The next crossover in the line that began with the Annihilation events, as well as being a followup to Secret Invasion. Another brilliant story by Abnett and Lanning.
To see how this event fits into the larger chronology, go here.
Another of Marvel’s smaller events – it’s amazing how often I find that I like these better than the big universe-changing ones. Probably because they actually have room for some characterisation.
| Lead up: | |
| Daredevil #507 | Daredevil: The Devil’s Hand |
| Shadowland | |
| Shadowland #1 | Shadowland |
| Daredevil #508 | Daredevil: Shadowland |
| Daredevil #509 | Daredevil: Shadowland |
| Shadowland: Bullseye | Shadowland: Street Heroes |
| Shadowland #2 | Shadowland |
| Shadowland: Moon Knight #1 | Shadowland: Moon Knight |
| Thunderbolts #148 | Shadowland: Thunderbolts |
| Thunderbolts #149 | Shadowland: Thunderbolts |
| Shadowland: Elektra | Shadowland: Street Heroes |
| Shadowland #3 | Shadowland |
| Shadowland: Spider-Man | Shadowland: Street Heroes |
| Shadowland: Ghost Rider [1] | Shadowland: Street Heroes |
| Daredevil #510 | Daredevil: Shadowland |
| Shadowland: Power Man #1 | Shadowland: Power Man |
| Shadowland: Power Man #2 | Shadowland: Power Man |
| Shadowland: Moon Knight #2 | Shadowland: Moon Knight |
| Shadowland: Moon Knight #3 | Shadowland: Moon Knight |
| Shadowland: Blood on the Streets #1 | Shadowland: Blood on the Streets |
| Shadowland: Blood on the Streets #2 | Shadowland: Blood on the Streets |
| Shadowland: Blood on the Streets #3 | Shadowland: Blood on the Streets |
| Shadowland: Blood on the Streets #4 | Shadowland: Blood on the Streets |
| Shadowland: Daughters of the Shadow #1 | Shadowland: Street Heroes |
| Shadowland: Daughters of the Shadow #2 | Shadowland: Street Heroes |
| Shadowland: Daughters of the Shadow #3 | Shadowland: Street Heroes |
| Shadowland #4 | Shadowland |
| Shadowland: Power Man #3 | Shadowland: Power Man |
| Shadowland #5 | Shadowland |
| Daredevil #511 | Daredevil: Shadowland |
| Daredevil #512 | Daredevil: Shadowland |
| Shadowland: Power Man #4 | Shadowland: Power Man |
| Epilogues | |
| Shadowland: After the Fall | Daredevil: Shadowland |
| Daredevil: Reborn #1 | Daredevil: Reborn |
| Power Man and Iron Fist #1 | Power Man and Iron Fist: The Comedy of Death |
Footnotes:
Yet another “Look how badass Cyclops is” X-Men story.
Yawn.
Wake me when we get to Schism, or maybe AvX.
Footnotes:
I’ll be honest: I wasn’t a big fan of the direction of the Hulk franchise under Jeph Loeb. But in the end, I have to say that, along with Greg Pak, he pulled it all together very nicely. This crossover marked the end of Loeb’s run, and it was far and away the best part of it.
| Preludes | |
| Hulk: Raging Thunder | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| Amazing Fantasy #15 | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| Fall of the Hulks: Alpha | Incredible Hulk, vol.2: Fall of the Hulks |
| Hulk #2 | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| Skaar: Son of Hulk #1 | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| Hulk #9 | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| Planet Skaar Prologue | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| Savage She-Hulk #4 | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| Incredible Hulk #600 (Hulk story) | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| Incredible Hulk #600 (She-Hulk story) | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks – The Savage She-Hulks |
| Incredible Hulk #601 (Hulk story) | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| Incredible Hulk #601 (She-Hulk story) | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks – The Savage She-Hulks |
| Incredible Hulk #602 (She-Hulk story) | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks – The Savage She-Hulks |
| Incredible Hulk #603 (She-Hulk story) | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks – The Savage She-Hulks |
| Incredible Hulk #604 (She-Hulk story) | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks – The Savage She-Hulks |
| Incredible Hulk #605 (She-Hulk story) | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks – The Savage She-Hulks |
| World War Hulks Classified (A-Bomb story) |
uncollected |
| Hulk #16 | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks Prelude |
| World War Hulks Classified (Red She-Hulk story) |
uncollected |
| Fall of the Hulks | |
| Fall of the Hulks: Gamma | Hulk, vol.5: Fall of the Hulks |
| World War Hulks Classified (Glenn Talbot story) |
uncollected |
| Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk #1 | Fall of the Hulks – Red Hulk |
| World War Hulks Classified (Cosmic Hulk story) |
uncollected |
| Hulk #19 | Hulk, vol.5: Fall of the Hulks |
| The Incredible Hulk #606 | Incredible Hulk, vol.2: Fall of the Hulks |
| The Incredible Hulk #607 | Incredible Hulk, vol.2: Fall of the Hulks |
| World War Hulks Classified (Doc Samson story) |
uncollected |
| Hulk #20 | Hulk, vol.5: Fall of the Hulks |
| Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk #2 | Fall of the Hulks – Red Hulk |
| Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk #3 | Fall of the Hulks – Red Hulk |
| Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk #4 | Fall of the Hulks – Red Hulk |
| Hulk #21 | Hulk, vol.5: Fall of the Hulks |
| The Incredible Hulk #608 | Incredible Hulk, vol.2: Fall of the Hulks |
| Fall of the Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks #1 | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks- The Savage She-Hulks |
| Fall of the Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks #2 | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks- The Savage She-Hulks |
| Fall of the Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks #3 | Hulk: Fall of the Hulks- The Savage She-Hulks |
| World War Hulks Classified (Deadpool story) |
uncollected |
| World War Hulks | |
| Hulked-Out Heroes #1 | Hulk: World War Hulks – Hulked-Out Heroes |
| Hulked-Out Heroes #2 | Hulk: World War Hulks – Hulked-Out Heroes |
| Hulk #22 | Hulk, vol.6: World War Hulks |
| World War Hulks: Spider-Man vs Thor #1 | Hulk: World War Hulks – Hulked-Out Heroes |
| World War Hulks: Captain America vs Wolverine #1 | Hulk: World War Hulks – Hulked-Out Heroes |
| World War Hulks: Spider-Man vs Thor #2 | Hulk: World War Hulks – Hulked-Out Heroes |
| World War Hulks: Captain America vs Wolverine #2 | Hulk: World War Hulks – Hulked-Out Heroes |
| Incredible Hulk #609 | Incredible Hulk, vol.3: World War Hulks |
| Incredible Hulk #610 | Incredible Hulk, vol.3: World War Hulks |
| Incredible Hulk #611 | Incredible Hulk, vol.3: World War Hulks |
| Hulk #23 | Hulk, vol.6: World War Hulks |
| Hulk #24 | Hulk, vol.6: World War Hulks |
“An event seven years in the making” that actually turns out to be worth the trouble? Awesome. Mostly.
Click the word to see how Siege fits into the larger timeline.
Footnotes:
A very well-executed crossover. Why, nearly every book in it came out at the right spot to read it. All kidding aside, this was a great, fun read about why Spider-Man is awesome.
Footnotes:
A big, epic storyline worthy of a big, sprawling crossover. It fits into the main timeline here.
Placement Notes:
- This issue of The Mighty Thor contains a prequel story that contains spoilers regarding the identity of the Serpent and the Worthy. Although chronologically it occurs here, readers may prefer to read as an epilogue rather than a prologue.
- The Sin’s Past special reprints earlier issues of Captain America that feature Sin, with a new framing story. They have no direct connection to the events of Fear Itself.
- Journey Into Mystery #626.1 takes place between panels 4 and 5 of page 22 of Journey Into Mystery #622. It does not directly cross over with Fear Itself.
- The appearance of Man-Thing in Fear Itself: Fearsome Four makes little sense compared to the character’s appearances in the crossover issues of Thunderbolts. For the purposes of this reading order, I have assumed that he escaped during the mass breakout shown in Thunderbolts #158-159, and was recaptured off-panel before Thunderbolts #160.
- Even by the low standards of crossover tie-ins, Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force is a stunningly pointless waste of time. It’s not half-bad as an X-Force story, but its inclusion in Fear Itself does no favours for either the event or this mini-series.
- This issue of Alpha Flight is the only one with direct relevance to Fear Itself – the other issues of this title, while bannered as crossovers, do not connect to the main storyline.
Chaos War was the fantastic culmination of eight awesome volumes of The Incredible Hercules, which are just about the most fun you can have reading comics. You really don’t need to read anything other than the main series, but the Ares, Dead Avengers and Incredible Hulks tie-ins are particularly good.
It fits into the larger timeline here.
| The Lead-Up: | |
| Heroic Age: Prince of Power #4 | Incredible Hercules: The New Prince of Power |
| Chaos War: Chaos King | Chaos War: X-Men |
| The Chaos War: | |
| Chaos War #1 | Chaos War |
| Chaos War #2 | Chaos War |
| Chaos War: Ares | Chaos War: Avengers |
| Chaos War: Dead Avengers #1 | Chaos War: Avengers |
| Chaos War: X-Men #1 | Chaos War: X-Men |
| Chaos War #3 | Chaos War |
| Chaos War: God Squad | Chaos War: X-Men |
| Incredible Hulks #618 | Chaos War: Incredible Hulks |
| Chaos War: Dead Avengers #2 | Chaos War: Avengers |
| Chaos War: Alpha Flight | Chaos War: X-Men |
| Chaos War: X-Men #2 | Chaos War: X-Men |
| Chaos War #4 | Chaos War |
| Incredible Hulks #619 | Chaos War: Incredible Hulks |
| Incredible Hulks #620 | Chaos War: Incredible Hulks |
| Chaos War: Thor #1 | Chaos War: Avengers |
| Chaos War: Thor #2 | Chaos War: Avengers |
| Chaos War: Dead Avengers #3 | Chaos War: Avengers |
| Chaos War #5 | Chaos War |
| Epilogues: | |
| Incredible Hulks #621 | Chaos War: Incredible Hulks |
| Incredible Hulks #622 | Chaos War: Incredible Hulks |
| Herc #1 [1] | Herc: The Complete Series Fear Itself: Herc  |
| Alpha Flight #0.1 [2] | Alpha Flight: The Complete Series |
Footnotes:
Quite a good and well-thought out storyline, although you can safely skip the Prelude volume.
It fits into the regular timeline here.
Footnotes:
- Avengers vs. X-Men: VS
- Reprints AVX: VS #1-6 (June 2012 – December 2012); & A-Babies Vs. X-Babies #1 (December 2012).
- Wolverine & the X-Men, vol.3
- Reprints Wolverine & the X-Men #9-13 (June 2012 – September 2012).
- Uncanny X-Men, vol.3
- Reprints Uncanny X-Men #11-14 (June 2012 – August 2012).
- Avengers, vol.4
- Reprints Avengers #25-30 (June 2012 – November 2012).
- New Avengers, vol.4
- Reprints New Avengers #24-30 (June 2012 – November 2012).
- X-Men Legacy: Avengers vs. X-Men
- Reprints X-Men Legacy #266-275 (July 2012 – December 2012).
- Avengers Academy: Avengers vs. X-Men
- Reprints Avengers Academy #29-33 (July 2014 – September 2012).
- Wolverine & the X-Men, vol.4
- Reprints Wolverine & the X-Men #14-18 (September 2012 – December 2012).
- Uncanny X-Men, vol.4
- Reprints Uncanny X-Men #15-20 (September 2012 – December 2012).
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