Comic TPB Guides

[Smiley]

As someone who's only been into comics for a few years, I still find it hard to navigate through a character or group's back catalog to know what issues have been collected, what the rough publication order was, where the various miniseries and tie-ins fit, and how the renumbering of titles and volumes has gone.

Here are a couple of sites that contain much of the information I seek regarding the X-Men:

http://reviews.ebay.com/X-Men-Trade-Paperback-Guide-Part-I_W0QQugidZ10000000001356101

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/89DQQXAY5RI1/ref=cm_srch_res_rpsy_alt_1

Has anyone found fan sites or other online resources for collecting and reading trades of a particular character/title/series/group?

 

[Broccoli]

This one is pretty good for Superman:

http://www.supermantrades.com/

 

[Mr Light]

I too have faced this problem. These trades should really be numbered or have a comprehensive list at the front, they want to sell more books don't they? Also they ALL need to have a recap/intro at the front, VERY few do.

 

[coolghoul]

I too face a similar problem. I don't know which trades are necessary for a particular event ( similar to the recent post about Infinite Crisis) that I want to read and also don't know of a good way to find out what are the Trades releasing in a particular month. Marvel's trades for a month is easier to lookup. DC's "graphic novel" is just an alphabetical listing - haven't figured out where they put out what their latest releases are. (And most of the release info is related to the individual comics - not the trades - I have to wade thru stuff in order to get the Trades info)

DC's (I think) is a bad site - it consistently defeats my web-fu. eg. recently I figured out that Blackest Night #0 was a "free comic" and reasoned that it must be available digitally on their website but couldn't figure out where and gave up...

Back to the matter at hand - I wanted to check out all the trades that go into "Secret Invasion". The only way that I've figured out is searching Amazon.com for Secret Invasion - it at least gives me some trades information. However, it doesn't give me a reading order. Helpful people do have collections listed for Secret Invasion on Amazon.com but the one I saw wanted me to read House of M and such stuff - which is a ways behind. (I don't really want to go back to the very beginning of stuff either).

Recently, I wanted to know which trades make up Dark Reign. I haven't figured it out still...

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Here's a site with DC's TPBs listed in chronological order in terms of DCU storytelling. It isn't a complete list and there are a couple of placements that one could argue, but it's a good list.

 

[Mr Light]

Blackest Night #0 was a free giveaway comic on Free Comic Book Day in May. If you didn't it get that day, it isn't free anymore As Secret Invasion trades I think they all kinda take place simultaneously since the entire event only takes place over a couple of days.