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Star Wars Comics Canon Reading Order (2024 Edition)

Star Wars Comics Canon Reading Order

In a galaxy far, far away, humans, aliens, and droids lives numerous adventures since 1977 in the Star Wars franchise, comprised of movies, television series, video games, books, comic books, and more.

For a long time, those adventures were part of what was called The Star Wars Expanded Universe — since then renamed Star Wars Legends (see our reading order). Things changed when Walt Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise and decided it was time for a clean slate (or a reboot!). Meaning that, outside of the original six Star Wars films produced by George Lucas and certain other materials, everything that has been created before April 25, 2014, was now part of the Star Wars Legends aka the old continuity. And so, everything published after April 25 was now considered part of the new canon (it’s a little more complicated than that, but the details are not necessary here).

Marvel was actually the first company to publish Star Wars Comics in 1977 (and for the next ten years). The Star Wars comics license returned to them in 2015, and they are now the primary Star Wars comics publisher. In 2017, IDW Publishing launched the anthology series Star Wars Adventures. And in 2022, Dark Horse will resume publishing new Star Wars comics and graphic novels.

This article is devoted to the Star Wars canon, to the Star Wars comic books published after April 25, 2014. Since that date, Marvel has been quite a busy bee, helped by IDW, and a lot of Star Wars comics are published every month. It’s now time to take a closer look at all those stories…

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Infinity Wars Reading Order, a 2018 Marvel event (including Infinity Countdown)

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Infinity Wars Reading Order

Marvel’s Infinity Wars is a 2018 crossover event (written by Gerry Duggan with art by Mike Deodato and Frank Martin) about the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe dealing with the outcome of the search for the new Infinity Stones (previously known as the Infinity Gems). This is a follow-up to “Infinity Countdown.”

Here is the official synopsis: The Infinity Stones are back. Individually, they grant their wielders great power. Together, they bestow the power of a god! As each stone’s location is discovered, forces converge for a battle that will send the universe down a dark path…to the end! Featuring the Chitauri, the Raptors, the Nova Corps, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Adam Warlock, and more surprising Stone-wielders! But who, or what, is Requiem? When she warps the Marvel Universe in half, what surprising heroes will assemble to stand against her? And when death comes at last, who will fall?

What to read before Infinity Wars?

As I was saying, Infinity Wars is a follow-up to “Infinity Countdown.” The better way to deal with that is to group them together. But first, let’s rewind a little.

Where is Thanos? After Jonathan Hickman’s Infinity, he made a comeback, getting free during the early events of “Civil War II.” He then got his own book: Thanos Returns, visited the God Quarry, and appeared in The Unworthy Thor before winning at the end of his series, which led us to the “Infinity Wars” storyline.

The road to Infinity Countdown

And then, the Infinity Countdown!

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Dark Reign Reading Order, Norman Osborn takes over the Marvel Universe

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Dark Reign Marvel reading Order

In the aftermath of Secret Invasion (see reading order), Norman Osborn came out as a hero and rise to national power. This led us to Dark Reign, a period in the Marvel Universe where the former Green Goblin was in control. A branding used by Marvel Comics during 2008-2009, Dark Reign is not really what we would call an event, as stated by then-editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. This branding refers more to an era in the Marvel Universe, a troubled one where everyone is affected.

With more than 200 issues, Marvel explored a whole year of Osborn’s rise to power and its ramifications. After defeating the Skrull, Norman becomes the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., which he replaces with H.A.M.M.E.R. Then, he created the Cabal alongside Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Namor, Loki, and the Hood and used H.A.M.M.E.R. to carry out his and the Cabal agenda. However, Osborn’s actions and his reputation influence a number of heroes and villains to attempt to resist Osborn’s rule and remove him from power by force, if necessary.

What to read before?

To know exactly how Norman Osborn became a national hero, you have to read Secret Invasion, as stated above.

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Black Cat Reading Order, Marvel’s Lucky Cat Burglar

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Created in 1979 by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Keith Pollard in The Amazing Spider-Man #194, Black Cat is an antiheroine, sometimes girlfriend, ally or enemy of Spider-Man. She is certainly not just Marvel’s Catwoman.

Felicia Hardy is Black Cat, the daughter of Walter Hardy who was a world-renowned cat burglar. The first time we meet her, she wants to break her father out of prison, but her meeting with Spider-Man complicates everything. Past trauma encouraged her to learn to be a fighter but she needed an edge to survive and prove herself in the world of Spidey. A deal with the Kingpin led her to gain her own super-power: she has the (subconscious) ability to affect probability fields, producing “bad luck” for those who want to hurt her.

Her romantic relationship with Spider-Man was tumultuous – and she didn’t want to hear about Peter Parker. They eventually broke up, but Felicia’s life was now entangled between the heroes and criminals of New York. She had to create her own space, becoming for a time some sort of Robin Hood. She still helps Spider-Man, but occasionally double-crosses him.

As years passed, her relationship with Spider-Man eventually found stable ground… until she met the Superior Spider-Man who led her to become a master criminal. For a time, then she got back on the good side and finally got her own ongoing series! The story continues.

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Justice League (New 52) Reading Order, the Geoff Johns’ era

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Justice League New 52 Reading Order

One of the most famous superhero teams today, The Justice League was conceived as a revival of the Justice Society of America. A team from the 1940s, the JSA title was canceled due to to a decline in sales, as superheroes were in decline after World War II.

When editor Julius Schwartz asked writer Gardner Fox to reintroduce his creation, the JSA, he decided to rename it the “Justice League of America”, a name he thought would appeal better to young readers. After having made its first appearance in The Brave and the Bold #28 in March 1960, the Justice League got quickly its own title and became one of DC’s best-selling title.

The Justice League is usually comprised of highly popular heroes (like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman) who generally operate independently, but would team up to tackle more ruthless villains of world epic menace. That way, the characters gain exposure that helps sales titles and participate to build the DC shared universe by working and interacting with each other. Though, DC gas deviated from this formula at different times, most notably in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the Justice League International, which purposefully starred an ensemble of lesser-known characters. This more quirky and humourous Justice League led to the creation of several spin-offs.

DC revamped the Justice League in the second part of the nineties, first with the help of Mark Waid and Fabian Nicieza, returning to the basic, then with Grant Morrison’s run named JLA, where he made the Justice League an analogy for a pantheon of gods and wrote more epic stories. It became a staple for years to come, with the Justice League specializing in world-shattering threats with epic stakes.

Which lead us to New 52 in 2011, when DC relaunched its entire line for a partial reboot and with a new continuity. This era begins with a new origin story for the Justice League, featuring initial team members Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg. Those heroes must come together when loner vigilante Batman stumbled upon a dark evil that threatens to destroy the earth as we know it. To save the world, they must put aside their differences…

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Shazam Reading Order (aka DC Comics’ Captain Marvel)

Shazam Reading Order

The history of Shazam/Captain Marvel is a complicated one. The superhero was created by writer Bill Parker and artist C. C. Beck in 1939, in the pages of Whiz Comics #2, published by Fawcett Comics. Back in the 1940s, he was the most popular superhero, even bigger than Superman. The two characters ended up fighting against one another in court. Not them, but Fawcett and DC Comics. DC claimed that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman. As a result, Fawcett stopped publishing anything Captain Marvel-related in 1953. And in 1972, the company licensed the character rights to DC. By 1991, DC Comics had acquired all rights to the characters connected to the Shazam Universe, but the name “Captain Marvel” was owned by Marvel Comics! That’s why DC Comics marketed the Marvel Family under the Shazam! banner since the 1970s.

But what is the story of Shazam? This is about the young Billy Batson, an orphaned 12-year-old boy who, by speaking the name of the ancient wizard Shazam (an acronym derived from the six immortal elders who grant Captain Marvel his superpowers: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury), is struck by a magic lightning bolt and transformed into the adult superhero Captain Marvel. After a while, Billy started to share his powers with his sister Mary and their foster-brother Freddy Freeman—they became the Shazam Family! Together, they fought the Monster Society of Evil, including rogues like Doctor Sivana, Black Adam, and Mister Mind.

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America Chavez Reading Order (Marvel’s Miss America)

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America Chavez, also known as Miss America, is a fairly new character in the Marvel Universe as she made her first appearance in 2011. Created by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta, America Chavez believed for a long time that she was coming from the Utopian Parallel, an out-of-time reality where the Demiurge gave her powers. She left home, traveled across different realities, and ended up becoming a hero called Miss America on Earth-616.

Known as Marvel’s first Latin-American LGBTQ character to star in an ongoing series, America Chavez started in the 2011 limited series Vengeance (from Casey and Dragotta), but became popular as part of the Young Avengers, A-Force, the Ultimates, and West Coast Avengers.

Also, America Chavez is extremely powerful. Like a lot of superheroes, she possesses superhuman strength, speed, durability, and the power of flight, but she also has the power to kick open star-shaped holes in reality—the kind of thing that allows her and her teammates to travel through the multiverse and into other realities.

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Tim Drake Reading Order (Robin III, Red Robin, Drake)

Tim Drake (Robin) Reading-Order

After Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, Timothy Jackson Drake is our third Robin. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Pat Broderick, Tim Drake made his first appearance in Batman #436 in August 1989. He introduced himself to Dick Grayson in the storyline Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying, and is convinced that “Batman needs Robin.”

Having great detective skills and Genius-level intellect, Tim Drake had discovered the real identity of Batman and the original Robin (though, I’m not convinced you need to be Sherlock Holmes to arrive at this conclusion!). As Dick refuses to become Robin again, Tim was the perfect young boy to take the mantle and become the third Robin. Though Batman will make him go through a rigorous training program for his own safety (to avoid history repeating itself), Tim Drake will obviously rise up to the challenge.

Recognized as the most intellectually gifted of the Robins, he speaks several languages, excels in computer science, and possesses a large knowledge in other scientific fields, including biology, engineering, and genetics. He is also the most calculated of all Robins in combat, and of course a great martial artist.

What to read before?

Though Tim is not present in this storyline, we invite you to read the now classic ‘A Death in the Family’, marking the end of Jason Todd as Robin, offering a better context about where Batman stands when Tim enters the scene and explaining some of his choices.

  • Batman: A Death in the Family
    Collects the original Death in the Family tale from Batman #426-429 plus “A Lonely Place of Dying” from Batman #440-442 and The New Titans #60-61.

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Secret Wars II Reading Order, the first massive Marvel crossover event

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Following the glowing success of the first Secret Wars, Marvel’s then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter decided to repeat the experience with a bit more ambition. Published from 1985 to 1986, Secret Wars II is a nine-issue comic book limited series completed with tie-ins.

Historically, this was the first time Marvel published an event crossover following that model, asking the readers to purchase multiple titles in order to read the entire story. It certainly was not the last time.

Here is the official synopsis: Last time Earth’s heroes encountered the Beyonder, they fought for their lives. This time, they fight for all existence! A year after kidnapping the most powerful beings on Earth and pitting them against one another in a “Secret War” on a distant world, the omnipotent Beyonder comes to Earth to continue his study of humanity.

However, a being so powerful and so naïve is a dangerous combination. As the Beyonder’s understanding slowly grows, so too do his own desires – and even the lord of lies, Mephisto, fears what the Beyonder might finally decide he desires. Because if the Beyonder decides he wants to end all that is, even the combined might of the universe’s cosmic powers might not be enough to stop him! 

What to read before Secret Wars II?

The series was a sequel to the original Secret Wars miniseries, you can take a look at it:

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Madame Web Reading Order (Cassandra Webb and Julia Carpenter)

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Madame Web Reading Order (Spider-Family)

Sony is developing a ‘Spider-Man’ Spinoff ‘Madame Web’, with Dakota Johnson as the lead role. As much as I like the character, it’s a peculiar choice on Sony’s part when you think about all the other members of the Spidey family with more issues and presence under their belt than Madame Web.

Madame Web is not your typical member of the Spider-family. The original Madame Web, which appeared for the first time in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man in 1980, was not swinging or fighting. No, Madame Web possesses psychic sensory powers including telepathy, clairvoyance, prescience, and the ability to sense the presence of psionic powers in others. The first time Peter Parker heard about her and her clairvoyance, he thought she looked like a fraud. But soon enough, Spider-Man will realize she is everything but a fraud.

Madame Web was first introduced as the elderly blind woman Cassandra Webb, helping Spider-Man, giving him very bad news or asking for his help. As she possesses also the ability to transfer her mutation to another individual, when the time will come, she will transfer it to Julia Carpenter (who has been a Spider-Woman in the past) who then became the new resident Madame Web.

Madame Web has been called the ‘Creepy Clairvoyant’ and she is without a doubt a mysterious character. She specializes in brief appearances. It’s a fact to keep in mind when following this reading order, as her appearances are oftentimes limited to a few panels, a few issues in bigger storylines. For a better understanding, it’s often recommended to read the whole story.

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