Summer 2011 Reading List

Well, it's that time of year again, summer. To me, summer is a time of vacations, BBQ's, and superhero movies. This summer comic book fans are in for a treat with a film about one of DC's big heroes, Green Lantern, and three movies from Marvel (two of which tie into the Avengers movie coming out in 2012 and a prequel to the X-Men films that focuses on Professor X and Magneto). After re-watching the available trailers online, I'm pretty excited for all four movies. While comic book readers are know some of these characters, most moviegoers are not familiar with the characters beyond their names and powers. Luckily, I've made a list of graphic novels that people can read before they see the movies if they want to know more about the characters.

Thor (May 6th):

Since it reprints Thor's first appearances in the Marvel universe during the Silver Age, Marvel Masterworks: Thor is a great companion if you're going to see the movie. This book tells the tale of how Odin sent Thor to Earth to learn humility in the guise of Dr. Donald Blake. During an alien invasion Don Blake finds the mystic hammer Mjolnir which transforms him into the thunder god Thor. This book also features the first appearances of Thor's first love interest, Jane Foster. Other than some differences in detail, this Marvel Masterwork is a perfect frame for the Thor movie coming out in May.

J. Michael Straczynski helped re-introduce Thor and the other Asgardians into the Marvel Universe. The story has Thor re-establishing Asgard in Oklahoma and dealing with Tony Stark after Tony made a clone of Thor during Civil War. Many first time Thor readers said that this was a great introduction to the character and it would help people get to know the God of Thunder before the movie comes out in May.

X-Men: First Class (June 3rd):

Another Marvel Masterwork that features the first appearances of the original team of Charles Xavier's X-Men and the first formation of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants. Before their backgrounds were explored, it was clear that Charles was the hero and Magneto was the villain.

One of the main storylines of X-Men: First Class is how Eric Lehnsherr became Magneto. Eric's time in a concentration camp during the German invasion of Poland is one of the factors that influenced Eric's decision to take the fight to the humans before they attack mutants.

Green Lantern (June 17th):

Emerald Dawn is the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths version of Hal Jordan's origin. It provides some more detail into Hal's early days in the Green Lantern Corps and the story provides information about his father's death. The plot is how Hal Jordan changes from a depressed former air force pilot into one of earth's greatest heroes.

Secret Origin is another re-telling of Hal Jordan's early ring slinging days. Like Emerald Dawn, it does draw some focus to Hal's relationship to his father and how he becomes a pilot again. However, like most of Geoff Johns's work on GL, it does foreshadow Blackest Night with the additions of Atrocitus and William Hand (a.k.a. Black Hand). This is version of Hal's origin does explain how Hector Hammond's brain grew at least three times its normal size, so that might help people know this villain before his debut in the GL movie this summer.

Captain America: the First Avenger (July 22nd):

Why is an Avengers book featured on a list of Captain America graphic novels? Well that's because Captain America was found and revived by the Avengers in the fourth issue of the series. After his revival, the Avengers series started to show Cap's adjustment to the world after he was frozen for many years.





When Captain America regained his popularity in the Avengers series, Marvel decided to put out some solo stories for the Star Spangled Avenger which were featured in Tales of Suspense. The stories featured were flashbacks about Cap's adventures during World War II. Since the Captain America movie will primarily be set during World War II, this book is a great way to get an understanding about what Captain America was like during the war.

So those are all my graphic novel recommendations for people going to see the movies this summer. There are many other graphic novels for these characters available and if you have any recommendations please feel free to comment on this post. I hope everyone has an awesome summer and that none of these movies suck.