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The Shadow Comics: The Comic Book History of a Pulp Hero

Created for the magazine publishers Street & Smith, the character of The Shadow started in 1930 on the Detective Story Hour radio show as a mysterious host before moving to print the following year. He would stay on the air for a few years, but this original incarnation would be forgotten and replaced by the one created by writer Walter B. Gibson (under the pen name of Maxwell Grant).

Gibson was tasked to write stories about “The Shadow” and, inspired by classic literary works and the French character Judex, he composed a character that would eventually become the prototype of the American Superhero. Through the years, The Shadow prospered in the pulps, on the radio, and even got a comic strip in the early 1940s.

The Shadow was a former World War I aviator named Kent Allard who faked his death and became a crime-fighter. Upon returning to the United States, he adopted several different identities to aid him in his war on crime. The most famous one is Lamont Cranston, a wealthy socialite who went abroad and Allard stole his identity, impersonating him to gain access to the rich and powerful of the world.

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Jonah Hex Reading Order, DC Comics’ Western Hero

Introduced for the first time in 1972 in the comics All-Star Western #10, Jonah Hex is a creation by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. A bad-tempered brutal bounty hunter, Hex emerged at a time when the Western genre was deconstructed and the character contributed to that with his two-face. Looking at him from one side, he looked like the handsome cowboy, but from the other side, with half of his face disfigured, he was a terrifying killer.

The comics introduced him like this: “He was a hero for some, a villain to others… and wherever he rode people spoke his name in whispers. He had no friends, this Jonah Hex, but he did have two companions: one was death itself… the other, the acrid smell of gunsmoke…” Enough said!

At a time when the Comic Code regulations started to loosen up, the violent Jonah Hex became popular in the pages of the Weird Western Tales comics (DeZuniga drew the character for years, but Albano only wrote the first ten adventures of Hex), and after a few years, he finally got his own book. The Crisis on Infinite Earths event put an end to his regular adventures and, since then, he has made multiple comebacks.

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Earth X Reading Order (the Alex Ross Universe)

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The Multiverse is made up of many alternate realities, each unique and full of possibilities. Some are more famous than others. Among the most notorious are the Ultimate World of Miles Morales and The Maker, the dystopian future of Marvel 2099, the Zombieverse, and the Age of Apocalypse.

In the late nineties, artist Alex Ross designed one of Marvel’s most iconic dystopian realities: Earth-X. This world first appeared in Wizard Magazine, where the legendary artist was asked to create a possible future for the Marvel Universe. Ross depicted a future where superpowers had become commonplace. These initial concepts, today known as the Earth-X Sketchbook, attracted readers, and the magazine quickly sold out. This success led Marvel to commission a full comic series, developed by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, with artists John Paul Leon and Doug Braithwaite.

While Earth-X started as a possible future of Earth-616, the series retconned the origins of superheroes, disconnecting them from the mainstream Marvel Universe entirely. Earth-X evolved to become Earth-9997, an alternate reality.

Today, we jump into the world of Earth X, a dystopian reality where most of the population has gained superpowers, many heroes have fallen or been reimagined, and the future remains uncertain. Check out our complete comic reading order for Earth-X, including every issue and appearance, along with our guide to omnibus and trade paperback editions.

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Hellblazer John Constantine Reading Order, from the Swamp Thing to the Justice League Dark

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Created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben in 1984 in The Saga of Swamp Thing series, John Constantine is an arrogant foul-mouthed working-class occult detective and con man from London. Originally a supporting character, he continued to appear in the series before getting his own ongoing in 1988, Hellblazer.

As Alan Moore was too busy (or didn’t want to) do it, DC Comics recruited another British writer, Jamie Delano, to develop the Hellblazer comics in which John Constantine was faced with much horror, demons, and others in Great Britain. This quickly cemented him as the antihero of the DC universe. Not loved by many, he still found people to join him during his fight against vile creatures, and they are often the ones who have to pay the harsher price.

Known for his cynicism, his deadpan snarking, his ruthless cunning, and his constant chain-smoking, John Constantine wants to help save lives, but his technique can be deadly if it’s for the greater good. Being his friend can be as dangerous as being his enemy.

The long-running Hellblazer comic book series was part of the Vertigo line and lasted 300 issues. After that, John Constantine was made a little more respectable as he joined the other magic heroes of the DC main universe. He joined teams and helped save the world, the universe, and reality.

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Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale’s Batman Reading Order

Happy Halloween! No team in the Batman mythos is associated with this celebration more than Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale for their The Long Halloween story. Presented as a classic detective story, The Long Halloween is one of the most celebrated and influential Batman tales, featuring Tim Sale’s striking art, a good introduction to the world of Gotham, Batman’s Rogue Gallery, and an origin story for Two-Face.

For Loeb and Sale, it all started with Challengers of the Unknown (1991), their first creative collaboration that would lead to more iconic works. When editor Archie Goodwin asked artist Tim Sale in the early ’90s to work on another Legends of the Dark Knight arc after Blades (with James Robinson), Sale asked if Loeb—who was working in Hollywood at the time—could write it. This resulted in what is now known as The Haunted Knight, a collection of three Halloween-themed stories.

For Loeb, the plan was to stop there—he had another job. However, Archie Goodwin had other ideas. He asked Frank Miller about the gangsters featured in Year One, and Miller said he had no further plans for them, giving Goodwin free rein. As Loeb recalled, “Archie thought we should do something bigger with this group in mind, maybe something longer than the 80 pages of the first Halloween special. Maybe… a year.” (from The Long Halloween Deluxe Edition.)

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Ghost in the Shell Manga Order

Following the success of Akira, a wave of influential Japanese cyberpunk works emerged, such as Battle Angel Alita, Cowboy Bebop, and, as today’s subject, Ghost in the Shell. Created by Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell began publication in 1989 in Kodansha’s manga anthology Young Magazine. Consisting of only 11 chapters, the original manga concluded in November 1990.

However, it started a cyberpunk franchise that has since spawned spin-off manga and comics, animated and live-action films, several animated TV series, video games, tie-in novels, and art books. The franchise continues to expand, with a new manga in publication and an anime adaptation slated for release in 2026.

Set in the 2030s in the fictional Japanese city of Niihama, also known as New Port City, Ghost in the Shell follows the members of Public Security Section 9, a special operations task force composed of former military officers and police detectives, led by Major Motoko Kusanagi. Kusanagi is a strong-willed, intelligent cyborg who excels at deduction, hacking, and military tactics—though this doesn’t prevent her from occasionally acting immature.

Section 9 handles political intrigue, corruption, cybercrime, and counter-terrorism in a future where technology has advanced to the point that most people possess a “cyberbrain”—a device that integrates with the brain and connects individuals both physically and virtually to various platforms (a kind of brain-computer interface).

Discover the original world of Ghost in the Shell with this comprehensive reading guide, exploring the original manga and its many spin-offs in order!

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Energon Universe Reading Order (Skybound’s Transformers, GI Joe, Voir Rivals…)

At the end of 2020, IDW lost the license to publish comic books from the Hasbro Universe. Therefore, series like Transformers and G.I. Joe went elsewhere. More precisely, they went to Image Comics via Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment imprint.

Naturally, the new creative teams didn’t continue with what was done at IDW. Instead, a new comic book universe was launched: The Energon Universe. It uses creative elements from Transformers and G.I. Joe, such as familiar concepts and characters, but also introduces original materials, notably with the all-new Void Rivals.

“I’ve loved these characters for most of my life and to have the opportunity to add to the already rich tapestry Hasbro has built with the all-new Void Rivals is an unbelievable opportunity. If you look at everything done with Transformers and G.I. Joe, you can see the inkling of a vast universe with tremendous potential for crossovers and interaction that will enhance the fan experience while staying true to the individual identities of both concepts. I look forward to exploring that potential for years to come.” – Robert Kirkman.

Juggling between ongoing and limited series, with some one-shots added to the mix, the Energon Universe was officially launched in June 2023. The creative teams are made of top talents with writers like Robert Kirkman, Daniel Warren Johnson, Joshua Williamson, Kelly Thompson, and Dan Watters (and more to come), and artists like DW Johnson, Lorenzo De Felici, Jorge Corona, Tom Reilly, Andrea Milana, Marco Ferrari, and more.

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The Best of the Kingpin, Your Essential Wilson Fisk Comic Book List

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While New York City is filled with Marvel Superheroes, it never stopped Wilson Fisk from realizing his personal ambitions. He’s one of the most powerful criminals, a man who took control of the Underworld by sheer intelligence and cunning abilities. With that said, you wouldn’t want to be in Fisk’s way on a bad day, as the man has extraordinary skill in hand-to-hand combat.

Introduced in the Marvel World in the ‘60s as a Spider-Man antagonist, Wilson Fisk came a long way from his debut, becoming Daredevil’s greatest enemy while still being a menace to reckon with for Spider-Man (and sometimes other superheroes). He rose to become one of the most powerful criminal leaders known as the Kingpin, but also a legitimate businessman and an ambitious political figure who succeeded in being elected as Mayor of New York. Over the years, he rose, fell, retired, made his comeback. And more than once, he made Matt Murdock’s life hell on Earth!

He’s also one of Marvel’s most iconic villains on the small screen, thanks to Vincent D’Onofrio’s portrayal of the character in Netflix’s Daredevil. He recently appeared in the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021), but most importantly will be in Daredevil: Born Again, Disney+’s follow-up to the Netflix series.

To learn more about The Kingpin or simply rediscover the most important stories featuring the character, follow our Essential Reading Order Guide for Wilson Fisk!

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Darwyn Cooke’s Must-Read Comics: Exploring a Work Filled with Boldness and Hope

Graphic Ink: The DC Comics Art of Darwyn Cooke

Canadian Cartoonist from Toronto Darwyn Cooke (1962–2016) always dreamt of making comics for a living, but it was not economically viable for him for a long time. He instead worked as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer until finally going back to his first love during the 1990s. He answered an ad placed by Bruce Timm that led him to work as a storyboard artist on Warner Bros. Animation shows like The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond (he created the opening sequence), and Men in Black: The Series (as a director).

Cooke’s pitch to Timm, a Batman story that got him a job in animation, was later discovered by DC Comics art director Mark Chiarello who hired the artist to make a graphic novel based on it. That became the 2000 graphic novel Batman: Ego. Cooke officially transitioned to the comics world.

Despite a short career in comics, Darwyn Cooke’s distinctive artistic style became highly influential as well as his stories. He found popular success with some of his now-considered classic series and gained industry recognition with his work, winning 13 Eisner Awards, 8 Harvey Awards, and 5 Joe Shuster Awards.

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The Best of Havok Comics, Our Alex Summers Recommended Reading Order (X-Men)!

It’s never easy being the brother of a more famous X-Man. Just ask Alex Summers, who has often found himself in the shadow of his brother, Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops. While Alex may never reach his older brother’s level of fame, this longtime Marvel character has certainly lived through some wild adventures (and bad editorial decisions) since his debut in 1969!

Before young Alex Summers was introduced to the world of the X-Men, readers already knew that Scott had a brother (there’s a third Summers brother, but it is a subject for another day) who had been separated from him for many years. After their father’s plane was attacked by aliens, the two brothers jumped with the only working parachute. While they survived, they were left orphaned and separated as children. Scott grew up in an orphanage before being recruited to join the X-Men.

But surprise! When Alex made his first appearance in X-Men #54, the two brothers had been close for some time—clearly, this relationship had developed off-panel. Soon enough, Alex was revealed to have powers of his own, capable of generating powerful plasma blasts. He got his famous Neal Adams-designed costume and codename in issue #58. From there, the mutant developed a love-hate relationship with the X-Men and an on-and-off romance with Lorna Dane, a.k.a. Polaris.

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