Hickman's Avengers Reading Order

[samcooke343]

Hi guys, I'm new here but it seems I've arrived at the right time - the whole forum looks like it's been reset...

I just wanted to share my suggested reading order for Jonathan Hickman's Avengers run up to Avengers #24.NOW, there's loads of clues as to when things take place in relation to each other and other general chronological changes (suits, references etc.). I made it in Photoshop in true Hickman style, hopefully it looks somewhere close to the quality from the man himself. I took the idea from his INFINITY checklist but added in the whole run from NA #1 onwards.

Hope you enjoy,
Sam.

PS. Jonathan, if you see this please correct me on anything if I'm wrong!

avengers ro.jpg

[AgentFelix]

Does anyone have a guide for the reading order post-Infinity of Avengers, New and World?

[AgentFelix]

Nothing? Have a lot of back issues and would rather not truck through them if I can read it right.

[Corwin]

Give me a few days...

[AgentFelix]

Give me a few days...

Yayyy! Thanks!

[somebody]

That's a nice graphic, Hickman is super good with his graphic design ability.

Honestly though, for anyone new to the series you can pick them up pretty easily. Only during Infinity do the two titles converge, then they split again for a while and it looks like now towards the end we're going to get more of a "cross over" reading order style where you need NA #X before Avengers #Y.

[GamiSB]

Here's the reading order I prefer. Doesn't create such a huge pile of Avengers issues all in one go. I'd have to go back and reread some stuff to remember my exact reasoning for some of the breaks.

New Avengers #1-3
Avengers #1-4
New Avengers #4
Avengers #5
New Avengers #5-6
Avengers #6-13
New Avengers #7
Avengers #14-17
New Avengers #8
Infinity #1
Avengers #18
New Avengers #9
Infinity #2
Avengers #19
New Avengers #10
Infinity #3
Avengers #20
Infinity #4
Avengers #21
New Avengers #11
Infinity #5
Avengers #22-23
Infinity #6
New Avengers #12-15
Avengers #24-28
Avengers #29- (we are here)
New Avengers #16- (we are here)


Issue 19 of New Avengers has confirmed that 16 onward happens after the Original Sin Avengers tie in arc.

[GamiSB]

Does anyone have a guide for the reading order post-Infinity of Avengers, New and World?

I wouldn't worry about World. The current arc isn't even finished and Hickman is off the book. It appears to be completely Spencer's story that does not fit at all into Hickman's. Evidence for such being the screw up about Starbrand being in high-school when his introduction in Avengers clearly is a University setting. I don't know many high-schools that have lecture hall styled classrooms and make a big deal of asking students to solve world issues. Let alone allow a student to walk around on their phone at lunch.

[ExtremisEdge]

Nice job on the graphic! Almost looks like Hickman did it himself.

[AgentFelix]

Here's the reading order I prefer. Doesn't create such a huge pile of Avengers issues all in one go. I'd have to go back and reread some stuff to remember my exact reasoning for some of the breaks.

New Avengers #1-3
Avengers #1-4
New Avengers #4
Avengers #5
New Avengers #5-6
Avengers #6-13
New Avengers #7
Avengers #14-17
New Avengers #8
Infinity #1
Avengers #18
New Avengers #9
Infinity #2
Avengers #19
New Avengers #10
Infinity #3
Avengers #20
Infinity #4
Avengers #21
New Avengers #11
Infinity #5
Avengers #22-23
Infinity #6
New Avengers #12-15
Avengers #24-28
New Avengers #16- (we are here)
Avengers #29- (we are here)

Right now it's impossible to really tell if NA 16 and on is before or after Avengers 29. I'm thinking before since the current scenario in Avengers 29 and on doesn't appear to have a resolution that's going to be hand waved and allow for Stark to be as calm as he appears in NA. Then again he did just have that minor breakdown and in A29 he comments that they have so far gotten very lucky with their world bombing. We'll know for sure come September.

Thanks man. Much appreciated

[GamiSB]

Updated my list to adjust for the new information in the last issue of New Avengers.

[Forever Knight]

So let me see if I got the correct timeline reading order here:

Avengers World:
-------------------
New Avengers #1-3
Avengers #1-5
New Avengers #4-6
Avengers #6-13
New Avengers #7

Infinity:
-------------------
Thanos Rising #1-5
Avengers #14-17
Infinity #1
New Avengers #8
Avengers #18
New Avengers #9
Infinity #2
Avengers #19
New Avengers #10
Infinity #3
Avengers #20
Infinity #4
Avengers #21
New Avengers #11
Infinity #5
Avengers #22-23
Infinity #6
New Avengers #12
Thanos Annual #1

Other Worlds:
--------------------
New Avengers #13-15
Avengers #24-34
New Avengers #16-23


Then comes the Original Sin & AXIS storylines, then fast forward 8 months later

Time Runs Out (current)
--------------------
Avengers #35
New Avengers #24
Avengers #36
New Avengers #25

[Wikoogle]

Just my personal opinion but just reading through New Avengers by itself is the superior experience. All the relevant aspects of the actually significant storyline of this whole arc, the incursions storyline, is fully covered by the New Avengers books (at least it has thus far). The other stuff (Avengers and Infinity) is frustrating to read. Compared to the scale of the problem that the New Avengers are focused on, all the tertiary storylines seem inconsequential and actually feel silly to read about.

Reading the other marvel books feels like you're reading a book about a guy working on building a shelf even though both the character and you the reader know he has terminal cancer and only 8 months left to live. Reading story after story about him working on that shelf and ignoring the actual elephant in the room feels incredibly frustrating.

Spoilers: The new avengers incursions storyline is amazing though, by far the most epic story I have ever read. But one aspect of it bugs the heck out of me. Reed is supposed to be intelligent. So to read that Reed and all the New Avengers give up and decide to do nothing to stop two universes and hundreds of millions of species from getting wiped out when they had an obvious solution staring them in the face the whole time (a solution that was mentioned to them just one issue prior) makes them seem incredibly stupid.These were people who repeatedly saw various mutants do amazing things. Even someone with an average IQ had they witnessed what Reed witnessed his son do in hickman's own storylines, would have tried to get his son to create a pocket universe yet again to save everyone as he has seen him do that before. And his son is just one random mutant. There are many incredibly powerful mutants that Reed could have asked to try to create a duplicate earth to move people to.

I am holding out hope that we will learn in a flashback that the new avengers did try creating an alternate earth to move people to (it doesn't have to be franklin, molecule man could do it as could several other mutants) and tried moving everyone to it, only to find out this was one of the details that black swan didn't tell them, that even with an alternative earth/pocket universe they can only save a small portion of humanity. They learn then that it's not the earths that occupy the same space during incursions, it's humanity itself.

We could find out that Rabum Alum wants most of humanity of one universe wiped out with every incursion. Thus unless a large chunk of humanity of at least one universe along with earth gets wiped out with each incursion, it won't stop that incursion. They could create a second earth for some people to flee to (so black swan wasn't lying when she mentioned this as an out) but if they move too many people to it, the incursion would continue to occur anyway even if the first earth is destroyed until a large chunk of humanity of at least one universe gets wiped out by that incursion. This could lead them helping the cabal destroy yet another earth as a last minute resort thus becoming criminals to the rest of the avengers.

Having the new avengers help the cabal even once would fix my other main issue with this storyline, that it seems really silly for the avengers to waste time going after the new avengers over something as petty as keeping secrets when that time is better spend trying to stop the incursions first or at least trying to prevent the cabal from raping and torturing innocent people.

Alternatively, there would be a solid explanation as to why the new avengers are so high up on captain americas wanted list, the new avengers are stealing back their bombs because they are using them blow up earths before the cabal have a chance to torture and rape the people on them.

If that's not the explanation, 6 billion people are being tortured then killed by the cabal every incursion/about once a week. Stopping mass weekly rape/torture/genocide of billions of innocent people should trump captain americas petty squabbles with fellow avengers IMO. And yes, it's been established in past storylines that thanos rapes people on the planets he conquers. That's who all the avengers should be going after.

[robreedwrites]

Here's my reading order. I prefer to do Avengers #1-3 first as it builds a mystery for a short while as to what Cap's nightmare is about. If you do New Avengers #1-3 first, it kind of spoils that.

Avengers #1-3
New Avengers #1-3
Avengers #4
New Avengers #4
Avengers #5
New Avengers #5-6
Avengers #6-13
New Avengers #7
Avengers #14-17
Infinity #1
Avengers #18
New Avengers #8-9
Infinity #2
Avengers #19
New Avengers #10
Infinity #3
Avengers #20
Infinity #4
Avengers #21
New Avengers #11
Infinity #5
Avengers #22-23
Infinity #6
New Avengers #12
Avengers #24.NOW
New Avengers #13-15
Avengers #25-27
New Avengers #16.NOW
Avengers #28
New Avengers #17
Avengers #29
New Avengers #18
Avengers #30
New Avengers #19
Avengers #31
New Avengers #20
Avengers #32
New Avengers #21
Avengers #33
New Avengers #22
Avengers #34
New Avengers #23
Avengers #34.1
Avengers #35 (Time Runs Out begins here)
New Avengers #24
Avengers #36
New Avengers #25

[Forever Knight]

Wasn't there a sort of 2-parter or continuation recently, I think it was Avengers #28 taking place right after New Avengers #?... Damn, I can't remember. But when I was reading it I knew it took place right after.