At one point, Marvel Comics had fun with Gwen Stacy on the covers of a certain number of issues, delivering reimaginations of the famous Spider-Man character (because Spider-Gwen looks so cool). One of them was on the cover of Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #2 in June 2015. At that time, Gwenpool was not in any story, but she was already a popular character.
Like Deadpool, Gwenpool is a fourth-wall-breaking character. Gwendolyn Poole was introduced as a character from ‘the real world’ who knew that she was living in a Marvel comic book. She got her own costume and started to use her knowledge to fight crime, believing that her actions were pretty much without any consequences. Of course, she had no training and mostly improvised. Since then, her backstory was retconned to help her find a real place in the Marvel Universe. Recently, Gwenpool came out as an asexual icon!
Created by writer Mort Weisinger and artist Paul Norris, Aquaman debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), where he co-starred with Doctor Fate, The Spectre, Johnny Quick, and Green Arrow (who made his first appearance in the same issue as Aquaman). In his first story, Arthur was saving refugees whose ship was torpedoed by a Nazi submarine.
A few years later, he left the pages of More Fun Comics in favor of Adventures Comics, but it was during the 1950s and 1960s that the character took a more important role. New elements to his backstory were introduced, as well as new supporting characters. And he was a founding member of the Justice League!
Still, despite growing popularity in the 1960s thanks to his animated series, and having his own title, Aquaman fails to grab readers the same way the other major DC superheroes did. Launched in 1962, his first solo series was canceled in 1971, before being revived in 1977 for a short time. After that, it would take 8 years for the character to have his own title again, yet again for a brief time.
Aquaman will have to wait for the nineties and Peter David to be redefined for a new generation, but the title will lose in popularity after the writer’s departure and poor Arthur Curry was again without a title.
Aquaman was not considered a bona fide superhero for a long time, and was perceived as a lesser one, even a joke — everybody who watched Entourage will never forget that Aquaman storyline in seasons 2 and 3!
But all of that changed with Geoff Johns, who confronted the public perception and rehabilitated the character. It was the beginning of a new era for Arthur Curry, one that launched the character towards good to great storylines. And of course, the cherry on the cake for his fans was the DC movie, where Jason Momoa plays the famous King of Atlantis, making him as mainstream as he has ever been.
Arthur Curry well deserved some love, and Comic Book Treasury has put together a recommended Reading list to discover the best Aquaman stories.
Published at the beginning of 2010, Siege is the culmination of the Dark Reign, but what was the Dark Reign? Everything began with the ravaging effects of Avengers Disassembled and following the aftermath of House of M, Civil War, and Secret Invasion, the Marvel Universe needed order and Norman Osborn used the chaos to take power. He became the United States primary defense officer, leading H.A.M.M.E.R. as well as employing his own evil Avengers.
So here is the official synopsis for Siege, an event by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel: Coerced by Loki and on the brink of madness, Osborn, in his final bid to take total control, targets the final obstacle in his mission…Asgard. Events are set in motion forcing our heroes to put aside the deep rifts that have grown over the past seven years. Opposing them stand a horde of evil that has begun to take down the gods of the Golden Realm!
What to read before Siege?
Being the end of the Dark Reign era, you may want to begin with what started it, the Secret Invasion event (reading order here). You’ll find a reading order here.
New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis: The Complete Collection Vol. 5
Collects Free Comic Book Day 2009 (Avengers), New Avengers #55-64, Dark Reign: The List – Avengers One-Shot, New Avengers Annual #3, New Avengers Finale; Material From Amazing Spider-Man #601, Breaking Into Comics The Marvel Way #1. Attn!this book collects issues set during Siege, take a look at the reading order to know how to read them.
Meet Liesel Van Helsing, the daughter of the legendary vampire hunter, Abraham Van Helsing, who lives in the Grimm Fairy Tales universe by Zenescope Entertainment.
She spent years trapped in a hell dimension known as the Shadowlands. She has been brought to the present day and uses her skills to take on all forms of the undead, from Dracula and Frankenstein to mummies and werewolves. Liesel is a deadly force to be reckoned with for all creatures who stick to the shadows.
One of the most popular Zenescope characters, Van Helsing has inspired a Syfy television series. Beware, if you discovered the television version before, it does not have a lot in common with the comic version, except maybe the last name and vampires.
A sequel to DC’s 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths (see the reading order here), Infinite Crisis is a storyline published in 2005–2006 written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway. Like the original “crisis”, it’s about the Multiverse
OMAC robots are rampaging, magic is dying, villains are uniting, and a war is raging in space. And in the middle of it all, a critical moment has divided Earth’s three greatest heroes: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. It’s the DCU’s darkest day, and long-lost heroes from the past have returned to make things right in the universe… at any cost. Heroes will live, heroes will die, and the DCU will never be the same again!
What to read before Infinite Crisis?
Everything started with Crisis on Infinite Earths (see reading order), but after the events of the 2004 storyline Identity Crisis (see reading order), DC Comics launched the “Countdown to Infinite Crisis”, multiple miniseries leading to the main Infinite Crisis event:
The OMAC Project
Collects The OMAC Project #1–6, Countdown to Infinite Crisis, and Wonder Woman #219.
Superman: Sacrifice
Collects Superman #218-220, Adventures Of Superman #642-643, Action Comics #829 And Wonder Woman #219-220. This book tied in The OMAC Project.
Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, Dick Grayson is one of the most compelling characters from DC. From The Flying Graysons to being Robin (aka Batman’s sidekick), then to becoming Nightwing and finding his own way in life, he’s the friend you need, the leader who listens, the guy who wants to help and does good because it’s the right thing to do. And he’s always working to become a better version of himself and to make the world a better place. What’s not to love here?
Dick Grayson made his first appearance as Robin in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940), but today we are more interested in his history after he became Nightwing, in Tales of the Teen Titans #44 (July 1984).
What to read before Dick became Nightwing?
As said above, we’re focused on this reading order in stories taking place after Dick became Nightwing, meaning stories where he is not Robin anymore. Before diving in, you can check out a few stories to know more about the time Dick Grayson was Robin:
Batman Dark Victory – A sequel to The Long Halloween, this story by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale takes place three or four years into Batman’s career as a crime fighter. It’s a Batman story that doubles as an origin story for Robin.
Robin: Year One – Written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty and illustrated by Javier Pulido and Marcos Martin, it takes place after Dark Victory and tells of Dick Grayson’s first year as Batman’s sidekick, Robin.
Teen Titans: Year One – A light miniseries that retraces the early days of the Teen Titans, by Amy Wolfram and Karl Kerschl.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a supernatural television drama series that aired between 1997 and 2003. It follows the adventures of Buffy Summers, the Chosen One. She is gifted with the strength and skills to fight vampires, demons, and other supernatural creatures. As Buffy grows up, she must face the challenge of every teenager (and after) life and also the darkness. She is surrounded by friends and family who help her in her mission.
Now, you can continue this adventure in comic book form. Some depict events and situations unseen during the series’ run, while other comics follow the characters after the conclusion of the show’s official run. Some are canon, some are not.
What to read (and watch) before the Buffy and Angel comics?
If you are here, it means you are familiar with Buffy Summers for at least the television series, Buffy the Vampire Series. Our heroine made her first appearance in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, before becoming the badass heroine of her own television show and comic books. Obviously, you want to have watched both Buffy (seasons 1-7) and Angel (seasons 1-5) at least once before diving into the comic books.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic publication began during the television show aired. Most of those stories during that time take place in parallel with the series’s events. Despite that, they are not all considered canonical.
There is more than one Swamp Thing, the swamp monster/Elemental of the DC Universe (not Marvel’s Man Thing). The first one was created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson in House of Secrets #92 (July 1971) in a stand-alone horror story.
At first, the Swamp Thing was an anthropomorphic mound of vegetable matter fighting to protect his swamp home, but he eventually broadens his scope to protect the environment in general, and humanity from various supernatural or terrorist threats, becoming a DC Superhero in his own way.
During the 1970s, Swamp Thing had his first ongoing series, but it didn’t last. When he became the star of a Wes Craven movie in 1982, a second series was launched. It was almost canceled before Alan Moore became the main writer and made it a real creative success, rewriting the mythology of the character and expanding his powers and reach.
Since then, more writers worked on the titles and Swamp Thing even started fighting alongside other DC heroes.
Started in 2008, Amulet is an American graphic novel series illustrated and written by Kazu Kibuishi. The story follows the adventures of Emily and Navin, two young siblings who moved into their great-grandfather’s country house after their father’s death in a car accident.
While exploring the house, the brother and sister discover a magical amulet that gives Emily extraordinary powers. As they try to uncover the amulet’s mysteries and protect their mother from the Elf King, the siblings find themselves having to fight a formidable and malevolent monster and battle for the freedom of a parallel world. Thankfully, they can count on the help of newfound friends to face all those new dangers.
Discover the fantasy adventures following the Amulet Reading Order!
Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Catwoman is the name used by notorious Gotham City’s burglar Selina Kyle who’s known for loving cats and for using a bullwhip as a weapon. Originally, she was an adversary of Batman, but became some kind of antiheroine, and even an ally of the Dark Knight—and more on the romantic side.
Even if Catwoman made her first appearance in Batman #1 (1940) under the name “The Cat,” she had to go away for a time between September 1954 to November 1966 after losing the battle against the Comics Code Authority. She came back to commit more crimes in the pages of the DC Comics titles. But those stories are not part of the current continuity, so we will focus on what is called the “Modern Era” of DC Comics.
Like others like her, her origins are not clear, multiple authors revised them, but it is firmly established that Selina Kyle grew up on the streets of Gotham, and spent some time in an orphanage and a juvenile detention center. She was working as a dominatrix at some point (in Batman: Year One) before becoming a successful thief who likes to rob the rich and powerful men of Gotham.
Catwoman had her first solo ongoing series in 1993 and took part in the major events of that era. At one point, she fought with the Justice League and later completely reformed, but it was more complicated than a crisis of conscience. Talking about a Crisis, after Infinite Crisis (see reading order), Selina is no longer Catwoman. Holly Robinson took over for a short period of time. Later, Catwoman formed the Gotham City Sirens with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. At one point during the New 52 era, Eiko Hasigawa became Catwoman (and Selina was one of the Gotham City crime bosses). With Rebirth, Catwoman occupied a prominent role in the third volume of Batman, her relationship with Batman played a major role in the story.
