As with past reading orders, my methodology is that the main event series is the ultimate guide for the reading order. Next come any tie-is written by the writer of the event, followed by the rest using my best judgment (though, this event skews heavy towards Al Ewing). In a few sections, the specific reading order does not matter as tertiary tie-ins often can be shuffled around with little to no impact. In those cases, the order that I have here is simple personal preference/instinct. This is just my personal guide and it may change over rereads. Comments are added to clarify choices with as few plot details mentioned specifically, so, if you haven’t read the event, you won’t have anything spoiled if you wish to use this guide for your first time reading it.
The formatting is as follows: Bold means main event series, underlined means tie-in (co-)written by Al Ewing, and no additional formatting is for the other four issues. Normally, I’d try to further distinguish with a level ‘essential/important’ but, as Queen in Black is such a small event, that seems unnecessary.
* Knull #1-5, Comics Giveaway Day 2026: Amazing Spider-Man/Queen in Black #1, and Queen in Black: Hela #1: These are all prologue comics. I’ll admit that I have not read the first two, but I’m confident that they act as lead-ins. The Hela one-shot is the only comic from the event proper and, while I think you can slot it after the first issue if you prefer, it’s much more suited to a prologue placement in my view. Judging from my lack of reading the Knull mini and the CGD tease, the Hela one-shot gives enough information leading into the event.
* Queen in Black #1
* Queen in Black: Venom Unchained #1: Mostly takes place before the event/references the beginning of Hela’s invasion.
* Queen in Black #2
* Venom #260 and Queen in Black: Venom Unchained #2: Both reference the cliffhanger ending of Dylan Brock being captured by the Symbiote Intelligence.
* Queen in Black #3
* Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #1, Queen in Black: Thor #1, Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #2, and Black Cat #14: I found where to slot the Defenders of Light and Dark mini-series a little tricky. As of the second issue of the core series, they hadn’t actually left Earth, so, before the fourth issue seemed like the best spot to place the first two issues with the Thor one-shot in between as it overlaps directly with the beginning of the Beta Ray Bill/Tyr fight. Black Cat #14 is referenced in the third issue and has its resolution shown in the fourth, so here seems fine. While it violates the “show it in the main series first” rule, placing it after issue four hampers the momentum of the story, I find.
* Queen in Black #4
* Venom #261 and Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #3: the two big elements of leading into the final issue are shown in more depth.
* Queen in Black #5
* Venom #262 and Queen in Black: Venom Unchained #3: Expansions of what happens in the fifth issue, while also acting as epilogues for the event. One concluding Ewing’s time on the book and the other leading into the new Charles Soule-written relaunch.
Hopefully, this is a help to anyone looking to make sense of how to read the event and its various tie-ins.