Author: Loki

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The Post-Crisis DCU 06 – Year Four

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Teen Titans: Year One

JLA: Zatanna’s Search

Batman: Fortunate Son

Batman: the Cat and the Bat

Batgirl: Year One
Doom Patrol: The Silver Age, Volume 2
Reprints The Doom Patrol #96-107 (June 1965 – November 1966); Challengers of the Unknown #48 (February-March 1966); & The Brave and the Bold #65 (April-May 1966).
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The Post-Crisis DCU 05 – Year Three

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Batman: The Long Halloween
Continues from previous year, and concludes on Halloween.
The Flash of Two Worlds

Robin: Year One
Batman: Dark Victory
Begins in August of Year Four, and continues into Year Five. Note that the scenes in this book regarding Dick Grayson must occur rather nearer the start of this book than they appear to.
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The Post-Crisis DCU 04 – Year Two

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The Flash: Born to Run
the origin of Kid Flash.
Batman: Shaman
Follows closely from Batman: Year One.
Doom Patrol: The Silver Age, Volume 1
Reprints My Greatest Adventure #80-85 (June 1963 – February 1964); & The Doom Patrol #86-95 (March 1964 – March 1965).
Metamorpho: Year One
Must occur prior to JLA: Year One.
Batman: Year Two – Fear The Reaper
Justice League of America: Year One
Must occur after most of the DC heroes have gotten started, but still early in their careers.
Batman: Rules of Engagement
Occurs in Batman’s second year, and after Luthor learns that Superman is an alien – hence, after Superman: Birthright.
Batman: Venom
Reprints Legends of the Dark Knight #16-20 (March 1991 – July 1991).
Batman: Blink
Reprints Legends of the Dark Knight #156-158 & 164-167 (August 2002 – October 2002 & April 2003 – July 2003).
This book contains two stories, one occurring approximately midway through the year, the other in winter a few months later. Gordon is referred to as Lieutenant rather than Captain throughout (he was promoted to Captain near the end of Year One), but the working relationship between him and Batman argues for this later placement.
Batman: Snow
Set before The Long Halloween, about 18 months after Batman’s first appearance.
Batman: The Long Halloween
Begins in June of Year Two, and continues into Year Three.
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The Post-Crisis DCU 03 – Year One

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Superman: Secret Origin
Reprints Superman: Secret Origin #1-6 (September 2009 – August 2010).
This version of Superman’s origin is incompatible with those presented in Superman: The Man of Steel and Superman: Birthright. Superman’s first public appearance kicks off the modern heroic age.
Superman: Kryptonite
Reprints Superman Confidential #1-5 & 11 (January 2007 – June 2007 & March 2008).
Stated to take place “about two months” after Superman’s public debut, tells the story of Superman’s first encounter with Kryptonite, which contradicts other stories.
Superman: The Man of Steel
Reprints The Man of Steel #1-6 (July 1986 – September 1986).
The later stories in this volume were originally intended to have occurred later on in Superman’s career, and only the stories up to meeting Lex Luthor actually occur this year, but this has often been ignored by later writers (and was not amazingly clear in the original).
Batman: Year One
Reprints Batman #404-407 (February 1987 – May 1987).
Batman is the next hero to appear after Superman. There is some overlap in time between the events of this book and those of Man of Steel. In addition, this book is also in continuity on Earth-31, the Dark Knight’s Earth.
Catwoman: Her Sister’s Keeper
Reprints Catwoman #1-4 (February 1989 – May 1989).
Parallels events in Batman: Year One.
Superman for All Seasons
Reprints Superman For All Seasons #1-4 (September 1998 – December 1998)
Must precede Birthright, as Luthor is unaware of Superman’s alien nature.
Batman and the Monster Men
Reprints Batman: The Monster Men #1-6 (January 2006 – June 2006).
Takes place during Batman: Year One.
Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder
Takes place during Batman’s first year, but before Wonder Woman, the Flash or Green Lantern’s debut.
Green Arrow: Year One
Must occur around this time, but placed here by fiat.
Superman: Birthright
Reprints Superman: Birthright #1-12 (September 2003 – September 2004).
Batman and the Mad Monk
Reprints Batman: The Mad Monk #1-6 (October 2006 – March 2007).
Takes place during Batman: Year One.
Green Arrow: The Wonder Year
Reprints Green Arrow: The Wonder Year #1-4 (February 1993 – May 1993) & Green Arrow #73-80 (April 1993 – November 1993).
Collected in a volume entitled Green Arrow, vol.9: Old Tricks – only the Wonder Year miniseries takes place at this time.
Batman: Lovers and Madmen
Reprints Batman Confidential #7-12 (September 2007 – February 2008). Depicts Batman’s first clash with the Joker, overlapping slightly with the later events in Batman: Year One.
This volume and Batman: The Man Who Laughs depict alternate origins of the Joker, and thus cannot both be in continuity.
Batman: The Man Who Laughs
Chronicles Batman’s first clash with the Joker, following on directly from Batman: Year One.
This volume and Batman: Lovers and Madmen depict alternate origins of the Joker, and thus cannot both be in continuity.
Batman: Prey
Chronicles Batman’s first clash with Hugo Strange. Both this book and The Man Who Laughs give different origins for the Bat-Signal which cannot be reconciled.
Batman: Gothic
Must occur early in Batman’s career, before he is joined by Robin but after the Bat-signal is introduced. The text states that it is 20 years since the murder of Bruce’s parents (as opposed to the 18 years figure of Batman: Year One), but this can reasonably be considered an approximation rather than a literal figure.
Batman: Dead to Rights
Reprints Batman Confidential #22-25 and 29-30 (December 2008 – March 2009; July 2009 – August 2009). This story depicts Batman’s second clash with the Joker.
Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity
must occur before Aquaman’s public debut.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn
Green Lantern: Secret Origin
There are minor contradictions between these two versions of Green Lantern’s origin, but nothing so major as to conclusively rule out either. They are best read in this order.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II
Flash vs. The Rogues
Reprints a bunch of early clashes between the Flash and various supervillains., and occurs more or less in parallel with the Green Lantern volume.
Aquaman: Time and Tide
Reprints Aquaman: Time and Tide #1-4 (December 1993 – March 1994).
Must occur after the Trickster’s first appearance in The Flash vs. The Rogues.
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The Post-Crisis DCU 02 – The Twentieth Century

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1909

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan: The Complete Joe Kubert Years Omnibus
Reprints Tarzan #207-235 (April 1972 – February/March 1975).
The licence for Tarzan was only briefly held by DC, but these comics were canon.

1916

The Sandman: Overture  —  Vertigo
Reprints The Sandman: Overture #1-6 (December 2013 – November 2015).

World War One

The Enemy Ace Archives, vol. 1
Reprints Our Army at War (1952) #151, #153, #155; Showcase (1956) #57-58; Star-Spangled War Stories (1952) #138-142
The Enemy Ace Archives, vol. 2
Reprints Star Spangled War Stories (1952) #143-145, #147-150, #183, #200
Showcase Presents: Enemy Ace, vol. 1
Reprints Detective Comics (1937) #404; Men of War (1977) #1-3, #8-10, #12-14, #19-20; Our Army at War (1952) #151, #153, #155; Showcase (1956) #57-58; Star Spangled War Stories (1952) #138-145, #147-150, #183, #200; Unknown Soldier #251-253, #260-261, #265-267

1938

The Last Days of Krypton
Original prose novel by Kevin J. Anderson (2008).
It’s not a graphic novel – and possibly not canonical – but it is very good. It’s placement here is based on the date of Superman’s first appearance, which has been mentioned more than once as the date of Krypton’s destruction.
DC Universe: Legacies
Reprints DC Universe Legacies #1-10 (July 2010 – April 2011).
The story begins in this year, and carries through until Infinite Crisis in Year 20.
Sandman Mystery Theatre Compendium One
Reprints Sandman Mystery Theatre #1-36 (April 1993 – March 1996) & Annual #1 (October 1994).
Takes place from 1938 through to April of 1939.

1940

Madame Xanadu, vol.1: Disenchanted  —  Vertigo
Reprints Madame Xanadu #1-10 (August 2008 – June 2009).
This volume tells the story of Madame Xanadu from the fall of Camelot in 515 CE to her arrival in New York City in 1940, but is best read here.
Madame Xanadu, vol.2: Exodus Noir  —  Vertigo
Reprints Madame Xanadu #11-15 (July 2009 – November 2009).

1942

The Newsboy Legion, vol. 1
This volume covers comics with cover dates ranging from April 1942 to May 1944, and can reasonably be assumed to take place more or less in real time.
The Losers
Reprints Our Fighting Forces #151-162.
Our Army At War
Reprints G.I. Combat #1, Our Army At War #1, Our Fighting Forces #1, Star-Spangled War Stories #1 and Weird War Tales #1.

1943

Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy
Reprints Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy #1-6 (March 2006 – August 2006).
Suicide Squad: The Silver Age
Reprints The Brave and the Bold #25-27 & 37-39 (August/September 1959 – December/January 1960 & August/September 1961 – December/January 1962); & Star Spangled War Stories #110-111, 116-121, 125 & 127-128 (August/September 1963 – October/November 1964, August/September 1964 – June/July 1965, February/March 1966, June/July 1966 – August/September 1966).
The Golden Age portions of this volume (the stories from Star Spangled War Stories) take place during World War Two. Their placement here is an approximation.
Creature Commandos
Reprints Weird War Tales #93, 97, 100, 102, 105, 108-112, 114-119, 121 & 124 (November 1980; March 1981; June 1981; August 1981; November 1981; February 1982-June 1982; August 1982-January 1983; March 1983 & June 1983).
These stories take place across 1942-1944 and their internal continuity does not match that of the actual war. Their placement here is an approximation.
Blackhawk: Blood and Iron
Reprints Blackhawk #1-3 (March 1988 – May 1988); Secret Origins #45 (October 1989) & Action Comics Weekly #601-608, 615-622 & 628-635 (May 1988 – July 1988, August 1988 – October 1988 & November 1988 – January 1989).
Only the Blackhawk and Secret Origins stories take place at this time, the Action Comics Weekly stories are set in 1947.

1944

Sgt. Rock: Lost Battalion
Sgt. Rock: Between Hell & a Hard Place
Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice
Has a prologue set in 1942, but primarily takes place between 1944 to 1947.
JSA: Strange Adventures
Must take place after D-Day.

1945

The Justice Society Returns
Enemy Ace: War in Heaven

1947

Blackhawk: Blood and Iron
Reprints Blackhawk #1-3 (March 1988 – May 1988); Secret Origins #45 (October 1989) & Action Comics Weekly #601-608, 615-622 & 628-635 (May 1988 – July 1988, August 1988 – October 1988 & November 1988 – January 1989).
Only the Action Comics Weekly stories take place at this time, the Blackhawk and Secret Origins stories are set in 1943.

1948

JSA: The Golden Age
Reprints The Golden Age #1-4 (Summer 1993 – Spring 1994).
Although officially an Elseworlds title, large portions of this volume have been implied into continuity by the Starman series.

1950

Justice Society of America: The Demise of Justice
Reprints Justice Society of America #1-8 (April 1991 – November 1991); Adventure Comics #466 (December 1979); & All-Star Comics #57 (February/March 1951).

1957

Madame Xanadu, vol.3: Broken House of Cards  —  Vertigo
Reprints Madame Xanadu #16-23 (December 2009 – July 2010) & House of Mystery Halloween Annual #1 (December 2009, Madame Xanadu story only).

1963

Madame Xanadu, vol.4: Extra Sensory  —  Vertigo
Reprints Madame Xanadu #24-29 (August 2010 – January 2011).

1969

Enemy Ace: War Idyll

1985

The Deadman Collection
Reprints a selection of early Deadman stories.
Suicide Squad: The Silver Age
Reprints The Brave and the Bold #25-27 & 37-39 (August/September 1959 – December/January 1960 & August/September 1961 – December/January 1962); & Star Spangled War Stories #110-111, 116-121, 125 & 127-128 (August/September 1963 – October/November 1964, August/September 1964 – June/July 1965, February/March 1966, June/July 1966 – August/September 1966).
The Silver Age portions of this volume (the stories from The Brave and the Bold) take place at around this time.
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The Post-Crisis DCU 01 – Before the Twentieth Century

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Thousands of Years Ago:

Superman: World of Krypton
Reprints Superman #233, #236, #238, #240, #248, #257, #266, #367 & #375 (January 1971, April 1971, June 1971, July 1971, February 1972, October 1972, August 1973, January 1982 & September 1982; Krypton stories only); The Superman Family #182 (March/April 1977, Krypton story only); World of Krypton #1-4 (December 1987 – March 1988); & The Man of Steel #1 (October 1986).
Covers events on Krypton from 500,000 BCE through to 1938 CE.
The Atlantis Chronicles
Reprints The Atlantis Chronicles #1-7 (March 1990 – September 1990).
Covers events in Atlantis from approximately 9600 BCE to 1100 BCE.

Hundreds of Years Ago:

Books of Faerie: Auberon’s Tale  —  Vertigo
Reprints The Books of Faerie: Auberon’s Tale #1-3 (August 1998 – October 1998); & The Books of Magic #57-58 (February 1999 – March 1999) & Annual #1 (February 1997).
The Sandman: The Dream Hunters  —  Vertigo
Original graphic novel (October 1999).

964 CE:

The Viking Prince
Reprints The Brave and the Bold #1-5, #7-24 (August/September 1955 – April/May 1956 & August/September 1956 – June/July 1959); & Our Army at War #162-163 (January 1966 – February 1966).
Begins in this year, and covers the title character’s exploits for the next several years.

Eleventh Century CE:

Books of Faerie  —  Vertigo
Reprints The Books of Faerie #1-3 (March 1997 – May 1997); & Arcana: The Books of Magic Annual #1 (1994).

Fifteenth Century CE:

Chiaroscuro: The Private Lives of Leonardo Da Vinci  —  Vertigo
Reprints Chiaroscuro #1-10 (July 1995 – April 1996).

1785 CE:

Hellblazer: Lady Constantine  —  Vertigo
Reprints Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine #1-4 (February 2003 – May 2003).

Nineteenth Century CE:

Superman: The Kents
Reprints The Kents #1-12 (August 1997 – July 1998).
Bat Lash: Guns and Roses
Reprints Bat Lash #1-6 (February 2008 – July 2008).
Weird Western Tales: Jonah Hex
Reprints Jonah Hex stories from All-Star Western #10-11 (February/March 1972 – April/May 1972) & Weird Western Tales #12-14 & 16-38 (June/July 1972 – October/November 1972 & February/March 1973 – January/February 1977).
Jonah Hex: Welcome To Paradise
Reprints Jonah Hex stories from All-Star Western #10 (February/March 1972); Weird Western Tales #14, 17, 22, 26 & 29-30 (October/November 1972, May 1973, June 1974, February 1975, August 1975 – October 1975); & Jonah Hex #2 & 4 (June 1977 & September 1977).
Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex, vol.1
Reprints Jonah Hex stories from All-Star Western #10-11 (February/March 1972 – April/May 1972); Weird Western Tales #12-14 & 16-33 (June/July 1972 – October/November 1972 & February/March 1973 – March/April 1977); Outlaw stories from All-Star Western #2-8 (October/November 1970 – October/November 1971); & “The Night of the Snake” feature from All-Star Western #7 (August/September 1971).
Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex, vol.2
Reprints Jonah Hex #1-22 (March/April 1977 – March 1979); & Weird Western Tales #34-38 (May/June 1976 – January/February 1977).
Showcase Presents: Bat Lash, vol.1
Reprints Bat Lash stories from Showcase #76 (August 1968); Bat Lash #1-7 (October/November 1967 – October/November 1968); DC Special Series #16 (Fall 1978); & Jonah Hex #49 & 51-52 (June 1981 & August 1981 – September 1981).
Jonah Hex: Shadows West  —  Vertigo
Reprints Jonah Hex: Two-Gun Mojo #1-5 (August 19936 – November 1993); Jonah Hex: Shadows West #1-3 (February 1999 – April 1999); & Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such #1-5 (March 1995 – July 1995).
Jonah Hex: Face Full of Violence
Reprints Jonah Hex #1-6 (January 2006 – June 2006).
Jonah Hex: Guns of Vengeance
Reprints Jonah Hex #7-12 (July 2006 – December 2006).
Jonah Hex: Origins
Reprints Jonah Hex #13-18 (January 2007 – June 2007).
Jonah Hex: Only the Good Die Young
Reprints Jonah Hex #19-24 (July 2007 – December 2007).
Jonah Hex: Luck Runs Out
Reprints Jonah Hex #25-30 (January 2008 – June 2008).
Jonah Hex: Bullets Don’t Lie
Reprints Jonah Hex #31-36 (July 2008 – December 2008).
Jonah Hex: Lead Poisoning
Reprints Jonah Hex #37-42 (January 2009 – June 2009).
Jonah Hex: The Six Gun War
Reprints Jonah Hex #44-49 (August 2009 – January 2010).
Jonah Hex: Counting Corpses
Reprints Jonah Hex #43 & 50-54 (July 2009 & February 2010 – June 2010).
Jonah Hex: No Way Back
Original graphic novel (June 2010).
Jonah Hex: Tall Tales
Reprints Jonah Hex #55-60 (July 2010 – Devember 2010).
Jonah Hex: Bury Me In Hell
Reprints Jonah Hex #61-70 (January 2011 – October 2011).
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The Post-Crisis DC Universe

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In 1985, DC decided to combine all the infinite worlds of its multiverse into a single universe.

This Reading Order lays out this combined universe, book by book, guided by the amazing work at The Unauthorized Chronology of the DC Universe. It also includes those books published under the Vertigo banner that nonetheless take place in the DC Universe – such books are marked Vertigo in the Reading Order.

It also, since it didn’t take long for the universe to splinter back into a multiverse again, includes some of those worlds too.

The Main Universe

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The Man With No Name Chronology

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The iconic Western character, of whose assorted appearances it’s remarkable for any two to appear in the actual order they occur.
Obviously, it’s a big assumption that the Man With No Name is in fact the same man in all three films – but they work as a thematic trilogy. On that level, consider this a thematic timeline.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The film on Blu-ray. He’s called ‘Blondie’ in this one, but that’s obviously just a nickname.
Man With No Name, vol. 1: Sinners and Saints
Reprints The Man With No Name #1-6
The Man With No Name, vol. 2: Holiday in the Sun
Reprints The Man With No Name #7-11
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, vol. 1
Reprints The Good, The Bad and The Ugly #1-6
For a Few Dollars More
The film on Blu-ray. In this one, his nickname is ‘Manco’ (Spanish for ‘one-armed’, because he rarely uses his right hand other than to shoot).
A Fistful of Dollars
The film on Blu-ray. He’s called ‘Joe’ in this one.
A Coffin Full of Dollars
Novel by Joe Millard.
A Dollar to Die For
Novel by Brian Fox.
The Devil’s Dollar Sign
Novel by Joe Millard.
The Million-Dollar Bloodhunt
Novel by Joe Millard.
Blood For a Dirty Dollar
Novel by Joe Millard.
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The Stainless Steel Rat Reading Order

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If you have not yet read the adventures of Slippery Jim DiGriz, you’re in for a treat.

If you have, here’s how they all fit together:

A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born
Originally published in 1985.
The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted
Originally published in 1987.
The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues>
Originally published in 1994.
The Stainless Steel Rat
Originally published in 1961.
The Stainless Steel Rat’s Revenge
Originally published in 1970.
The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World
Originally published in 1972.
The Fourth Law of Robotics
Originally published in 1989.
This story crosses over with The Asimov Universe Timeline. It is placed here because it clearly takes place much earlier than the main action of the series, making the time travel of the previous story the best fit for it.
The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You!
Originally published in 1978.
The Stainless Steel Rat for President
Originally published in 1982.
The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell
Originally published in 1996.
The Stainless Steel Rat Joins The Circus
Originally published in 1999.
You Can Be The Stainless Steel Rat
Originally published in 1988.
Clearly occurs late in his career, but placed here by fiat.
The Stainless Steel Rat Returns
Originally published in 2010.
The Golden Years of the Stainless Steel Rat
Originally published in 1993.