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The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to… Supergirl

On Tuesday, 20 February, 2024

In comics and graphic novels, science fiction, stuff to read, the wellington comic lover's guide to...

Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character or series. This post is all about the Girl of Steel from the planet Krypton, Supergirl!

Who is Supergirl?

Kara Zor-El is the older cousin of Superman, sent from Krypton as a teenager to look after the baby Kal-El once he landed on Earth. However, due to her ship landing decades later, she arrived when Superman was already an adult. Lacking a purpose, Kara struggles to adapt to a planet that is less technologically advanced than Krypton, but this in no way deters her from following Superman’s example as a hero. Gaining superpowers under Earth’s yellow sun, she now protects Metropolis while trying to find a place in her strange new home as Supergirl.

Note: DC Comics are divided by publishing eras, determined by a point where they set the issue number (and sometimes, continuity) of a series back to #1. ‘Pre-Crisis’ is everything DC published prior to 1986, ‘Post-Crisis’ is everything from 1986-2011, the New 52 from 2011-2016, DC Rebirth from 2016-2021, and Infinite Frontier from 2021 to present.

Supergirl : Origins

The details of Supergirl’s origin have varied over DC’s publishing history, including her civilian identity, when she was discovered on Earth, and even whether she is Kryptonian or not. Her origins have been explored in the story Being Super and the recent World’s Finest series.

Supergirl : being super / Tamaki, Mariko

Batman/Superman : world’s finest. Vol. 2, Strange visitor / Waid, Mark

As for her origins on Krypton, the House of El graphic novel trilogy provides some context for Krypton’s history prior to its destruction.

House of El. Book one, The shadow threat / Gray, Claudia

House of El. Book two, The enemy delusion / Gray, Claudia

House of El. Book three, The treacherous hope / Gray, Claudia

And for stories about Supergirl’s more famous cousin, check out our WCL Guide to Superman!

Pre-Crisis

In the Pre-Crisis timeline, Kara Zor-El landed on Earth and was discovered by Superman, who learned that they were cousins and took her under his wing as Supergirl. In her headline series from this era, Kara moves to Chicago, enrolls in university, and soon gathers a rogues gallery, including her archnemesis, the nuclear-powered Reactron.

Pre-Crisis Supergirl appearances

Daring new adventures of Supergirl. Volume 1 / Kupperberg, Paul

Superman : whatever happened to the man of tomorrow / Moore, Alan

Post-Crisis

In the Post-Crisis era, a new editorial rule at DC meant that Superman had to be the only survivor from Krypton, which presented problems for introducing Supergirl. In this continuity, Supergirl is Linda Danvers, a human teenager who can transform into a superhero with powers similar to Superman.

Supergirl Linda Danvers appearances

Supergirl. Book one / David, Peter

Supergirl. Book two / David, Peter

Superman : Emperor Joker

Convergence : zero hour book 2 / Giffen, Keith

The Last Daughter of Krypton… At Last!

Eventually, Kara Zor-El was reintroduced to Post-Crisis continuity, with her spaceship being discovered at the bottom of the Gotham River. After meeting Superman, Supergirl travels to the future to join the Legion of Super-Heroes, fights a mysterious Superwoman, and sees the birth of a New Krypton and the resurrection of her parents.

Post-Crisis Supergirl appearances

Supergirl : the girl of steel / Loeb, Jeph

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes : the quest for Cosmic Boy / Bedard, Tony

Supergirl : who is Superwoman / Gates, Sterling

Supergirl. Volume 4, Daughter of new Krypton / Gates, Sterling

Supergirl : friends & fugitives / Gates, Sterling

The hunt for Reactron / Gates, Sterling

Supergirl : Bizarrogirl / Gates, Sterling

The New 52

The New 52 reset the histories of most DC characters back to square one, and Supergirl was no exception. Here, Kara is a loner who only occasionally runs into Superman. In her journey to find a home and community, she briefly befriends Superman villain Silver Banshee, joins the rage-powered Red Lantern Corps, and attends the intergalactic Crucible academy.

New 52 Supergirl reading order

Supergirl. Volume 1, Last daughter of Krypton / Green, Michael (also on Libby)

Supergirl. Volume 2, Girl in the world / Green, Michael

Supergirl. Volume 3, Sanctuary / Johnson, Mike

Superman : H’el on Earth / Lobdell, Scott

Supergirl. Volume 4, Out of the past / Nelson, Michael Alan

Supergirl. Volume 5, Red daughter of Krypton / Bedard, Tony

Supergirl. Volume 6, Crucible / Perkins, K.

DC Rebirth

Taking inspiration from the Supergirl TV show, the DC Rebirth era has Supergirl move to Metropolis’ sister city National City, teaming up with the Department of Extranormal Operations to help stem the city’s various alien threats.

Supergirl Rebirth era reading order

Supergirl. Vol. 1, Reign of the cyborg supermen / Orlando, Steve

Supergirl. Vol. 2, Escape from the Phantom Zone / Orlando, Steve

Supergirl. Vol. 3, Girl of no tomorrow / Orlando, Steve

Supergirl. Vol. 4, Plain sight / Orlando, Steve

Supergirl meets the Killer of Krypton

During the reinvigoration of the Superman books by Brian Michael Bendis, Supergirl got a new series that saw Kara setting off on an intergalactic manhunt for the dreaded Rogol Zaar, a Kryptonian-hating alien mercenary with a mysterious connection to Kara’s uncle (and Superman’s father) Jor-El.

‘Bendis era’ Supergirl reading order

The Man of Steel / Bendis, Brian Michael

Supergirl. Vol. 1, The killers of Krypton / Andreyko, Marc

Supergirl. Vol. 2, Sins of the circle / Andreyko, Marc

Supergirl. Vol. 3, Infectious / Houser, Jody

Batman/Superman. Volume 1, Who are the Secret Six / Williamson, Joshua

Superman action comics. Vol. 5, The House of Kent / Bendis, Brian Michael

Infinite Frontier – The Woman of Tomorrow

Supergirl has had one miniseries in the Infinite Frontier era, the acclaimed Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which is set to be adapted into a feature film starring Milly Alcock as Kara. Meanwhile, Kara has helped her cousin protect Earth during the Warworld Saga and the Lazarus Planet event.

Infinite Frontier Supergirl appearances

Supergirl : woman of tomorrow / King, Tom

Superman action comics. Volume one, Warworld rising / Johnson, Phillip Kennedy

Superman Action Comics. Volume three, Warworld revolution / Johnson, Phillip Kennedy

Superman : Kal-El returns / Johnson, Phillip Kennedy

Lazarus Planet

Based on the TV show

The long-running CW Supergirl show starring Melissa Benoist has also been adapted into its own comics, much like The Flash show before it.

Adventures of Supergirl [1] / Gates, Sterling

Crisis on infinite Earths : Paragons rising : the deluxe edition / Wolfman, Marv

Earth-Prime

Supergirl’s Teams

Supergirl has rarely been a team player outside of her immediate Super-Family, having only brief tenures on the Teen Titans, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and the Justice League. In a moment of pique, she was briefly inducted into the Red Lantern Corps, a crimson-themed version of the Green Lanterns who are powered by rage.

Supergirl in the Legion

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes : the quest for Cosmic Boy / Bedard, Tony

Supergirl as a Teen Titan

Teen Titans : Titans of tomorrow

In the Justice League

Justice League United. Volume 1, Justice League Canada / Lemire, Jeff

Justice League United. Volume 2, The infinitus saga / Lemire, Jeff

As a Red Lantern

Red Lanterns. Volume 5, Atrocities / Soule, Charles

Supergirl. Volume 5, Red daughter of Krypton / Bedard, Tony

Team Supergirl

In order to save Superman from cosmic imprisonment in Superman/Batman : vengeance, Bizarro assembles a whole team of Supergirls from across time and space, including the modern Kara Zor-El, Pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El, Linda Danvers, Power Girl (see below), and Cir-El, Superman and Lois’ daughter from a potential future.

Power Girl

Kara Zor-L is Power Girl, the Supergirl from Earth-2 who wound up on the mainstream DC Universe (Earth-0) after the destruction of her Earth. Where Supergirl is eager to adapt to her adopted home, Power Girl bears a chip on her shoulder for having lost both Krypton and her original adopted Earth, manifesting in her brash, ‘punch first and ask questions later’ attitude.

Post-Crisis, Power Girl took on the secret identity of ‘Karen Starr’, and split her time between running a tech start-up and serving on the Justice Society of America.

Black Adam/JSA : black reign / Johns, Geoff

Infinite crisis / Johns, Geoff

Power Girl : power trip / Gray, Justin

Justice Society of America : thy kingdom come. Part two / Johns, Geoff

Justice Society of America : thy kingdom come. Part three / Johns, Geoff

Justice Society of America : Black Adam and Isis / Johns, Geoff

Justice Society of America : the bad seed / Willingham, Bill

Just a Girl in the Worlds’ Finest

In the New 52, a new Earth-2 is created with a new Kara Zor-L, who gets sent to Earth-0 along with Earth-2’s Robin (Helena Wayne, the daughter of Batman). The pair take on the new aliases of Power Girl and Huntress and try to find a way home to Earth-2 in the series Worlds’ Finest.

Worlds’ Finest. Volume 1, The lost daughters of Earth 2 / Levitz, Paul

Worlds’ Finest. Volume 2, Hunt and be hunted / Levitz, Paul

Worlds’ Finest. Volume 3, Control issues / Levitz, Paul

Worlds’ Finest. Volume 4, First contact / Levitz, Paul

Worlds’ finest. Volume 5, Homeward bound / Levitz, Paul

Upon returning to Earth-2, Kara must help her fellow heroes save the world from an invasion from Darkseid, and after the planet is regenerated (a literal ‘Earth 2’) she strikes up a romance with its new Superman, Val-Zod.

Earth 2 : world’s end. Volume 1 / Wilson, Daniel H.

Earth 2 : world’s end. Volume 2 / Wilson, Daniel H.

Earth 2 society. Volume 1, Planetfall / Wilson, Daniel H.

Earth 2 : society. Volume 2, Indivisible / Abnett, Dan

Earth 2 : society. Volume 3, A whole new world / Abnett, Dan

Power Girl Returns

The Post-Crisis Power Girl eventually returns in Infinite Frontier. After burning out of the corporate grindset as a member of an ‘Uber but for superheroes’ service in One-Star Squadron, she gains new telepathic powers in the Lazarus Planet event and befriends a fellow psychic, former Teen Titan Omen.

Infinite frontier / Williamson, Joshua

One-star squadron / Russell, Mark

Lazarus Planet

Power Girl returns / Williams, Leah

Supergirl Across The Multiverse

Power Girl isn’t the only alternate Supergirl out there in the infinite Multiverse of DC Comics.

Crime Syndicate / Schmidt, Andy – On Earth-3 where the roles of heroes and villains are reversed, a treacherous Ultragirl tries to take out her cousin, Ultraman. This world also has a Superwoman, although technically she is the evil equivalent of Wonder Woman.

Multiversity : teen justice / Cohen, Ivan – On the matriarchal world of Earth-11, Supergirl is the daughter of Superwoman and fights alongside the young super-team Teen Justice.

Kingdom come / Waid, Mark – In a possible future, an older Karen Starr (now Power Woman) joins a new Justice League, led by an older Superman trying to bring order to a world full of unruly metahumans.

Supergirl adventures : girl of steel – In the world of the DC Animated Universe, Supergirl is Kara In-Ze from Argo, a ‘sister planet’ to Krypton that was also devastated. Discovered in cryogenic stasis by Superman, Kara is brought to Earth, where she becomes gains powers similar to her ‘cousin’ and becomes Supergirl.

Injustice 2. Vol. 1 / Taylor, Tom – The Injustice universe’s version of Supergirl first appears in its sequel comic, where she arrives on Earth not knowing her cousin has taken over the world.

Ame-Comi Girls. Volume 3, Earth in crisis / Palmiotti, Jimmy – Both Supergirl and Power Girl appear on this manga-inspired world where only women gain superpowers.

DC Comics Bombshells : the deluxe edition, Book one / Bennett, Marguerite – Here, Kara’s ship lands in Soviet Russia instead of the USA. When she comes of age in the midst of World War II, she defects and joins a team of heroines determined to end the conflict.

Dark Knights of Steel. Vol. 1 / Taylor, Tom – Transporting the heroes of the DC Universe into a medieval world of knights and nobility, the Supergirl here is Zala Jor-El, the princess of the ruling family, the House of El.

Supergirl : cosmic adventures in the 8th grade / Walker, Landry Q. – In this cartoon-influenced series, a young Kryptonian named Linda Lee struggles to balance schoolwork with being Supergirl.

The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to… Aquaman

By Gus

On Tuesday, 19 December, 2023

In the wellington comic lover's guide to...

Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character or series. This post is all about DC Comics’ King of the Seven Seas… Aquaman!

Who is Aquaman?

The son of a lighthouse keeper and a princess from the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, Arthur Curry, discovers he has the power to breathe underwater, survive in deep ocean environments, and command marine life. Claiming his birthright as king of Atlantis, Arthur now protects the seven seas as its monarch and hero, Aquaman. Alongside him are his wife and queen Mera, and the Aqualads, Garth and Jackson Hyde.

Note: DC Comics are divided by publishing eras, determined by a point where they set the issue number (and sometimes, continuity) of a series back to #1. ‘Post-Crisis’ is everything from 1986-2011, the New 52 from 2011-2016, DC Rebirth from 2016-2021, and Infinite Frontier from 2021 to present.

The Legend of Aquaman

Aquaman’s Post-Crisis origin is told in The Legend of Aquaman, which has him as the son of an Atlantean wizard and the Queen of Atlantis. Exiled to land at birth and raised to adulthood by the lighthouse keeper Tom Curry, Arthur eventually returned to Atlantis and took the throne.

Aquaman : the legend of Aquaman / Fleming, Robert Loren

Sub Diego

The ‘Sub Diego’ storyline begins when a massive earthquake sinks the city of San Diego under the waves, leaving thousands dead and the survivors inexplicably gaining the ability to breath underwater. Aquaman and his new sidekick Lorena Marquez, aka Aquagirl, must help the new waterbreathers adapt to life under the sea, while preventing the rise of a new oceanic criminal syndicate.

Aquaman : to serve and protect / Arcudi, John

Aquaman : kingdom lost / Arcudi, John

Sword of Atlantis and Blackest Night

Arthur uses Atlantean magic to restore Sub Diego back to land, but as a consequence, he mutates into the monstrous Dweller of the Depths. He is then replaced with a younger Aquaman, Joseph Curry, who Arthur aids alongside a seemingly reformed King Shark.

Joseph Curry appearances

Aquaman : sword of Atlantis : once and future / Busiek, Kurt

Superman/Batman. Volume 4

Sometime after, Arthur perishes and is resurrected during the Blackest Night crossover, which sees deceased heroes and villains in the DCU return to life as superpowered zombies called Black Lanterns. In the sequel series Brightest Day, Arthur and Mera search for a cure for Arthur’s lingering Black Lantern powers, discovering the secret son of Black Manta along the way.

Blackest Night saga / Johns, Geoff (also on Libby)

Brightest day : omnibus / Johns, Geoff

The New 52

The New 52 reboots DC Comic’s long-running continuity, tweaking Arthur’s history in the process. Rather than being the king of Atlantis for some years, here Arthur is reluctant to take the throne until his hand is forced by Orm, his half-brother and self-proclaimed ‘Ocean Master’, attacking the surface with an Atlantean army.

Aquaman. Volume 1, The trench / Johns, Geoff (also on Libby)

Aquaman. Volume 2, The Others / Johns, Geoff

Aquaman. Volume 3, Throne of Atlantis / Johns, Geoff

Aquaman. Volume 4, Death of a King / Johns, Geoff

Aquaman. Volume 5, Sea of storms / Parker, Jeff

Aquaman. Volume 6, Maelstrom / Parker, Jeff

Aquaman. Volume 7, Exiled / Bunn, Cullen

Aquaman. Volume 8, Out of darkness / Abnett, Dan

DC Rebirth

The DC Rebirth period of Aquaman focuses on the geopolitical tensions between Atlantis and the United States, as Arthur must mediate between both sides to prevent an all-out war. Later, the Atlantean throne is usurped by the vicious King Rath, and Arthur finds new allies in the denizens of Atlantis’ slums.

Aquaman. Vol. 1, The drowning / Abnett, Dan

Aquaman. Vol. 3, Crown of Atlantis / Abnett, Dan

Aquaman. Vol. 4, Underworld / Abnett, Dan

‘Underworld’ is also collected as Aquaman : Underworld, the deluxe edition / Abnett, Dan

Aquaman. Vol. 5, The crown comes down / Abnett, Dan

Aquaman. Vol. 6, Kingslayer / Abnett, Dan

Aquaman/Suicide Squad : sink Atlantis / Williams, Rob

Drowned Earth

After leading the Justice League against an oceanic alien armada in Drowned Earth, Arthur loses his memories and is nursed back to health by a community of ancient sea gods (including Aotearoa’s own Tangaroa). This series sees Aquaman reconnecting with his allies both on land and Atlantis, and facing an improved mecha-powered Black Manta.

Justice League : Aquaman : drowned earth / Snyder, Scott

Aquaman. Vol. 1, Unspoken water / DeConnick, Kelly Sue

Aquaman. Vol. 2, Amnesty / DeConnick, Kelly Sue

Aquaman. Vol. 3, Manta vs. machine / DeConnick, Kelly Sue

Aquaman. Volume 4, Echoes of a life lived well / DeConnick, Kelly Sue

Infinite Frontier

The Infinite Frontier era of Aquaman (or rather, Aquamen) focuses on former Aqualad Jackson Hyde, who now shares the Aquaman title with Arthur. Here, Jackson, Arthur and Black Manta must team up to stop a secret cabal of Atlantean sleeper agents.

Aquaman : the becoming / Thomas, Brandon

Black Manta / Brown, Chuck

Aquamen / Brown, Chuck

Also published in this era is Aquaman: Andromeda, a cosmic horror adventure that sees Aquaman aiding an experimental submarine crew to a spaceship graveyard in the ocean.

Aquaman : Andromeda / V, Ram

Aquaman’s teams

Aquaman is a founding member of the Justice League, valued for his status as regent of the oceans and his unique powerset. Arthur and the League have faced threats together such as the time-travelling League of Ancients (JLA. Volume six), the Ocean Master and his Atlantean army (Throne of Atlantis), and a disgruntled Justice League fan using the League’s secrets against them (The people vs. the Justice League).

Aquaman on the Justice League

JLA : New world order / Morrison, Grant

JLA. Volume two / Morrison, Grant

JLA. Volume four / Morrison, Grant

JLA. Volume five / Waid, Mark

JLA. Volume six / Kelly, Joe

Justice League. Volume 3, Throne of Atlantis / Johns, Geoff

Justice League of America : power and glory / Hitch, Bryan

Justice League. Vol. 6, The people vs. the Justice League / Priest, Christopher J.

Justice League. Vol. 7, Justice lost / Priest, Christopher J.

Dark nights : metal / Snyder, Scott

Justice League : Aquaman : drowned earth / Snyder, Scott

Aquaman and the Others

The New 52 establishes that Arthur was once a part of a team of mysterious heroes called The Others, each of whom possesses a unique Atlantean weapon (Arthur’s being his signature trident).

Aquaman. Volume 2, The Others / Johns, Geoff

Aquaman and the Others. Volume 1, Legacy of gold / Jurgens, Dan

Aquaman and the Others. Volume 2, Alignment Earth / Jurgens, Dan

Mera, Queen of Atlantis

Mera is from the kingdom of Xebel, another underwater city constantly at war with Atlantis. Initially sent to execute Arthur, Mera fell in love with him, and now uses her gifts of water manipulation and her royal connections to aid him as his queen.

Mera, Queen of Atlantis / Abnett, Dan

Mera : tidebreaker / Paige, Danielle

Garth, the first Aqualad

Garth was an Atlantean orphan whom Arthur adopted as his trusty sidekick, Aqualad. With powers identical to Aquaman, in addition to some proficiency in Atlantean magic, Garth became a founding member of the Teen Titans (later just ‘the Titans’).

Garth as Aqualad appearances

Teen Titans : year one / Wolfram, Amy

Titans hunt / Abnett, Dan

Titans. Vol. 1, The return of Wally West / Abnett, Dan

Titans. Vol. 2, Made in Manhattan / Abnett, Dan

Titans. Vol. 3, A Judas among us / Abnett, Dan

Titans : the Lazarus contract / Priest, Christopher J.

Aquaman : Underworld, the deluxe edition / Abnett, Dan

Heroes in crisis / King, Tom

Jackson Hyde, the second Aqualad

The second Aqualad is Jackson Hyde, the son of Black Manta and a Xebel spy. Raised in New Mexico as far from the ocean as possible, Jackson eventually discovered the truth of his parentage and joined up with Aquaman and Mera. Jackson has the same powers as Mera, using special gauntlets to shape water into weapons and generate electrical shocks through them.

This version of Aqualad first appeared in the animated series Young Justice as an Atlantean named Kaldur’ahm, then was introduced in the comics shortly after.

Aqualad in Young Justice appearances

Young Justice [2] : training day / Weisman, Greg

Young Justice [3] : creature features / Weisman, Greg

Aqualad in mainstream DC Comics appearances

Brightest day : omnibus / Johns, Geoff

Teen Titans. Vol. 2, The rise of Aqualad / Percy, Benjamin

Teen Titans. Vol. 3, The return of Kid Flash

Aquaman. Vol. 2, Amnesty / DeConnick, Kelly Sue

Aquaman. Vol. 3, Manta vs. machine / DeConnick, Kelly Sue

Aquaman. Volume 4, Echoes of a life lived well / DeConnick, Kelly Sue

Aquaman : the becoming / Thomas, Brandon

Aquamen / Brown, Chuck

Jackson is openly gay, appearing in DC’s Pride comics and even has his own graphic novel romance, You Brought Me the Ocean.

DC Pride 2021

You brought me the ocean / Sanchez, Alex

Black Manta

Aquaman’s nemesis is Black Manta, a ruthless high-tech pirate commanding an undersea legion of criminal henchmen. While Manta is mostly out for loot and plunder, he has a personal vendetta against Aquaman, who in his early adventures was responsible for the death of Manta’s father. Recently, Manta has tried to persuade his teenage son Jackson Hyde into joining him in his criminal enterprise.

Black Manta appearances

Aquaman : kingdom lost / Arcudi, John

Brightest day : omnibus / Johns, Geoff

Aquaman. Volume 2, The Others / Johns, Geoff

New Suicide Squad. Volume 1, Pure insanity / Ryan, Sean

New Suicide Squad. Volume 2, Monsters / Ryan, Sean

New Suicide Squad. Volume 3, Freedom / Ryan, Sean

Aquaman. Vol. 1, The drowning / Abnett, Dan

Aquaman. Vol. 3, Manta vs. machine / DeConnick, Kelly Sue

Justice League : Aquaman : drowned earth / Snyder, Scott

Black Manta / Brown, Chuck

Aquaman : Andromeda / V, Ram

Other Aquaman allies

Lagoon Boy

La’gaan is a fish-like Atlantean who took on the name ‘Lagoon Boy’ due to his resemblance to the classic movie monster, the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He’s been a member of the teen super-team Young Justice in the comics and became Aqualad’s replacement on ‘The Team’ in the show Young Justice.

Lagoon Boy appearances

Young Justice. Book six

Young Justice [4] : invasion / Weisman, Greg (based on the TV show)

Heroes in crisis / King, Tom

King Shark

Nanaue is a humanoid shark, the son of the Shark God Chondraka and a human woman from Hawaii. As King Shark, Nanaue’s nature wavers between articulate villain and bloodthirsty beast-man, and as such, his allegiance has shifted many times over the years. He’s been an ally to Aquaman in Sword of Atlantis, a mercenary in the Secret Six, and an operative in Task Force X.

King Shark appearances – Post-Crisis

Aquaman : sword of Atlantis : once and future / Busiek, Kurt

Secret Six : unhinged / Simone, Gail

Secret Six : the reptile brain / Simone, Gail

Secret Six : the darkest house / Simone, Gail

King Shark appearances – New 52 to present

Suicide Squad. Volume 1 (also on Libby) through Volume 5

Teen Titans. Vol. 2, The rise of Aqualad / Percy, Benjamin

Aquaman. Vol. 5, The crown comes down / Abnett, Dan

Suicide Squad : Blaze / Spurrier, Simon

Suicide Squad : King Shark / Seeley, Tim

If you’d like to learn about the actual Hawaiian legend that inspired King Shark, check out The Shark King : a Toon book/ Johnson, R. Kikuo

Aquaman across the Multiverse

Absolute Justice / Krueger, Jim – In a global conflict between the Justice League and the Legion of Doom, Aquaman must rescue his infant son from Brainiac and Black Manta.

Kingdom come / Waid, Mark (also on Libby) – Like many elder heroes in this alternate future, Arthur has retired, choosing to rule Atlantis while the first Aqualad protects the seas as the second Aquaman.

Flashpoint / Johns, Geoff – In this dark alternate timeline accidentally created by The Flash, Arthur leads Atlantis in a brutal war against the Amazons.

Injustice : Gods among us : Volume 1 – As sovereign of Atlantis, Aquaman is one of the first challenges to a grieving Superman’s world-conquering Regime.

The Multiversity / Morrison, Grant – Aquawoman from the matriarchal Earth-11 joins a team of multiversal heroes to fight the evil interdimensional Gentry. Other multiversal Aquapeople featured here include the fascist Unterwasserman, the Mer-Man of Justice 9, and the hybrid hero Aquaflash.

Justice League incarnate / Williamson, Joshua – Aquawoman returns to the Multiversity to fight a reinvigorated Darkseid.

Multiversity : teen justice / Cohen, Ivan – Aquagirl Jaqui Hyde leads Earth-11’s teenage super-team Teen Justice.

Earth 2. Volume 4, The Dark Age / Taylor, Tom – On Earth-2, the Atlantean on the resident hero team ‘The Wonders of the World’ is Queen Marella.

Justice League beyond : power struggle / Gage, Christos – Set in the future of the DC Animated Universe, Aquaman’s daughter Mareena joins the Justice League Unlimited.

The Jurassic League / Gedeon, Juan – Aquaman’s equivalent on the dinosaur-dominated Earth-27 is the trident-wielding spinosaur Aquanyx.

Wildstorm : Michael Cray. Volume 1 / Hill, Bryan Edward – In the spy-oriented Wildstorm Universe, operative Michael Cray is tasked with hunting down ‘The Aquaman’, a New Zealand scientist who genetically engineers himself into an animalistic aquatic being.

SpongeBob comics. #2, Aquatic adventurers, unite / Hillenburg, Stephen – While not part of the DC Multiverse proper, it should be noted that the aquatic adventurers Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy from Spongebob Squarepants were inspired by Aquaman and Aqualad.

Blutant Blurtles: The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to… Blue Beetle and Ninja Turtles

By Gus

On Thursday, 5 October, 2023

In comics and graphic novels, stuff to read, the wellington comic lover's guide to...

“Blutant Blurtles: Adolescent Armored Animals”

Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character or series. This post is all about two armoured animal adolescent heroes who recently made the leap from comics to the big screen: Blue Beetle, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Who is Blue Beetle?

Blue Beetle is a title held by heroes who possess the Scarab, a beetle-shaped artifact that can turn into a metallic insectoid armour. Its most recent bearer is high school student Jaime Reyes, who uses the Scarab’s abilities to protect Palmera City alongside his mentor, the previous Blue Beetle Ted Kord.

Blue Beetle’s Surprisingly Important History

Despite being a minor hero compared to the likes of Superman or Spider-Man, Blue Beetle has a long and storied history in the world of comics.

For starters, Blue Beetle was not originally a DC Comics character; the first Blue Beetle, a rookie cop named Dan Garrett, was first created by Charles Wojtkoski for Fox Feature Syndicate in 1939 (a year after the debut of Superman). The character was later bought by Charlton Comics, where he received a new identity in businessman Ted Kord and got a sleek redesign (see right) by original Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko.

After Charlton went under, their characters were bought by DC and incorporated into their multiverse on Earth-4. You can read about their adventures in the story ‘Pax Americana‘ in The Multiversity series.

Versions of the Charlton heroes also exist in the ‘prime’ DC Comics timeline of Earth-0, including the atomic army man Captain Atom, the faceless detective The Question, the shadow-wielding spy Nightshade, the patriotic soldier (and recent TV sensation) Peacemaker, and of course, Blue Beetle.

The Charlton heroes then went on to inspire the characters of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ celebrated comic Watchmen, considered one of the greatest graphic novels ever made; Blue Beetle’s analogue there is the tech-using animal-themed hero Nite Owl. ‘Pax Americana‘ in Multiversity incorporates elements of Watchmen into its version of Earth-4, and Watchmen‘s official sequel Doomsday Clock has the Charlton heroes collide with the graphic novel they influenced in the most obvious way possible, fighting Doctor Manhattan on the surface of Mars.

Ted Kord – Blue Beetle II

The first Blue Beetle was Dan Garrett, a blue-armoured adventurer in the 1940s. The Scarab then passed to businessman Ted Kord, who couldn’t use the Scarab’s powers but incorporated its design into his costume and his trademark insect-shaped aircraft, the Bug. Ted has been a member of the Justice League International and its low-rent revival ‘the Super Buddies’.

Blue Beetle Ted Kord appearances

Blue Beetle. Volume one / Wein, Len

Justice League task force. Volume 1, The purification plague / Michelinie, David

Formerly known as the Justice League / Giffen, Keith

Convergence : infinite earths. Book two

Suicide Squad : bad blood / Taylor, Tom

Doomsday clock : the complete collection / Johns, Geoff

The human target. Volume one / King, Tom

Dark crisis on infinite Earths / Williamson, Joshua

The Blue and the Gold

In the days of Justice League International, Ted was frequently paired with time-travelling hero Booster Gold as a comedy duo, with the modest, level-headed Ted trying to keep the vainglorious, easily duped Booster out of trouble. After Ted died, Booster would try to use time travel to revive his friend by meddling with history. With the timeline being rewritten after DC Rebirth, Ted is alive once more, mentoring the third Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes.

Booster Gold and Blue Beetle team-ups

Formerly known as the Justice League / Giffen, Keith

Booster Gold : blue and gold / Johns, Geoff

Justice League 3000. Volume 2, The Camelot war / Giffen, Keith

Convergence : flashpoint book 1

Heroes in crisis / King, Tom

Dark crisis on infinite Earths / Williamson, Joshua

Ted Across the Multiverse

As mentioned above, a version of Ted appears on Earth-4 with the original Charlton characters in Multiversity. Ted is finally able to use the Scarab’s armour in Kingdom Come and takes Batman’s side in an encroaching superhero war (the other Charlton heroes also cameo in the story’s inciting incident). In a twisted possible timeline from the Dark Multiverse, Ted becomes a technologically enhanced tyrant called ‘OBAC’ – the One-Beetle Army Corps.

Kingdom come : the 20th anniversary deluxe edition / Waid, Mark

The Multiversity / Morrison, Grant

Tales from the DC dark multiverse

Jaime Reyes

Jaime Reyes is a Mexican-American high schooler from Texas who comes across the Scarab, which promptly fuses to his body and allows him to manifest armour and weapons at will. Jaime learns the Scarab is actually an agent of a conquering alien empire called The Reach, and he sets out to redeem its power for good. Proving his worth as a hero, Jaime later joins the Teen Titans.

Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes appearances

Post-Crisis

Blue Beetle : road trip / Rogers, John

Blue Beetle : boundaries / Sturges, Matthew

Teen Titans : Titans of tomorrow

Teen Titans : changing of the guard / McKeever, Sean

The New 52/DC Rebirth

Blue Beetle. Volume 1, Metamorphosis / Bedard, Tony

Threshold. Volume 1, The hunted / Giffen, Keith

Blue Beetle. Vol. 3, Road to nowhere / Sebela, Christopher

Dark crisis on infinite Earths / Williamson, Joshua

Blue Beetle : graduation day / Trujillo, Josh

Jaime Across the Multiverse

Jaime is a late recruit to ‘The Team’ in the world of Young Justice, where the sidekicks of the Justice League form a black ops unit to save the world covertly. In the second series of Injustice, Jaime becomes Blue Beetle after Ted Kord’s passing, and joins Batman’s resistance.

Young Justice [4] : invasion / Weisman, Greg

Injustice 2. Vol. 1 / Taylor, Tom

Who are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Four ordinary turtles were exposed to a can of Ooze, which caused them to mutate into humanoid forms. Falling into the sewers and adopted by a kindly rat named Splinter, the four turtle brothers learned martial arts under his tutelage and took on names and trademark ninjutsu weapons, defending New York in secret from ancient and alien threats.

Leonardo leads. Donatello does machines. Raphael has attitude. Michelangelo is a party dude. They are the heroes in a half shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Original Indie Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared in an indie comic by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, skewering the 1980s obsession with ninjas, especially in Frank Miller’s Daredevil (the Ooze is implied to be the radioactive waste that blinded a young Matt Murdock). We have the earliest issues of their indie comic in this volume here:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Volume one / Eastman, Kevin B

Licensed Comic Ninja Turtles

The Turtles have been rebooted numerous times across media, including comics, television, and movies. The current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series is a reboot by original Turtles creator Kevin Eastman and artist Tom Waltz, aiming to streamline the Turtles lore from various media into one comic.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Volume 1, Change is constant / Eastman, Kevin B

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Volume 2, Enemies old, enemies new / Eastman, Kevin B

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Volume 3, Shadows of the past / Waltz, Tom

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Volume 4, Sins of the fathers / Waltz, Tom

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Volume 5 / Lawson, Jim

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : the Armageddon game / Waltz, Tom

The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to… The Flash

By Gus

On Tuesday, 4 July, 2023

In comics and graphic novels, science fiction, stuff to read, the wellington comic lover's guide to...

Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character. This post is about all the heroes who have held the title of the Fastest Man Alive… The Flash!

(via GIPHY)

Who is The Flash?

After being struck by lightning in a lab accident, police scientist Barry Allen discovers he has the ability to move at superhuman speeds and travel through time. Donning a friction-resistant red-and-yellow suit, Barry protects his home of Central City from the villainous Rogues and traverses time and space as The Flash.

Later, Barry’s nephew Wally West gains super-speed as well and becomes his sidekick Kid Flash, before graduating to becoming the Flash himself.

A Flash Fact about DC Comics history

DC Comics are divided into publishing eras, determined by a point where they set the issue number (and sometimes, continuity) of a series back to #1. These periods are referred to as:

‘Pre-Crisis’ – everything published before 1986
‘Post-Crisis’ – everything published from 1986-2011
The New 52 – 2011-2016
DC Rebirth – 2016-2021
Infinite Frontier – 2021 to present.

This is important to know because the events that define these publishing eras usually have something to do with The Flash; Barry Allen famously dies during the ‘Crisis’, and after being resurrected, he creates the timeline that came to define ‘The New 52’.

If you’d like to know more about DC Comic’s increasingly complicated internal chronology, I recommend checking out DC greatest events : stories that shook the multiverse.

Pre-Crisis

Barry is actually the second Flash: the first was scientist Jay Garrick, who resides on the parallel world of Earth-2. During one of his adventures, Barry travels to Earth-2 and teams up with Jay; this story ‘Flash of Two Worlds’ established the existence of the DC Multiverse, and subsequently the template for all other stories involving multiverses in other media. Barry and Jay would regularly partner up again along with their respective teams, the Justice League and the Justice Society.

Showcase presents The Flash. Volume 2 / Broome, John (includes ‘Flash of Two Worlds’)

The Justice League of America : the Silver Age. Volume three / Fox, Gardner F.

Showcase presents Justice League of America. Volume three / Fox, Gardner

Showcase presents Justice League of America. Volume four / Fox, Gardner

Post-Crisis

Post-Crisis refers to the point after the story Crisis on Infinite Earths, when the DC Multiverse collapses into one Earth with one shared history. Now the Flash became a succession story: Jay Garrick retires as the Flash after WWII, Barry is inspired by Jay, and after Barry’s death, Wally West takes up the mantle of the Flash.

Mark Waid run

Writer Mark Waid first established the idea that the Flashes get their powers from the ‘Speed Force’, an extradimensional energy that governs all motion across time and space, and can be manipulated to grant super-speed and other powers to its wielders, called ‘speedsters’.

The Flash by Mark Waid. Book one / Waid, Mark

The Flash by Mark Waid. Book four / Waid, Mark

The Flash by Mark Waid. Book five / Waid, Mark

The Flash : emergency stop / Morrison, Grant

The Flash : the human race / Morrison, Grant

(The Flash : emergency stop and The Flash : the human race are also collected together as The Flash / Morrison, Grant)

Geoff Johns run

Under Geoff Johns’ pen, Wally West fights new and old Rogues, starts a family, and learns the cost of being a hero with a public identity from Zoom, a villain who alters the flow of time to move at superhuman speed.

The Flash by Geoff Johns. Book two / Johns, Geoff

The Flash by Geoff Johns. Book three / Johns, Geoff

The Flash by Geoff Johns. Book five / Johns, Geoff

Flashpoint

During Final Crisis, Barry Allen is brought back to life and becomes the Flash again. Barry then attempts to rewrite history to prevent his mother’s death, inadvertently creating the ‘Flashpoint’ timeline, a world where Flash, Superman and other heroes never existed.

Absolute final crisis / Morrison, Grant

The Flash : rebirth / Johns, Geoff (also on Libby)

The Flash by Geoff Johns. Book six / Johns, Geoff

The Flash : the road to Flashpoint / Johns, Geoff

Flashpoint / Johns, Geoff

The New 52

Barry erases the Flashpoint timeline, but ends up creating The New 52, a simplified timeline which DC Comics used as a springboard to reboot their comics’ shared continuity. As a result of history being rewritten, Barry becomes the one and only Flash.

The Flash. Volume 1, Move forward / Manapul, Francis
(also on Libby)

The Flash. Volume 2, Rogues revolution / Manapul, Francis

The Flash. Volume 4, Reverse / Manapul, Francis

The Flash. Volume 5, History lessons / Buccellato, Brian

The Flash. Volume 6, Out of time / Venditti, Robert

The Flash. Volume 7, Savage world / Venditti, Robert

The Flash. Volume 8, Zoom / Venditti, Robert

The Flash. Volume 9, Full stop / Jensen, Van

DC Rebirth

During DC Rebirth, the timeline is once again altered, restoring characters and events that had been erased from the timeline by the New 52. These include Wally West, Zoom, and the Reverse-Flash, a stalker fan from the 25th century who wants to emulate his hero, Barry Allen.

The Flash. Vol. 2, Speed of darkness / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 3, Rogues reloaded / Williamson, Joshua

Batman/The Flash : the button : deluxe edition / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 4, Running scared / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 5, Negative / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 6, Cold day in hell / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 7, Perfect storm / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash [8] : Flash war / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Volume 9, Reckoning of the forces / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 10, Force Quest / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash : year one / Williamson, Joshua

Heroes in crisis : the price and other stories / Williamson, Joshua

Flash forward / Lobdell, Scott

The Flash. Vol. 11, The greatest trick of all / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 12, Death and the speed force / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 13, Rogues’ reign / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 14, The Flash age / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 15, Finish line / Williamson, Joshua

Dark nights : death metal : the darkest knight (includes ‘Speed Metal’, a team-up with every Flash in history).

Infinite Frontier

After Barry becomes lost in the once more infinite Multiverse, Wally West takes on the mantle of the Flash once more, fighting crime while balancing life as a husband and father.

Infinite frontier / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 16, Wally West returns / Shinick, Kevin

War for Earth-3 / Thompson, Robbie

The Flash. Vol. 17, Eclipsed / Adams, Jeremy

The Flash. Vol. 18, The search for Barry Allen / Adams, Jeremy

The Flash. Volume 19, The one-minute war / Adams, Jeremy

Aquaman & The Flash : Voidsong / Kelly, Collin

Based on the TV series

The (pardon the phrasing) long-running CW series of The Flash has also inspired a few comics of its own.

The Flash : season zero / Kreisberg, Andrew

Crisis on infinite Earths : Paragons rising : the deluxe edition / Wolfman, Marv

Earth-Prime

The Rogues

The Flash’s villains are collectively known as The Rogues, a team of science-powered criminals content to menace The Fastest Man Alive. Lead by ‘The Man Who Mastered Absolute Zero’ Captain Cold, the Rogues have included the pyromaniac Heat Wave, the deceptive Mirror Master, the mischievous Trickster, the blowhard Weather Wizard, the ethereal Golden Glider, and the telepathic criminal ape Gorilla Grodd.

Rogue-centric stories

The Flash by Geoff Johns. Book five / Johns, Geoff (includes the ‘Rogue War’ arc)

The Flash by Geoff Johns. Book six / Johns, Geoff (includes Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge miniseries)

Forever Evil [1] : Rogues rebellion / Buccellato, Brian

The Flash. Vol. 3, Rogues reloaded / Williamson, Joshua

The Flash. Vol. 13, Rogues’ reign / Williamson, Joshua

Rogues / Williamson, Joshua

Flash Across the Multiverse

The Flash. Volume 9, Reckoning of the forces / Williamson, Joshua – This volume features Barry meeting the Flashes of the Multiverse, including the cowboy Johnny Thunder of Earth-18, the robot Mercury-Flash of Earth-44, and the unnaturally swift turtle Fastback from the Zoo Crew of Earth-26.

Teen Titans : Earth one. Volume one and Volume two
Wally West hunts down the Teen Titans, here reimagined as teens given superpowers through a covert government experiment.

Earth 2. Volume 1, The gathering / Robinson, James Dale – A reboot of the original Earth-2, now home to a younger Jay Garrick protecting the world from an invasion by Darkseid.

Crime Syndicate / Schmidt, Andy – The Flash from the criminal world of Earth-3 is named Johnny Quick, a member of the nefarious Crime Syndicate.

Multiversity : teen justice / Cohen, Ivan – The matriarchal society of Earth-11 is home to Kid Quick, a genderfluid speedster for the sidekick team Teen Justice.

Justice League infinity / DeMatteis, J. M – A comic continuation of the TV show Justice League Unlimited, where most fans first encountered Wally West.

DC, the new frontier / Cooke, Darwyn – A young Barry Allen helps found the Justice League in the 1950s to battle the monstrous living island ‘The Centre’.

Kingdom come / Waid, Mark – In a future where heroes have rejected humanity, Wally West has fused with the Speed Force and become a human blur.

The Jurassic League / Gedeon, Juan – On the prehistoric Earth-27, the local Flash is a velociraptor (natch).

The Multiversity / Morrison, Grant – The multiversal team Justice League Incarnate includes Red Racer, a comic book fanboy with superspeed from Earth-36, a world protected by the Justice 9.

Justice League incarnate / Williamson, Joshua – After Red Racer’s disappearance, Avery Ho (the Flash of China from New Super-Man) takes over as Justice League Incarnate’s resident speedster.

Injustice : Gods among us : Volume 1 – When Superman takes over the world after a personal tragedy, Barry Allen reluctantly joins the Man of Steel’s Regime.

The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to… Superman

By Gus

On Friday, 17 March, 2023

In comics and graphic novels, eLibrary, stuff to read, the wellington comic lover's guide to...

Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s (WCL) Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character. This post is about the strange visitor from the planet Krypton, the Man of Steel himself, Superman!

(via GIPHY)

Who is Superman?

Sent away in a rocket from the doomed planet Krypton as an infant, Kal-El landed on Earth and was raised by a kindly couple, who taught him the values of truth and justice. Gaining incredible superpowers under Earth’s yellow sun, he protects his adopted home as Superman, while working for the newspaper ‘The Daily Planet’ as the reporter Clark Kent.

Superman Classics

Before we get to the current run of Superman comics from the DC Rebirth era onward, here are some classic Superman stories to get you up to speed with the Man of Tomorrow.

Superman’s Early Years

The Superman chronicles. Volume two / Siegel, Jerry
Read the earliest adventures of Superman as written by his original creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Superman : secret origin / Johns, Geoff
One of the more recent takes on Superman’s origin, which takes its cues from the Christopher Reeve movies.

Superman : world against Superman / Morrison, Grant
The New 52 origin of Superman, which brings him back to his roots as a ‘champion of the oppressed’ still figuring out his powers.

Superman smashes the Klan : the graphic novel / Yang, Gene Luen
A comic adaptation of a 1946 radio play famous for exposing the then-revived Ku Klux Klan, where Superman is pitted against the xenophobic ‘Clan of the Fiery Cross’.

Classic Superman Adventures

Superman : red and blue
An anthology series where the artists are limited to Superman’s distinctive colour pallete.

Superman for all seasons / Loeb, Jeph
A coming-of-age story where Superman is torn between the big city life of Metropolis and his country home life in Smallville.

Superman adventures. Volume 1 / Dini, Paul
Based on the hit show Superman: The Animated Series, where Superman battles classic villains like Luthor and Brainiac and new foes like the electric ‘shock jock’ Livewire.

Superman : last son / Johns, Geoff
Superman finds a young boy in a ship like the one he crash-landed in as an infant, and adopts the boy as his own, not knowing he is the son of Kryptonian criminal General Zod.

Superman : Emperor Joker
Superman wakes up in Arkham Asylum to learn that the Joker has gained reality-altering powers and now rules the world.

Superman : ending battle
A mysterious villain has gathered all of Superman’s adversaries for an all-out assault on the Man of Steel.

Superman : up up and away / Busiek, Kurt
After a year-long absence due to the loss of his powers, Superman returns to Metropolis right as Lex Luthor unleashes his new master plan.

Superman : Brainiac / Johns, Geoff
One of Superman’s most famous villains, the city-collecting alien android Brainiac, returns to menace Superman once more.

Superman : the black ring. Volume one and two / Cornell, Paul
One of the definitive Lex Luthor stories. Superman’s nemesis sets out on a quest for ultimate power, battling other villains along the way.

Possible Endings

There have been many stories exploring how Superman may die or otherwise cease to be; here are some of the best.

The death of Superman / Jurgens, Dan (also on Libby)
The story that killed Superman (for a while, at least), as he goes down swinging against the unstoppable monster Doomsday.

Absolute All-Star Superman / Morrison, Grant (also on Libby)
Considered one of the best Superman stories ever. After being exposed to strange radiation, Superman discovers that he only has one year to live, and sets out to make sure the world is safe in his absence.

Superman : whatever happened to the man of tomorrow / Moore, Alan
Superman’s identity is exposed to the public, and the Man of Steel must protect his loved ones as his villains lay siege to the Fortress of Solitude.

DC Rebirth – Superman Reborn

The major change to Superman in this era is the birth of Jon Kent, the son of Lois Lane and Superman. During this period, Superman, Lois, and Jon move to a quiet farm in Hamilton County and try to live out a normal life in between alien invasions and reality alterations.

Superman : Lois and Clark / Jurgens, Dan

Superman. Vol. 1, Son of Superman / Tomasi, Peter

Superman. Vol. 2, Trials of the super son / Tomasi, Peter

Superman reborn / Jurgens, Dan

Superman. Vol. 4, Black dawn / Tomasi, Peter

Superman. Vol. 5, Hopes and fears / Tomasi, Peter

Superman. Vol. 6, Imperius Lex / Tomasi, Peter

Superman. Vol. 7, Bizarroverse / Tomasi, Peter

Action Comics

Action Comics is the comic magazine where Superman first appeared in 1938, and is still being published today as a secondary series to the main Superman title. During DC Rebirth, Action Comics reached its 1000th issue, establishing a new status quo for the Man of Steel.

Superman action comics. Vol. 1, Path of doom / Jurgens, Dan

Superman action comics. Volume 2. Welcome to the planet / Jurgens, Dan

Superman action comics. Vol. 3, Men of steel / Jurgens, Dan

Superman action comics. Vol. 4, The new world / Jurgens, Dan

Superman action comics : the Oz effect / Jurgens, Dan

Superman action comics. Volume 5, Booster shot / Jurgens, Dan

The Brian Michael Bendis run

After Action Comics‘ 1000th issue, long-time Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis jumped ship to DC Comics and began to write the Superman and Action Comics series simultaneously. Beginning with the miniseries The Man of Steel, Bendis used his run to revive the Legion of Superheroes, have Superman establish an “intergalactic UN” called the United Planets, and bring Clark and Lois into the world of international espionage with ‘Event Leviathan’.

Brian Michael Bendis Superman reading order

The Man of Steel / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman. Vol. 1, The Unity Saga : Phantom Earth / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman action comics. Volume 1, Invisible mafia / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman. Vol. 2, The Unity Saga : the House of El / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman action comics. Vol. 2, Leviathan rising / Bendis, Brian Michael

Event Leviathan / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman action comics. Vol. 3, Leviathan hunt / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman. Vol. 3, The truth revealed / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman action comics. Vol. 4, Metropolis burning / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman. Vol. 4, Mythological / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman action comics. Vol. 5, The House of Kent / Bendis, Brian Michael

Bendis run spin-offs

During the Bendis run on Superman, both Lois Lane and Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen got their own series. The Legion of Superheroes, a team that began as a spin-off to the Superman title in the 50s, return to welcome Jon Kent to their ranks. Bendis also wrapped up the ‘Event Leviathan’ storyline in the spy series Checkmate.

Lois Lane : enemy of the people / Rucka, Greg

Superman’s pal, Jimmy Olsen : who killed Jimmy Olsen / Fraction, Matt

Legion of Super-Heroes. Vol. 1, Millennium / Bendis, Brian Michael

Legion of Super-Heroes. Vol. 2, The trial of the Legion / Bendis, Brian Michael

Checkmate / Bendis, Brian Michael

Infinite Frontier – The Warworld Saga

During Infinite Frontier, Superman comes into contact with a lost refugee colony of Kryptonians fleeing from Warworld, an artificial planet powered by slave labour and ruled by the despotic alien Mongul. Despite his powers being on the wane, Superman gathers up a team of rebel heroes called The Authority to help him free Warworld’s prisoners.

Warworld Saga reading order

Superman : the one who fell / Johnson, Phillip Kennedy

Superman and the Authority / Morrison, Grant

Superman action comics. Volume one, Warworld rising / Johnson, Phillip Kennedy

Superman : Action Comics. Vol. 2, The arena / Johnson, Phillip Kennedy

Superman Action Comics. Volume three, Warworld revolution / Johnson, Phillip Kennedy

Superman : Kal-El returns / Johnson, Phillip Kennedy

Jon Kent, Son of Superman

Jon Kent is the son of Superman and Lois Lane, and occasionally fights alongside his dad as Superboy. He becomes fast friends with Damian Wayne, Batman’s son and the current Robin, regularly teaming up for adventures with him as the Super Sons.

Jon Kent, Superboy

Super Sons. Vol. 1, When I grow up.. / Tomasi, Peter

Super Sons. Vol. 2, Planet of the capes / Tomasi, Peter

Super Sons of tomorrow / Tomasi, Peter

Super sons. Vol. 3, Parent trap / Tomasi, Peter

Action detectives / Tomasi, Peter

Adventures of the Super Sons. Vol. 2, Little monsters / Tomasi, Peter

Challenge of the Super Sons / Tomasi, Peter

Jon Kent, Superman

After going missing on an adventure in space, Jon returns to Earth as a teenager, before travelling to the 31st century to join the Legion of Superheroes. In the ‘Son of Kal-El‘ series, Jon takes on the mantle of Superman while his father journeys off-planet to Warworld.

Superman. Vol. 1, The Unity Saga : Phantom Earth / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman. Vol. 2, The Unity Saga : the House of El / Bendis, Brian Michael

Legion of Super-Heroes. Vol. 1, Millennium / Bendis, Brian Michael

Legion of Super-Heroes. Vol. 2, The trial of the Legion / Bendis, Brian Michael

Superman : the one who fell / Johnson, Phillip Kennedy

Superman, son of Kal-El. Vol. 1, The truth / Taylor, Tom

Superman, son of Kal-El. Vol. 2, The rising / Taylor, Tom

Kong Kenan, the Super-Man of China

DC Rebirth saw the introduction of another Superman, an arrogant student from China named Kong Kenan. Gifted with the powers of Superman by the Ministry of Self-Reliance, Kenan must learn to master his new Kryptonian abilities to become a suitable superhuman representative of his nation.

Kong Kenan appearances

New Super-Man. Vol. 1, Made in China / Yang, Gene Luen

New Super-Man. Vol. 3, Equilibrium

Superman action comics. Vol. 4, The new world / Jurgens, Dan

A very DC rebirth holiday

Superman Across the Multiverse

Many writers have explored how Superman could be reinterpreted or reimagined throughout the DC Comics Multiverse.

Final Crisis – Features the story “Superman Beyond”, in which Clark Kent must team up with an alliance of Supermen from parallel Earths to save all of reality.

The Multiversity – President Superman of Earth-23, Superdemon of Earth-13, Captain Carrot of Earth-26 and more must answer a multiversal SOS to battle against interdimensional parasites called The Gentry.

Elseworlds : Superman. Volume one – An anthology of ‘Elseworlds’ stories that reimagine Superman in different eras, like the Middle Ages or the American Civil War.

Injustice : Gods among us : Volume 1 – Based on the hit video game, Superman becomes an authoritarian ruler after suffering a tragedy, and the Justice League is split on whether to join him or resist.

Superman: Earth One (only on Libby) – A younger, more withdrawn Superman must decide if he should use his powers or not, right on the cusp of an alien invasion.

Earth 2. Volume 5, The Kryptonian / Taylor, Tom – On Earth-2, Clark was killed during an invasion by Darkseid, and was replaced by a new Kryptonian, the pacifist Val-Zod.

Kingdom come / Waid, Mark – In a possible future where superhumans run rampant with no regard for morality, Superman comes out of retirement to show them a better way.

Justice League : gods and monsters / Timm, Bruce – Based on the animated film, a Superman raised by Mexican immigrants leads a more pragmatic Justice League.

Justice League 3000. Volume 1, Yesterday lives / Giffen, Keith – In a possible future, the legacy of Superman lives on the year 3000, albeit by someone with their memories rewritten to believe they are Superman.

The Jurassic League / Gedeon, Juan – The prehistoric world of Earth-27 is protected by the benevolent brontosaurus Supersaur, who founds a Jurassic League of fellow super-powered dinosaurs.

Superman : red son / Millar, Mark – An alternate history that explores what would have happened if Superman landed in Soviet Russia instead of the USA.

Crime Syndicate / Schmidt, Andy – On Earth-3, where heroes and villains are switched, the criminal Ultraman leads a super-powered mob called the Crime Syndicate.

Superman : space age / Russell, Mark – A world where Superman becomes a public hero at the advent of the 1960s Space Race.

Superman ’78 / Venditti, Robert – A comic continuation of the Christopher Reeve Superman films from the 70s and 80s.

Dark Knights of Steel. Vol. 1 / Taylor, Tom – In a medieval world where DC Comics characters are knights and nobility, Superman is Prince Kal-El of the House of El.

Doomsday clock – A sequel to Watchmen, where Doctor Manhattan invades the DC Universe to confront Superman, while the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to… The Swamp Thing

By Gus

On Sunday, 30 October, 2022

In stuff to read, the wellington comic lover's guide to...

Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s (WCL) Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character.
Just in time for the spooky season, this post is about DC Comic’s premier horror character. You may know him as the twisted, vegetative mockery of a man from the deep waters of the Louisiana bayou, or the plant elemental Avatar of the Green, he is…the Swamp Thing!

(via GIPHY)

Note: DC Comics are divided by publishing eras, determined by a point where they set the issue number (and sometimes, continuity) of a series back to #1. ‘Pre-Crisis’ is everything published before 1985; ‘Post-Crisis’ is everything from 1986-2011, the New 52 from 2011-2016, DC Rebirth from 2016-2021, and Infinite Frontier from 2021 onwards.

Who is the Swamp Thing?

In the swamps of Louisiana, botanist Alec Holland is killed in an accident while working on a ‘bio-restorative formula’. Fusing with his formula and the vegetation of the swamp, Alec is resurrected as a shambling humanoid mass of plant matter. Together with his girlfriend, the mad scientist’s daughter Abigail Arcane, Alec protects the environment and fights supernatural threats as the Swamp Thing.

Classic Swamp Thing

First appearing in 1971 in House of Secrets #92, Swamp Thing was popular enough to immediately spin off into his own title. Under the pen of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, he fought mad scientists, federal agents, and Lovecraftian horrors.

Swamp Thing : the Bronze Age. Vol. 1 / Wein, Len

Swamp Thing : the Bronze Age. Vol. 2

Swamp Thing : the bronze age. Volume 3 / Pasko, Martin

Saga of the Swamp Thing

The most famous run on Swamp Thing is by Watchmen writer Alan Moore, who introduced the idea that Swamp Thing was not some accident of science, but in fact a plant elemental who embodies and protects ‘The Green’, the collective consciousness of all plant life on Earth, answerable to the Parliament of Trees.

Saga of the Swamp Thing. Book one / Moore, Alan

Saga of the Swamp Thing. Book two / Moore, Alan

Saga of the Swamp Thing. Book three / Moore, Alan

Saga of the Swamp Thing. Book four / Moore, Alan

Saga of the Swamp Thing. Book five / Moore, Alan

Saga of the Swamp Thing. Book six / Moore, Alan

New 52 – Swamp Thing reborn

In the New 52 series, Alec has returned to human form, but chooses to become the Swamp Thing again to fight The Rot, a force responsible for the natural decay of all life that had run amok. After preventing Earth from becoming a ‘Rotworld’, Alec begins to expand his suite of plant abilities to fight off a challenger to his position as Avatar of the Green, and confronts a new elemental Parliament based around artificial intelligence.

Swamp Thing. Volume 1, Raise them bones / Snyder, Scott

Swamp Thing. Volume 2, Family tree / Snyder, Scott

Swamp Thing. Volume 3, Rotworld : The Green Kingdom / Snyder, Scott

Swamp Thing. Volume 4, Seeder / Soule, Charles

Swamp Thing. Volume 5, The killing field / Soule, Charles

Swamp Thing. Volume 6, The Sureen / Soule, Charles

Swamp Thing. Volume 7, Season’s end / Soule, Charles

DC Rebirth

Swamp Thing didn’t have a series during DC Rebirth, but he appears in several miniseries, Halloween-themed specials, and a YA graphic novel called Twin Branches, which reimagines Alec Holland as a shy, scientifically-minded teenager with an outgoing twin brother, Walker.

Swamp Thing : the dead don’t sleep / Wein, Len

Swamp Thing : roots of terror : the deluxe edition / King, Tom

A very DC Halloween

Swamp Thing : tales from the bayou / Seeley, Tim

Swamp Thing : twin branches / Stiefvater, Maggie

Infinite Frontier

During Infinite Frontier, a new Swamp Thing appears in the form of Levi Kamei, an Indian man who becomes a plant elemental after returning home to India and learning his secret family history.

Future state : Suicide Squad / Thompson, Robbie

The Swamp Thing [1] : becoming / V, Ram

The Swamp Thing [2] : conduit / V, Ram

The Swamp Thing [3] : the parliament of gears / V, Ram

Swamp Thing : green hell / Lemire, Jeff

Teams

Swamp Thing is a regular member of the Justice League Dark, a team that takes on the supernatural threats too big for the Justice League alone to handle. Here, Swamp Thing has to contend with the Parliament of Flowers, a rival faction to the Parliament of Trees.

Justice League dark. Vol. 1, The last age of magic / Tynion, James

Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark : the witching hour / Tynion, James

Justice League Dark. Vol. 3, The witching war / Tynion, James

Justice League Dark. Volume 4, A costly trick of magic / V, Ram

Justice League Dark : the great wickedness / V, Ram

The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to… Shazam and Black Adam

By Gus

On Wednesday, 26 October, 2022

In science fiction, stuff to read, the wellington comic lover's guide to...

Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s (WCL) Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character. This post is about the two champions of the lightning, Shazam and Black Adam!

(via GIPHY and Tenor)

Note: DC Comics are divided by publishing eras which are determined by a point where they set the issue number (and sometimes, the whole continuity) of a series back to #1. ‘Pre-Crisis’ is everything published before 1985; ‘Post-Crisis’ is everything from 1986-2011, the New 52 from 2011-2016, DC Rebirth from 2016-2021, and Infinite Frontier from 2021 onwards.

Who is SHAZAM?

Orphan teen Billy Batson descends into the subway one night and discovers a secret portal to the Rock of Eternity, a place of magic power where an ancient wizard resides. Seeing that Billy is courageous and pure of heart, the wizard grants Billy the power to transform into a superhero by saying his name “SHAZAM!”, giving him the attributes of six mythic figures:

The Wisdom of Solomon (a wise king from Jerusalem, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament)
The Strength of Hercules (the legendarily strong Greek hero who completed the Twelve Labours)
The Stamina of Atlas (the Greek Titan punished to hold up the sky)
The Power of Zeus (the Greek god of thunder and king of the Olympians)
The Courage of Achilles (the hero of the Trojan War and protagonist of Homer’s Iliad)
The Speed of Mercury (fleet-footed herald of the Roman gods)

With these powers combined, Billy fights the good fight as the World’s Mightiest Mortal, Captain Marvel, later known as Shazam.

Billy would also grant his powers to others, including his foster sister Mary Bromfield, who became Mary Marvel, and his friend Freddy Freeman, who became Captain Marvel Jr.

Dc Comics GIF by Shazam! Fury of the Gods

(via GIPHY)

Wait, Captain Marvel? You mean Carol Danvers?

Not quite. See, when he was first created in 1940 by Fawcett Comics, Billy Batson’s superhero identity was Captain Marvel, and Shazam was just the name of the wizard who gave him his powers and whose name he spoke to transform. When the trademark lapsed and Marvel Comics created their own Captain Marvel, DC Comics (who had bought the rights to Fawcett’s characters) couldn’t publish any comics titled ‘Captain Marvel’, though they could still refer to him by that name in the comics. For a while, any comic starring Captain Marvel was titled as Shazam or some variation, but this changed in the New 52 era, where Billy Batson’s alias became known as Shazam from then on.

Pre-Crisis – Captain Marvel

We have a couple of collections of classic Shazam stories from the period where he was Captain Marvel, which introduces all the classic elements of his mythos, including Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr, their talking tiger companion Tawky Tawny, and their enemies, the criminal scientist Dr. Sivana and the nefarious alien caterpillar Mr. Mind.

Shazam! : the greatest stories ever told

Shazam! : power of hope / Dini, Paul

Shazam! : the golden age of the world’s mightiest mortal / Kidd, Chip

Post-Crisis – The Legend of Shazam!

Starting in the Legends miniseries, Captain Marvel joined the Justice League, and later on, the Justice Society. In Formerly Known as the Justice League, Mary Marvel joins Maxwell Lord’s ‘Super Buddies’, a low-rent version of the Justice League made up of D-list heroes operating out of a mall. Since the Marvel Family are literally children turning into adult superheroes, the running joke throughout much of this time is their relative innocence and naivete in relation to their more experienced and jaded team-mates.

In The Trials of Shazam!, Billy is made to take the Wizard’s place at the Rock of Eternity. He appoints Freddy Freeman to take on the mantle of Captain Marvel, but first, Freddy has to gain a power from each individual hero or god that makes up the SHAZAM acronym by himself.

Legends : 30th anniversary edition / Ostrander, John

Superman/Shazam! : first thunder / Winick, Judd

Formerly known as the Justice League / Giffen, Keith

The trials of Shazam! : the complete series / Winick, Judd

In the 2000s, Captain Marvel appeared in a pair of young reader-aimed miniseries, authored by Jeff Smith (Bone) and Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid).

Shazam! : the monster society of evil / Smith, Jeff

Billy Batson and the magic of Shazam! : family affair / Kunkel, Mike

New 52 and DC Rebirth – Captain Marvel no more

As of 2012, during DC’s New 52 reboot, Billy’s hero persona is now called Shazam (to avoid confusion with Marvel Comics’ Carol Danvers, who had been reintroduced as Captain Marvel earlier that year). Here, Billy is retooled as a cynical foster kid who the Wizard takes a chance on to grow a conscience. Through his adventures as the hero Shazam, Billy learns to embrace his foster family, and decides share his powers with them, making a new Shazam Family. Shazam then joins the Justice League, fighting alongside them in the Darkseid War, and has an adventure with his siblings in the Seven Magic Lands, of which Billy and his foster siblings are tasked with being the protectors.

Shazam! : origins / Johns, Geoff

Justice League. Volume 6, Injustice League / Johns, Geoff

Justice League. Volume 7, Darkseid war part 1 / Johns, Geoff

Justice League : Darkseid war : power of the gods

Justice League. Volume 8, Darkseid war / Johns, Geoff

Shazam! and the seven magic lands / Johns, Geoff

Infinite Frontier

In the Infinite Frontier era, Billy finds himself unable to share his power with his siblings and must venture to the underworld to restore the Rock of Eternity. He also joins the Teen Titans Academy, a school for young superheroes.

Shazam! : to hell and back / Sheridan, Tim

Teen Titans Academy. Vol. 1, X marks the spot / Sheridan, Tim

Captain Marvel/Shazam in the Multiverse

Before being integrated into the DC Universe proper, Captain Marvel lived on a parallel earth called Earth-S (which is now Earth-5 in the current Multiverse). Earth-5 and its version of Dr. Sivana play a pivotal role in the parallel world-spanning Multiversity, as the criminal scientist tries to take over the Rock of Eternity which sits at the centre of the Multiverse. In the successor series Convergence, where characters from different universes are forced to fight each other to save their respective worlds, the Marvel Family of Earth-S are pitted against a steam-punk version of Batman and his rogues gallery.

The Multiversity / Morrison, Grant

Convergence : infinite earths. Book two

Captain Marvel/Shazam is a favourite of artist Alex Ross, appearing in his and Paul Dini’s Justice League and the Justice maxi-series (alongside the rest of the Marvel Family, Black Adam, and Dr Sivana). Billy Batson also plays a significant part in Ross’ Kingdom Come, a possible future where the Justice League have retired and new superhumans without a sense of right and wrong have taken their place.

Justice. Volume 1 / Krueger, Jim

Justice League, the world’s greatest super-heroes / Dini, Paul

Kingdom come / Waid, Mark

Who is Black Adam?

In ancient times, Teth-Adam of Khandaq was granted divine powers by the wizard Shazam, giving him the attributes of six Egyptian gods:

The Stamina of Shu (the god of air who holds up the sky)
The Swiftness of Horus (the falcon-headed god of the sky)
The Strength of Amon (king of the Egyptian gods)
The Wisdom of Zehuti (another name for Thoth, the ibis-headed god of writing and wisdom)
The Power of Aten (the embodiment of the sun)
The Courage of Mehen (a snake-god who coils around the sun to create night)

After the death of his wife and sons, Teth-Adam sought vengeance and abused his powers, leading the Wizard to imprison him in a tomb forever. Awakened in the modern day, Teth-Adam comes into conflict with the current champion of Shazam, Billy Batson, and continues to carry out his eye-for-an-eye style of justice as Black Adam!

Post-Crisis

While he has been around since the earliest days of Shazam, Black Adam only started to gain prominence in the DCU in the mid-2000s as an morally ambivalent anti-hero. After a stint in the Justice Society, he defects, takes over the nation of Khandaq, and joins the Secret Society of Super-Villains. One of his biggest storylines is in the year-long weekly miniseries 52, where Adam creates his own ‘Black Marvel Family’ and declares war on the world.

Black Adam/JSA : black reign / Johns, Geoff

Secret Six. Volume 1, Villains united / Simone, Gail

The Black Adam-centric parts of 52 have been collected in their own volume, Black Adam : rise and fall of an empire.

Black Adam : the dark age / Tomasi, Peter

Justice Society of America : Black Adam and Isis / Johns, Geoff

New 52

In the rebooted Shazam! series, Teth-Adam is a slave in ancient Khandaq who was given the power of Shazam, which he used to seek vengeance on all those who would enslave others. Returning in the modern day, he joins Lex Luthor’s freedom fighters during the invasion from Earth-3 in Forever Evil, striking up a friendship with Sinestro in the process.

Shazam! : origins / Johns, Geoff

Forever Evil / Johns, Geoff

Sinestro. Volume 3, Rising / Bunn, Cullen

DC Rebirth

Black Adam continues to pop up in the DCU during the Rebirth era; as a member of a council of immortals in Dark Nights, pursuing Billy and his family through the Seven Magic Lands, and having a major role in Doomsday Clock, when during a worldwide superhuman arms race, he opens Khandaq’s borders to any supervillain in need of sanctuary.

Dark nights : metal / Snyder, Scott

Shazam! and the seven magic lands / Johns, Geoff

Doomsday clock : the complete collection / Johns, Geoff

Infinite Frontier

During Infinite Frontier, Black Adam continues to gain prominence (which might have something to do with his recent movie), as his more heroic qualities begin to shine through. He joins the Justice League, actively tries to redeem himself, and appoints his descendant, Malik Adam White, as a successor.

Future state : Suicide Squad (contains the Future State: Black Adam miniseries)

Infinite frontier / Williamson, Joshua

Justice League : endless winter / Lanning, Andy

Black Adam. Vol. 1, Theogony / Priest, Christopher J.

Black Adam : the Justice Society files / Scott, Cavan (a tie-in to the Black Adam film)

Black Adam in the Justice League

Justice League. Vol. 1, Prisms / Bendis, Brian Michael

Justice League. Volume 2, United order / Bendis, Brian Michael

Justice League. Vol. 3, Leagues of chaos / Bendis, Brian Michael

Dark crisis on infinite Earths / Williamson, Joshua

The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to… Batgirl

By Gus

On Wednesday, 7 September, 2022

In comics and graphic novels, stuff to read, the wellington comic lover's guide to...

Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s (WCL) Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character. This post is about the various heroines who have taken up the mantle of Batgirl!

Note: DC Comics are divided by publishing eras, determined by a point where they set the issue number (and sometimes, continuity) of a series back to #1. ‘Post-Crisis’ is everything from 1986-2011, the New 52 from 2011-2016, DC Rebirth from 2016-2021, and Infinite Frontier from 2021 to present.

Who is Batgirl?

Batgirl is the first female ally to the Bat-Family, joining Batman, Robin, and Nightwing in the fight against crime in Gotham City. Three different women have been Batgirl in the history of DC Comics: Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain, and Stephanie Brown.

Barbara Gordon

The first Batgirl is librarian Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham City police chief Commissioner Gordon. Barbara fought alongside the Caped Crusader for many years until an attack by the Joker left her paralysed. Using a wheelchair from then on, she set up a hi-tech headquarters in a clock tower and reinvented herself as Oracle, the ‘mission control’ for the Bat-Family and the Birds of Prey.

Cassandra Cain

After Gotham City was struck by an earthquake, a new Batgirl appeared on the scene: Cassandra Cain, the daughter of a pair of assassins who trained her to become the world’s deadliest fighter. Rebelling against her parents, Cassandra became a trusted member of the Bat-Family as Batgirl, and later Black Bat as a part of Batman’s global super-team Batman Incorporated. In the New 52, Cassandra goes by the moniker Orphan.

Batman: No Man’s Land, Volume 1 (only on Libby)

Batgirl : destruction’s daughter / Gabrych, Andersen

Batgirl. Volume 1, Silent Knight / Peterson, Scott

Batgirl. Volume 2, To the death / Puckett, Kelley

Batgirl. Volume 3, Point blank / Puckett, Kelley

Other Cassandra Cain books

Shadow of the Batgirl / Kuhn, Sarah

Stephanie Brown

Finally, the role of Batgirl passed to teenager Stephanie Brown, the daughter of the lesser-known Batman villain ‘The Cluemaster’. First appearing as the vigilante Spoiler, in order to ‘spoil’ the clues to her father’s crimes, she impressed Batman and Barbara Gordon enough to become the next Batgirl.

Batgirl : the lesson / Miller, Bryan Q

Batgirl : Stephanie Brown. Volume 2 / Miller, Bryan Q