Blackest Night trade reading order ~ Collected Editions

Monday, July 12, 2010

Blackest Night trade reading order

Presenting the definitive chronology guide for what order to read all the issues of Blackest Night via hardcover and trade paperback, including crossover TPBs, as suggested by Collected Editions reader Paul Hicks (that's "Hix" in the comments section):

Titans #15 BN: Prelude	(not collected)
Green Lantern #43 Prologue	Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Blackest Night #0	Blackest Night

Blackest Night #1	Blackest Night
Green Lantern Corps #39	Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern #44	Blackest Night: Green Lantern

Blackest Night #2	Blackest Night
Starman #81	Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
The Power of Shazam #48	Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
Blackest Night: Batman #1	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
Blackest Night: Superman #1	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
Blackest Night: Titans #1	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
Green Lantern #45	Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps #40	Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
Blackest Night: Batman #2	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
The Question #37	Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns

Blackest Night #3	Blackest Night
Adventure Comics #4	Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps
Adventure Comics #5	Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps
Justice League of America #38	Justice League of America: Team History
Blackest Night: Superman #2	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
Suicide Squad #67	Secret Six: Danse Macabre
Blackest Night: Titans #2	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
Green Lantern #46	Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Blackest Night: Batman #3	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
The Phantom Stranger #42	Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
Solomon Grundy #7	Solomon Grundy
Superman/Batman #66	Superman/Batman: Night and Day
Superman/Batman #67	Superman/Batman: Night and Day
Catwoman #83	Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
Green Lantern Corps #41	Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
Blackest Night: Superman #3	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
Blackest Night: Titans #3	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
Outsiders #23	Outsiders: The Hunt
Outsiders #24	Outsiders: The Hunt
Outsiders #25	Outsiders: The Hunt
Justice League of America #39	Justice League of America: Team History
Justice League of America #40	Justice League of America: Team History
Teen Titans #77	Teen Titans: Child's Play
Teen Titans #78	Teen Titans: Child's Play
Weird Western Tales #71	Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
Green Lantern #47	Blackest Night: Green Lantern

Blackest Night #4	Blackest Night
Blackest Night: Flash #1	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2
Secret Six #17	Secret Six: Danse Macabre
Secret Six #18	Secret Six: Danse Macabre
Doom Patrol #4	Doom Patrol: We Who Are About to Die
Doom Patrol #5	Doom Patrol: We Who Are About to Die
Booster Gold #26	Booster Gold: The Tomorrow Memory
Booster Gold #27	Booster Gold: The Tomorrow Memory
R.E.B.E.L.S. #10	REBELS: The Son and The Stars
R.E.B.E.L.S. #11	REBELS: The Son and The Stars
Blackest Night: JSA #1	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2
Blackest Night: JSA #2	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2
Green Lantern Corps #42	Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2
Green Lantern #48	Blackest Night: Green Lantern

Blackest Night #5	Blackest Night
Green Lantern Corps #43	Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern #49	Blackest Night: Green Lantern

Blackest Night #6	Blackest Night
Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #2	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2
Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #3	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2
Blackest Night: Flash #2	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2
Green Lantern Corps #44	Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
Blackest Night: Flash #3	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2
Green Lantern #50	Blackest Night: Green Lantern
The Atom and Hawkman #46	Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
Adventure Comics #7	Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
Green Lantern #51	Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps #45	Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
R.E.B.E.L.S. #12	REBELS: The Son and The Stars

Blackest Night #7	Blackest Night
Green Arrow #30	Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
Blackest Night: JSA #3	Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2

Green Lantern #52	Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps #46	Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
Blackest Night #8	Blackest Night
Green Lantern Corps #47	Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps

Now, that said, this is not how I'll be reading Blackest Night. I've always tried to emulate the experience of a reader picking these books off the shelf at a bookstore -- someone might buy Blackest Night and not Green Lantern Corps, for instance, and I'm curious to know how the books read as individual entities. But, maybe the second time around, I'll follow Paul's list.

For more DC Comics trade paperback reading orders, visit the Collected Editions DC Trade Paperback Timeline.

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31 comments:

ComicReaderDude said...: Anyone know why Titans #15 wasn't collected? The only thing I can think of is that maybe it will appear in the Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol 1 HC since that is where the Titans BN mini will be collected. It's very possible, since it would not be the first time that DC has included issues in a trade that it didn't advertise as being included in the slocitation for it. Also, the BN: BLC V1 trade is solicited (on DC's site) as containing 256 pages while the BN: BLC V2 trade is solicited as containing only 240, so the Titans story may explain the difference in page counts. Guess we'll see when they release, but here's hoping!; 7/12/2010 08:33:00 AM
collectededitions said...: I'd like a last minute reprieve on Titans #15, like we got when DC included Faces of Evil: Prometheus in the Cry for Justice collection despite the solicitations otherwise, but I'm not counting on it. Certainly it would be nice to have every single segment of Blackest Night collected -- it does seem strange to have everything except one bannered issue collected.; 7/12/2010 08:46:00 AM
Chris Marshall said...: The DC Boards has a very good and well thought out order posted by "brik-el"
http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000197004&start=105&tstart=30; 7/12/2010 12:45:00 PM
collectededitions said...: Indeed a good list, and pretty much in-line with Hix's. One caution, though -- there's considerable spoilers in Brik-El's list.; 7/12/2010 12:53:00 PM
Zach said...: Oh, this is gonna be confusing. I think that the vast majority of us are going to end up doing what CE does - read the books separately and then work them into a continuity in our heads. There's no way I would sit down and flip between ten or fifteen volumes just to try to get the "right" reading order down... okay, maybe once but not on a regular basis like I do with Sinestro Corps War.

I would much rather read the three core titles (I'm willing to bounce around between these, but not on the first read) and then regard the other volumes as "Oh, so that's what Batman was up to" or "Black Lantern Black Mask? Sure, why not."; 7/12/2010 02:40:00 PM
Zach said...: Plus, I'm never buying another Titans trade so long as I live. After Johns left, the quality of the book seems to have really gone down. And apparently there's a difference between Titans and Teen Titans? Count me out.; 7/12/2010 02:41:00 PM
collectededitions said...: I distinctly remember a moment reading Sinestro Corps War, which DC tried more than Blackest Night to collect linearly, when I thought, "Wait, where did Superboy-Prime's shirt go?" He lost it in the elsewhere-collected Tales of the Sinestro Corps War. I expect there will be a lot of that.

If I do read these books in order some time, I don't know if I'll just stick to the seven Blackest Night volumes, or branch out to the rest. It is, as Zach notes, a lot of books.; 7/12/2010 02:47:00 PM
Hix said...: I'll try this order for the first five hardcovers at least. I'd like my first pass through the story to be as immersive as possible.; 7/12/2010 03:33:00 PM
hooray said...: I'm just getting the Main Books: Blackest Night, Green lantern + Corps. In which order should I read those? First Blackest Night and than Green lantern + Corps or the other way around?; 7/12/2010 08:11:00 PM
DavidTobin said...: Would I be correct in saying that the only real essentials for BN are the Blackest Night mini, Green Lantern and GL Corps? Would a reading order just encompassing those books make for a good read?; 7/13/2010 06:11:00 AM
collectededitions said...: Granted it seems like there's a Green Lantern prologue before Blackest Night, but I'm fairly sure the reading order, if you just want the core books, is Blackest Night, Green Lantern, and then Green Lantern Corps. I believe the story will have fits and starts unless you intersperse the books, but in order of importance, Blackest Night is the main miniseries, Green Lantern is the main ongoing series affected, and Green Lantern Corps is of course Green Lantern's spin-off.; 7/13/2010 01:09:00 PM
DavidTobin said...: Isn't the the Black Hand issue? You might be right to read that single issue and then go through the 3 trades in that order.; 7/14/2010 01:51:00 PM
Zach said...: I don't know how the rest of the list holds up, but Green Lantern #52 should definitely be read before BN #8. It seems BN #8 should be read last, with the potential exception of GLC #47, which is an epilogue of sorts on the order of "Liberty's Light."; 7/15/2010 07:31:00 PM
ComicReaderDude said...: So, now that BN: BLC V1 has been released, did it contain the Titans #15 issue? I have to assume that since DC didn't collect it in Titans: Fractured that it was so they could collect it somewhere else as part of the BN collections.
Anyway, I am going to be getting all 7 of the books and reading them in the order described above.; 7/16/2010 02:46:00 AM
Spooky said...: @collected editions: Please do yourself a favor and don't read the HCs individually the first time you read them. I really loved Blackest Night as an DCU Event, but it is a GL event first! The issues of GL and GLC are, in my opinion, essential to the fun of reading, so at least combine them into your first read. I know, it's annoying to always switch books, but in this case it's really worth it.

This would mean:
Green Lantern #43
Blackest Night #0
Blackest Night #1
Green Lantern Corps #39
Green Lantern #44
Blackest Night #2
Green Lantern #45
Green Lantern Corps #40
Blackest Night #3
Green Lantern #46
Green Lantern Corps #41
Green Lantern #47
Blackest Night #4
Green Lantern Corps #42
Green Lantern #48
Blackest Night #5
Green Lantern Corps #43
Green Lantern #49
Blackest Night #6
Green Lantern Corps #44
Green Lantern #50
Green Lantern #51
Green Lantern Corps #45
Blackest Night #7
Green Lantern Corps #46
Green Lantern #52
Blackest Night #8

Everything else, you can read afterwards in their respective volumes!

Spooky; 7/16/2010 02:48:00 AM
collectededitions said...: Early reviews that I've seen do not show Titans #15 in Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1, at least -- there's some speculation that it might be in there because J. T. Krul is listed as an author, but that's because of the Blackest Night: Titans miniseries. I'll be getting my copy this weekend and I can confirm then, unless someone can say so before.

Spooky -- Oh, I know, I know. Part of my personal enjoyment of reading trades, however, is reading them as solid books, and if I'm going to be confused reading one book at a time, I want to see how confused I am, at least. I can always read them in mixed order the second time, but I can only go in to the story blindly once.; 7/16/2010 08:42:00 AM
Spooky said...: ce - You will enjoy the Blackest Night HC without the GL volumes, no doubt. But the GL volumes will mean kinda less, because they take place between events you then already know...
Oh well, you are reading trades long enough, so you know what you are doing. ;) But I am interested in your individual reviews after your read.; 7/19/2010 04:52:00 AM
collectededitions said...: Glad to hear I won't be completely lost if I read Blackest Night first. About to crack that volume, actually ... here goes ...; 7/19/2010 12:23:00 PM
Dave Tobin said...: @ComicReaderDude: Titans #15 is NOT in the Black Lantern Corps - Vol 1 hardcover.; 7/20/2010 05:38:00 AM
collectededitions said...: Thanks for confirming that, Dave. Maybe if there's some interest in the new Aqualad post-Brightest Day, we might finally see Titans #15 (Tempest-centered, with Tempest having been the previous Aqualad) in some Aquaman-type trade.; 7/20/2010 10:05:00 AM
shagamu said...: Is it true that all Blackest Night HC's were printed on non-glossy paper? Is that the quality we're supposed to expect from DC's hardcover collections from now on?; 7/20/2010 06:30:00 PM
Saint Walker said...: Shagamu, I have received the BN, BN:GL and BN:GLC hardcovers so far and they are printed on the usual glossy paper.

It's been said plenty already but I think it's a piss-take that they didn't at least collect BN and GL together. You'd think the most profitable approach would be for DC to release Blackest Night V1 and V2 then still collect the GL issues in their own GL:Blackest Night book.

Despite this, I'm still looking forward to getting all 7 books and ploughing through them using this checklist, thanks Hix/CE :); 7/21/2010 03:30:00 AM
abu george said...: Thx for the checklist guys. I just received my copies of BN, GL, GLC and just ordered Tales of the Corps. I'll probably start in a couple weeks because I am going back to Rebirth to get caught up. It's gonna be fun.

Does anyone know where Tales 1-3 can be read?; 7/21/2010 04:38:00 PM
shagamu said...: Thanks, Saint Walker. Some guy from a message board I post on was complaining about the BN hardcovers, but it turns he didn't even open the books, and he thought they were printed on non-glossy paper just because they're lighter and smell different than his Marvel hardcovers. I KID YOU NOT.; 7/21/2010 07:46:00 PM
Hix said...: I have the first 5 hardcovers released and I've been making my way through the books with this list as a guide. So far it's been a blast.

All the books have groovy backmatter with character designs in the supporting volumes through to director's commentary in the central book.; 7/27/2010 05:09:00 AM
Darren said...: I've got the first three and made an effort to read them in order. It was worth it, but it wasn't essential (I literally had the three books open on my desk and flicked them around as I moved from chapter-to-chapter).

Overall, very impressed with the event. Green Lantern seems more tied to Blackest Night than Green Lantern Corps (probably makes sense when you consider the authors) - Green Lantern reads almost like "deleted scenes" or a "Director's Cut" of the event.

Not essential, but cool.; 7/27/2010 05:55:00 PM
Hix said...: Spooky's reordering of the list is spot on. It is also worth mentioning that the GLC volume contains issue 47 which is the only part to occur after Blackest Night #8.

And score another one for the trade waiters. We got to read Blackest Night: Flash after Rebirth as Johns originally intended, unlike the issue readers.; 7/29/2010 05:14:00 AM
collectededitions said...: Updated based on Hix and Spooky's suggestions; I'm about caught up but not there yet, so you'll have to tell me if that does it.

Blackest Night: Flash is one I'm looking forward to, not in the least because it's Johns on Flash with Scott Kolins again.; 7/29/2010 08:28:00 AM
Derek said...: Danse Macabre contains the Suicide Squad issue. I'm not sure that the Black Lantern trade does.; 8/03/2010 10:45:00 AM
collectededitions said...: Rise of the Black Lanterns does not contain the Suicide Squad issue; Derek is correct. That issue is in Secret Six: Danse Macabre only.; 8/20/2010 09:53:00 AM
sweetensour89 said...: is there a place to buy all of the black night comic series together instead of by section? I really don't want to have to buy them individually.; 11/08/2010 11:32:00 AM