Complete Marvel NOW! Reading Order (1st Draft)

ATTENTION! An update Marvel NOW! Reading order will be maintained here.

Below you will find a preliminary list of issues in order of Marvel NOW! books up until Infinity #1. Since I have not read ALL of these books, I figured it would be wise to take it to the community before adding these issues to their respective reading orders.

Here’s a bit of the philosophy behind the issues included and their order:

Everything that is truly Marvel NOW! branded, as well as all Red Banner trade dress books and books important to the events between these books, such as AvX Consequences and Spider-Man Dying Wish are included. The second draft will be in filterable table format so those of who want to restrict this list to pure “NOW!” could do so.
Arcs are kept together as much as possible.
The order is set to best enjoy the comics without having one issue steal another’s big thunder through an important reveal.
If we weren’t sure where to place an arc, we place it alongside other arcs that began shipping on the same month.
We have an Infinity reading order in rough draft as well, though we are waiting for the event to end to add it to this list. Some books are also now being considered post-Infinity (i.e. Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5 comes after its own Infinity tie-in).
Major events and changes in costumes are important points that signal when events occur (new Captain America costume, Storm’s mohawk, arrival of original X-Men, Iron Man goes into space, etc.)

8 thoughts on “Complete Marvel NOW! Reading Order (1st Draft)”

Orazio says:

February 11, 2014 at 10:28 am

Shouldn’t New Avengers 1-3 be placed before Avengers 1-3? In Avengers #1 Cap says something like “it feels like I just woke up from a bad dream” and we see a flashback to New Avengers #1.

1. Tower1969 says:
  
  February 12, 2014 at 7:02 pm
  
  Chronologically, yes, it does occur before, but it’s part of Hickman’s foreshadowing. Reading it like this preserves the pacing he had set out.
  
Eric says:

February 23, 2014 at 11:40 pm

although the cover of New Avengers #8 says Prelude to infinity, most reading orders, including my own, realize this takes place after Infinity #1……..

Also I would move Thanos Rising inbetween Avengers #9 and Guardians #1 to have it more closer to when it was released and so you remember it when Thanos shows up in Guardians…….

Also I wouldn’t break up New Avengers #4 and 5…… I know there is technically a week in-story gap there, but #4 ends with Iron Man and the rest just starting a fight with Terrax in another reality, then he is in Avenger Tower in Avengers #5 trying to decipher builder language………. that dosen’t read well………. I would actually move Avengers #4 to the first story arc of Avengers #1-3 because it still connects to that, then put Avengers #5 were you have #4, right before New Avengers #4…….

great first draft………

David says:

September 21, 2014 at 8:53 pm

Why is the Secret Origin of Tony Stark in between the Prelude to Infinity and Infinity?

I finished the Prelude issues last night, and New Avengers 8’s first pages are Reed and Tony discussing Tony’s return from space. So I pick up the next book in the list, Iron Man 9, and there’s Tony in Space.

If there’s a reason, and I just haven’t read it in the story yet, I’d like to avoid spoilers.

Otherwise, what gives?

1. Tower1969 says:
  
  September 27, 2014 at 5:42 pm
  
  Otherwise, what gives?
  
  My mistake. Which is why I try not to post reading orders that are of recently published works.
  
  I’ll probably refrain from doing so in the future, as it takes four times as much time, gives me way too many “What gives?” for a reading order that is a fraction of the size of others.
  
  1. David says:
    
    September 27, 2014 at 9:56 pm
    
    No worries, I know compiling all this stuff is a lot of work. This isn’t the only reading order I’ve come across that has that Iron Man arc in that spot.
    
    Finally read the whole Secret Origin of Tony Stark story and the last issue has a really large time-jump, so the arc could work a lot earlier in the NOW! order, depending on how it syncs with Guardians of the Galaxy (which I don’t pick up every month), Tony says he is on a break from the Guardians at the beginning of the arc, and the arc does end with him returning to Earth, so it has to be before the Preludes.
    
    Hope it helps to make everything as cohesive as possible!
    
    1. Tower1969 says:
      
      September 28, 2014 at 12:42 pm
      
      I’ve read both Guardians and Iron Man, and there is no clear indication of what happens when. I think they just pepper in “breaks” to give an excuse to not be with the Guardians.
      
      I’ve just reread New Avengers and Avengers, and I would place the stories as such next time: Secret Origin, Avengers Infinity Prelude, Enemy Within, New Avengers Infinity Prelude.
      
David says:

September 21, 2014 at 8:59 pm

I should clarify, “So I pick up the next book –I own– in the list, Iron Man 9,”

If the reason is located in the Guardian books or Enemy Within, which I don’t have, I apologize.

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Complete Marvel NOW! Reading Order (1st Draft)

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