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Batman: Arkham Games and Comics in Order

Batman Arkham in Order

Batman: Arkham, sometimes called Arkhamverse, is the name for the shared continuity of the video games launched with Arkham Asylum in 2009.

The franchise consists now of four main installments (and an upcoming spin-off), a few mobile games, a virtual reality game, tie-in comic books, and an animated movie.

It is important to acknowledge that the games are what is canon. The tie-in comics sometimes contradict things introduced during the games (or future games retconned what has been written in the comics).

What is it about? Here is the official synopsis: The Dark Knight was young, inexperienced, and untested when he began his one-man war to save the soul of Gotham City. The vigilante known as Batman was new to the city’s dark streets, and his errors were costly. Though his mind, body and arsenal of crime-fighting gear were all honed to near-perfection, his methods were yet unproven. But Batman’s rookie lessons were just the prelude to far more desperate tales.

Despite becoming an outlaw himself after quelling the Arkham Asylum riots, the World’s Greatest Detective takes it on his shoulders to unravel why the new mayor, Quincy Sharp, wants to create Arkham City–a section of Gotham where heinous criminals and the insane can roam freely. Now not only is the Dark Knight up against City Hall, but also the amassing armies of his numerous enemies–the Penguin, Two-Face, and even The Joker himself.

On top of the machinations of Batman’s full rogues gallery, a new vigilante emerges–the Arkham Knight. It’s a life-or-death battle unlike any other for the Caped Crusader’s allies and enemies, with no end in sight!

What to read before Batman: Arkham?

The franchise Batman: Arkham is not just an adaptation of comic book stories, it is inspired by the character and the mythos in order to give us original stories (with its own timeline).

But of course, some comics have more influence than others and you can then read the two that have helped shape the first game:

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X-Men Decimation Reading Order, the aftermath of House of M

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Before Civil War and right after House of M, Marvel offered us another event, a smaller one. In fact, the goal of Decimation was to deal with the aftermath of House of M for the X-Men.

Here is the official synopsis of the event: It was the worst day in X-Men history. Now it’s the day after. The House of M is over, but the effects will be felt for the rest of their lives. How do the X-Men pick up the pieces in a world that has completely changed?

Plus: Something’s amiss at the House of Xavier! A sneak attack forces the X-Men to re-evaluate just who their friends are, and to align themselves with former enemies!

What to read before X-Men Decimation?

Being a direct follow-up to “House of M,” I recommend starting with that. You can find the full reading order of this event here. Also, for more X-Men, you can take a look at our X-Men Reading Order. Here for the bare minimum:

  • House of M Omnibus 
    Collects House of M #1-8, Spider-Man: House of M #1-5, Fantastic Four: House of M #1-3, Iron Man: House of M #1-3, New Thunderbolts (2004) #11, Black Panther (2005) #7, Uncanny X-Men (1981) #462-465, Wolverine (2003) #33-35, Captain America (2004) #10, Pulse (2004) #10, Cable & Deadpool #17, Incredible Hulk (2000) #83-87, New X-Men (2004) #16-19, Exiles (2001) #69-71, Mutopia X #1-5, Decimation: House of M – The Day After, Giant-Size Ms. Marvel (2006) #1, Secrets of the House of M, Pulse: House of M Special, House of M 1 Director’s Cut, House of M Sketchbook, material from Hulk: Broken Worlds Book One.

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Batman By Grant Morrison Reading Order

Batman by Grant Morrison Reading Order

After Infinite Crisis and before Scott Snyder’s run, at the end of what is called the “Modern Age” or the “Post-Crisis era“, Grant Morrison was in command of Batman and wrote one of the most celebrated (debated?) runs on the character. He looked back in the past to build the future of the Caped Crusader. During his time on the book, from 2006 to 2013, he created Damian Wayne – and you can find more information about that here – and took the Dark Knight from the brink of death to the edge of madness.

Starting from issue #655, Grant Morrison wrote a long-form story interrupted by events (important one for the era) and launched new series, most notably Batman and Robin and Batman Incorporated. At some point, Morrison took a break (Judd Winick and Tony Daniel wrote Batman for a short period of time) and came back to lead us to The New 52. It’s not that complicated.

What to read before Grant Morrison’s Batman?

You can take a look at our Batman: Modern Age Reading Order, but you can start fresh with this run – if you want to fully enjoy your read, there’s a book you can check out. It’s collecting stories that inspired Grant Morrison’s epic saga:

  • Batman: The Black Casebook
    Collects Batman #65, 86, 112, 113, 134, 156 And 162, Detective Comics #215, 235, 247 And 267, And World’s Finest Comics #89.

Also, not connected to his run, Grant Morrison wrote notable Batman stories before that are worth a read:

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Hilda Graphic Novels, a Reading Guide for the Luke Pearson series and the Netflix tie-ins

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Hilda Graphic novels, Reading Guide for the Luke Pearson series

Hilda is the star of her own animated TV series on Netflix, but the young heroine with blue hair originated from the graphic novels by cartoonist Luke Pearson.

The adventures of Hilda take place in a world that looks a little bit like a late 20th century Scandinavia place, inhabited by regular people and fantastical creatures like trolls, giants, elves, and spirits. In the beginning, Hilda lives with her mother in a cottage, before moving to the city of Trolberg. This fantasy world is inspired by Scandinavian folklore and The Moomins.

Hilda can never sit still for long without setting off on another adventure. She can’t resist exploring her enchanting world—a place where trolls walk, crows speak, and mountains move. The magic and folklore of the wild, windswept North come alive in this book about an adventurous little girl and her habit of befriending anything, no matter how curious it might seem.

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Marvel’s The Last Annihilation Reading Order (Guardians of the Galaxy)

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All of the “Annihilation” events are not created equal. In fact, it seems that “The Last Annihilation” is a minor event in comparison to the previous Annihilations, and it mostly involves the Guardians of the Galaxy written by Al Ewing with art by Juan Frigeri.

What is it about? Here is the official synopsis: The entire galaxy is under attack, the likes of which haven’t been seen since Annihilus first waged war. Now, five different planets are simultaneously under threat from a mysterious foe. This is what the new Guardians were built to do. But will it be too much? This summer… the war to end all wars begins. And not everyone’s going to come home.

What to read before The Last Annihilation?

The Last Annihilation being a cosmic event, you may also want to read the two previous events that had a considerable impact on the cosmic part of the Marvel Universe. First, there was Empyre (full reading order here), then we’ve got the King in Black event (full reading order here).

Al Ewing recently took over the Guardians of the Galaxy book. If you want to familiarize yourself with the new team, you can read the previous TPBs:

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Superman: Doomed Reading Order (from New 52)

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Superman Doomed DC New 52 Reading Order

Superman faces Doomsday in this Superman crossover story arc from the New 52 era co-written by Greg Pak, Charles Soule, and Scott Lobdell, with artwork by Ken Lashley, Aaron Kuder, and Tony Daniel.

Here is the official synopsis: Its name is Doomsday. It came from the Phantom Zone, where the Man of Steel had banished it once before. Bigger. Deadlier. Capable of killing life on Earth. Only Superman can stop it. But even that is not the end. Evil is in its blood. And when that blood is spilled, the innocent will fall — and Superman himself will discover the monster within. The Last Son of Krypton may become a destroyer of worlds himself, leaving the Earth without its greatest protector.

Superman and his allies each must make a choice. If they unleash the monster, will they lose the man? Is this Earth’s last shot at salvation, or are Superman and everyone he cares about…

What to read before Superman: Doomed?

Naturally, you can explore our complete reading order for Superman and Action Comics during the New 52 era. For a more specific start, as Superman: Doomed is mostly a crossover between the titles Action Comics and Superman/Wonder Woman, the setup for it takes place in those two series:

Totally optional, DC also teased Doomsday’s appearance in Batman/Superman #3.1 during Villains Month (part of Forever Evil and collected in DC Comics The New 52 Villains Omnibus).

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Captain America by Ed Brubaker Reading Order: How to read the most celebrated adventures of Steve Rogers and the Winter Soldier

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Captain America by Ed Brubaker Reading Order

Everybody knows Captain America. But if you were in a coma for most of your life, he is a Marvel Superhero and the alter ego of Steve Rogers, created in 1941 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. As a young man, Steve wanted to fight for his country against the Nazis, but couldn’t … until he participated in an experiment that transformed him into a super-soldier. Near the end of the war, he and his sidekick Busty were left for dead. Trapped in ice and saved by the serum that changed him, he later came back to fight evil everywhere.

In January 2005, Ed Brubaker started to write the Captain America ongoing series with the fifth volume. The Criminal author wrote 100 issues (with art by Steve Epting), bringing back Bucky as the Winter Soldier, dealing with Cap’s death and resurrection, and more including the death and life of his greatest enemy, the Red Skull, and the emergences of a new threat, General Aleksander Lukin, the head of one of the most powerful corporations in the world!

It’s the most celebrated run on the Captain America modern series.

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Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive Reading Order

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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

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

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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.

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The Sandman’s Death Reading Order: What to read with Death of the Endless?

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The world of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman (reading order here) has inspired numerous spin-offs. There are a few anthologies, numerous one shots, miniseries and other specials – few were written by Neil Gaiman.

The character of Death is not one of those who were lucky enough to get an ongoing series, unlike Lucifer (reading order here) and Dead Boy Detectives (reading order here), even if she is extremely popular. That said, we still can find Death in a few publications outside the main Sandman story.

In this Vertigo series, the Endless are the personification of concepts. They all play a specific part in the human world. Dream (or Morpheus) is the king of the Dreaming Wold, where you go when you sleep. His older sister is Death and she mostly meets with the recently deceased and guides them into their next existence.

Death is the second eldest of Endless and possibly the more powerful being in the Universe. In The Sandman, Death takes the appearance of a young goth woman. She is omnipotence and omnipresence, being with all those who die when they die.

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