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Darkseid War Reading Order, a Justice League Event (New 52)

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The end of New 52 is around the corner, as Justice League: The Darkseid War is the penultimate story of this era, leading into DC Rebirth. Written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Jason Fabok, the story shows the return of Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips, but this time he’s set his sights on the world-shattering Anti-Monitor.

The Justice League is caught in a war between those two gods, and are they enough to protect Earth from becoming collateral damage in this fight?

What to read before Justice League: Darkseid War?

Darkseid War takes place at the end of the New 52 Justice League, written by Geoff Johns. There are hints and setup for the event throughout the series. That said, if you haven’t read his Justice League (you can find a full reading order here), you’ll find the most essential background in the first volume (with the introduction of Darkseid) and the sixth volume. Then, Forever Evil leads into the event…

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Batman Fear State Reading Order

DC Batman Fear State Reading Order

To conclude his run on Batman (see reading order), James Tynion IV planned an event named Fear State that will get us through the end of 2021. All of the Bat-Series are involved, so here is the guide.

Gotham City is on the brink of martial law as Batman fights a two-front battle! The Scarecrow is unleashing a devasting attack on the city while the Magistrate has made their move to invade! Gotham City is on the brink of a violent evolutionary path and the danger level to Batman and his allies reaching a fever pitch!

The Magistrate now has full support from the mayor to handle high-level law enforcement in Gotham and has branded the Dark Knight as Public Enemy #1. Batman must also contend with the return of the Scarecrow who pursues his own terrifying agenda as he takes this chaotic moment to launch his Fear State.

What to read before Batman Fear State?

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Batman No Man’s Land Reading Order

Batman No Man's Land Reading Order

During the Post-crisis era, the end of the 1990s was full of disasters for Batman and Gotham City. We got Batman Knightfall (full reading order here), then Batman: Contagion, and its follow-up Batman: Legacy. After that, there was the Batman: Cataclysm crossover event that lead right to Batman No Man’s Land. The title alone is full of promises.

If you are unfamiliar with the story, here is the official synopsis: After suffering a cataclysmic earthquake, the U.S. government has deemed Gotham City uninhabitable and ordered all citizens to leave. It is now months later and those who have refused to vacate “No Man’s Land” live amidst a citywide turf war in which the strongest prey on the weak. Batman and his allies including the enigmatic new Batgirl, Nightwing, Oracle, and Robin must fight to save Gotham during its darkest hour and return Justice to the destroyed city.

Note: Cassandra Cain was introduced during this event. She became the official Batgirl after that. For more about her, go to Cassandra Cain Reading Order.

What to read before Batman No Man’s Land?

As I wrote at the beginning of this article, there was one disaster after the other—the one you need to read before Batman No Man’s Land is Batman: Cataclysm. You can find it in a dedicated TPB. But reading Cataclysm is not imperative (even if it’s recommended), most of the stories leading to (and explaining) the event are collected in what DC Comics called Batman: Road to No Man’s Land, as you’ll see below in the full reading order.

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Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Reading Order (plus Green Lantern Corps, Blackest Night, Red Lanterns and more!)

When you look into Green Lantern, Geoff Johns’s run is considered the one to read. It certainly is influential, it leads to the famous Blackest Night event, and it was epic and full of colors. Johns started by bringing back Hal Jordan in the Green Lantern Corps (he became The Spectre after his redemptory appearance as Parallax in the 1996 event The Final Night), then he introduced new concepts and expanded the Green Lantern mythos in a big way that still defined it to this day.

If Geoff Johns is mostly credited for the success of the Green Lantern title at that time, he was not alone. Peter Tomasi was in charge of the Green Lantern Corps series, and reading the two together is highly recommended. That said, DC Comics can’t stop republishing Johns’s books, but Tomasi’s work can be more hard to find.

Here is the official synopsis: It’s been years since the death of Hal Jordan and the end of the Green Lantern Corps. But as the Torchbearer Kyle Rayner is about to find out, the adventure of epic and mythological proportions is about to begin as the former Lantern returns to the land of the living to atone for his sins. And the cosmos will never be the same as Sinestro wages his war against the Green Lanterns with his newly founded, Sinestro Corps!

What to read before Green Lantern by Geoff Johns?

It’s a new beginning. You can go ahead with Green Lantern Rebirth, but if you want to know the basics about Green Lantern, these two books are recommended:

  • Green Lantern: Secret Origin
    Collects Green Lantern #29-35
  • DC Universe by Alan Moore
    Collects Action Comics #584, Batman Annual #11, Dc Comics Presents #85, Detective Comics #549-550, Green Lantern #188, The Omega Men #26-27,  Secret Origins #10, Superman #423, Tales Of The Green Lantern Corps Annual #2 & 3, Superman Annual #11 and Vigilante #17-18.

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DC Rebirth Reading Order: A Guide to the Best Comics of the Era

Following our New 52 Reading Order, I thought about doing something similar for Rebirth, but have to admit not being quite content with my work. I found it way too massive and, in consequence, not easy to tackle. So, for the Rebirth era, I decided to not go full order and opt to highlight some of the best this era has to offer (what follows does not include out-of-continuity).

But first, what is Rebirth? We are in 2016 when DC relaunched its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the DC Universe to a form much like that prior to the 2011 “Flashpoint” storyline while still incorporating numerous elements of The New 52, including its continuity. Like New 52, it was also a new entry point. Nearly all characters had their designs revised, some (like Wally West) reappeared, and others were revised.

It all begins with DC Universe: Rebirth (2016) #1. DC also issued one-shot Rebirth specials for the major characters, which are all collected in the DC Rebirth Omnibus Vol. 1, for those who want a taste and maybe choose the series you want to read. You don’t have to read them, and most of them are also collected in the first trade paperback of each character.

And now… Let’s explore a little bit of the DC Rebirth era!

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Batman by James Tynion Reading Order

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After a divisive 85-issue run on the main Batman comics, Tom King stopped writing the series and James Tynion IV took over the book. Initially, it was announced it was just there to take the series to its 100 issues. Plans changed.

Finally, Tynion stayed, until he surprised everybody when he revealed he was leaving Batman for writing newly created-owned (non-DC) titles. His run on the Batman comics was not without events and, even if it’s not the longest, you may need a few pointers.

But first, here is the official synopsis of the story when James Tynion IV started writing the Batman series: It’s a new day in Gotham. Bane has been vanquished, but both the city and its champion are still struggling to pick up the pieces. Deathstroke, the world’s greatest mercenary, is back in town under a new contract. Soon other hired killers follow, and Batman is surrounded by assassins—as well as Gotham’s own dangerous players, from the Riddler to the Penguin to Harley Quinn.

As the Caped Crusader draws closer to uncovering the figure pulling the strings, the love of his life, Catwoman, holds the sinister secret in her claws. Can Batman pry it from her without tearing their relationship apart? And will it be enough to stop the coming plot against him?

Like a lot of writers on Batman comics, James Tynion IV worked with a lot of established characters but also introduced some of his own creations like Punchline, Ghost-Maker, Clownhunter, and more. 

What to read before Batman by James Tynion?

First, James Tynion IV wrote Detective Comics at the beginning of the Batman Rebirth era–following the Batman Modern Age era and The Batman New 52 era. It’s not an obligatory read before going into his Batman comic book run, but if you are curious:

Being that James Tynion IV picked up where Tom King left off, even if it is sold as a “new start” that you can presumably read without prior knowledge, you may want to read the last King’s storyline: City of Bane.

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Justice League International Reading Order, by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis

After what is known as the Justice League Detroit era (or the Detroit League), the crossovers event Crisis on Infinite Earths and Legends, came a new kind of Justice League team. Written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis, with art by Kevin Maguire, the Justice League International (JLI) Comics was created in 1987. It was not a team of A-listers. As a matter of fact, it was considered as a joke and–with what they got to work with–Giffen and DeMatteis developed a sitcom-like version of the Justice League. One that is still quite unique to this day.

With most of the usual big Justice League characters unavailable, this new league introduced new characterizations to old characters like Guy Gardner (Green Lantern) and Booster Gold, but also a major new character named Maxwell Lord who was behind the creation of this new league. They fight alongside (and with) Batman, The Black Canary, The Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Doctor Fate, Doctor Light, The Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle, Big Barda, Green Flame, Ice Maiden, Rocket Red, and more.

But here is the official synopsis from DC Comics: The world’s greatest super-team, the Justice League, are Earth’s greatest and last line of defense against all manner of world-threatening villains… assuming they don’t wipe each other out first! Find out what happens when Batman, Superman and the rest of the gang face a galactic invasion fleet known as the Cluster, exchange harsh words with crazed bounty hunter Lobo and track Mister Miracle back to the hell planet that is Apokolips, and then battle yet another invasion fleet…because that’s how they roll.

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Crisis on Infinite Earths Reading Order, The First DC Comics Major Event Crossover

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Published from April 1985 to March 1986, Crisis on Infinite Earths is the name of a 12-issue limited series written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Pérez at the heart of the major event of the same name. It’s the first universe redefining crossover comic book event ever, and it came from Wolfman’s desire to simplify and unify the DC Universe in order to help new (and old) readers to get a better understanding and reading experience. There’s a before and an after Crisis, and the industry as a whole changed after that.

Here is the official synopsis: A mysterious being known as the Anti-Monitor has begun a crusade across time to bring about the end of all existence. As alternate Earths are systematically destroyed, the Monitor quickly assembles a team of superheroes from across time and space to battle his counterpart and stop the destruction. DC’s greatest heroes, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Aquaman, assemble to stop the menace, but as they watch both the Flash and Supergirl die in battle, they begin to wonder if even all of the heroes in the world can stop this destructive force.

What to read before Crisis on Infinite Earths?

Nothing. Everything. This is the first event of this kind. Nowadays, DC Comics would have planned a long prelude to the event with some clues here and there, maybe a full storyline with a hero or two. But this was not the case in 1985. If you read a pre-crisis series, Crisis on Infinite Earths is the end. There’s probably a lot to read in order to be familiar with everybody involved, and it’s not feasible to list it here—The Monitor made non-consequential cameos before that could be listed, but it’s just him observing the action, not really useful. What you need to know is in the series anyway. That’s how comics worked back then.

To learn more about this classic event, complement with The History and Legacy of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

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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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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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