Comic Book Treasury

Batman Rogues Gallery: Who are The Dark Knight’s Enemies?

by Fabien
January 15, 2025

Batman is one of the most iconic comic book heroes, so it is not a surprise that some of his enemies are iconic comic book villains in their own right. But the infamous Batman Rogues Gallery comprises more than your usual suspects. With 85 years of comics under his belt, the Dark Knight had to stop a lot of criminals. As he is not a hero with powers, but one known for his high intelligence and fighting skills, he had to face a lot of intelligent, creative, and often misguided individuals.

These antagonists aren’t just obstacles for Batman. They are larger-than-life with personas that are often connected to the city’s corruption, darkness, and extremes. Most of them have been created to be reflections of his character, each embodying a different facet of his psyche, his mission, or the city he protects. This made the Rogues Gallery as diverse as it is iconic, with criminal masterminds, deranged psychopaths, tragic antiheroes, and cunning opportunists.

Also, you may ask where the term “Rogues Gallery” comes from. It finds its origin in law enforcement as it historically refers to a collection of criminal mugshots.

Follow the guide as we introduce you to the most notable antagonists who regularly face the Caped Crusader!

How to Start Reading Marvel Comics in 2025?

by Carole
January 13, 2025

With the New Year comes new resolutions and goals—like reading more comic books! If you’ve already explored how to start reading DC Comics, you might now find yourself curious about the Marvel Universe. Or perhaps Marvel’s heroes and stories are the ones you’ve always been drawn to, thanks to blockbuster movies, TV shows, or video games.

From the debut of the Fantastic Four in 1961 to epic events like Secret Wars and Civil War, the Marvel Universe offers decades of interconnected stories and alternate realities. Whether you want to explore the Spider-Verse, get to know the X-Men, or assemble with the Avengers, the sheer number of series, relaunches, and crossovers can feel overwhelming. You’re bound to face the classic question: where do I even start?

We’re here today to ensure your start reading Marvel Comics is as exciting and enjoyable as it should be, filled with great stories, and the start of what we hope will be a lifelong love for comics!

Wonder Man Reading Order

by Fabien
January 9, 2025

Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Don Heck for Marvel Comics in The Avengers #9 (1964), the character of Wonder Man, aka Simon Williams, is one of those who started as a villain before becoming a hero and a member of the Avengers–like Hawkeye for example. But the most surprising part is that he apparently died in that first issue and didn’t reappear for four years and, then again, it was not for long. It was not before the mid-1970s that he would start to play a bigger part.

All of this is because DC Comics sued Marvel Comics for the right to use the name. DC had Wonder Woman and didn’t like the idea that Marvel would use Wonder Man. Stan Lee didn’t want to fight it (he created She-Hulk to avoid someone else doing it, it was the game at the time), but when DC introduced Power Girl (Marvel already had Power Man), it seemed fair to bring back Wonder Man.

Simon Williams was an industrialist who gained superpowers after being imbued with “ionic” energy by Baron Zemo. As Wonder Man, he infiltrated the Avengers but ultimately betrayed Zemo and seemingly sacrificed himself to save the team. Resurrected later, Wonder Man became a loyal member of the Avengers and grew into a prominent hero. He also developed a career in Hollywood as an actor and stuntman.

Wonder Man helped form the West Coast Avengers, and later joined Force Works, but most of all he has been an Avengers!

How to Start Reading DC Comics in 2025?

by Carole
January 6, 2025

With a new year often comes resolutions to improve our lives—whether it’s eating healthier, exercising more, or reading more books. If reading more is on your list, you might have considered exploring or rediscovering the DC Comics Universe.

Chances are, you’re already a bit familiar with the DC Universe—whether it’s from animated shows, movie adaptations, or even video games. Maybe the start of James Gunn’s new DC Universe has caught your attention, and now you’re curious to learn more about the characters and their comic book stories.

However, with several decades of stories, you’re bound to face the classic question: where do I even start? The sheer volume of comics can make it feel like an overwhelming task.

We’re here today to make sure your start reading DC Comics is as fun and enjoyable as it should be, full of great stories, and the beginning of many years of reading comics!

Star Wars Legends Comics Reading Order (The Star Wars Expanded Universe)

by Carole
Updated on January 2, 2025
2 Comments

Since the release of the first Star Wars movie, the universe created by George Lucas has never stopped expanding. Beyond the movies, TV shows, games, novels, comics, and more have been created to cover many stories in the Star Wars galaxy, spanning more than 25, 000 years of history.

It was called the Star Wars Expanded Universe. But when Disney bought the Star Wars franchise, the company simply blew up this Expanded Universe in order to create a new official canon. So everything that have been published before April 25, 2014, was now part of the Star Wars Legends, the new name given to the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

A lot of comic books have been published during the past 35 years, before April 2014. Star Wars Comic books were first published by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. After, Dark Horse Comics owned the license exclusively from 1991 to 2014. Pendulum Press (1978) and Blackthorne (1987–1988) also published some Star Wars Comics, and Star Wars comic strips have been distributed in the newspapers the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and Watertown Daily Times between 1979 and 1984.

This article is devoted to the Star Wars Legends or Expanded Universe, to the Star Wars comic books published before April 25, 2014. For the ongoing Star Wars Canon, you can find the reading order over here.

The Complete Guide to Marvel Omnibus Releases in 2024

by Fabien
Updated on January 8, 2025
2 Comments

It’s the end of the year 2024 and, as far as Marvel Comics goes, the publication of new omnibus collected editions was aplenty and varied. As every comic book collector knows, those big books are not published in large quantities. That’s why Marvel also re-printed a good selection of them this year as new subsequent volumes are published.

It may be hard to follow what is announced and when a book is coming out, and that’s why we have a page dedicated to the release schedule of the Marvel Omnibuses (and for the DC Omnibuses too). We are updating it once a month as Marvel announced from time to time a new batch of future releases.

It’s a continuing flow of new comic books and you may have missed something during the last 12 months. That’s why it’s time to take a look back with a complete listing of all the omnibuses published (or republished) in 2024 by Marvel Comics.

Also, you can find most of these in the reading orders dedicated to their main superheroes.

The Complete Guide to DC Comics Omnibus Releases in 2024

by Fabien
December 23, 2024

As 2024 concludes, it is time to reflect on the last 12 months of collected omnibus editions published by DC Comics. Unlike the continuous flow of new releases and reprints of omnibus coming from Marvel Comics, DC Comics was still lagging far behind during the year’s first half. But after almost two years of slow releases, things are picking up.

DC Comics launched new collections, the popular DC Compact Comics and its version of the Epic Collection, DC Finest. And of course, the publication of new omnibuses became a lot more regular, with some welcome reprints added to the schedule.

Nevertheless, new comic books are still hitting the shelves every week and you may have missed something during the last 12 months (if you didn’t follow our page–updated once a month!–dedicated to the release schedule of DC Omnibuses). That’s why it’s time to take a look back with a complete listing of all the omnibuses published (or republished) in 2024 by DC Comics.

Also, you can find most of these in the reading orders dedicated to their main superheroes.

Goodbye 2024. What’s Next for Comic Book Treasury in 2025?

by Carole
December 20, 2024

Like our favorite Marvel and DC superheroes, life often feels like an endless chain of events—and sometimes, we wish we could skip a few of them!

2024 was a challenging year for many, and Comic Book Treasury was no exception. As we shared a few months ago, the changes to Google’s search algorithm had a massive impact on the site, and not in a good way, cutting our traffic in more than half. For a small website like ours, that’s a big hurdle.

While I know some creators have shifted towards video, Comic Book Treasury is—at its heart—dedicated to written guides and articles that you can bookmark and revisit to explore and follow the stories of your favorite characters or the latest events.

Naoki Urasawa Manga List: Exploring the Work of Japan’s Master of Suspense

by Carole
December 17, 2024

Naoki Urasawa is one of the most renowned Japanese manga artists, often regarded as a successor to the legendary Osamu Tezuka. While Tezuka’s work has without a doubt influenced Urasawa, he quickly established his own style, securing his place as one of the most celebrated names in manga today.

Urasawa first found success with Yawara!, a sports manga, but it was with Monster that he developed his distinctive style and reached international acclaim. Far from the lighthearted tone of Yawara!, Monster is a psychological thriller that showcases Urasawa’s talent for suspense and his fascination with darker, more complex themes—particularly the moral ambiguity that often exists between good and evil.

Known for creating two series simultaneously for much of his career, Urasawa is one of Japan’s best-selling authors. His works are frequently listed among the most highly regarded manga of all time. He has received multiple honors, including three Shogakukan Manga Awards, two Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prizes, the Kodansha Manga Award, and two Eisner Awards.

Below is a guide to discovering the works of Naoki Urasawa, designed to help you explore his most essential series and to help you find the best place to start reading!

Captain Atom Reading Order (Nathaniel Adam)

by Fabien
December 14, 2024
1 Comment

Created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko in 1960, Captain Atom first appeared in Space Adventures #33 published by Charlton Comics, a publishing company later acquired by DC Comics. Back then, the character was named Allen Adam, a technician who was trapped in a rocket that exploded. He should have died but instead became a superpowered atomic hero. His series continued for a few years (until December 1967). Back then, he had a red and yellow outfit and pretty generic powers.

In 1983, DC Comics acquired Charlton Comics’ action heroes and asked Alan Moore to do something with them. That’s how Captain Atom became Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen. Moore’s take on the characters was not what DC’s editors had in mind for them and the British writer had to rewrite some of them to create his own version while the publisher introduced Charlton’s super-heroes (like Blue Beetle) in its Post-Crisis universe. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was established that they were on Earth-4. After that, they found their way into the main continuity.

Captain Atom was then reinvented as Nathaniel Christopher Adam, a United States Air Force officer and Vietnam War veteran. Framed and condemned for a crime he didn’t commit, his only option to survive was to join the military experiment called ‘Project: Captain Atom‘ during which he was placed in an alien craft positioned next to an atomic bomb. The goal was to test the resistance of the ship, but the result was ultimately the creation of a superhero. During the explosion, Nathaniel was disintegrated, but he mysteriously reappeared 18 years later, now bonded with the alien metal that has the ability to tap into the “Quantum Field”. Captain Atom can absorb energy to a certain point (beyond that, he jumps in time).

In 1986, as Captain Atom just reappeared, the military forced him to work for them. He eventually joined the Justice League and later became the leader of Justice League Europe. Through the years, he joined other teams, fought his enemy through times, and became a villain before returning to normal.