Posted - November 7, 2015

Secret Wars Reading Chronology

I didn't make this list. This list is from Marvel.

When Marvel released this list, they highlighted the first Secret Wars from 1984 and the upcoming Secret Wars 2015. But where o where is Secret Wars II? Oh it's in there but it is not highlighted. That should give us a clue as to its place in the canon.

This first batch is the Secret Wars 1984 batch.

When Secret Wars (1984) first came out, event comics were still a new phenomenon. There was Contest of Champions from Marvel and after Secret Wars, DC released Crisis on Infinite Earths.. These next batch of comics were written when comics events were a regular occurence.

Alright, now we go to the Ultimates universe also known as Universe 1610.

This last batch of comics are the ones written nearest to the Secret Wars 2015 event.

And now, the end of the Marvel universes and what happens after the end of the Marvel universes.

This list may be labelled Secret Wars Reading Chronology but an alternative title could be Marvel in a Nutshell. What? You say? There are tons of books listed. Considering the overall Marvel output (I mean, I was just taking stock of all the Spider-Mans ever published and it's north of 1,600 issues and counting), this is a tidy little list. If somebody ever asks you what books he has to own in order to get a somewhat comprehensive appreciation of the Marvel Universe this list is an outstanding reference.

What am I talking about? This list is an outstanding reference for you, I mean us - an excellent and almost comprehensive mini-Marvel collection up until (and including) the Secret Wars 2015 event.

Yet another possible alternative title is the Marvel Comics Christmas Gift List 2015. Not sure what comics to give somebody but you know they like Spider-Man? Just pick a Spider-Man book from the list. Problem solved. Same case with the X-Men or the Avengers and so on and so forth as the case may be.