Brayden here! ☺️ I’m gonna give you this one stop shop for jumping into the DC Absolute Universe & the Marvel Ultimate Universe! I’ll be updating this page as new books are set to release, so keep an eye out for changes in the future. Note that these are mostly for the collected editions, if you wish to subscribe to the single issues make sure to shoot us an email to read@greenlightcomics.com 💚
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DC's Absolute Universe
ALL IN SAGA
(W/A) Various (CA) Dan Mora
The event that kicks off the Absolute Universe popping into existence! While it isn’t exactly required reading to enjoy the other series’ in the Absolute Line, it does double up as a bonus jumping in point for the current mainline DC Universe stories as well!
Collects: Absolute Power #4, DC All In Special #1, Justice League Unlimited #1, Batman #153, Wonder Woman #14 & Superman #19.
ABSOLUTE BATMAN
(W) Scott Snyder (A) Nick Dragotta & Gabriel Walta (CA) Nick Dragotta
The young man who puts the ‘Absolute’ in ‘Absolute Unit’, this Batman is absolutely wild. From his chest symbol becoming an axe head, to drop kicking a child, this first story arc gives you the origins, as well as the interesting dynamic Bruce has with his friends: Harvey, Oswald, Edward, Waylon & Selina.
ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN
(W) Jason Aaron (A) Rafa Sandoval & Carmine Di Giandomenico (CA) Rafa Sandoval
A tale of oppression, exploitation and class warfare underline this excellent sci-fi series! Find out who the mysterious Superman is as the Lazarus Corporation hunts him down with their army of Peacemakers. Discover the recognisable names of those in control of Lazarus and experience life on Krypton, then learn of how it fell (and who survived).
ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN
(W) Kelly Thompson (A) Hayden Sherman & Mattia De Iulis (CA) Hayden Sherman
An entry to rival the great myths of old, meet Diana of Themyscira, The Last of The Amazons, Daughter of Circe, Princess of Hell, Witch of The Wild Isle. This series is phenomenal, balancing incredible character development and world building with a giant Kaiju fight and complicated witchcraft. Experience the Wonder that is a buff as hell woman riding atop an undead Pegasus to throw down a giant sword against an absolute monstrosity threatening a coastal city. If you can’t tell already, this one is my personal favourite!
ABSOLUTE FLASH
(W) Jeff Lemire (A/CA) Nick Robles
At the time of writing I’ve only read the first issue so I’ll update this in the future but for now… Meet Wally. A kinda angsty teenager stuck living at a military base when all of a sudden some experiment gone wrong style shenanigans ensue!
ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER
(W) Deniz Camp (A/CA) Javier Rodriguez
At the time of writing I’ve only read the first issue so I’ll update this in the future but for now… Prepare to read a series that will have you feeling like someone slipped you something in your drink and you’re back in the 70’s! A psychedelic mystery unravels as we meet John Jones, begin to see thought smoke and meet ‘The Martian Mind****er’. This is off to an amazingly experimental and bold start so I can’t wait to see more!
ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN
(W) Al Ewing (A/CA) Jahnoy Lindsay
At the time of writing I’ve only read the first issue so I’ll update this in the future but for now… An alien invasion tale that seemingly throws everything we know about the Green Lantern mythos out the window. Hal, John & Jo experience an extraterrestrial event in the town of Evergreen that leaves Hal with a seemingly cosmic horror level problem. This series has big manga/anime energy too.
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Marvel's Ultimate Universe
SECRET WARS
(W) Jonathan Hickman (A) Esad Ribic & Paul Renaud (CA) Alex Ross
While this isn’t exactly required reading, Jonathan Hickman’s huge crossover event of 2015 is responsible for blowing up the original alternate universe for Marvel, the 2000’s era Ultimate Universe! That OG UU gave us moments and characters like Marvel Zombies, The Death of Peter Parker, Miles Morales and… surely something else right? Not really, but ignore all that, just know that if you check this book out you are getting the best of the best of bonkers huge crazy crossovers and it will give you some context as to who The Maker is. Plus it gets bonus points for being where the MCU is heading.
ULTIMATE INVASION
(W) Jonathan Hickman (A/CA) Bryan Hitch
Over 7 years of comics publishing later (and an incredible run reinvigorating the X-Men with ‘The Krakoan Age’), Hickman returns to his baby Reed Richards… or should we say: The Maker! After being locked away by Marvel’s heroes for years, The Maker finally kicks off his plan of escaping his prison and remaking the Ultimate Universe. But this time, he aims to mold it into his own design by abusing his power to rid the world of the heroes we know and love and replace them with a secret council with members each in charge of their own piece of the planet! This one book kicks off all the new Ultimate series!
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
(W) Jonathan Hickman (A/CA) Marco Checchetto
My favourite series on this entire blog post, this is a phenomenal fresh new take on Spider-Man where Hickman & Checchetto are able to shine as a creative duo. Presenting a man who never got bit by the spider as a teenager, we meet Peter Parker: a middle aged husband and father of two who can’t help but feel like he was meant to do more with his life. Universe shenanigans ensue as set up by Ultimate Invasion prior and we get the best Spider-Man series in a while (possibly ever?). With twists and turns that will leave you shook and needing more, I cannot recommend this highly enough!
ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER
(W) Bryan Hill (A) Carlos Nieto (A/CA) Stefano Caselli
While the core basis for Black Panther remains very familiar, this universe sees a vastly different take on Moon Knight! Now a duo made up of Ra & Khonshu, they are set to wage war against Wakanda and seize complete control over the African continent. With the king discovering there may be much more to Vibranium below the surface than the Wakandan people initially realised, we get a far more mystical take on the classic hero. Plus bonus points for Killmonger & Storm, as well as the introduction in Volume 2 of the Ultimate Universe version of The Sorcerer Supreme!
ULTIMATE X-MEN
(W/A) Peach Momoko
This certainly isn’t your grandpa’s X-Men! Renowned horror and cover artist Peach Momoko has been putting her incredibly unique mark on the comic book industry as of late, and after the success of her Demon Days/Wars series’ Marvel have given her complete free-reign to re-imagine what the X-Men could be. This Ultimate Universe version of mutantkind sees a healthy blend of body horror, mystery, suspense, thriller and high school slice-of-life as we learn of the cult known as “The Children of The Atom”. The entire tale is set in Japan and pulls from a lot of Momoko’s personal cultural touch-stones, where she often creates a little glossary of traditions and events to get some context for us western readers.
THE ULTIMATES
(W) Deniz Camp & Jonathan Hickman (A) Various (CA) Dike Ruan
Picking up where Ultimate Invasion left off months earlier, we get our Avengers equivalent team-up series: The Ultimates. With characters you know already and new takes on old classics, this series has everything from an entire island that has been ravaged by Gamma radiation to getting to see how Hitler died! That’s not a joke by the way, Issue #10 was all about killing and fighting Nazi’s and it was excellent! Follow as Doctor Doom a.k.a. Reed Richards lives just the most tormented existence, Hawkeye isn’t who you are expecting and The Hulk proves just how dangerous he can be. Plus cameos from the Ultimate Universe version of The Guardians of The Galaxy (well… from one time period at least) and an ever evolving line-up!
ULTIMATE WOLVERINE
(W) Chris Condon (A/CA) Alessandro Cappuccio
At the time of writing I’ve only read the first three issues so I’ll update this in the future but for now… This more so what people were expecting from an Ultimate X-Men series, but with Peach Momoko doing something completely new with a lot of the younger mutants, you’ll start to see your old favourites in this series. Although, for how long they will last is a bigger question. Ultimate Wolverine is a vicious beast of a book, full of crazed and violent action as The Winter Soldier gets sent on missions for the Russian mutant leaders Magik, Colossus and Omega Red. But when he encounters some familiar characters, will his mental programming be able to withstand the fractures in his mind?
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