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Wolverine Reading Order: The Solo Adventures of the Most Popular X-Man

Created by Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Romita Sr. in 1974 (in The Incredible Hulk #180-181) but first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe, Wolverine quickly became the most popular X-Man.

Described as a small-statured Canadian with a fierce temper like a wolverine, Wolverine has a complicated past, multiple origin stories, and many deaths and resurrections. In fact, he had already lived a long life before joining the X-Men, as we have discovered over the years. Born during the late 19th century, his youth was marked by family secrets and tragedies. He already had claws, but they were not made of adamantium. He also had his animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, and powerful healing factor from an early age. This made him the perfect candidate for the mysterious Weapon X programme, which kidnapped him and forcibly fused adamantium to his bones.

He obviously escaped and found his way to Professor Charles Xavier, who recruited him into the new X-Men alongside Jean Grey and Cyclops (see our X-Men reading order). As a member of the team, he fought against many foes. He lost his claws, his adamantium, his memories, his loved ones, his family, and his friends. Nevertheless, he got most of them back, joined other teams, and discovered more about himself, his friends, his place in the world, and his powers.

Marvel Comics has featured Wolverine in many series over the years due to his popularity. In fact, there have been so many that it is difficult to maintain a coherent continuity. This Wolverine reading order focuses on Wolverine’s solo career rather than covering everything. 

Wolverine Comics Reading Order

This is not a reading order about Wolverine in The X-Men. X-Men titles will be included when necessary. It’s about Wolverine’s solo adventures. You can go to our X-Men Reading Order for more information about the X series, events, and crossovers.

Wolverine: The Omnibus Collection

With this reading order, you’ll find a list of trade paperbacks, but before with go into details in that format, here is a list of the omnibuses dedicated to Wolverine:

  • Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 1
    Collects Wolverine vol.1 #1–4; Wolverine vol. 2, #1–10; Marvel Comics Presents #1–10, 72–84; The Incredible Hulk #180–182, 340; Marvel Treasury Edition #26; Best of Marvel Comics (HC); Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #1–6; Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1; Marvel Age Annual #4; Punisher War Journal #6–7; Uncanny X-Men #172–173.
  • Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 2
    Collects Wolverine (1988) #11–30, Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown (1988) #1–4, Wolverine/Nick Fury: The Scorpio Connection (1989) #1, Wolverine: The Jungle Adventure (1990) #1, Wolverine: Bloodlust (1990) #1, material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #38-71.
  • Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 3
    Collects Wolverine (1988) #31–59, Wolverine: Bloody Choices, Wolverine: Rahne of Terra, Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: Hearts of Darkness, X-Men (1991) #4-7, material from Marvel Fanfare (1982) #54-55, and Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #85-108.
  • Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 4
    Collects Wolverine (1988) #60-75, Wolverine: Inner Fury (1992) #1, Wolverine: Killing (1993) #1, Wolverine: Global Jeopardy (1993) #1, Wolverine and the Punisher: Damaging Evidence (1993) #1-3, Sabretooth (1993) #1-4, Spider-Man/Punisher/Sabretooth: Designer Genes (1993) #1, X-Men (1991) #25; material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #109-142, Marvel Holiday Special (1991) #2.
  • Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 5
    Collects Wolverine (1988) #76-101 And Annual ’95, Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #150-151, Cable (1993) #16, Wolverine: Evilution, Wolverine/Nick Fury: Scorpio Rising, Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: The Dark Design, Wolverine: Knight Of Terra, Wolverine/Gambit: Victims #1-4, Uncanny X-Men (1981) #332, Logan: Path Of The Warlord And Material From Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #152-155.
  • Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 6
    Collects Wolverine (1988) #102-118, -1, 1/2, 102.5; Wolverine Annual ’96-97; Logan: Shadow Society (1996) #1; Venom: Tooth and Claw (1996) #1-3; Maverick (1997A) #1; Wolverine: Doombringer (1997) #1; Kitty Pryde, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1997) #1-3; Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan (2000) #1-3; Wolverine: Days of Future Past (1997) #1-3; Wolverine Encyclopedia (1996) #1-2; material from Marvel: Shadows and Light (1997) #1.
  • Wolverine: Not Dead Yet Omnibus [2026]
    Collects Wolverine (1988) #119-158, Wolverine Annual 1999, Wolverine: Black Rio (1998) #1, Wolverine/Cable (1999) #1, Wolverine/Punisher: Revelation (1999) #1-4, Iron Fist/Wolverine (2000) #1-4, Hulk (1999) #8.
  • Weapon X: The Return Omnibus
    Collects Wolverine (1988) #162-166, 173-174, 176; Deadpool (1997) #57-60; Weapon X (2002) #1/2, #1-28; Weapon X: The Draft – Sauron, Wild Child, Kane, Marrow, Agent Zero; Weapon X: Days Of Future Now #1-5; Material From Wolverine (1988) #175, Deadpool (2012) #27.
  • Wolverine by Millar Omnibus
    Collects Wolverine #20-32, Wolverine #66-72, Wolverine Giant-Size Old Man Logan.
  • Wolverine By Jason Aaron Omnibus Vol. 1 [2025 Edition]
    Collects Wolverine (2003) #56 and #62-65; Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1-4; Wolverine: Weapon X #1-16; Dark Reign: The List – Wolverine; and material from Wolverine (2003) #73-74, Dark X-Men: The Beginning #3, and Wolverine (1988) #175.
  • Wolverine Goes to Hell Omnibus [2025 Edition]
    Collects Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #1-6; Wolverine (2010) #1-20, 5.1, 300-304; X-Men: Schism #1-5; Material From Wolverine: Road To Hell.
  • Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender Omnibus
    Collects Uncanny X-Force (2010) #1-35, 5.1, 19.1; Material From Wolverine: The Road To Hell (2010) #1, All-New Wolverine Saga (2010), X-Men Spotlight (2011).
  • Wolverine & the X-Men by Jason Aaron Omnibus
    Collects Wolverine & The X-Men (2011) #1-35, 38-42; Wolverine & The X-Men Annual (2013) #1.
  • Death Of Wolverine Omnibus
    Collects Wolverine (2013) #1-13, Wolverine (2014) #1-12, Wolverine Annual (2014) #1, 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, Death Of Wolverine: Life After Logan, Nightcrawler (2014) #7, Wolverine & The X-Men (2014) #10-11, Storm (2014) #4-5 And Material From Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration.
  • Return of Wolverine Omnibus
    Collects Wolverines (2015) #1-20, Hunt for Wolverine (2018) #1, Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost (2018) #1-4, Hunt for Wolverine: The Adamantium Agenda (2018) #1-4, Hunt for Wolverine: The Claws of a Killer (2018) #1-4, Hunt for Wolverine: Mystery in Madripoor (2018) #1-4, Hunt for Wolverine: Dead Ends (2018) #1, Return of Wolverine (2018) #1-5, Wolverine: Infinity Watch (2019) #1-5; material from Marvel Legacy (2017) #1, “Where Is Wolverine?” subplot pages.
  • Wolverine: Sabretooth War Omnibus
    Collects Sabretooth (2022) #1-5, Sabretooth & the Exiles (2022) #1-5, Wolverine (2020) #41-50.

Wolverine: Before The X-Men

Published from November 2001 to July 2002, written by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, and Paul Jenkins, and illustrated by Andy Kubert (pencils) and Richard Isanove (color), Wolverine: Origin does what the title suggests. It’s taking us back to his birth, revealing that he is James Howlett, the son of rich plantation owners in late-19th-century Canada. After that, we follow young James as he discovers his powers and becomes Logan. The success of the miniseries led to a sequel.

  • Wolverine: Origin – The Complete Collection
    Collects Origin #1-6 & Origin II #1-5.
  • Wolverine: Prehistory
    Collects Marvel Comics Presents #93–98; Wolverine (vol. 3) #32; Logan: Path of the Warlord, Shadow Society; Wolverine: Agent of Atlas #1–3; First X-Men #1–5; Wolverine: Hunger; Wolverine (vol. 2) #-1; Before The Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm & Logan #1–3; Wolverine/Cable; Wolverine: The Amazing Immortal Man & Other Bloody Tales; Wolverine #1000.

The classic masterpiece written, illustrated, and colored by Barry Windsor-Smith, Wolverine: Weapon X is the definitive story about Wolverine’s time in the Weapon X Program. After being taken hostage by an experimental Canadian military science outfit, Logan is transformed into Weapon X, an unstoppable killing machine with an indestructible Adamantium skeleton and razor-sharp claws. But Weapon X cannot be contained by his captors — and trapped in their lab with the monster they have made, they will face his feral wrath!

  • Wolverine: Weapon X
    Collects Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #72-84, Uncanny X-Men (1981) #205, material from Wolverine (1988) #166.

Wolverine: The Solo X-Man

Wolverine joined The X-Men in the famous Giant-Size X-Men #1 and stayed for a very long time. He was there during all of the Chris Claremont era, but also in Volume 2 of X-Men (launched in 1991), then in New X-Men (#113-156), X-Treme X-Men (volume 1 in 2001), Astonishing X-Men (in 2004), and more after that, of course. Once again, you can go to our X-Men Reading Order for more information, but for context, read the next book:

  • X-Men Epic Collection: Second Genesis
    Collects Giant Size X-Men #1; Uncanny X-Men #94-110; Iron Fist #14-15; Marvel Team-Up #53, #69-70, Annual #1; material from FOOM #10. You’ll find The Phoenix Saga in UXM 101 to 108.

Wolverine got his first solo miniseries in 1982. Coming from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, this story of love and honor took Wolverine to Japan. Then, in another miniseries, he teamed up with Kitty Pride and with Nick Fury, before finally getting his own solo title in 1988. Once the solo title was launched, with writer Chris Claremont and penciler John Buscema, Wolverine kept appearing in the main X-Men books, but also in miniseries, mostly team-ups. Nowadays, Marvel Comics likes to publish retcon/flashback miniseries set at different past periods of the X-Men timeline. They are done by writers of the corresponding era.

Starting with Wolverine (vol. 2) #31, Larry Hama became the series’ main writer (from 1990 to 1997). Except for some issues here and there, he stayed on until issue #118, making him one of the most influential figures in Wolverine’s depiction. Marc Silvestri was the first main penciller on the title (from 1990s to 1992). After him, a lot of artists worked with Hama, including Adam Kubert, Mark Texeira, Darick Robertson, and Dwayne Turner.

Once Larry Hama’s run ended, Warren Ellis wrote a storyline, then Todd Dezago, Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson, Steve Skroce, Rob Liefeld… Leinil Francis Yu was the most important artist working on the Wolverine comics at the time

With Wolverine (vol. 2) #159, Frank Tieri became the main writer, the first to launch a notable run on the book since Hama’s departure. He wrote most of the issues published between 2000 and 2003, with Sean Chen as penciller. 

In 2003, Daniel Way took over Wolverine for the last three issues of Volume 2 of the series, with art by John McCrea and Staz Johnson. Directly after that, Marvel Comics decided to relaunch the book with Volume 3 written at first by Greg Rucka with art by Darick Robertson and Leandro Fernandez.

Mark Millar came on board for the popular Enemy of the State storyline, with artist John Romita Jr.

Wolverine: X-Man, Avengers, Teacher…

When Brian Michael Bendis revamped the Avengers and launched the era of non-stop crossover events, Wolverine joined the New Avengers. It was also a turning point for The World of the X-Men. It was about to change forever with the House of M crossover, a big Avengers/X-Men event that broke the status quo for the Mutants in the Marvel Universe, and Daniel Way came back to write Wolverine’s side of the story, with art by Javier Saltares. Way continued with artist Steve Dillon on the Wolverine: Origins series, a follow-up to his post-House of M work that introduced Daken, the son of Wolverine.

You can follow Wolverine in the Avengers, and a big part of what happened during that period, in our Avengers by Bendis Reading Order. But this guide is still about the essential Wolverine, with a focus on his solo adventures, so here are the essentials:

With the Civil War crossover event, Marc Guggenheim took over writing duties on Wolverine’s solo series, with artist Humberto Ramos at first, but his run didn’t have a regular artist. It lasted until issue #61.

Next, Jason Aaron took over Wolverine, and, if you want to focus on that run, here is a dedicated reading order. Artists Ron Garney, Adam Kubert, and Tommy Lee Edwards worked with Aaron, taking Volume 3 to its conclusion, introducing Old Man Logan along the way. In the middle of it, Millar came back and wrote issues #66-72, with art by Steve McNiven.

After the event of Messiah Complex, a new X-Force strike team was validated by Cyclops with Wolverine as the leader. The other members are Archangel, X-23, Warpath, Wolfsbane, Elixir, Domino, and Vanisher.

In September 2010, Jason Aaron wrote a new Wolverine #1. Volume 4, which went back to the original numbering after 20 issues, took Logan to the Marvel Now! relaunch, passing through Fear Itself, Schism, and more (see next section).

When Cyclops asked the United Nations to put an end to the Sentinel programs, things didn’t turn out the way he expected. It caused a… Schism.

Wolverine and the X-Men

During the crossover X-Men: Regenesis, Wolverine left Utopia with a group of X-Men and students. They moved back to Westchester, New York, where they founded the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Now Wolverine is the headmaster! Jason Aaron writes Wolverine and the X-Men, with artist Chris Bachalo.

With the return of the Phoenix Force, everybody thinks it’s in Hope Summers. As a result, it’s Avengers Vs. X-Men. After that, we will jump to Marvel Now. You can check out our Avengers vs. X-Men Reading Order, or simply read the two following books.

As part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch, Wolverine Vol. 4 was cancelled with issue #317. Paul Cornell and Alan Davis took over Wolverine’s solo title for a short 13-issue run that mostly works as one of the preludes to the “Death of Wolverine” story arc.

For years, the Marvel Universe has lived in fear that the artificial intelligence known as Ultron would one day evolve to fulfill its greatest desire: to wipe out all organic life and take over the Earth. That day has arrived! Wolverine ends up playing a notable part in this event. Check out our Age of Ultron Reading Order to learn how to navigate the crossover.

Volume 5 didn’t last long, but Paul Cornell didn’t go away when Marvel launched Volume 6, with artist Ryan Stegman, as part of All-New Marvel NOW! initiative in 2014. With the “12 Months to Die” story arc, the sixth volume (once again, only thirteen issues long) kept Logan moving towards the “Death of Wolverine” story arc.

The Death of Wolverine

The man called Logan is no stranger to death. Now, at the end of a long and violent life, he faces his own date with the reaper, but you can be sure Wolverine will go out fighting! Written by Charles Soule with art by Steve McNiven, this story deals with the impact of his demise, which will be felt far and wide as X-23, Daken, Sabretooth, Mystique, and Lady Deathstrike, as they continue to shape Logan’s legacy. But who are the latest subjects of the revamped Weapon X program? For more information, go to our Death of Wolverine Reading Order.

As All-New, All-Different Marvel started, Wolverine was no more. X-23 became Wolverine and got a solo series, as Old Man Logan did. So we jump to the Marvel Fresh Start era. Then, Wolverine made his return with the storyline Hunt for Wolverine, from Charles Soule and  David Marquez, and Return of Wolverine by Soule, Steve McNiven, and Declan Shalvey. For more information about that event, go check out our Hunt for Wolverine Reading Order.

Wolverine: The Krakoa Era

At that point, the X-Men Universe fell into the hands of Jonathan Hickman, who orchestrated the most ambitious reboot. It’s a massive endeavour to go through it, so go check out our Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men Reading Order. I would normally have taken the X-Force issues out, but it was written by Benjamin Percy and illustrated by Adam Kubert, who also wrote the Wolverine series, making both work more closely together than is usual for a team book featuring Wolverine.

A team-up published around the time the Deadpool & Wolverine movie came out, WWIII is not linked to the movie, nor is it clearly anchored in the current continuity. You can read this team-up adventure by Joe Kelly and Adam Kubert here.

Another Deadpool-Wolverine story published in the margin in 2024 was Deadpool vs Wolverine: Slash’ Em Up Infinity Comic by Christos Gage and Alan Robinson. It was collected in a one-shot.

Wolverine: From The Ashes

The Age of Krakoa has ended. From The Ashes, the X-Line is relaunched! Writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Martín Cóccolo are in charge of telling Wolverine’s solo adventures. Old enemies re-emerge and new villains attack. 

During that time, Logan is also part of the Uncanny X-Men series by Gail Simone. You can check out our X-Men: From The Ashes Reading Order to better navigate that era if you want to go beyond the Wolverine-centric books.

In the vein of Age of Apocalypse, the X-Men: Age of Revelation saga is taking the Marvel Universe 10 years into the future, “where the world has been reshaped by Apocalypse’s heir, Doug Ramsey AKA Revelation!” The version of Wolverine present during this event is not the same as the one in the regular continuity, so you can skip it. However, if you want to read it, he is part of the main storyline (under the control of Revolution), but he is not the protagonist of “The Last Wolverine” miniseries. I invite you to check out our Age of Revelation reading order to learn more about the event. 

Spider-Man & Wolverine

In the tradition of team-up series, Spider-Man & Wolverine by Marc Guggenheim and Kaare Andrews is action-packed and full of villains, but it’s also barely connected to the current continuity. You can read it in one go.

Wolverine: Shadows of Tomorrow

Following the end of the Age of Revelation event, the X-live went through another rebranding. After From the Ashes, it’s “Shadows of Tomorrow.” Saladin Ahmed and Martín Cóccolo are still in charge of the Wolverine solo title.

More to come… forever!

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3 thoughts on “Wolverine Reading Order: The Solo Adventures of the Most Popular X-Man”

    1. Carole
      Reply

      Hi DieAngst,

      Our Wolverine Reading Order needs to be updated, as many other reading orders. This is something you will notice as we are right now trying to find a good way to keep updated (with new collections and releases and old trades we missed) our catalogue. But we will always miss some collections as we are just humans!

      Following your comment, I added Hulkverines. As for ‘Back in Japan’, this storyline has been collected three ways:
      – In the Wolverine by Jason Aaron Complete Collection Vol. 4 TPB
      – In Wolverine Goes to Hell Omnibus
      – In Wolverine: Back in Japan

      You’ll find the two others in our list, but not ‘back in Japan’.

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