So much of Marvel Comics relies on having read a tonne of backstory and knowing so much about the lead-up/keeping track of all the extra tie-ins that it can feel impossible to just pick something up and read.

While I hope that this website helps with that, or at least makes it easier to find exactly what you need to read to enjoy larger events, I also want to help you all to find the simple, no-other-knowledge-necessary runs too.

So, I’ve decided that I’m going to be making a series of blog posts about easy, one-off reads that you can dive into with minimal Marvel knowledge and absolutely no pre-reading necessary!

Today, we’re starting with Tom Taylor’s Dark Ages, which is a recent run from 2022!

Foreshadowed in last year’s FREE COMIC BOOK DAY: X-MEN and in today’s series of mysterious teasers, this highly anticipated limited series will see heroes from every corner of the Marvel Universe unite against a new threat – and fail. Their defeat will usher in an exciting new age full of heartbreaking loss and unimaginable stakes. As the world is remade, fans will meet fascinating new versions of their favorite heroes as they fight to overcome insurmountable odds and restore hope to the universe.

Dark Ages sounds intimidating, but I promise that it’s an easy read for anyone new to comics.

This run is set in an alternate universe, so you genuinely will not need any knowledge of our heroes’ backstories, what they’ve been up to recently, or anything. As long as you have a basic understanding of the characters, which you can pick up from watching the MCU (and the X-Men/Fantastic Four/Venom movies), you can dive into this comic and have no problem!

As for the actual reading order, it’s pretty simple – there’s a single bind up volume called Dark Ages, which collects everything in one handy copy, or you can read each issue individually – which are numbered simply 1-5.

There are no other tie-ins, no prequels or sequels, it’s just this one volume.

So if you’re looking for a good comic to start with, or just want to read something that doesn’t come with a tonne of pre-reading or extras to keep track of, then Dark Ages is definitely something to check out!

I hope this was helpful – if you have any specific characters you want me to do something like this for, please leave a comment down below and I’ll get working on it!