Reading Order

Booster Gold Reading Order

by Carole
Updated on April 7, 2023

Not to be confused with Green Lantern, Booster Gold was created by Dan Jurgens and made his debut in Booster Gold #1 in February 1986. He’s the first significant new hero introduced after the famous Crisis on Infinite Earths!

Booster Gold, aka Michael Jon Carter, is presented as an opportunist hero who likes a good publicity stunt and making money. Simply put, he’s no Superman and he knows it!

Michael and his twin sister Michelle were born in the 25th Century Gotham. They had a loving mother and debts inherited by a gambling father who abandoned them. At first, Michael was dreaming of a career in football but had to stop when his mother fell ill. He turned to illegal gambling to help pay for treatment but was caught by the authorities.

Michael tried to rebuild his life in Metropolis where he worked at the Space Museum and studied superheroes and villains from the 20th century. This is where Michael stole several devices in order to go back in time and make money as a superhero. For his first adventure, he saved the life of the President of the United States Ronald Reagan.

Our gold-seeking hero would soon join the Justice League (International), until the group disbanded in 1996. This is where he met his new best friend, Blue Beetle II (Ted Kord), known together as “Blue and Gold”.

Like other DC Superheroes, Booster Gold goes through a lot of personal tragedies and other traumatic experiences, and all those events pushes him to become a more honest hero, despite having quite a reputation for being a glory-seeking character!

Black Widow Reading Order (Natasha Romanoff)

by Carole
Updated on July 13, 2024

Created by Stan Lee, Don Rico, and Don Heck, Black Widow made her debut as Tales of Suspense #52 in 1964. During her first decades on the pages of Marvel Comic books, the woman also known as Natasha Romanoff has been a villain and a hero, a femme fatale and a spy, a love interest and a superhero. Once she chose the path of heroism, she was at first reduced to being Hawkeye’s girlfriend, then Daredevil’s.

Trained by the “Red Room” to be the ultimate Super Spy, Black Widow is a former Russian KGB Agent who defected to the United States of America and joined the S.H.I.E.L.D. Later, she would also become a member of the Avengers and has been part of the team on several occasions. A woman with a mysterious past, Black Widow served for a long time as a female sidekick or team member in Daredevil, Captain America, The Champions, and of course, The Avengers.

It took her almost 40 years to finally have her own title, a limited series part of the Marvel Knights line when she found herself having to defend her codename from a certain Yelena Belova. From then on, Black Widow became a more prominent figure in the Marvel Universe, and her introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2010, played by Scarlett Johansson, clearly helped solidify her place.

She is now one of the most famous Marvel characters, and it’s time to explore her history with this Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff reading order!

Red Sonja Reading Order

by Fabien
Updated on March 8, 2024
6 Comments

At the beginning of 1973, the Conan the Barbarian series was a success, and writer Roy Thomas wanted to expand Marvel’s sword and sorcery line with a spin-off title. With artist Barry Windsor-Smith, Thomas created Red Sonja, a character that was loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino from Robert E. Howard’s short story “The Shadow of the Vulture.”

Red Sonja was to be a fierce warrior that could be Conan’s match. She could battle at his side and keep her feminine side. That was the author’s ambition and, in Conan the Barbarian #23, their last book together, Thomas and Smith introduced Red Sonja as she was wielding a sword against guards, wearing a long-sleeved chain mail shirt. One issue later, Conan declared that she was his equal.

She made a few appearances in Conan the Barbarian, The Savage Sword of Conan, and Kull and the Barbarians before finally getting her solo series in 1975. She became quite popular and Marvel Comics published stories featuring Red Sonja for a good decade—she also appeared in novels and, in 1986, got her movie starring Brigitte Nielsen in the title role.

The Question Reading Order, from Vic Sage to Renee Montoya

by Fabien
Updated on February 28, 2024
3 Comments

Like The Peacemaker, The Question was originally a Charlton Comics character. In fact, he made his first appearance in Blue Beetle #1 in 1967–in the backup feature. Created by Steve Ditko, he was based on Mr. A, a hero based on Ditko himself. The Question was however more mainstream, even if he was more ruthless than what readers could expect at that time.

The Question is Vic Sage, a TV investigative journalist who fights crime, hiding his true identity behind a special mask created by his former professor, the scientist Aristotle Rodor–inventor of an artificial skin called Pseudoderm. That mask transformed Sage into a man without a face. He had no power, but a great sense of what is right or wrong.

After only a few stories in Blue Beetle, and a compilation of unpublished materials in Mysterious Suspense #1, The Question‘s run at Charlton Comics ended. He only reappeared briefly in the anthology Charlton Bullseye years later, before joining DC Comics in 1983.

Hercules Reading Order (Marvel)

by Carole
Updated on February 28, 2023

Based on the Greek mythology hero Heracles, Hercules Panhellenios is a Marvel character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Young Allies #16 in May 1945, but his formal introduction was twenty years later, in Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (published in October 1965).

He is presented as a rival to the Norse god of Thunder, Thor Odinson, and a screw-up demi-god who is repeatedly cast out of Olympus by Zeus.

He became a regular guest star in Thor’s adventures before smashing against Hulk and, teaming up with the Avengers–without being an official member until the nineties.

But the Avengers wasn’t the only team Herc was working with, as he moved to Los Angeles for The Champions.

At this stage, Hercules was still sharing the spotlight with other characters. In the eighties, Herc headlined two limited series but, surprise! it was not the character readers were familiar with, but a 24th-century version of the character.

The Herc from Earth-616 became a more prominent character in the noughties, where he had his own title, then took over Hulk’s title and became The Incredible Hercules for a time. More recently, Hercules joined the Guardians of the Galaxy for some space adventures.

Hercules also recently joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the mid-credits scene of Thor: Love an Thunder, played by Brett Goldstein.

Blacksad: An unmissable Crime Noir Comic Series

by Carole
Updated on May 21, 2024

When you hear the words Franco-Belgian comics, series like Tintin and Asterix are the first ones to cross the mind, and for a good reason. Depending on your tastes and interests, you could also be well-versed in the adventures of Blake and Mortimer, Corto Maltese, The Incal, Snowpiercer, or XIII.

Among the famous characters of the franco-belgian comic series, you’ll find a black cat named Blacksad. Created by Spanish writer Juan Díaz Canales and artist Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad was conceived with the French market as the primary target. He made his debut in 2000 in the first volume called Quelque part entre les ombres published by Dargaud. He quickly became a prominent figure and the release of a volume is now a sort of mini-event — as it doesn’t happen often!

Wally West Reading Order (Kid Flash, the Flash III, the Scarlet Speedster)

by Carole
Updated on January 17, 2025

Created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino, Wally West made his debut in The Flash #110 in December 1959, as the original Kid Flash.

Wallace Rudolph “Wally” West is the nephew of Iris West who accidentally gained powers while visiting Barry Allen in his Central city police lab. There, he is splattered with lightning-charged chemicals as the freak accident that gave Barry his powers happened again!

Wally West became Kid Flash, the sidekick to the second Flash, and distinguished himself with a primarily yellow costume. He also was a founding member of the Teen Titans, where he became close friends with Dick Grayson (alias Robin/Nightwing).

He eventually succeeded Barry Allen as the Flash and had to deal with the difficult task of replacing his mentor. At the same time, he became a founding member of Justice League Europe, then moved to the Justice League of America, and had stints with Titans and Justice League Elite.

This Scarlet Speedster has appeared in many animated television series and video games and was played by Keiynan Lonsdale in the Arrowverse.

David Haller (Legion) Reading Order

by Carole
Updated on July 21, 2023

David Haller was the first X-Men character to receive a live-action TV Series. You could then easily imagine that he was a prominent X-Men. Even though he made his debut in the 80s, he doesn’t appear in many Marvel comic books. Despite that, David Haller, also known as Legion, left his marks on the X-Men Universe and the readers.

Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bill Sienkiewicz, David Haller made his first appearance in New Mutants #25 (March 1985). He is the mutant son of Charles Xavier, the famous leader of the X-Men, and Gabrielle Haller, a Holocaust survivor who chooses not to tell Xavier she was pregnant after their amicable breakup. Xavier would learn sometime after founding the New Mutants that David was his son.

David is one of the most powerful mutants who have the ability to create spontaneous mutations with varying attributes and can warp reality. He also suffers from a dissociative identity disorder. David can absorb the psyche of someone upon their death and create new alter egos. Each one of his personalities is associated with a power, like telepathy (Jemail Karami), telekinesis (Jack Wayne) or pyrokinetic (Cyndi).

This reading order was requested by David Agetua, one of our readers! Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or write to us with some other suggestions!

Witchblade Reading Order

by Carole
Updated on August 25, 2023

Marc Silvestri is one of the co-founders of Image Comics where he set up his own studio, Top Cow Productions. There was launched Witchblade in 1995, a comic book series created by Silvestri, editor David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina, and the late artist Michael Turner. The success of Witchblade at the time helped Top Cop to expand and add new titles to its line.

And popular Witchblade was: the comic book was adapted into a television series in 2001, as well as an anime, a manga, and a novel in 2006. The comic book series lasted 20 years, coming to an end in 2015. It was relaunched a few years later, and the reboot ran from 2017 to 2020.

But what Witchblade is about? streetwise NY cop Sara Pezzini comes into possession of the mysterious Witchblade, a supernatural gauntlet, a weapon that bonds with a female host and provides her with a variety of power in order to fight supernatural evil. As the artifact’s bearer, Sara goes toe to toe with a Machiavellian industrialist, supernatural serial killers, and far worse, as the supernatural underworld of New York alters the course of her destiny forever.

As part of the Top Cow Universe, Witchblade also crossovers with The Darkness, Tomb Raider, but also Madgaelna, Evo, and more. She has also encountered Vampirella, Red Sonja as well as the JLA.

Silver Surfer Reading Order

by Fabien
Updated on January 25, 2025

Making his first appearance in Fantastic Four #48, published in 1966, The Silver Surfer didn’t have a name at first. In fact, even Stan Lee who is credited as its co-creator didn’t have an idea of who he was. It was Jack Kirby who imagined him. Following the “Marvel Method, ” Lee pitched to his collaborator “the Galactus trilogy,” a new ambitious story that included the god-like creature Galactus, but no surfer.

Charged with coming up with the details while plotting and drawing the book, Kirby apparently thought that an entity as powerful as Galactus would certainly require “a herald who could serve as an advance guard.” Kirby simply called him “The Surfer,” and draw him as a gleaming bald man on a surfboard. Stan Lee loved the character and bring him back for more FF stories before giving him his own solo book two years later.

With artist John Buscema, Lee worked at giving a backstory to the surfer–without consulting Jack Kirby. We learned that he was Norrin Radd and he offered Galactus to take him as his herald in exchange for the life of the inhabitants of his home planet, Zenn-La. Lee loved the Surfer so much that he prohibited anyone to use him without his approbation. This stands until the 1980s.

In 1982, John Byrne wrote and draw a Silver Surfer one-shot, then the second ongoing series was launched with Steve Englehart as the writer. But it was when Jim Starlin, then Ron Marz, took over (after #31) that the book really found its success–leading to the Infinity Saga. The series ran 146 issues, through 1998.

At the beginning of the 2000s, the Silver Surfer came back for a short series before appearing in the famous Annihilation event, but he only got multiple miniseries after that for some years. It was only in 2014 that he got another ongoing series, this time in a different style than the previous ones, as writer Dan Slott wrote it as a Doctor Who-inspired adventure–drawn by Mike Allred.

As a Marvel character, Silver Surfer is really powerful and moves fast. He wields the Power Cosmic, granting him superhuman strength, endurance, and senses and the ability to absorb and manipulate the universe’s ambient energy. He fought villains like Doctor Doom, Mephisto, Thanos, and more. He teamed up with the Fantastic Four of course, but also with the Hulk, Namor, and Doctor Strange in “The Defenders.” He saved the Universe, found love (more than once), dealt closely with symbiotes, was displaced in time, and more.