Big Box Office Books
We’re heading into a summer of huge blockbuster movies based on comic books: Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America: The First Avenger, and X-Men: First Class among the most hotly anticipated. While their digitally enhanced cinematic presence might be awesome to behold, these guys have been around for decades, fighting their way through enemies on carefully drawn and inked comic pages. If you want a broader picture of these beloved superheroes, these are the books you want to check out.
Thor (now playing)
Marvel Masterworks: Mighty Thor, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby
Like all of the Marvel Masterworks collections, this volume collects some of Marvel’s earliest comics into a beautiful, complete format. This particular book includes the strange origin of Thor in Journey Into Mystery #83, published in 1962 and written by the ever-bombastic Stan Lee, and drawn by comic legend Jack Kirby—both men responsible for the nature of modern comics (who are also known as the creators of almost every Marvel character you’ve ever heard of).
It’s within these pages that the original genesis of Thor is depicted, and his personality as an adventuring hero and struggling god is established. There have been other versions of Thor, but this is where it all started—though Destroyer doesn’t appear until Volume 3, so keep on reading!
While 1960s comics might seem to rely very heavily on the suspension of disbelief, and the origin of Thor may seem ridiculous to a modern audience, the excitement is completely contagious.
Thor: Walt Simonson Omnibus by Walt Simonson
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought Norse god Thor to Earth (and comics), but Walt Simonson is the man credited for truly bringing Thor to life for an entire generation of comic readers during the 1980s. For three years, Simonson took over both writing and art duties on Thor, and continued to write for another year after his departure as artist.
During this time, Simonson introduced an enduring array of surreal Thor adventures, including the introduction of Beta Ray Bill (a space deer with Thor-like powers), the much-loved Casket of Ancient Winters storyline, and Thor turning into a frog. His art is a constant kinetic hyperbole, and his writing is as dramatic as it gets, and it feels the way comics should. These are often regarded as the best classic Thor stories ever written, in addition to being some of the best comics ever written. They can also be consumed in smaller Simonson collections, but this is the Simonson mothership.
Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Vol. 1: The God Who Fell to Earth by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee
While not in Marvel canon, this Thor collection is a simpler, more accessible take on the character, exiled to Earth and placed in a charming Mork & Mindy–type situation. It’s blissfully unburdened with any kind of complex character history, while still expressing the kind of hero that Thor can be. It’s also a ton of fun to read.
It’s full of Thor flavor while guest-starring plenty of other heroes from the Marvel universe who, in this continuity, have never met Thor before, allowing for a deeper exploration of character than is normally possible. Did I mention that it’s really fun to read?
Thor Omnibus by J. Michael Straczynski, Marko Djurdjevic, and Oliver Coipel
In this collection, the canonical Thor returns to Earth after a prolonged absence from the world of Marvel’s heroes in his redesigned, modern appearance and attitude. He’s also brought all of Asgard with him, and decides to place the kingdom a few feet over a large field in middle America, which is a great example of Thor’s godly entitlement and pervasive hope.
Marvel treated Thor’s return as a celebration, bringing in the finest artists and writers to commemorate the event and draw in new readers—and it worked. If you didn’t like Thor before, here’s his figurative and literal rebirth. This was one of my first Thor experiences, and it drew me into the character like nothing else.
The Mighty Thor: Loki by Rob Rodi and Esai Ribic
Like Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, this is Thor from the bad guy’s perspective. As an oft-spurned brother of Thor, Loki’s motivations are usually depicted as being a product of jealousy, but Rodi creates a much deeper view of this conflicted relationship. As a character, Loki’s chaotic, mischievous nature isn’t always easy to predict, making him infinitely more interesting to read (much like The Joker), and Rodi offers some of the best Loki there is.
Lushly painted, this is a satisfying look at the relationships that fuel Asgard, which also runs parallel to the cinematic Thor, but skews toward an older audience.
An honorable mention goes to Marvel’s recent Siege collections, which depict Thor at his best and worst, in league with a slew of Marvel’s heroes as his kingdom is under attack by a psychotic Norman Osborne.
If you haven’t read Thor before, here’s where you get started. Enjoy.
X-Men: First Class (now playing)
X-Men Omnibus, Volume 1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
In the first X-Men Omnibus, the legendary Stan Lee and Jack Kirby set the stage for the original 1963 X-Men, and all subsequent teams of X-Men (and women) that continue to fight evil in today’s comic pages. While these X-Men are a team of people with special genetic abilities who fight wrongdoing in all of its blatant, bombastic Silver Age forms, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby also used the X-Men as a smart platform for social consciousness during an era when civil rights were an incredibly contentious issue. The imaginary “mutants” that comprised the X-Men were established as an ongoing allegory for every persecuted social group. This was one of the most important and intelligent themes that comics had ever begun to embrace, setting up a lasting legacy of social consciousness—so it’s wonderful to see these foundations being built with these first issues of X-Men.
Uncanny X-Men by Len Wein, Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, et al.
While the X-Men have passed through many different writers, Chris Claremont is responsible for giving the comic a new life during the mid-1970s, after failing sales had placed it on a five-year hiatus. During his 17-year run on X-Men, and with an entirely new team of X-Men, Claremont managed to craft almost all of the most memorable, important, and repercussive stories that the book had ever experienced—“Days of Future Past,” “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” and “The X-Tinction Agenda” among them.
While some readers view portions of this era as a convoluted mess, others view these stories as classic material. Either way, Claremont’s ideas were the genesis for much of the 1990s animated series, and many elements of the X-Men films, so their importance is undeniable.
New X-Men by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Ethan Van Sciver, et al.
Experienced comic readers know that when Grant Morrison comes along, things are about to get weird. During another revamp of the X-Men property, Morrison created huge shifts in the manner in which the X-Men were handled, ultimately crafting some of the most fulfilling X-Men books published.
Villain Emma Frost is introduced to the team, fan-favorite mutant Beast continues to mutate, and Xavier’s school becomes a full-fledged academy, housing hundreds of mutant students, and positioning classic X-Men members as educators—another story element that is reflected in the X-Men films. These are great stories for a modern group of X-Men.
Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon, John Cassaday, et al.
Astonishing X-Men picks up where New X-Men leaves off, with beautiful artwork and Joss Whedon’s penchant for telling heart-wrenching stories tempered with humor and action. While Whedon’s run on X-Men isn’t usually credited with establishing new paradigms or creating anything truly revolutionary, his tenure on the book is one of the most consistently fun, readable, charmingly melodramatic and absorbing stretches that you can find. If the last 40 years of X-Men haven’t made you fall in love, these are the books that will finally nab you and draw you in.
X-Men: Magneto Testament by Greg Pak and Carmine di Giandomenico
This is a book that isn’t about superheroism or predicates on surreal powers and explosive battles. Testament is a mature, thoughtful, well-paced series of five comics collected into one highly respected graphic novel that explores the origins and history of the X-Men’s most notorious villain. Magneto is a wonderfully complex character: former best friends with Professor X, a survivor of the persecutions of Nazi Germany, and a radical protector of mutantkind whose motives and methods are frequently at odds.
Not only is this a perfect exploration into the inner workings of an important character (both in the comics and the film), but it’s also accompanied by a teacher’s guide and relevant historical materials to serve as an educational vehicle.
Green Lantern (June 17)
The Green Lantern Omnibus by John Broome, Gardner Fox, Gil Kane, and Murphy Anderson
Of course, it’s smart to begin with the origin of the modern Green Lantern. While pilot Hal Jordan was predated by another Green Lantern named Alan Scott (from the Golden Age of comics), Jordan is the Lantern we’re concerned with as far as movie season goes, created in 1959 and a herald of the Silver Age of comics.
Jordan is given a mysterious lantern and ring by an alien who crashes to Earth, and the rest is comic book history. Using these items, the willful Hal Jordan is able to create green “constructs” of almost anything he can envision, traverse space, and perform feats of intergalactic heroism, eventually joining the Justice League as a founding member in 1960. This volume collects the first 24 issues in which Hal Jordan appeared and also introduces many of the series’ main heroes and villains.
Green Lantern/Green Arrow by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams
Beginning with Green Lantern #76, the intergalactic adventures of Hal Jordan took a significant turn for the realistic, ushering in the Bronze Age of comics: an era in which real-world politics and social issues crept into the vehicle of comics. Green Lantern teams up with non-superpowered archer Green Arrow to tour the United States and focus on his home planet rather than solve the universe’s many problems.
These issues represent a very interesting and inspiring era in comics, commenting on the usual “power versus responsibility” themes that underlie most comic books in an intensely human way. There are as many corrupt landowners as there are weird-looking aliens, and the concept of social responsibility has never been more present. The second volume in this set includes one of the most memorable comic issues of the Bronze Age, in which Green Arrow’s youthful sidekick is caught using drugs—a very poignant and important moment in comic history.
Emerald Twilight/New Dawn by Ron Marz and Daryl Banks
During the 1980s, the Green Lantern Corps underwent some major shakeups. The Guardians were unhappy that Jordan was focusing so much time on Earth, since his powers were given to him to police an entire space sector. During the 1990s, Jordan went insane when an act of altruistic kindness was chastised by his alien masters, and this is the moment he became the evil Parallax—a variation of whom appears in this summer’s Green Lantern film.
These books explore Jordan’s origins in a new, modern light and depict his fall from being the Green Lantern Corps’ most heroic member into a creature of megalomaniacal revenge, which has repercussions throughout the entire universe and the future of the Green Lantern Corps.
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps by Mike W. Barr, Len Wein, Alan Moore, Robin Snyder, et al.
These books are instrumental in fleshing out the role of Green Lantern as part of a team, and as an intergalactic guardian of justice. While these collections don’t focus exclusively on Hal Jordan, his teammates on the Corps are equally interesting and span some of the most creatively constructed aliens and wildest science fiction stories that have even been laid onto a comic page.
Many of Green Lantern’s best stories place him in a team setting, be it with other Corps members or with the Justice League, so all of these books are a tremendously fun read—especially when Alan Moore steps in to write a few stories. An entire planet that’s an acting member of the Green Lantern Corps? Awesome.
Blackest Night by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, et al.
Hal Jordan is back as the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 (or the large area of space that happens to contain Earth), despite the fact that he was once one of the galaxy’s greatest threats. As he tangles with this troubled history, the scope of the Lantern Corps is forever changed when an entire rainbow of Corps throughout the universe is revealed, each representing part of the emotional spectrum. The worst of these are the Black Lanterns, who begin to resurrect dead heroes and villains from throughout DC’s history, and it’s up to Hal to regain control.
Love it or hate it, the spectrum of Lanterns forever changes the very nature of Green Lantern himself, both throughout his printed history and moving forward. It has colors, it has zombies, and it shifts DC Comics as we know them, so it’s a critical read.
Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22)
Golden Age Captain America (Marvel Masterworks) by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Captain America’s origins are firmly planted in World War II, both figuratively and literally. Originally appearing in 1941, Cap was a direct response to the political climate of WWII and didn’t pull any punches when it came to promoting anti-Axis, and occasionally racist, sentiments. In fact, Captain America Comics #1 features an iconic image of Cap punching Adolf Hitler in the face, placing him directly in a highly topical, cathartic scenario. Captain America, aka Steve Rogers, born on Independence Day, is depicted as a supersoldier with the tenacity, bravery, and intelligence to defeat any foe.
At this point, Captain America’s enemies were any enemy of America, but by the time the Silver Age of comics came around, the scope of his adventures would change. This collection is a great example of the war comics that dominated the Golden Age, and the origins of Cap.
Captain America Omnibus by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, et al.
In 1964, after a long period of inactivity, Steve Rogers was found preserved in ice and resurrected by the Avengers. Now alive again in the Silver Age, Captain America must fight his way through a whole new array of strange, surreal threats to America’s freedom, proving that his heroism isn’t confined only to wartime scenarios and bad guys with guns.
Stan Lee’s excited, over-the-top storytelling and Kirby’s kinetic art make this collection a classic. With Jim Steranko taking over art duties at one point, and interpolating awesomely bizarre, dreamlike and panel-defying imagery, Captain America expands beyond being a guy with a superstrong shield and a pair of fists without losing his heroic personality.
The Essential Avengers by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Don Heck
While Captain America is a great solo adventurer (as well as a faithful protector to his young sidekick, Bucky), one would be remiss to not acknowledge Cap as a leader. Pick up most classic Avengers books and you’ll see that Cap is the first hero to cry out “Avengers, assemble!” and send his superpowered compatriots strategically into battle for the greater good. As a man without any real “super” powers (but existing at the very peak of human physical condition), this kind of bravery is Captain America’s signature.
This is also the third Jack Kirby book on the list, and the second occurrence of Stan Lee, but these are truly the men who redefined and honed Captain America into Marvel Comics’ finest hero over a period of many years, so all of these classic tales are both essential and timely. If you can acclimate yourself to Silver Age comic logic and exuberance, it’s well worth watching Captain America become a hero for a new age—a role he retains even today.
Civil War by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, et al.
During Marvel’s Civil War event, the US government decides to enforce registration and employment of all heroes operating within the United States, in reaction to a tragedy catalyzed by a superpowered human decimating a city. While some heroes give in to these demands, others are adamantly opposed, and Captain America falls into the latter category.
While Civil War isn’t a book about Cap, it hinges upon his perception of America, and when the freedoms he’s fought for are threatened by his own country, his loyalties are destroyed. Captain America is forced to go on the run with a handful of other renegade heroes, hunted by Iron Man and his own team of heroes, who are now employed by the government. Civil War brings up vital questions about freedom and obedience, and Captain America is the hinge upon which everything turns. Is it truer to Captain America’s nature to obey his country, or to obey what it stands for?
Captain America Omnibus by Ed Brubaker, Steve Eptin, et al.
Almost universally respected as the best run on Captain America in years, Ed Brubaker’s tenure on the modern Cap spans a wide collection of fan-favorite story arcs that also intersect with many of Marvel’s large events: House of M and Civil War among them. Included here are Winter Soldier and Captain America’s fatal shooting, which wraps up the first volume. This collection is almost everything you need to know about Captain America, skipping the weird exoskeleton costumes and alternate identifies from the 1970s and 1980s (which are interesting, but definitely not essential).
Brubaker manages to explain the essence of Captain America gracefully, making this a very solid and accessible point to begin your own explorations into the depth of Captain America’s long history. While Cap may not always seem like the most exciting hero, without any bizarre superpowers or fancy weapons at his disposal, it’s his battle-hardened simplicity and heart of gold that form him into a surprisingly absorbing hero for any age.
