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Empyre Reading Order, an Avengers/Fantastic Four Marvel event

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Marvel Empyre Reading Order

The first big event of the 2020s. It’s an Avengers/Fantastic Four one that takes us on the Moon, beyond, and back on Earth. And here is the official synopsis for the event written by Al Ewing and Dan Slott with art by Valerio Schiti. Old allies make a distress call to the Avengers with news of a terrible enemy that could wipe out humanity. Meanwhile, in the most unlikely of places, the Fantastic Four witness the final conflict of the Kree/Skrull War — and a long-hidden Elder of the Universe stands revealed! With the Kree and Skrulls united under a new emperor, their war fleet charts a course — for Earth!

The Avengers are ready to fight, while the Fantastic Four seek a diplomatic solution. But if they can’t work together, the world may not survive. Either way, both teams will be tested as never before! The new Marvel Space Age begins here!

What to read before Empyre?

The history of the Kree and Skrulls War is quite long, going back to the classic Avengers story “Kree-Skrull War” written by Roy Thomas with art by Sal Buscema and Neal Adams, and the “Celestial Madonna Saga” written by Steve Englehart with art by John and Sal Buscema, Don Heck, Dave Cockrum, and George Tuska.

For the Empyre, it’s probably not necessary to go back this far. All you need to know is in the Empyre Handbook. For more stories, you can also take a look at the Meet The Skrulls miniseries written by Robbie Thompson with art by Niko Henrichon. If you want to know more about the character Huckling, you can read the 2005 Young Avengers series written by Allan Heinberg with art by Jim Cheung.

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Fables Reading Order, Bill Willingham’s Vertigo classic series (with The Wolf Among Us, Fairest, Jack of Fables, and Everafter)

Fables Reading Order

Comic book series created by Bill Willingham and published by Vertigo, Fables is like if Once Upon a Time was dark, edgy and really high quality.

The series is about people from fairy tales and folklore who really exist in magical realms but they were forced out of their worlds by The Adversary and now live in exile in ours. They’re calling themselves Fables and, those who are looking like humans live in New York City, in a community known as Fabletown. The others live at “the Farm” in upstate New York.

One of the main characters is the reformed Big Bad Wolf – also known as Bigby – who is now Fabletown’s sheriff. He works with Snow White who is a member of Fabletown’s government and Old King Cole is the mayor. At the beginning, Fables told different kinds of stories, from a murder mystery to a caper story. As The Adversary resurfaced, the war began to take over everything.

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Brightest Day Reading Order (the sequel to Blackest Night)

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Following Blackest Night (go to the reading order for details), the massive DC Comics crossover event of 2009-10, Geoff Johns and Peter J. Tomasi gave us the follow-up: Brightest Day, a year-long comic book maxi-series depicting the aftermath of the events of the Blackest Night storyline on the DC Universe.

Once dead, twelve heroes and villains were resurrected by a white light expelled deep within the center of the earth. Now, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Deadman, Jade, Osiris, Hawk, Captain Boomerang, and Zoom must discover the mysterious reason behind their return and uncover the secret that binds them all.

What to read before Brightest Day?

There’s a simple answer to this question: Blackest Night. You can find the reading order here.

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Marvel Civil War Reading Order, the first one

This article is not about the Captain America movie, of course. It’s about the huge Marvel event published between May 2006 and February 2007. Written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, Civil War is one of the most famous events of the 2000s. It changed a lot, for a short period of time.

Everything started during a televised raid of a house by the New Warriors. Their goal was to apprehend villains that had recently escaped from prison. When Nitro let off a massive explosion that killed the majority of the New Warriors and the children at a nearby elementary school, something had to change.

The U.S. Government proposed the Superhuman Registration Act, intending to register all super-powered beings as living weapons of mass destruction and requiring all costumed heroes to unmask themselves before the government and subject themselves to federally mandated standards.

Heroes had to choose between rallying behind either Iron Man’s pro-registration forces or Captain America’s opposition. The Civil War began.

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Blackest Night Reading Order (a DC Comics event)

Coming from the creative team of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis, Blackest Night was the massive DC Comics crossover event of 2009-10. It was the culmination of a lot of ideas developed by Johns during his celebrated run on Green Lantern.

Here is the official synopsis: “The Prophecy of the Blackest Night has come to pass—a mysterious force is raising deceased heroes and villains into an army of undead Black Lanterns!

The combined might of the Green Lantern Corps and an armada of living superbeings must now band together in a fight quite literally for their lives. As the war between the different colored Lantern Corps rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends and it’s up to Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps to lead DC’s greatest champions in a battle to save the Universe from an army of undead Black Lanterns made up of fallen Green Lanterns and DC’s deceased heroes and villains.”

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Jupiter’s Legacy Reading Order: How to read Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s comics series?

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Jupiter’s Legacy Reading Order

More than a decade after their last collaboration on The Authority, superstar author Mark Millar and artist Frank Quitely are working together again to bring us Jupiter’s Legacy, a complex story of superheroes, family, justice, and power.

Composed of two interconnected series, Jupiter’s Legacy and the prequel Jupiter’s Circle, this story began at the beginning of the 1930s with a group of young Americans finding powers and using it to make America great. Years later, the new generation of superheroes doesn’t share their way of thinking and conflict emerges that will change the fate of humanity.

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DC Future State Reading Order, The DC Comics event that will define the future

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It’s a new year. It’s a new DC continuity. It’s a new future! It was supposed to be a massive reboot named G5, but things changed and it’s now Future State a two-month event spinning out of the finale of Dark Nights: Death Metal (Reading Order) that takes us on a journey from the near future to the end of time to witness the destinies of DC’s heroes.

It’s a future full of surprises for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Justice League, the Teen Titans, and so many more. A future that will see new and younger heroes taking the place of the ones we know. A future that will lead them to hostile territories. A future that will help define a different present.

DC Future State is a collection of 25 miniseries. Most of them are two-issue tales (but some are four-issue stories).

What to read before DC Future State?

As the Dark Nights: Death Metal event (Reading Order) is ending, a new future take form. At the end of Dark Nights: Death Metal #7, there is not one, but two epilogues that are leading us into a new world, one of them is the DC Future State world.

The DC Future State event is—in theory—self contained (a bit like Age of Apocalypse). You’re not really required to read anything outside of it.

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X-Men Age of Apocalypse Reading Order

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Age of Apocalypse Reading Order

Ambitious was 1995 X-Men’s crossover storyline, that’s the least we can say. Like The Clone Saga (reading order), “Age of Apocalypse” became an era-defining moment in the Marvel Universe. With this event was published new X-Men related mini series including X-Calibre, Gambit and the X-Ternals, Generation Next, Astonishing X-Men, Amazing X-Men, Weapon X, Factor X, X-Man, and X-Universe.

Everything began when the mutant known as Legion traveled back in time with the intention to kill Magneto before he can commit multiple crimes against humanity. But instead of Magneto, Legion accidentally kills his own father, Professor Charles Xavier. That tragedy led to a catastrophic change in the timeline. Without Professor X, Apocalypse was able to attack 10 years sooner than he did in the original timeline. He took control of Earth and, from that point on, nothing was the same as before. The victory of Apocalypse is not complete. He’s still opposed by several factions of mutant resistance. One group manages to send the mutant Bishop back in time to prevent the murder of Professor Xavier, undoing the entire timeline.

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Hawkeye Kate Bishop Reading Order: Where to start with the Superior Hawkeye?

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For a moment, Marvel was really all about legacy characters. The result was not necessarily memorable, but there are exceptions like Kate Bishop, the second Hawkeye.

Kate is heir to the Bishop fortune, being the daughter of publishing magnate Derek Bishop. Sometime after her mother died, Kate was attacked in Central Park. Following that event, she began to train hard and started to school herself in the arts of archery and other types of combats. She was determined to help others.

When Kate met the Young Avengers during her older sister’s wedding—when gunmen took the entire church hostage—she decided with Cassie Lang to join the team and that’s where her new career started. Now, she’s a legitimate hero, fighting alone, with a team, or with Clint Barton, the original Hawkeye.

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Batman: Joker War Reading Order, a Batman event by James Tynion IV

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Batman: Joker War Reading Order

Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Jorge Jimenez, Batman: The Joker War is taking us to issue #100 of the series with a story in which The Clown Prince of Crime and the Dark Knight Detective go head-to-head for the last time.

So, here is the official synopsis: The Joker has never wanted to win before, he’s never wanted his battle with Batman to end, but now his motivation has shifted. As The Joker’s plan to assemble an army materializes, the only person who can save Batman from the brink of true madness is Harley Quinn. And while all this is happening, the villains of Gotham City are waiting out the carnage Joker has unleashed—and Catwoman assembles an army of her own!

What to read before Batman: Joker War?

  • Batman: Their Dark Designs
    Collects Batman #86-94. This is the previous storyline written by James Tynion IV, which took place before the Joker War. It’s a new day in Gotham City, but not the same old Batman. With Bane vanquished and one of his longtime allies gone, Batman has to start picking up the pieces and stepping up his game. Batman has a new plan for Gotham City, but he’s not the only one. Deathstroke has returned as well, under a mysterious new contract that could change everything.

You can also find a little bit of a prelude to the Joker War in the following issues, showing Joker preparing for the War. These storylines are optional:

  • Detective Comics #1022-1024
  • Nightwing #71-73

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