I’ve talked a lot about the Guardians Of The Galaxy, the best places to start reading their comics and have repeatedly mentioned Annihilation among those recommendations.

So, now it’s time to do an Annihilation reading guide, so you know exactly what you need to read, and in what order!

The Overview:

Annihilation took some of Marvel’s lesser-known, lesser-loved cosmic characters, like Star Lord and Drax, and gave them new life as they faced the total destruction of the universe.

This event went on to leave a lasting impression on the cosmic side of the Marvel Comic Universe, from bringing together the Guardians Of The Galaxy to providing a starting place for modern comic readers – so, if you want to get into the cosmic side of Marvel, you really need to read Annihilation.

The Pre-Reading:

Luckily, the prologue is contained within the event’s bind ups, so you’ll be fine from that point of view. But, in terms of the characters involved, I would definitely recommend knowing a bit about Star Lord, Drax, Gamora, Nova, Quasar, the Silver Surfer, Ronan The Accuser, Thanos and Galactus. I’d also recommend knowing a bit about Skrulls too, specifically Talos and the Super-Skrull (guides coming at the end of June/throughout July!).

The Event:

The Annihilation Wave has come! Annihilus, lord of the Negative Zone, has declared war! Hordes of loyal soldiers swarm from the center of the universe, and only a handful of heroes can resist destruction! As the Xandarian Nova Corps meets its doom, only Richard Rider – the man called Nova – survives. Drax the Destroyer returns from exile on Earth to mentor Nova – but wait until you see his dangerous new persona! Guest-starring Quasar, Ronan the Accuser, the Super-Skrull and Thanos!

Book One collects the prologue issues of Drax The Destroyer issues 1-4, Annihilation Prologue and Annihilation: Nova 1-4. Some may be tempted to skip this, as it’s the prologue, but I would not recommend doing that, as this sets the scene for the entire event.

The Annihilation Wave has ravaged the galaxy and Silver Surfer seeks out his former master Galactus to turn back the wave! Plus, Super-Skrull battles Annihilus and Ronan squares off with Gamora! And it gets worse when Thanos and Annihilus forge an alliance.

Issues collected here are: Annihilation: Silver Surfer 1-4, Annihilation: Super-Skrull 1-4, and Annihilation: Ronan 1-4. The main event properly kicks off here.

The epic collection of the cosmic event concludes! One empire has fallen. Two heroes are dead. It all comes together here! Individually, the Silver Surfer, Super-Skrull, Ronan and Nova have faced down the Annihilation Wave…and lost! Now, they must unite those who remain or die by Annihilus’ hand! The Annihilation has only begun! Plus: Get caught up on all the players in the Annihilation event – Annihilus, Nova, Ronan, the Silver Surfer, the Super-Skrull, Thanos and more – courtesy of the Xandarian Worldmind files of the Nova Corps! 

Collects: Annihilation 1-6, Annihilation: Heralds Of Galactus 1-2 and Annihilation: The Nova Corps Files Handbook. The final book in the first half of the Annihilation event.

There is more to come in part two – Annihilation: Conquest, but that section is a bit longer, so I’m going to leave this reading guide here for now!

If there are any questions, or if there’s a specific reading order you want me to tackle, let me know in the comments and I’ll get right on it!