Update 2-17-12 - Final Pre-Flashpoint trades, Batman: Black Mirror, Brightest Day, Superman, Green Lantern, Knightfall

The big news, if you haven't already heard, is that the Collected Editions DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline reading order is now an ebook! The online timeline is great for when you're sitting at your computer, but for those times when you're on an airplane and really wish you could check where a book fits into the timeline (and trust me, this has happened to me!), the ebook is a great mobile, e-reader, or offline alternative to the original timeline. Check it out at Smashwords.

Today, the online DC TPB Timeline has been updated to match the ebook (except for the ebook-exclusive introduction by yours truly). Among the updates are a new, streamlined table of contents that more closely matches the history of the DC Universe (organized largely by events, though the timeline of course includes both crossover-related and "on their own" trades), which will make it easier to find what you're looking for and explore different eras on the timeline.

This new update also adds 40 books to the timeline, including all the final trades of the "old" DC Universe before the DC New 52 reboot (and those books are coming to the timeline, promise!). We have the conclusion of "Batman Reborn," including Batman: Black Mirror, Golden Dawn, Gates of Gotham, and Batman, Inc.; we've got Superman: Reign of Doomsday and all its tie-ins; we've got the conclusion of Brightest Day and Justice League: Generation Lost; War of the Green Lanterns, Flashpoint, and much, much more. The timeline now organizes over 800 DC Comics collections

So go ahead, check out your best source for how to read the DC Universe in order -- the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline. And don't forget, for all your timeline needs on the go, we proudly welcome the DC TPB Timeline ebook to the family. Thanks!

Update 10-21-11 - Superman: Reign of Doomsday, Green Lantern, Resurrection Man, Chase, Warlord

Closing out the week with a reading order update to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline.

One of my favorite aspects of timeline-ing are the multi-title crossovers that take place around other events in a series. For instance, I've added all the elements of the Superman: Reign of Doomsday crossover; this includes the Return of Doomsday trade that includes Steel #1 (2011) and the Superman/Batman annual, as well as issues of Outsiders, Justice League, and Superboy -- and then the individual Outsiders, Justice League, and Superboy trades that collect the same respective issues plus more. I enjoy being able to read a crossover in this way, both from the crossover perspective and then how the crossover affects other events in the individual series.

Another example of this -- Secret Six: The Reptile Brain and Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 2 both make the timeline this time and each contain the others' crossover issue; some duplication, yes, but it also allows you to read the crossover as if from each characters' perspective.

I'm also excited to add both the Resurrection Man (pre-Flashpoint) and Chase collections to the timeline. Chase is one of just a handful of collections to include a DC One Million issue, plus a bunch of Secret Files stories (which made placement a little difficult). Resurrection Man includes, even more rare, a Genesis crossover, and ends just before the series's One Million issue (which tied rather prominently to DC One Million). Hopefully the next Resurrection Man collection will also include the crossover with Peter David's Supergirl.

Finally, here's an overlooked gem: Mike Grell wrote a very short-lived Warlord revival series just in the past year or so. It didn't make much of a splash, but it did get a collection -- and later on, Gail Simone's Secret Six: Reptile Brain builds on the continuity of the Warlord trade, earning it a certain place on the timeline. I'd have overlooked this if not for Reptile Brain, so good on you Gail Simone.

Thanks as always for your comments and suggestions! Remember, we're constantly thinking out loud about trade collections on Facebook and Twitter, plus the ongoing conversations at our comment feed. Get a glimpse of what doesn't quite make the Collected Editions cut, too, at Collected Editions After Party on Tumblr.  And while you're 'round the 'net, be sure to spread the word about the Timeline.  Until next time!

Update 8-19-11 - Batman Reborn, Brightest Day, Flashpoint

The newest reading order update to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline brings to a close (for the most part) the "Batman Reborn" saga with Batman: Bruce Wayne -- The Road Home and the odd Red Robin: Hit List -- "odd" because that particular trade spans from before Time and the Batman to after Road Home, making for some rather tricky placement and reading. Details follow the book listing.

Also, by popular demand, all the Batman Confidential collections are now on the timeline. I resisted this like mad -- books like Batman Confidential and Legends of the Dark Knight aren't quite germane to the timeline necessarily -- but one very small throw-away line in the "Return" chapter of Batman and Robin Must Die brings Batman: Rules of Engagement into continuity, and thus Batman Confidential. Thank Grant Morrison, kids.

We have also shored up much of the early Brightest Day and Justice League: Generation Lost reading order, including moving Green Lantern: Brightest Day way down the list, to after Batman: Road Home. For good measure, there's some Flashpoint books on the timeline now, and of course the gap between Brightest Day and Flashpoint will be filled in as we go.

Look too for my favorite stuff, some new additions to the early post-Crisis on Infinite Earths material, including some Swamp Thing, Justice League International, and Suicide Squad books.

Everyone who writes in -- your comments are read and appreciated. Now that the newest update is live, we will be replying to some of the recent comments soon -- and keep 'em coming! Remember, you can catch all the latest Collected Editions news and discussions on the comment feed, Facebook page, Twitter feed -- and now there's something special on Tumblr, too. See you in the comments section!

Update 4-9-11 - Brightest Day, Swamp Thing, Flash, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne

Today, it's all about Brightest Day.

Well ... not all about Brightest Day, but pretty close. I have added a new "Brightest Day/Flashpoint" section to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline, and placed a whopping fourteen books in the inaugural round. There's more to come, but this will get you started with how Brightest Day connects to Green Lantern and REBELS, and how Flash leads in to Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne and Wonder Woman, among others.

Other additions to the timeline include some entries from the Vertigo side of things: Saga of the Swamp Thing joins our "Pre-Crisis" reading list, as volume four contains a Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover; later on a volume of Swamp Thing will tie in to the Invasion crossover. I have also added the Kid Eternity miniseries since that character appears in Teen Titans and elsewhere.

A Blackest Night tie-in volume of Secret Six, War of the Supermen, Outsiders, Justice Society, Magog, and Question all round out today's update.

Keep those notes and letters coming -- we appreciate every one. Don't forget you can subscribe to the Collected Editions comments feed for all the latest chatter on the blog; friends of the Collected Editions Facebook page even heard about this timeline update early (though we love our Twitter followers, too). Thanks!

Update 3-1-11 - Batman: Long Halloween, Streets of Gotham, Gotham City Sirens, Arkham Reborn

Thanks to everyone who's been waiting so patiently for a reading order update to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline. I think the Bat-errific update has a lot of what you've been looking for.

First, Batman: The Long Halloween and its related books have finally made it to the timeline. Credit in no small part Tony Daniel's Batman: Life After Death -- some books have made vague references to Long Halloween before, but Daniel's is the first to completely summarize Long Halloween and Dark Victory's plots, and that brings those stories firmly into continuity.

I've placed them after Infinite Crisis, just before Batman: Face the Face, which itself makes a vague reference to Long Halloween. Why not just after Batman: Year One? Because, the way I conceive the timeline, you're reading these books the way they're meant to be understood, and Long Halloween, though it's set in the "Year One" era, is not a contemporary of Frank Miller's 1980s story. Dark Victory, for instance, specifically contradicts Batman: Prodigal and Robin: Year One for simple reasons, that Dark Victory wasn't written yet, so for the timeline I wouldn't recommend reading the Long Halloween books that early; that would just confuse things. But your results may vary.

The other item of note is that some major aspects of the "Batman Reborn" saga -- Streets of Gotham, Gotham City Sirens, the aforementioned Life After Death, and Batman: Arkham Reborn all now appear on the timeline. In short order the rest of "Batman Reborn" is on its way, mostly in line with what reviews you see on Collected Editions.

Other highlights include Ravager: Fresh Hell, Blue Beetle: Black and Blue, and some other minor gaps filled in.

Don't forget you can subscribe to the Collected Editions comments feed for all the latest chatter on the blog; there's also often timeline talk on our Facebook page and Twitter feed. See you around!

Update 12-17-10 - Lobo, Legion of Super-Heroes, Batman Reborn, Superman: New Krypton

To celebrate the 200th fan of the Collected Editions Facebook page, we have a new reading order update to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline.

I have had for a while a reader request to add some Lobo books to the timeline, but held off because many Lobo books, while enjoyable, aren't really tied in to DC Comics continuity -- Lobo: Highway to Hell, for instance, is just a one-off "imaginary" story, for instance.

But -- there is a great trade paperback out there if you can get your hands on it called Lobo's Greatest Hits, which includes a bunch of otherwise-uncollected issues of L.E.G.I.O.N. and Mister Miracle, so that definitely has a place on the timeline. Also, the Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich collection includes two Lobo miniseries that stemmed from the character's popularity in the early 1990s, so I've includes that as well.

In addition to updating the current Superman: New Krypton and Batman Reborn listings, including triangulating where the series come together in Sterling Gates's World's Finest miniseries, I have also found a place for DC's great new collections of older materials. I'm very excited to see DC collection such stories as the death of Aquaman's son and Trial of the Flash -- both pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths stories that are still in continuity today -- so I've found where those should go on the timeline along with the classic Infinity Inc. and Firestorm collections. I'm also thrilled that the stories of the pre-Crisis Legion of Super-Heroes that are now back in continuity post-Infinite Crisis, so I've begun building those into the timeline as well, starting with the vaunted Great Darkness Saga.

I appreciate corrections and suggestions as always, and thanks again to everyone who gives the DC Comics Trade Paperback Timeline a mention on their own site or on message boards. More updates coming soon!

Update 9-7-10 - Sandman, Doom Patrol, Countdown to Final Crisis

If you were following the Collected Editions Facebook page yesterday, you already know that we had an update to the reading order of the DC Comics Trade Paperback Timeline.

In addition to adding Batman: Long Shadows, Wonder Woman: Warkiller, Superboy: Boy of Steel, and generally tightening up some of the explanations around those books, the other big addition was two Vertigo titles, Doom Patrol and Sandman.

Originally my intention was to include Sandman only, but helpful Collected Editions reader Hix rightly pointed out that Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol run launches from the conclusion of the Invasion! storyline, which gives the series a natural place in the storyline. I have mostly lumped those Doom Patrol books in one place after that because they don't tie to the DC Universe of that time all that closely, but they're important reading because the current Keith Giffen Doom Patrol refers back to them.

I had avoided for some time including Neil Gaiman's Sandman on the timeline because I want everything on the timeline to be specifically relevant, and I know that Sandman is for the most part far removed from the ongoing DC Universe. It remains, however, that the Sandman characters have appeared in JLA: Strength in Numbers, JSA: Lost and Mixed Signals, Green Arrow: Quiver, and in Paul Cornell's forthcoming Superman: The Black Ring, letting alone that stories in Sandman follow from (the tragically uncollected) Infinity, Inc. That Sandman helps you understand that many books warrants its inclusion on the timeline.

(Fun fact: it seems Sandman: The Kindly Ones is considered an unofficial tie-in to DC's Zero Hour crossover event.)

I also did some reorganizing of the early Countdown to Final Crisis era. This is a very tricky time in that it has to balance one character's death and another's rebirth, Green Arrow and Black Canary's engagement, the Sinestro Corps War, and more. Thanks again for the suggestions; I think those books are about set now.

More updates on the way. Thanks for following along!

Update 7-25-10 - Blackest Night, War of the Gods, JLA Classified

Maybe an update to the reading order of the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline will ease everyone's flight back from the San Diego Comic-Con. We've added a bunch of Blackest Night-era books, including fitting Justice League: Cry for Justice in with Blackest Night (and certainly by now everyone's seen Hix's Blackest Night trade reading order, right?); there's also some updates to our Batman Reborn and Superman: New Krypton reading orders.

Also, by popular demand, I've found a place for all the JLA Classified collections, during a period where JLA had rotating creative teams like JLA Classified, and just before JLA crosses over with Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis.

By far my favorite addition to the DCU TPB Timeline this time around, however, is the Shazam: Greatest Stories Ever Told trade paperback. Not only does this collect an issue of the mostly uncollected Power of Shazam series by Jerry Ordway (a couple of issues of which also found in the Starman collections), but it also has, get this, a War of the Gods tie-in issue. Seriously! It's a relatively minor issue, but a fun one (Captain Marvel vs Lobo!), and given that the Wonder Woman crossover War of the Gods has been otherwise ignored in collected format, I think this is pretty neat.

Thanks to everyone who's mentioned the timeline on their own sites or in message boards; I appreciate it!

Update 7-14-10 - Batman, Manhunter, Hitman, Shadowpact

If you were watching the Collected Editions Twitter feed a couple Saturdays ago, you saw that we spend a day making major updates to the reading order of the DC Trade Paperback Timeline, including completing the listings for Batman, Manhunter, Hitman, Hawkgirl, Shadowpact, Brave and the Bold, and a number of other series.

Obviously there are new graphic novels coming out every week, but this latest update represents a milestone for the timeline -- to a great extent, the timeline is now completely caught up with all the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths and relevant pre-Crisis trade paperbacks that DC Comics has ever published. Consider that version 1.0 of the DC Trade Paperback Timeline is now complete.

We will leave the current update standing for a little while longer, and then we already have more to add to the timeline -- additional details for New Krypton, Batman Reborn, and Blackest Night (you caught Paul Hicks' great Blackest Night trade reading order, right?).

One item now being discussed at timeline headquarters is the addition of Sandman books to the DC TPB Timeline. Neil Gaiman's Death is soon to cameo in Action Comics, but also those characters have appeared in JLA and JSA, enough so that if you were following the timeline, you'd want to have read some Sandman before reading those DC stories (not to mention the loose Sandman Mystery Theatre/Starman crossover). And of course there's already a technically-Vertigo series on the timeline with Animal Man. So that's an item still to be considered.

Let me know if you see any books out of place, and happy reading!

Update 6-6-10 - Teen Titans, Justice Society, Huntress, Crisis on Multiple Earths

Admittedly not a great amount of reading order updates to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline this weekend, but some we hope you find interesting. In addition to adding some Blackest Night crossover titles (it's getting to be that time!) and Teen Titan spotlight trades, I've added a bit to our Pre-Crisis section.

Again, the goal of the Pre-Crisis section is to note the collections of solely pre-Crisis material (not pre- and post-Crisis material, which would go in the timeline proper) that's still referenced in the modern DC Universe, and to point out those pre-Crisis stories we think contribute to a good understanding of modern-day DC Comics.

Among others today, we've updated trades concerned the Earth-2 Power Girl and the Earth-2 Huntress. Infinite Crisis included both mentions of the modern Power Girl's past Earth-2 life, and also such events as the death of the Earth-2 Batman; these items on the timeline should help readers sort those out.

Thanks for all the well-wishes. There's more updates coming soon!

Update 5-29-10 - Batman, Legends of the Dark Knight, Question, and Secret Origins

We have a bunch of exciting reading order updates to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline today, including all the Dennis O'Neil Question trade paperbacks, and a cool hard-to-find Secret Origins trade from 1989 that included an original O'Neil Batman story - how often would you find a trade with original content today?

And speaking of Batman, you'll notice a couple of Legends of the Dark Knight trades on the timeline, including Shaman and Venom. Legends causes some difficulty, of course, because the stories are sometimes out of or contradictory to continuity; but then again, Shaman is reflected in Secret Origins and Venom is reflected in Knightfall, so there's some value to these books. You'll slowly begin to see these added to the timeline around the times the stories that are collected were published, and I'll annotate where appropriate as to how the books connect.

Matt Wagner's Monster Men and Mad Monk now appear on the timeline, too, because they lead in to Ed Brubaker's Man Who Laughs, the collection of which also includes a modern-era Detective Comics story. In this way, things are fitting together nicely.

As you know, you can catch the timeline on Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Comic Blips. Thanks to everyone who's been spreading the word!

Update 5-22-10

Another week, another round of reading order updates to the Collected Editions DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline. Not much time to talk about it all right now, but here's a couple of fun facts: Did you know the only series to collect anything from DC Comics's Bloodlines summer crossover is Hitman? And that the final collection of the now-Vertigo Animal Man series crosses over with Booster Gold? All fun things you can learn from the DC TPB Timeline.

Thanks to everyone who's been supporting the timeline on Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Comic Blips -- getting the word out really helps. I especially appreciated this DC Comics message board thread. Thanks all!

Update 5-15-10

Your favorite DC Comics reading order source just keeps moving forward. Last time we completed all the Superman collections on the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline; now we've got all the Wonder Woman collections and all the Catwoman collections, including some incidental trades with single issues you might have missed.

Another highlight is some reorganization of the Batman Reborn/Battle for the Cowl issues, especially in terms of how they intersect with Superman: New Krypton. I'm just starting in to reading Batman Reborn, Batman and Robin, Red Robin and the rest, so you can expect to see that section start to move, coming up.

The last update to the DC Comics TPB Timeline was just two weeks ago ... could we have another update even sooner? Stay tuned!

As always, be sure to lend your support to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline on Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Comic Blips. It's appreciated!

Update 4-28-10

I'm pleased to release another reading order update to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline. That makes two updates in April -- getting faster.

Two exciting bits on this update that I'm very happy about:

* This update marks the completion, near as I can tell, of the Superman trades in publication up to this point. Of course there's plenty of Superman collections about to be published (Superman: Codename Patriot, for one), but I believe I have every modern in-continuity Superman trade that's been released now on the timeline. This doesn't include books like Superman vs. Aliens or Superman: Kryptonite (which collects a semi-out-of-continuity Superman Classified story), the likes of which I'll deal with later. And of course, if you think there's a Superman collection I've missed, do be sure to let me know.

* Second, I've added the Hawkworld collection to the timeline, in the Early 1990s space that also saw Adam Strange: Man of Two Worlds and a post-Crisis on Infinite Earths revision of Hal Jordan's origin in Emerald Dawn. For those not in the know, DC published a Hawkworld miniseries that revised Silver Age Hawkman Katar Hol's origin within the bounds of continuity, but then found the miniseries so popular that they decided to launch a new Hawkworld series starring that Katar Hol, but completely unconnected to the Katar Hol who had appeared since Crisis on Infinite Earths. The timeline now places Hawkworld in continuity and references collected appearances of Hawkwman that the Hawkworld title retroactively changed.

Again, don't forget to lend your support to the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline on Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Comic Blips.

Now that Superman's done (and Green Lantern too, I think), what's the next title you'd like to see filled in?

Update 4-13-10

The DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline has a lot new since the last blog update (though eagle-eyed readers will notice changes even when I don't announce them here), including Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, Birds of Prey, Gotham Central, and more.

One item of note this time around is Adam Strange: Man of Two Worlds. This 1990s miniseries, collected in 2003, didn't have much to do with anything in the DC Universe at the time of its publication (Strange had been seen some years before in the Invasion crossover), but much later on the events of the miniseries would be referenced in Green Lantern and JLA. To that end, the collection belongs on the timeline; putting it near Green Lantern and JLA would put the miniseries with the rest of its story, but it wouldn't be true to the general timeline overall.

To that end, I've placed the Adam Strange collection in an open spot at about the time when the miniseries was published. One could choose to read it then, or later with its after-effects. Aquaman: Time and Tide has similar issues; the miniseries took place just before the new Aquaman series that crossed over into Zero Hour; it's not required reading and there are no other collections of that era's Aquaman series, but it occurred at that time, was collected, and gives a fuller picture of the DC Universe, so it's included.

Here's a mention of the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline on Reddit and on StumbleUpon.

There's still a bunch of books missing from the DC Universe Trade Paperback Timeline, but we are beginning to narrow the gap a bit. Anything that you're waiting eagerly to see added?

Update 2-21-10

Added a couple new books to the timeline today, including Mystery in Space and Rann/Thanagar: Holy War.

The most exciting addition, however, is a new table of contents section: Recommended Reading. While the DC TPB Timeline is mostly a post-Crisis endeavor (no sense organizing Golden Age Superman stories, for instance, which largely had no continuity), there are some books which were published pre-Crisis but are still referenced today and bear reading to understand current events -- the Jack Kirby's Fourth World omnibuses, or the Red Tornado stories from Crisis on Multiple Earths showing up in Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America. The "Recommended Reading" section is the place for these books, and I'll generally try to put them in order, too.

So, two questions:

1) Right now, I've placed "Recommended Reading" at the bottom of the list so as not to be distracting, but really those books are meant to be read before the "1986" books. Keep it at the bottom, or move it to the top?

2) I've wracked my brain for pre-Crisis collected stories that still affect the post-Crisis world, and here's what I've come up with so far. If you have moe suggestions, please leave your comments here. (Just realized I forgot Crisis on Infinite Earths itself. Oops! I'll add it soon.)

Thanks! And don't forget to drop by the Collected Editions blog this Wednesday, February 24, for our fifth anniversary bash!

Update 12-16-09

Added Wonder Woman: Rise of the Olympian to the timeline.

Also, I have completed a major programming update to the timeline. I need beta testers, and it's very easy -- please visit the DC TPB Timeline now, and if you can't see the actual timeline (not the introductory text) or even if you can see it, please send an email to collectededitions at the Y-A-H-O-O account. Thanks!

UPDATE: Apparently my programming efforts on the timeline didn't work. If there's a Javascript expert in the house, please email me at the address above. Thank you!

Update 11-28-09

One unspoken rule of the timeline (now spoken) is that in general, numbered trades are presented on the timeline in order. That is, even though Green Lantern: Secret Origin (now added) technically takes place even prior to Legends, I've placed it after The Sinestro Corps War as it was published. This eliminates confusion caused by retroactive continuity, for one thing, and also for the most part keeps the various series in their linear order.

It's for this reason that Justice League of America: Second Coming now appears on the timeline after Final Crisis, even though the events of that book preceed it. Justice League: Sanctuary lead right in to Final Crisis; I've placed Justice League: Worlds Collide right after Second Coming, and since Worlds Collide does cross over with Final Crisis, events right themselves soon enough.

Also added some various titles in the Countdown to Final Crisis section.

When I paste the rather large timeline text file into the timeline Blogger post, my computer seems to "freeze" for a few minutes as the Blogger interface accepts the paste. Anyone also encounter this with large posts, or have any suggestions? The timeline is only going to get bigger.

Update 11-15-09

Trying to use this sub-blog again to post when I've made updates to the DC Comics Trade Paperback Timeline. Updates today include additional material post-Final Crisis -- Superman: New Krypton, Nightwing and Robin, and Teen Titans.

I'm also especially proud of an update to some of the early timeline listings -- Superman from Exile to The Death of Superman, and also the Batman trades that encompass the death of second Robin Jason Todd and the introduction of third Robin Tim Drake.

Update 9-14-09

The timeline has moved! With GeoCities closing, you can now find the Collected Editions DC Comics Trade Paperback Timeline at its new home on the Collected Editions blog.