Comic Circuit reading order
Avengers: Heroes Return — Opening Year
Read the first twelve issues of Kurt Busiek and George Pérez’s Avengers relaunch in exact publication order. The route keeps the complete opening year together instead of recommending only a launch issue.
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THE COMPLETE PATH
Every comic, in order—and why it is here.
The explanations focus on placement and continuity without revealing story outcomes.
- 01Marvel · 1997-12-17 · The relaunch begins
Avengers #1
Why this comic was selected
This issue starts the 1998 Avengers series and the Busiek–Pérez run, so it establishes the team and creative direction for every chapter that follows.
- 02Marvel · 1998-01-28 · Opening story, chapter two
Avengers #2
Why this comic was selected
The second numbered issue continues the relaunch immediately; keeping it here preserves the opening story’s publication sequence.
- 03Marvel · 1998-02-25 · Opening story, chapter three
Avengers #3
Why this comic was selected
This is the third consecutive chapter of the new run and completes the first three-issue reading block before the series moves forward.
- 04Marvel · 1998-03-25 · The new run settles in
Avengers #4
Why this comic was selected
Issue four is the next step after the opening block and develops the team rather than skipping ahead to a later headline story.
- 05Marvel · 1998-04-29 · Fifth chapter
Avengers #5
Why this comic was selected
The route is designed as a complete opening year, so the fifth issue remains in its original position instead of reducing the run to selected highlights.
- 06Marvel · 1998-05-27 · Sixth chapter
Avengers #6
Why this comic was selected
This continues the monthly sequence and carries the team’s early relationships into the second half of the opening year.
- 07Marvel · 1998-06-24 · Midyear chapter
Avengers #7
Why this comic was selected
Issue seven marks the midpoint of this twelve-issue route and keeps the relaunch’s development intact between its larger story beats.
- 08Marvel · 1998-07-29 · Eighth chapter
Avengers #8
Why this comic was selected
This is the next numbered installment and belongs here so readers experience the run as published rather than as disconnected recommendations.
- 09Marvel · 1998-08-26 · Ninth chapter
Avengers #9
Why this comic was selected
The ninth issue continues the same creative run and leads directly into the final quarter of the opening-year path.
- 10Marvel · 1998-09-30 · Tenth chapter
Avengers #10
Why this comic was selected
Issue ten begins the final three-issue stretch selected for this route and should be read before the following two numbered chapters.
- 11Marvel · 1998-10-28 · Eleventh chapter
Avengers #11
Why this comic was selected
This penultimate stop preserves the exact publication sequence and carries the run into its first-year endpoint.
- 12Marvel · 1998-11-25 · Opening-year endpoint
Avengers #12
Why this comic was selected
The twelfth issue completes a full year-long reading block, giving the reader a substantial stopping point before choosing whether to continue the longer series.
Issue identities, dates, and covers are verified against Grand Comics Database records. The sequence follows the numbered 1998 Avengers series in publication order.
Keep exploring
Invincible: The First Thirteen
The opening thirteen issues in original publication order, covering the material collected across the first three early trade volumes.