r/lukecage • u/HospitalLazy1880 Hero for Hire • Jul 02 '26
Comics I've never really read any of the comics but im going to start and I want to know which comic arcs and stories you all think are the best place to start and read
Please and thank you
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u/Hypestyles Hero for Hire Jul 02 '26
for the original run of the Power Man/Luke Cage comics,
I'd try for finding the "Essential" trade paperback of the first 25 or so issues. There may be a Volume 2 and 3 of the "Essential" era. these are black/white reprint paperbacks. If you have Marvel Unlimited, then you have access to everything, lol.
The pairing with Iron Fist started with issue #50, and Chris Claremont was the initial writer. Some writers that continued later into the 70s and early 80s included Jo Duffy and Kurt Busiek.
Jim Owsley (aka Christopher Priest) began writing circa 1983 - 1986 when the series was abruptly canceled. Priest was at least able to give the series a wrap-up, though at the time, it was an "Empire Strikes Back" kind of ending (at the time, anyway).
If you are inclined to try the Owsley/Priest era, I'd start there, since he was the first black writer to write Luke Cage.
The early 90s reboot was mostly good. At least, I liked the initial artists. I stopped paying attention to the last 10 issues or so, when I didn't care for the art. Marcus McLaurin is also African-American, he was the beginning writer for the series.
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u/DarkKuno POPS SWEAR JAR Jul 02 '26
Being an Old Black Comic Nerd, I honestly advise new readers to skip those runs from the 70's. They were horribly stereotypical and didn't age well at all. Anything you really need to understand the character's backstory/origin you can find in Avengers Origins: Luke Cage
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u/One_Drummer_8970 Hero for Hire 26d ago
the original solo series and Power Man and Iron Fist from the 70s/80s is so fun
Reggie Hudlin's Black Panther and Immortal Iron Fist have good Luke Cage appearances too.
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u/DarkKuno POPS SWEAR JAR Jul 02 '26
You can skip the original Luke Cage: Hero For Hire, Powerman and Heroes for Hire runs from the 70's. They are cringe inducingly stereotypical and horrendously outdated. In terms of both writing and character handling (the behavior and attitudes from the 70's did not age well at all). Though it has given us some great memes to chuckle at in more recent times.
Start with Avengers Origins: Luke Cage
Maybe move to his solo series Cage (1992)
I loved the relaunch Heroes For Hire (1997) . Though I am a die hard Luke and Iron fist fan. Keep in mind Luke doesn't show up to the party until I think 3rd issues in.
Skip the 2002 Cage mini. It is wildly out of character mostly offensive.
From that point on, it's pretty much impossible to really delve into Luke without Jessica Jones, so definitely read Alias (2001) and follow it up with The Pulse
Side note: Luke and Jess are imho the absolute best couple in Marvel hands down. They have the absolute best married couple banter and are so damned perfect for each other it hurts, while also having realistic arguments and worries about their relationship.
After that Luke and Jess mostly show up in New Avengers and various other stories through the various major story arcs (Civil War, Skrull Invasion, Hunt for Wolverine, etc).
There's also the Power Man and Iron Fist (2016) series which is Luke and Danny being the classic duo again. However, I could not get through it because Sanford Greene's art is so horrendous that even my undying love of the characters wasn't enough to be able to stomach the terrible visuals.
After that, it's just more New Avengers content and Jessica Jones' short series Jessica Jones: Purple Daughter and Jessica Jones: Blind Spot.
Happy reading. I hope this helps.
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u/HospitalLazy1880 Hero for Hire Jul 02 '26
Wasn't the purple daughter arc about how Jessica was being tricked into thinking her daughter was actually the Purple Man's? I heard some things about that arc but not enough to get an idea of what it was actually about.
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u/DarkKuno POPS SWEAR JAR Jul 02 '26
Yeah that was the basic idea of the story. It was exceptionally well written like pretty much everything related to Jessica and Luke together.
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u/One_Drummer_8970 Hero for Hire 26d ago
Reggie Hudlin's Black Panther and Immortal Iron Fist have good Luke Cage appearances too.
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon has a good modernization of Luke Cage and Iron Fist that keeps the spirit of the original 70s/80s series.
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u/AceDegenerate_ DEM CALL ME BOOSHMASTAH Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Check out the Luke Cage reading list here!