collected editions:

To know more about Squadron Supreme, you can read the limited series from 1985 by Mark Gruenwald:

Read More »Heroes Reborn 2021 Reading Order, a world without the Avengers

Outlawed Reading Order, The Young Heroes Civil War

  • by

Outlawed Marvel Reading Order

Following Civil War II (Reading Order), the young heroes of Marvel decided to form the latest incarnation of the Champions (including Mrs Marvel and Miles Morales) as a reaction to the way the super community was torn apart. So it seems fitting that Marvel uses them to make the teen Civil War.

Our young heroes are facing federal pressure as the United States passes a new law in the wake of a devastating tragedy making superheroes under the age of 21 became outlaws.

This quite discreet Marvel event was a victim of the pandemic. It was actually during Outlawed that a New Warriors limited series was supposed to be launched. But the pandemic delayed the event, and if Outlawed came out in the end, it was not the case for the New Warriors title.

What to read before Outlawed?

The end of Incoming!, a one-shot comic book issue published by Marvel Comics on December 26, 2019, leads to several events, including Outlawed.

Read More »Outlawed Reading Order, The Young Heroes Civil War

DC Year of the Villain Reading Order

Year of the Villain Reading Order

You catch up on some comic book reading and arrive at the Year of The Villain, a big DC Event from the Rebirth Era published between May 2019 and March 2020. Well, to be honest, it’s more a concept than an event, with the main stories taking place in Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV’s Justice League. For that, it has been compared to Marvel’s Dark Reign. It’s also what I call a mess, with other crossovers and too many tie-ins.

But what is Year of The Villain? Per DC, Evil is winning! Lex Luthor and The Legion of Doom conspire with Cosmic Gods, bending mankind toward a dark destiny. Elsewhere, the scourge of Leviathan spreads unchecked, seizing power in every corner of the world. And all the while the Batman Who Laughs busies himself in the shadows, aligned with no one – yet with sinister plans for all. More precisely, Apex Lex recruits several supervillains to join Perpetua’s cause (an ancient goddess and the most feared being in the greater Omniverse), in exchange for giving them a source of unlimited power. In response, the Justice League recruits heroes around the universe to fight against the new Legion of Doom.

What to Read before Year of The Villain?

As it is more a companion event to Scott Snyder’s Justice League, it’s better to read that run. But it’s a lot of homework if you are not already invested in Scott Snyder’s DC stories.

Read More »DC Year of the Villain Reading Order

X-Men Hellfire Gala Reading Order (2021), A Marvel Crossover Event

  • by

Less than a year after their last crossover event that concluded the Dawn of X era, the X-Men are preparing for another one. This time, it’s not a war, but a big party: The Hellfire Gala. The guests’ list is impressive, and the twists will be surprising. Here is the official synopsis:

The X-Men are rolling out the red carpet for the biggest Krakoan event of the season—and this high-class hardcover details every drink, dance, dalliance, and deception at the Hellfire Gala! You are cordially invited to join the mutant party to end all mutant parties. Everyone will be there—all of your favorite X-Men, their closest allies … and even their worst enemies.

For Emma Frost and the Hellfire Trading Company, it’s an opportunity to show off the newfound power for both herself and for Krakoa as a nation. The very first elected team of Krakoan X-Men will, at last, be revealed to the world … and that’s just the first of the surprises in store for the evening!

What to read before X-Men Hellfire Gala?

Following the X of Swords crossover (reading order here), a new era in the X-Men by Jonathan Hickman epic started, it’s called Reign of X and you can find the reading guide here.

Read More »X-Men Hellfire Gala Reading Order (2021), A Marvel Crossover Event

Heroes in Crisis Reading Order, Welcome to Tom King’s Sanctuary

  • by

Heroes in Crisis Reading Order

Written by Tom King and penciled by Clay Mann, Heroes in Crisis is a 2018-2019 DC event from the Rebirth Era, dealing with trauma and murder.

The story takes place at the Sanctuary, an ultra-secret hospital for superheroes and reformed supervillains who’ve been traumatized by crime-fighting and cosmic combat. But something goes inexplicably wrong when many patients wind up dead, with two well-known operators as the prime suspects: Harley Quinn and Booster Gold!

It’s up to the DC Trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman to investigate–but can they get the job done in the face of overwhelming opposition?

What to read before Heroes in Crisis?

Nothing is essential for understanding the story. For those who want a better picture and understanding of why specific characters are at the Sanctuary, you can read:

Read More »Heroes in Crisis Reading Order, Welcome to Tom King’s Sanctuary