Comic. Comic Book History: The Birth of Superheroes The Bizarre Adventure of Lovelace and Babbage

More than one generation of teenagers grew up on graphic novels about Superman, Batman, Hulk, Iron Man.
The history of comics, as surprising as it sounds, has very ancient roots that go back to the times when people lived in caves and hunted mammoths. It was then that the first samples of rock art appeared, in which, along with scenes from real life the first superheroes appeared, embodied in the images of the ancient gods.

Hopi rock paintings, USA. (wikipedia.org)

The chronology of the development of comics is very long, but we will limit ourselves to traveling through the 19th and 20th centuries, since it was during this period that a qualitative leap occurred in the development of the genre.

Comic History: Origins

Speaking of comics, we should start with the personality of Rodolphe Töpfer, a French-speaking Swiss artist. At the beginning of the 19th century, he began to consistently illustrate stories, placing text under the images. These comics of his were reprinted throughout Europe and the United States. Due to the lack of copyright laws, pirated editions of cartoon stories began to be translated and published all over the world.


Drawings by Rodolphe Toepfer. (wikipedia.org)

In 1843, satirical drawings that regularly appeared in newspapers and magazines got their name - cartoons.

The invention of photogravure in 1873 made newspapers relatively inexpensive and allowed them to be produced with more illustrations. This change in technology was the impetus for the development of comics and their mass production. The art of comics was especially developed in America. In 1893, Joseph Pulitzer published his first full-page color comics in The New York World, and in the same year other newspapers began printing color comics.


"The Yellow Kid", 1898. (wikipedia.org)

As a tool of popular culture, involving both artistic and literary skills, comics successfully reflected the social problems of their time. By the beginning of the 20th century, regular strips were appearing in the newspapers of major US cities.

The 1920s and 1930s were a period of active development of the comics industry around the world: in 1929, comics were published, the main character of which was the sailor Popeye. A feature of this character was an increase in strength after eating spinach.


Wonderworld Comics, 1939. (wikipedia.org)

Marvel and DC: Eternal Confrontation

They did their best to create their own fantasy world. Both publishers repeatedly changed their names and approaches to the audience in order to keep their attention. Superheroes and villains got new character traits, which allowed again and again to win the interest of the public. Their life on the pages of publications, and now the cinema, is not tired of watching to this day. DC Comics was founded in 1934. True, at that time it had a different name, namely National Allied Publications. However, changes in the name of the company occurred more than once, like other permutations. The founder was Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. DC Comics set the standard for all future comics and became true pioneers in the creation of the superhero genre. The publishing house opened the world to the story of Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, and many other famous characters.

In April 1938, the first comic book series was born, where the idea of ​​​​a person with superpowers was presented - Action Comics. This issue introduced readers to Superman, who became the most important crime fighter. Initially, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster created a character who simply knew how to jump on incredible distances, and that's it. Superman had no other powers. In addition, he freely allowed himself to kill criminals and interfere in the domestic affairs of married couples, which was much different from the Superman that modern fans are used to seeing.


Source: wikipedia.org

The next star character was Batman, who appeared in the twenty-seventh issue of Detective Comics. The authors were Bob Kane and Bill Finger, who made the Batman story in a more intellectual way. The motivation of the hero was revenge on the underworld for the death of his parents. A year after the release of the first comic book with Batman, new characters appeared - the Joker and Catwoman. Batman has a partner - Robin. Interestingly, unlike Superman, the current hero was forbidden to kill enemies and use weapons. Later, this rule became the main principle of the hero.

Meanwhile, under the leadership of Martin Goodman, Marvel Comics (originally called "Timely Comic") begins its activities in 1938. The first characters introduced to the world were the Human Torch and Namor the Submariner. And already in 1941, the famous Captain America appeared.

Lost in the fifties interest in superheroes began to return in the sixties. It was then that DC Comics united all of its heroes into one common team - the Justice League. Rather, the League was a reboot of the old Justice Society of America series. There were collected characters who did not have their own comic book series, thus giving them the opportunity to gain popularity. In the new version, the team includes the most popular DC heroes.

In response to this, Stan Lee, Chief Editor Marvel Comics created the Fantastic Four. His approach to creating characters was completely new and unexpected. He replaced the idealistic views of the characters with real human motives and feelings. And if the first position was characteristic of DC heroes, then the second one became the hallmark of Marvel. Unlike the unattainable characters of DC Comics, Stan Lee's characters have learned to use foul language, get depressed, experience financial difficulties and have problems in their personal lives. The readers were delighted. In addition to the fact that the heroes did not hesitate to demonstrate their I, they revealed it to the general public in their fictional universe, replacing the usual heroic incognito with world popularity. Then Stan Lee created "Spider-Man", "Avengers", "X-Men".

In an attempt to overcome the enemy, DC increased the volume of comics and began to release numerous series about lesser-known heroes. However, this idea was unsuccessful. The prices of publications fell, many authors were fired, and more advertising was added to comics. Over time, it has become increasingly difficult for the company to keep in touch with a new generation of readers. Marvel, in turn, began to raise acute social and political issues, making the characters interesting for adults as well.

In addition, Stan Lee began to communicate with his fans with the help of a monthly column. He began to indicate in the list of comic book creators not only the author and artist, but also all other participants in the process working with paints, inks and fonts. Distinguished two companies and relationships within the publishing house. If Stan Lee easily shared authorship with his artists, then the authors at DC left them aside.

In the seventies, social problems, or rather the problem of drug addiction, began to be actively reflected in comics. In 1971, the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare asked Stan Lee to write an instructive comic about the dangers of drug addiction. He accepted the commission and wrote a three-part story about Spider-Man, which reflected the above problem.

In 1986, DC Comics decided to restart all series. The move gave young audiences a chance to reacquaint themselves with famous heroes and their origins. DC also released a special edition of their history, which described the biography of all the characters.

Comics in Russia: from popular literature to Murzilka

Despite the fact that comics are considered typical representatives of "Western" culture, they have a rather long history in our country as well. The first domestic comics, with a slight stretch, include popular prints, which became widespread back in early XVII centuries.

Such a book was a small scroll, which depicted pictures describing the most relevant event of socio-political life at the moment. That is why the name of such books sounded like “amusing sheets”.


"Strong and brave hero Ilya Muromets". Lubok, 1868. (wikipedia.org)

The next stage in the development of domestic comics is associated with the name of Vladimir Dahl. His work “The Adventures of Khristian Khristianovich Violdamur and his Arshet” was in many ways reminiscent of modern comics, since the plot, or rather, the narrative, was based on a story in pictures. Such a peculiar form of presentation of the material was not appreciated by Dahl's contemporaries, so the "stories in pictures" did not receive further development.

In August 1914, the association "Today's Lubok" appeared in Moscow, whose members were such representatives of the domestic cultural elite as Kazimir Malevich, Aristarkh Lentulov, David Burliuk, Vladimir Mayakovsky. The society issued campaign leaflets on military topics, which contained both pictures and textual information.

In Soviet Russia, comics were not widely used: domestic ideological services in every possible way prevented the appearance in our country of any elements of "Western" culture, including comics. However, this did not prevent us from creating our own alternative to comics, which manifested itself in the publication of the collections "History in Pictures", the illustrated story "The Adventures of Makar the Fierce" by Boris Antonovsky, posted on the pages of the Leningrad magazine "Hedgehog", comics by Bronislav Malakhovsky "Smart Masha".


"A story about bagels and a woman who does not recognize the republic." (wikipedia.org)

The proliferation of comics led to the fact that in the 1930s the authorities officially banned it, calling comics "a bourgeois-American way of fooling the youth." The only source of new illustration stories for a long time continued to be the children's magazine "". Only in 1956 did the Komsomol Central Committee begin to publish new magazine"Funny Pictures", which actively began to use the comic book genre as the main content.

Later in the USSR and Russia, comics about Oktyabrin, which became known to the whole world, a series of comics “Hare Pts and his imaginary friends: Shch, F, a heating pad and pork chop with peas” and a collection of comics “Cat” appeared in the USSR and Russia.

2015 was a heaven for all geeks and comic book lovers. It had a staggering number of premieres and announcements of comic book films, as well as TV and animated series. It seems that comics have returned to a golden age. In the meantime, superheroes conquer the cinema, we decided to see what is happening in their home world. Here we have collected for you the most interesting and memorable comic book issues that were released in 2015 abroad and in Russia.

Read also a selection of the best comics of 2015 in Russian according to the editors of "World of Fantasy".

Mortal Kombat X

Publisher: DC

Game comics are rarely a full-fledged work: they often use the storyline of the original and serve as just another marketing lever. but Mortal Kombat X turned out to be a rare exception and pleased even inveterate skeptics.

The plot of the comic tells about the events that took place shortly before the story told in the game. A war for the throne rages in Outworld between the armies of the usurper Kotal Kahn and Mileena, the heiress of Shao Kahn. Against the backdrop of political games, Reiko, one of Mileena's warlords, and the mysterious priest Havik are trying to collect the Kamidogu daggers in order to gain the power of the blood spell and get the Shinoka amulet, which contains the sorcerer's soul. All this leads to a battle between the Outworld and Earthrealm fighters already familiar to us.

The plot, which seems to be only supposed to prepare the reader for the events of the game, turned out to be quite self-sufficient. In the game itself, alas, the plot is disastrously small, so the comic is strongly recommended to all fans of the universe. The authors treated the stories of the heroes very carefully: they managed to reveal them and tell why each of them took one side or another in the war for the throne of the Outer World.

And of course, each issue of the comic is distinguished by bloody, cruel and beautiful action scenes - according to the canons of the genre. After all, it is for this that we love and appreciate Mortal Kombat, is not it?

Years go by, and Scorpio and Sub-Zero do not change their habit and find new reasons for a deadly fight.

Chrononauts

Publisher: Image Comics

In the near future, two scientist friends come up with a way to travel through time. And, as usual in modern world, decide to make a show out of this, broadcasting in live the first ever journey into the past. Really, what could go wrong here?

However, one of the heroes suddenly realizes that in the present he is not very attractive: his beloved father is dead, his wife left him, and all that is left is a bored scientific work. So he decided to stay in the past and become almost the ruler of the world, because everything is available to him modern technologies: he can drive a shiny sports car through the streets of ancient Rome, fly a fighter jet among dinosaurs, bombard the Mongolian army with tank guns - whatever your heart desires! And having fun together with your best friend is doubly more fun.

Chrononauts- a smart, funny and instructive story about friendship, responsibility and life choices.

Submachine guns in medieval Scotland or samurai on German tanks in the 16th century - nothing is impossible for Chrononauts.

Giant Days

Publisher: BOOM! box

The days of three girlfriends are heavy and unpredictable. Daisy, Esther and Suzanne have just entered college, independent adulthood is just around the corner, and thoughts of childhood fun are still hovering in my head.

These are very warm, funny, but realistic stories about youth, about the time when you just want to enjoy life, love and do stupid things. Giant Days- a teenage comic that tells about the problems of growing up, about the first kiss and first sex, about finding your way in life, about loyalty and strong friendship.

But first of all, these are also truly living heroes - you willy-nilly empathize with them, laugh and cry with them and recognize yourself at that age when a person is full of desire to live and feel the world, only slightly opening its doors to him.

Daisy, the youngest and most naive of her friends, has obvious problems: she will either talk to the dove or see the divine radiance inside the goth.

Inhuman Error

(The Amazing Spider-Man Special #1 + Inhuman Special #1 + All-New Captain America Special #1)

Publisher: Marvel

Yes, yes, you are not mistaken Inhuman Error- story divided between three series. It started with Spider-Man, continued with The Inhumans, and ended with The New Captain America.

A huge flying island looms over New York, from which bird-like monsters constantly fly out, threatening the population. A typical weekday for Spider-Man's friendly neighbor.

Finding out the cause of this anomaly, Peter meets a team of Inhumans led by Queen Medusa. It turned out that the flying island is connected with the home world of non-humans - New Attilan. A little later, a new Captain America joins the heroes - Sam Wilson, the former Falcon, who replaced the aged Steve Rogers. With such a motley company, they will once again save New York, and at the same time reveal the secret of the identity of the master of these bird-like monsters.

Although the plot is divided between three series, the main character here is Peter Parker. For that alone, these three issues are worth reading. This is exactly the Spider-Man that millions fell in love with: a perky joker, constantly pouring jokes.

A funny and smart comic whose main message is that even superheroes sometimes make mistakes, but you always need to get back on your feet and keep going.

Here, Peter Parker is still a young kid, munching on a burrito on top of a skyscraper and mocking the new Captain America.

BIG MAN PLANS

Publisher: Image Comics

A small comic strip of four issues, telling about the unenviable fate of a certain dwarf. A very severe and life-hardened dwarf. From childhood, he was destined to endure bullying. His own father was the only person who sincerely loved him. But the early death of a parent, orphanhood, the army and prison knocked out the last dreams of happiness from the hero.

“Know, son, life will never be fair to you ... You will suffer worse than anyone who deserves torment ... This is a test for a real man, a real person ... Promise me, son, that you will never back down. Promise...” The son felt on himself all the facets of human meanness, baseness and anger. Now he is going to accomplish his last secret revenge, because apart from her he has nothing left.

Violent and naturalistic BIG MAN PLANS strikes, on the one hand, with a picture from which goosebumps run down the skin, on the other hand, with a drama that touches to the depths of the soul. This story is about a big little man in a harsh world is unlikely to leave anyone indifferent.

Together with the main character, we let's go the way from the native country house to the trenches in Vietnam.

Batman: End Game

(Batman V.2 #35-40)

Publisher: DC

endgame- this is a story arc in the main ongoing about Batman, which began in late 2014 and came to a magnificent conclusion in 2015. The Joker, presumed dead, reappears in Gotham - with heavy artillery in the form of a deadly virus that is freely spreading among the townspeople. It would seem that the story is familiar, but everything is complicated by the fact that not a single antidote developed by Batman can be combined with this virus, which is based on some "ancient" secret.

This is the same comic that at one time created an incredible hype around supposedly new version about the Joker as an immortal being, a ghost of Gotham that has existed since the very foundation of the city.

But end game That's not why it deserves attention. An incredibly beautiful and, most importantly, tense story does not let the reader go for a second, pleases with clever plot twists and an unexpected ending. Author Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo have managed to create a sumptuous comic that is considered one of the best in Batman history.

Legacy of Luther Strode

Publisher: Image Comics

Roaring, furious and bone-breaking action - that's it Legacy of Luther Strode. You almost never see such lively, non-stop action in comics (except in some oriental ones).

This is a direct continuation of the hits The Strange Talent of Luther Strode and The Legend of Luther Strode. Big guy Luther, who suddenly received incredible power, his girlfriend Petra and the mysterious Delilah are looking for a certain Kain - the most powerful person on Earth - encountering a series of the most dangerous and most charismatic fighters on their way. That's all. Nothing more is known about the plot.

But it is not necessary. Legacy of Luther Strode beautiful with memorable characters and incredibly beautiful dynamic battles. As if the soul of "Bucky the Fighter" came to life in the colorful scenery of the Disney "Hercules". All this is seasoned with excellent black humor. At the time of writing this text, four issues have been published, but, believe me, a few pages are enough to fall in love with this comic.

Legacy of Luther Strode is filled to the brim with references to famous works: from The Matrix and Django Unchained to Afro Samurai.

Rat queens. Volume 1: Insolence and Magic

Publisher: Image Comics

Comic "Rat Queens" became a valuable gift from the world of comics for all fans of D&D and other role-playing games. The main characters of the world of orcs, elves and goblins revived on the pages are a team of adventurers: Dee the sorceress, Hannah the elf, Violet the dwarf and charming little Betty. Their typical weekdays are filled with the most typical quests: kill a horde of goblins, decapitate a troll... clean out the toilets in the barracks. It would seem that quite an ordinary story is being formed in the fantasy world. But now add to this incredibly colorful characters, an adult who has no boundaries, humor, as well as spectacular and bloody fights.

"Rat Queens" go beyond the usual understanding of fantasy adventure. They follow certain rules of role-playing games and at the same time they are cruelly mocked. Only here you can meet such characters as, for example, Betty - a cute short lesbian who loves hallucinogenic mushrooms, or Violet, who shaved off her dwarf beard because it's mainstream. It was the bright characters and excellent humor, coupled with pleasant drawing, that made " Rat Queen" a comic that everyone should read. Moreover, the Russian translation turned out to be extremely successful, retaining all the charm of the original jokes and hardened words.
The comic captivates the reader from the first pages with its dynamic narrative: beautiful fights, jokes, sex, drugs, except that rock and roll is not enough.

The Amazing Spider-Man: The Last Wish

Publisher: Marvel

At the very end of 2015, the Komilfo publishing house announced the release in Russia of the collection The Amazing Spider-Man: The Last Wish, which included translated editions The Amazing Spider-Man #688, №689 and now legendary №700 , which shows the death of Peter Parker, which stirred up the entire comic book community.

Spider-Man pays his last tribute to his old enemy Otto Octavius. The mutilated body of Doctor Octopus is living its last hours, and suddenly Otto says: "I am Peter Parker." Trapped in a dying body, Peter must learn how Octavius ​​managed to swap their minds and return to his body.

« Last wish»( Dying Wish) has become a rare exception to the rule: in this superhero comic, it’s not the physical confrontation that comes to the fore, but the battle of minds. You watch with bated breath as Parker and Octavius ​​try to outsmart each other, and together with Peter you take your last breath in a dramatic ending.

Otto Octavius ​​very quickly got used to the role of Spider-Man and in some respects was even more capable than Parker.

I kill giants

Publisher: Image Comics

Another teen comic that we just can't help but talk about. I Kill Giants was released in 2008 and since then has managed to gain critical acclaim, win a couple of prestigious awards and fall into the hearts of millions of readers. And now, through the efforts of XL Media, he finally got to us.

Twelve-year-old girl Barbara, who is fond of role playing, lives in her own reality, and she is the only one who can protect the world from the evil giants with her crushing hammer Koveleski. Because of her eccentricities, it is very difficult for Barbara to get along with classmates, and adults invariably try to beat all sorts of nonsense out of her. Only a few try to reach out to the girl and understand what kind of drama is hidden behind her fantasies.

« I kill giants» - to tears, a touching story about a still small and fragile, but brave soul, which struggles with all its might against the injustice of our world.

The main character Barbara sometimes expresses very deep thoughts, which are quite difficult to accept at such a young age.

Our comics industry has grown so much that not only Marvel or DC superhero stories are regularly published in Russian, but also graphic novels for connoisseurs of gourmets. Most of the most interesting comics this year are BD, steampunk, fairy tales and space opera.

Metabarons

Comic of the Year

Brutal space opera, standing on a par with "Dune" and Warhammer. A saga about several generations of a militant clan of metabarons, full of blood, Shakespearean passions and ambiguous anti-heroes. Swords sparkle, cyborgs creak with prostheses, heroes die and are maimed in the name of honor and family, and storytelling robots sparkle from an excess of high feelings.

The creator of this universe, a mystic and surrealist, spit on all the taboos regarding violence, sex and the principles of plot construction. And the artist Juan Jimenez turned his violent fantasies into detailed, not at all "comic" drawings.


The Incredible Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage


Mathematical and historical adventures of the great inventor Charles Babbage and Byron's brilliant daughter Ada Lovelace in a parallel steampunk reality. Alternate history, it seems, has never treated the real one so carefully. Author Sidney Padua has done a great job research work and drew a comic strip about two scientists ahead of their time, the semi-fantastic Difference Engine, and Mathematics itself.

Of course, The Amazing Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage will not captivate everyone. But above all, this is an interesting intellectual and graphic experiment, in which it is pleasant and informative to take part. Even if you are infinitely far from complex calculations, mathematical theories and biographical sketches of Victorian scholars.


Valerian

The most long-awaited novelty of the year: BD classics from the 1960s and 1970s have finally reached Russia. All it took was to!

Nowadays, when comics have become adult and super-serious, Valerian looks amazingly kind and naive. Its closest analogue is not even "", but "". Only Alice grew up and became the red-haired enchantress Loreline, and Pashka Geraskin became the brave cosmonaut Valerian, who has not lost his boyish recklessness. And around them are colorful alien civilizations, hundreds of outlandish creatures and complex conflicts that are not always resolved by victory over evil...

Just keep in mind: the first issues of Valerian are completely childish, and the drawing in them is much weaker than in later ones. If you are not in the mood for childhood nostalgia, start with the second volume.

Mouse Guard

As planned, this comic is reminiscent of the Redwall cycle, only more mature and serious. David Peterson conceived and portrayed wonderful world in which intelligent mice live. Their civilization is reminiscent of our Middle Ages. Rodents live in fortified cities guarded by the Mouse Guard. The noble mice are sworn to protect their brethren and fight dangers like giant snakes and bandits on the roads.

The plot of the first volume is a little simple, but the action is written out very dynamically. A detailed drawing gives the "Mouse Guard" a unique style. If you like adventure fantasy, in which there is a place for courage and honor, but you are bored with the usual surroundings, be sure to pay attention to this comic.

Jessica Jones. Elias

Brian Michael Bendis is a multifaceted screenwriter, but in Russia he is best known for classic superhero comics in the spirit of Hollywood blockbusters. Most of his work that has come out with us is full of action, action, characters, but not depth or originality. Suffice it to recall "M Day", "Secret War" or "Avengers vs. X-Men".

But Bendis is capable of much more daring and extraordinary work. Proof of this is the Jessica Jones series, which served as the basis for. An adult, bold and unusual comic tells about a girl who was once a second-rate superhero, and now retrained as a private detective. Jessica faces mundane issues that elude her more famous counterparts like Captain America and Iron Man.


Injustice. year one


Typically, comics based on games serve as optional supplements to the original source and have neither independent value nor outstanding plots. Surprisingly, the rare exception to this rule was prehistory.

The plot in the game, in fact, served only as an excuse for a showdown between heroes and villains from the DC Comics universe. The comic is a great story about how Superman embarked on the path of tyranny, which led to a split in the ranks of his former comrades. In terms of drama, intensity of passions and character development, the Injustice comic is not inferior, and sometimes even surpasses the DC Comics main series and is quite worthy to stand on a par with the cult "" from Marvel.


Star Castle 1869


Fortunately, the days when you had to get acquainted with French BD comics either in the original or through amateur translations on the Internet are gone. Star Castle 1869 is a stunningly beautiful watercolor novel by artist Alex Alice. This is not only a work of art, but also a well-developed steampunk adventure, which is not too typical for the genre.

In addition, the story about the alternative 19th century, brave etheronauts and flying ships is a nod to the works and good example quality juvenile fiction. Russian edition received a luxurious embossed cover and already has two volumes - the next part is just around the corner.


Unicorn


There are no magical ponies in this BD. This is a hard mystical fantasy, imbued with the spirit of astrology, alchemy and gnosticism. The year is 1565, religious wars are raging in Europe, the Inquisition is rampant. Only in this version of the Earth there are also primordials - ancient monsters. The Order of Asclepiad scientists is trying to unravel their secret, connected with the riddle of the physiology of man himself. And the enemy is hunting for the heroes, to whom their discoveries are in the throat ...

Connoisseurs of history will be pleased (or shocked) by how famously the authors juggle the names of the sages of the Renaissance. Among the actors appear not only the banal Nostradamus and Paracelsus, but also, say, Ambroise Pare, Conrad Gesner and Fracastoro.


Uncle Scrooge


All of us in childhood stared at the adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews and sang along on Sunday at the TV: “Ducks! Woo!" And they did not even suspect that the famous billionaire drake was created by the American comic book artist Carl Barks in the 1950s.

"Uncle Scrooge: Just a Poor Old Man" - a collection of his early works. Thanks to this comic, Russian readers have a chance to get acquainted with the origins of DuckTales and learn more about the fascinating past of Uncle Scrooge. A real comic book classic in a very good edition with comments by Barks himself will melt the hearts of those born in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.


The Marvel Universe has thousands of comics, and it is not easy for a new reader to decide which issues to start with and in what order to read the issues.

It is not necessary to start from the very first issues, we offer 4 different starting points from which you can plunge into the universe marvel comics.

Starting points:

  • The very beginning is for the most daring and inquisitive
  • Avengers Disassembled
  • Marvel NOW!
  • All-New All-Different Marvel

Let's take them in order:

The very beginning

If you are very serious and want to fully experience the entire Marvel universe, then you should start with the very first releases. But, to be honest, this method is not suitable for everyone. You will be able to survive all the events and learn everything about the heroes, but for this you will need to master thousands and thousands of issues. If you are not too lazy to read them all, then the list starts a little lower on this page and consists of 10 parts. Enjoy reading!

If you're more interested in the modern era of Marvel, then this is a good place to start. The Avengers Disassembled event in 2004 has spawned many major crossover events. To start reading from here, go to the section and start reading episodes by event in the order listed in the Timeline, starting with Avengers Disassembled.

If you don't want to limit yourself to just the events and want to read the episodes that came out between the events, then head over to and start reading from the episodes of the event

Issues of New X-Men #114-156 immediately precede Avengers Disintegration and also serve as a good introduction to modern X-Men comics, so we recommend that you start reading from them.

If you prefer, you may want to start reading Uncanny X-Force #1-35 (2010) to help you better understand what's going on in Marvel NOW!. You can also read the editions of the event Avengers vs X-Men, the last major significant event leading up to Marvel NOW!.

All-New All-Different Marvel

The most recent point of reference is after the Secret Wars (2015) event. All series have been relaunched, allowing new readers to start reading from here.

The order of Marvel comics since the very first issue

Welcome to the Marvel Universe. Here you will find that sequence of Marvel comics that is considered important or just a pleasure to read. Launched in 2004 and Avengers Disassembled, this order is the most comprehensive and includes all major series. Starting with Marvel NOW! this sequence includes the entirety of Marvel comics.

Golden and Silver Age comics can be difficult to read, while the plots are based on an astonishing amount of chance and characters change from issue to issue. For those who don't like the earliest issues, it's a good idea to jump ahead a little, say 70 -e.

The characters' first appearances indicated in the earliest issues do not necessarily represent their chronologically earliest appearance.

Issues

9195

Excluding events

| | | | | | | | |

Releases: from Thor: Son of Asgard #1 to Astonishing Tales #13

Of the year: 1961-1972

Developments: There are no events.

First appearances: Abomination (Emil Blonsky), AIM, Alex Summers (Havok), Angel, Annihilus, Asgardians, Banshee, Beast, Betty Ross, Black Bolt, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, Cyclops, Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus (Octavius), Doctor Strange, Dormammu, His Living Planet, Electro, Enchantress, Eternity, Falcon, Fantastic Four, Flash Thompson, Galactus, General Ross, Green Goblin, Gwen Stacy, High Evolution, Harry Osborn, Hulk, Iceman (Iceberg), Inhumans , Iron Man, J Jonah Jameson, Jane Foster, Jean Grey, Kingpin (Wilson Fisk), Kraven (Kraven) Hunter, Kree, Leader, Living Laser, Living Tribunal, Lizard, Loki, Magneto, Goblin, Mary Jane Watson, Morbius, Mysterio, Professor X, Rhino, Rick Jones, S.I.T., Sandman, Shocker, Sif, Silver Serfe, Sinister Six, Skrulls, Super-Skrull, Surtur, Thor, Uatu the Watcher, Ultron, Vision, Vulture, Yellow Hornet

The first part of the Marvel comic book reading order contains the very first appearances of significant characters from any Marvel era. You will learn how the important superheroes of the Marvel Universe received their superpowers and witness how the foundation for the next decades of the comic book world was laid. And also you will witness how the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers appeared. Like most comics Silver Age, guest characters often appear here, but there are few topical crossovers.

Releases: Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 to Rom #24

Of the year: 1972-1981

Developments: Avengers/Defenders War

First appearances: Alpha Flight (Alpha Flight), Arcade, Arnim Zola, Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Cassie Lang, Colossus, Spark (Alison Blair), Elektra, Emma Frost, Gamora, Ghost Rider, Heroes for Hire, Howard the Duck, Magik (Ilyana Rasputin), Middleman, Iron Fist, Iron Patriot (James Rhodes), Kitty Pryde, Korvac, Power Man (Luke Cage), Machine Man, Mariko Yashida, Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner), Nova, Punisher, Pyro (John Allerdis), Rachel Summers, Rogue (Rogue, Anna Maria), Sabretooth, Scarlet Spider, Scott Lang (Ant-Man), Storm, Taskmaster, Wolverine

The second part of the Marvel Comics Reading Order includes secondary first appearances the most important characters. We'll get to know some hugely popular heroes, especially among the X-Men, and we'll also see the first crossover as the Avengers take on the Defenders. This installment also contains some of the more popular X-Men storylines: The Phoenix Saga, The Dark Phoenix Saga, and Days of Future Past.

Releases: from Moon Knight #1 to Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21

Of the year: 1980-1987

Developments: Secret Wars II, Mutant Massacre

First appearances: Apocalypse, Beta Ray Bill, Beyonder, Blacksmith, Hobgoblin, Madeline Pryor, Nebula, New Mutants, Psylocke, Symbiote, X-Factor, Yukio

This is where many crossovers originate. Contest of Champions is Marvel's first limited edition and serves as a prototype for future crossovers. The original Secret Wars reach, and their less successful sequel will start publishing a year later. The X-Men line expands with the X-Factor and the New Mutants series. Also in this era, the famous villain Apocalypse appears, and we observe the emergence of a symbiote that will become Venom.

Releases: Avengers #267 to Mys-Tech Wars #4

Of the year: 1986-1993

Developments: Kraven's Last Hunt, Fall of the Mutants, Evolutionary War, Inferno, Atlantis Attacks, Act of Vengeance, Days of Future Present, X-Tinction Agenda, Muir Island Saga, Infinity Gauntlet, Operation Galactic Storm, Infinity War, Dead Man's Hand, Midnight Sons Rising, Song of the Executioner

First appearance: Bishop, Carnage, Deadpool, Domino, Eddie Brock, Gambit, Genosha, Great Lakes Avengers, Jubilee, Squirrel Girl, Venom, War Machine, X-Force

Crossovers are on the rise. An event occurs Infinity Gauntlet, one of the world's greatest comics. For the first time, readers are introduced to Venom, Gambit and a group of mutants X-Force, which will become incredibly popular.

Releases: from Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #48 to X-Men Unlimited #24

Years: 1992-1999

Developments:"For Love, Not for Money", Maximum Carnage, Infinite Crusade, Fatal Attraction, Blood Ties, Marvel 2099, Midnight Massacre, Road to Vengeance - Lost Link, Evil Siege, Child's Play, Again and Again, Phalanx's Covenant, Countdown , Age of Apocalypse, Second Clone Saga, Over the Edge, Invasion Saga, Operation Zero Tolerance, Heroes Reborn, Spider-Man: Identity Crisis, MC2, Eight Days, Hunt for Xavier, Magneto's War

First appearances: Pete Wisdom, Secret Defender, Thunderbolts

It's the nineties, the dark age of comics.

Here we will witness the pivotal event of the X-Men Age of Apocalypse, as well as the Second Spider-Man Clone Saga. The first of the Marvel alternate universes appeared during this period, we are talking about Marvel 2099 and the MC2 universe. Toward the end of this part of the order, you can see that most of the most famous and long running Marvel series have been rebooted, the very first issues since the #1 reboot serve as a starting point for new readers.

During this period, the comics industry is in deep crisis.

Releases: from Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #1 to Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 2 #14

Years: 1999-2004

Developments: Apocalypse: The Twelve, Maximum Defense, Eve of Destruction, Earth X

First appearances: Cassandra Nova, Doop, Xails, Fantomex, Jessica Jones, Quentin Quire, Sentinel, X-Statix

During this period, Grant Morrison begins work on the X-Men issues, starting with New X-Men #114, which can be considered the beginning of the Modern Age of Marvel, this is the perfect starting point for those who want to start reading comics in this universe.

Of the year: 2002-2007

Developments: Marvel 1602, Avengers Decay, House of M, Decimation (Execution), Spider-Man: The Other

First appearances: Anya Corazon, Daken, Maria Hill, Runaways, Winter Soldier, X 23 (X-23), Young Avengers

The era of the global events of the Marvel universe begins here with the Disbandment of the Avengers and the beginning of a new series of New Avengers. Next comes the House of M, whose echoes will still be felt in many issues of the X-Men published in the years to come.

Releases: from Araña: Heart of the Spider #1 to Punisher War Journal Vol. 2 #26

Of the year: 2005-2009

Developments: Civil War, One More Day, Planet Hulk, The Initiative, World War Hulk, Annihilation, X-Men: Endangered Species, X-Men: Messiah Complex, X-Men: Divided, We Stand, X-Men: Manifest Destiny, X-Men X: Original Sin, Messiah War, Annihilation: Conquest, Secret Invasion

First appearances: Agents of Atlas, Hope Summers, Lyra, Red Hackle, Skaar

Set during Civil War, one of Marvel's most significant events, it continues with the glorious Planet Hulk and Annihilation, the X-Men string of events, the "Old Man Logan" Wolverine storyline, and culminates in the Secret Invasion. Unfortunately, the One More Day crossover also takes place at this same time.

Releases: by Ghost Rider Vol. 6 #33 to Generation Hope #9

Of the year: 2009-2011

Developments: War of Kings, Dark Reign, Utopia, X-Men: X-Nation, Nekrosha, Siege, Realm of Kings, Duty of Thanos, Fall of the Hulks, World War: Hulk, X-Men: Second Coming, Heroic Age, Realm of Shadow, Curse of the Mutants, Wolverine Goes to Hell, Chaos War, Age of X

First appearances: Red She-Hulk

A continuous series of events! Marvel Space Saga which is one of the highlights recent history Marvel continues with War of Kings, Realm of Kings and Thanos Imperative. The status quo after the Secret Invasion is covered in the 300 issues of the Age of Dark Power. The siege marks the culmination of events that began after the Disbandment of the Avengers.

Releases: Herc #1 to Secret Wars Too #1

Of the year: 2011-2016

Developments: Fear in the Flesh, Broken Heroes, X-Men: Shattered, X-Men: Regenesis, Spider-Island, Avengers vs. X-Men, Minimum Carnage, X-Demolition, Age of Ultron, Infinity, Inhumanity, Battle of the Atom, Trial of Jean Grey, Goblin Nation , Original Sin, Death to Wolverine, Avengers & X-Men: AXIS, Spider-World, Black Vortex, Secret Wars (2015)

First appearances: Angela, Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Sheckle, Spider-Woman (Spider-Gwen)

In the final part of the sequence, we see the split of the X-Men and the fight against the Avengers. Marvel NOW 2012 kicks off and provides an excellent starting point for readers new to the comics of the Marvel Universe. The storylines that have developed over the years culminate in Secret Wars (2015), the event that leads to All-New All-Different Marvel.

The advent of modern comics was preceded by 18th-century political cartoons by William Hogarth.They were a series of drawings united by a common idea.

The next important stage in the development of the art of creating comics was the activity Rodolphe Tepffer and Wilhelm Busch. The first became famous The story of Monsieur Vyo-Bois", World fame to another was brought by the popular poetic series" Max and Moritz”, which tells about two tomboys.

« Teddy bear and tiger"- this was the name of the first American comic book, which was published in 1892. No less popular was the story " yellow kid» about a little boy from China who, in search of adventure, came to America.

A well-known comic book creator is Rudolf Derks. It was he who came up with bubbles”, frames in which the speech of the characters is placed.

Golden age of comics

This period in the history of American comics, which lasted (according to various estimates) from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s. The first serious steps in the development of the art of graphic novels were made at the beginning of the 20th century, in search of new ways of graphic and visual communication and self-expression. At first, comics were purely humorous in nature. This is largely due to the etymology of the English word that determined their name. This situation changed radically in June 1938, when the character Superman(English) Superman).

The beginning of the golden age is considered to be the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics, published in 1938 and published by DC Comics. The appearance of Superman was very popular, and soon superheroes filled the pages of comics. Other characters that have been popular for a long time are Plastic(English) plastic man), published by Quality Comics, and Detective Spirit by cartoonist Will Eisner, which originally appeared as an add-on bundled with the Sunday edition of the newspaper.

In total, more than 400 superheroes were created during this period. Most of them strongly resembled Superman and did not survive to this day, but it was then that heroes such as Batman And Captain America.

The Second World War had a major impact on the content of superhero comics - now the heroes fought the Axis, and the covers depicted superheroes fighting the leader of the Nazi movement, Adolf Hitler. After the victory over fascism, superheroes with nuclear abilities began to appear, for example Atomic Thunderer and Atomic Man. Historians of the time believe that the childish characters helped ease young readers' fears about the prospect of nuclear war. In addition, the heroes began to fight the communists, and some were involved in the Korean War.

However, after the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes began to decline. In general, it was during the golden age that a new and to this day the main direction in comics appeared - superheroes and new worlds.

Along with superheroes, cartoon characters also appear in comics. For example, stories about Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse. They win not only children's, but also an adult audience.

Entire publishing companies specializing in publishing comics are being created: Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image Comics. One of the largest is Marvel. She produced such masterpieces as Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Iron Man, Spider-Man.

IN 1970 - 1980 began a big competition in the comics industry between the two largest printing companies "Marvel" and "Dell". Dell starts reprinting comics from the 30s and 50s, and Marvel Comics responds with a series of new adventures spiderman.

IN 1977 - Three months before the release of George Lucas' sensational science fiction film Star Wars, Marvel Comics takes revenge by launching a comic book series based on the film. Star Wars exceeded all expectations, breaking all record circulations. Warner Communications attracts readers with characters Hulk, Doctor Strange, Dick Tracy and Flash Gordon. Subsequently, feature films and animated films were shot based on these comics.

1989 the year was the fifteenth anniversary Batman. The comic book cycle was timed to coincide with this year and the feature film "Batman" was shot, in which such first-class actors as Michael Keaton (Bruce Wayne) and Jack Nicholson (Joker) participated, everything was thought out to the smallest detail, and the film became the highest grossing film of all time movies (for that period), and comics brought a lot of money.

IN 1990 In 2008, the Classics in Illustrations series was published, which included Moby Dick, The Raven, Poe's poems, Dickens's Great Expectations, Lewis Carroll's Alice in the Crossroads. The Mutant Ninja Turtles, released by Mirage Studios and written by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, made a real sensation.

A variety of comics exist around the world from Chinese manhua to Japanese manga, comic books in the US, and short strip comics in Europe. Despite all the variety of styles and genres, the main task of comics is to evoke feelings and emotions in the reader. Elements such as dialogue bubbles or text frames are used to display dialogue and convey the message to the reader. necessary information. The drawings and their arrangement, as well as various auxiliary elements, are designed to support the sequence of events in the narrative.

The most famous form of printed comics is the so-called strips, or miniatures. They usually consist of four small drawings following one another and are published in newspapers and magazines. More voluminous comics are published as separate magazines, books or albums.

Figures and facts:

In New York at Heritage Auctions in February 2012, a collection of rare comics owned by Billy Wright was sold. The comics reportedly went under the hammer for $3.5 million.

The top lot among the exhibited auctions was the 27th issue of the collection Detective Comics (1939), on the pages of which Batman first appeared. The publication was bought for 523 thousand dollars. In 1939, the late Billy Wright of Virginia paid 10 cents for Detective Comics #27. The auction also sold the first collection of Action Comics (1938), where Superman debuted. They paid $299,000 for it.

A collection of unique comics sold at auction in the French capital for 650 thousand euros. According to the organizer of the auction - the Sotheby's auction house - about a hundred of the most popular among collectors of pictures and drawings by famous European, American and Japanese artists went under the hammer.

Among the most expensive lots is the original illustration for the Mysterious Star comic book from the Adventures of Tintin series published in the Soir newspaper, which was sold for more than 234,000 euros. This famous picture, which depicts how the faithful dog of a fearless journalist - Milu - stained his paws in tar, was painted by the Belgian artist Georges Remy, who worked under the pseudonym Hergé, in 1941.

Behind 100 thousand euros purchased the original title picture of the comic " black island". And the first edition of comics about Spiderman cost 40 thousand dollars, in 1963 its value was 12 cents.

 

It might be useful to read: