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Fear Itself Reading Order, a Marvel Event with Thor, Captain America and more

Fear Itself Reading Order

Fear Itself is a 2011 crossover Marvel Comics event, consisting of a seven-issue, eponymous miniseries written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Laura Martin, a prologue book (Fear Itself: Book of the Skull) by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Scot Eaton, and numerous tie-in books, including most of the X-Men family of books. Although it is a Marvel-wide crossover, the event emphasizes Captain America and Thor.

The entire planet has been seized by Fear and only chaos reigns. The Serpent, Asgard’s most ancient evil, has awakened and is feeding off the fear of Earth’s populace. Our planet’s only hope lies in the hands of heroes and villains who have not fallen into worldwide panic. But with Odin intent on sacrificing Earth, will their struggles against the Gods be enough? And how do you conquer Fear Itself?

What to read before Fear Itself?

Fear Itself is a self-contained event and doesn’t require any prior reading.

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Steven Universe Comics Reading Order

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Steven Universe Comics Reading Order

If you are here, you probably know Steven Universe, the American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It’s the story of Steven Universe, your normal Beach City citizen … who is anything but normal! He lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, humanoid aliens named Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Steven is half-Gem and has adventures with his friends and helps the Gems protect the world from their own kind.

The series ran for five seasons, from November 2013 to January 2019. The TV film Steven Universe: The Movie was released in September 2019, and an epilogue limited series, Steven Universe Future, ran from December 2019 to March 2020. It’s not enough? Well, there are also comic books published by Boom Studios. Those comics are not totally canon… Mostly, they are considered canonical as long as they aren’t contradicted by the series.

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Batwoman (Kate Kane) Reading Order

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Batwoman Reading Order (Kate Kane)

Once upon a time, during the early Silver Age of Comics, there was the first Batwoman named Kathy Kane. Created by writer Edmond Hamilton and artist Sheldon Moldoff, she was introduced in 1954 as a female counterpart to Batman, accompanied by her side-kick Bat-Girl, and as a love interest for Batman. She was introduced in response to allegations of Batman’s homosexuality that arose after the publication of “Seduction of the Innocent” in 1954. Kathy Kane never became a significant character and was eventually removed from the comics. She was erased from history during “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” until the events of Infinite Crisis, which established a new Universe, introduced a new incarnation of Kathy Kane.

But this is not the Batwoman that interests us today. The one we are focusing on today is called Kate Kane. Created by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, Ken Lashley, she made her first appearance in 52 #7 as a modern reinterpretation of the original Batwoman.

Katherine Rebecca “Kate” Kane is a wealthy heiress, a lesbian, and a cousin of Bruce Wayne. Inspired by the superhero Batman, she decides to take on the role of a masked vigilante to fight crime in her hometown of Gotham City as Batwoman. Her profile grew over time, and she starred in her own ongoing series as well as had a significant role in “Detective Comics.” She even became part of the Arrowverse with her own television series where she was played by Ruby Rose.

Discover now our Batwoman reading order, guiding you through the essential comics and story arcs featuring Bruce Wayne’s cousin!

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She-Hulk Reading Order aka Jennifer Walters, lawyer and Bruce Banner’s cousin

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Meet Marvel’s own Jennifer Walters. She’s a lawyer and Bruce Banner’s cousin (aka The Hulk, see reading order). After an injury, she received an emergency blood transfusion from him and acquired a milder version of his Hulk condition. She became She-Hulk, a large, powerful green-hued version of herself and, unlike her cousin, still largely retains her personality.

Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, She-Hulk first appeared in The Savage She-Hulk #1 in 1980, and you can read a lot more about that in our article about the origins of She-Hulk in the comic books.

During the past 40 years, she has been a member of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, the Defenders, Fantastic Force,  S.H.I.E.L.D., and also at the center of multiple solo series.

Where to start with She-Hulk aka Jennifer Walters? The Recommended Reading List

  • Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne Omnibus – John Byrne’s run is quite divisive. A humorous book with Jennifer breaking the Fourth Wall, it’s not to the taste of everybody so it’s up to you to decide if it’s your cup of tea.
  • She-Hulk by Dan Slott Omnibus – Dan Slott’s run continues the characterization of Jennifer Walters as a fun and loving super-heroine but with also more focus on her career as a lawyer. It’s the inspiration behind the TV show.
  • She-Hulk by Soule & Pulido: The Complete Collection – A short but well-loved run by Charles Soule following Jennifer as she opens a new practice and still has to confront a mounting number of super villains she’s racking up as personal enemies.

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Futures End Reading Order, a DC Comics’ universe-wide event from the New 52 era

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Futures End (DC New 52) Reading Order

Welcome to the New 52 Future! In May 2014, DC jumped forward 5 years in time with Futures End, an eleven-month weekly miniseries written by Brian Azzarello, Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens, and Jeff Lemire—with art by Patrick Zircher, Ethan Van Sciver, Dan Green, Aaron Lopresti, Art Thibert, Scot Eaton, Drew Geraci, and a lot more.

Here is the official synopsis: Five years from now, the DC Universe is reeling from a war with another Earth, leaving the world unprepared for an approaching evil that threatens to destroy the future. As heroes are turned into mindless villains, the planet as we know it is no more. The only salvation lies in the past, where this future apocalypse must be averted. Can a time-traveling Batman Beyond help a massive cast of the DCU’s finest avert the impending apocalypse? 

What to read before Futures End?

Futures End takes place in an alternate future for the DC Universe, five years after most of the stories in the New 52 era of DC Comics, therefore this event does not require prior reading.

Nevertheless, for the more completists, some plot elements from Earth 2: World’s End are explored. Also, Terry McGinnis being at the center of the story, you may want to take a look at our Batman Beyond Reading Order, to learn more about him.

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Spider-Gwen Reading Order (Gwen Stacy, Ghost-Spider)

 

Like her friend Silk, Spider-Gwen first appeared during the first Spider-verse event. Conceptualized by long-time Spider-Man writer Dan Slott, but really created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez, this Spider-Woman is not from the main Marvel universe.

Out of the Spider-Verse, Gwen Stacy swings into action as the Spider-Woman of Earth-65 — a neighborhood like no other! Gwen balances superhero life with being the daughter of a cop…and playing drums in an up-and-coming band, the Mary Janes! And you won’t believe her reality’s versions of the Lizard, the Osborns, Matt Murdock, Captain America, Frank Castle, and more!

The dimension-hopping Gwen joins a team-up of Spider-Women — and sparks fly when she meets Miles Morales! But troubles mount up at home, where she becomes S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most wanted…and problems with her powers lead to the introduction of Earth-65’s Venom!

Gwen would end up without a secret identity and so much more problems. This eventually led her to move to Earth-616 where she would become Ghost-Spider (because there already is a Spider-Woman on this Earth). With the help of Peter Parker, Gwen joined Empire State University, but she still went back to her own Earth, fighting villains on both fronts.

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Green Lantern: Wrath of the First Lantern Reading Order, the follow-up to Rise of the Third Army

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In the outcome of Rise of the Third Army, the mysterious First Lantern is unleashed against the Green Lantern Corps, still under Geoff Johns’s supervision.

As per the official synopsis, The Wrath of the First Lantern is here as the Green Lanterns battle the Guardians of Oa and the Third Army, but who will win and at what cost?

And as First Lantern moves on the brightest of the Corps for his reality-altering experiments, we learn the shocking fate of Hal and Sinestro in this crossover event!

What to read before Wrath of the First Lantern?

Wrath of the First Lantern is taking place after the Rise of the Third Army event. You’ll need to read it first:

  • Green Lantern: Rise of the Third Army
    Green Lantern Vol. 5 #13–16, Green Lantern Corps Vol. 3 #13–16, Green Lantern: New Guardians #13–16, Red Lanterns #13–16, Green Lantern Corps Annual Vol. 3 #1.

Of course, these storylines are set near the end of Geoff Johns’s run on Green Lantern, we invite you to consult our reading order to know more about what came before (a lot!).

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Silk Comics Reading Order, the adventures of Cindy Moon in the Spider-verse

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Created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, Silk real name is Cindy Moon. During a demonstration on the use of radioactive rays at a science exhibit that lead to Peter Parker getting bitten by a spider and gaining his amazing powers, Cindy was also bitten. She was just another young student with powers, but when her abilities manifested, she was not able to control them and didn’t become a superhero.

Later, the enigmatic Ezekiel approaches Cindy’s family with a proposition. He was going to help her to control her abilities. After six years of training to use her powers, Cindy is locked up inside a facility by Ezekiel to protect her and the other ‘spiders’ from Morlun and his family called the Inheritors – more info about that in the Spider-verse crossover (go to the Spider-verse event reading order).

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X-Men Reading Order – Part 1: The Silver Age & the Chris Claremont Era

Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the first X-Men series was launched in September 1963. Since then, a lot happened and it can be overwhelming to try to make sense of it all. That said, each new era began as a new entry point in this vast universe. But first, if you’ve lived in a cave during the last decades, you may not know who are the X-Men.

They are led by Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, the X-Men are mutants, people born with superhuman abilities activated by what is called the “X-Gene.” They have incredible powers that make them, for some, dangerous people. Even if the X-Men fight for a world in which mutants and humans can be equals, they have not succeeded yet.

They must face anti-mutant bigotry, and all the powers in the world can’t seem to solve that problem. All the powerful mutants don’t see the world like Xavier and his X-Men, they want to rage war against humans. As new threats from Earth and Space continue to emerge, and enemies keep coming back, the X-Men must persevere.

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Damian Wayne Reading Order, Fifth Robin and Son of Batman

Damain Wayne Reading Order, son of Batman and Fifth Robin

Everybody knows that Batman’s sidekick is Robin. Of course, readers are familiar with the fact that there’s more than one Robin. That said, there’s only one son of Bruce Wayne, the best Robin of all (if you ask him), Damian.

So, Damian Wayne is the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and thus the grandson of Ra’s al Ghul. Grown in a laboratory, Damian was raised by his mother and the League of Assassins to make him a great warrior. It also makes him arrogant and violent.

Batman ignores his existence until Talia left his pre-adolescent son in the care of his father. Talia hasn’t grown a conscience but just uses Damian in an effort to disrupt Batman’s work. For Damian, two choices are offered to him: follow his grandfather and mother’s footsteps to become the future head of the League or embrace his father’s lifestyle and choose to be a superhero.

What to read before?

  • Batman: Son of the Demon
    Damian doesn’t appear in this 1987 graphic novel by writer Mike W. Barr and artist Jerry Binghamon of the Demon. It was out of continuity for a long time. Grant Morrisson used it as an inspiration. Quite optional, but for the completist, this is where all begins.

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