Given that a lot of these are older comics and, you know, the state of diversity in comics in general, there aren’t as many women and other non–cis men on this list as I would like. That said, I hope that’s an opportunity for Marvel to bring on more womxn (and womxn of color) to create some great new storylines for Wanda, Monica, and the rest of the gang.
It’s fair to say there’s a lot of variation in the quality of these comics. Yes, these are some of the best options to read after WandaVision, but keep in mind some of these characters haven’t always been done justice yet in their comic counterparts. Hopefully the popularity of the show will lead to some great new series for several of these characters, but in the meantime, we’ve got to work with what we’ve got. With that in mind, I’ve added an asterisk to my favorite picks from the list. These comics are worth a read on merit alone in addition to giving backstory to the characters from WandaVision. So if you see an asterisk, there’s a comic you can be sure is a genuinely great read.
Now, that that’s out of the way…This is a relatively spoiler-free list. I’m certainly not going to give away any major plot points past the first few episodes here. But if you haven’t watched the show at all yet (and you should) then keep in mind you’ll probably see a few things on this list you don’t know yet: characters featured in the show, certain storylines, etc. So, mild spoilers — be warned!
Check out this primer on Agatha Harkness and be sure to take our WandaVision quiz to find out which character fits your personality. And if you still can’t get enough, check out this handy dandy guide to Phase 4 of the MCU.
This collection also features Agatha Harkness, Wanda’s old mentor, in When Witches Die.
Definitely the best Vision standalone comic we’ve gotten so far, where we get to see both the human and inhuman (no, not that kind of Inhuman) side of Viz.
If you’re craving more Wanda after WandaVision, this solo series will help you get your fix. It also features a certain Agatha Harkness you might be interested in learning more about (though her depiction in the comics is quite different than the show). Plus, this comic might help provide some much needed background on what it means to take up the mantle of the Scarlet Witch as well as chaos magic.
Photon or Spectrum or Captain Marvel, whatever you want to call her, Monica Rambeau is without a doubt one of the most powerful superheroes Marvel has to offer, so here’s hoping both the MCU and Marvel Comics will do her justice and give her the storylines (and solo arcs) she deserves.
This series brings some much-needed character development to Quicksilver, explaining some of his abrasiveness and maybe even showing some maturation from the hot-headed Maximoff twin.
One of the storylines WandaVision was clearly very inspired by. In House of M, a grief-stricken Wanda alters reality for the X-Men and Avengers after accidentally killing Vision (along with Ant-Man and Hawkeye). Admittedly, much of the talk around mental illness in this book is not handled very well. Still, this is by far one of the best storylines to come out of Marvel, showcasing Wanda’s incredible powers, some of the best heroes the Avengers and X-Men have to offer, and reality-bending alternate universes. It’s a must-read.
Anyway, in The Children’s Crusade, when Wiccan’s powers begin to rival the Scarlet Witch’s he teams up with Magneto (good ole grandpa) as well as the rest of the Young Avengers to track down his mother and discover his true parentage. It’s a quest that pits him against both the Avengers and the X-Men and changes the Marvel universe forever.
I didn’t completely love some of the justifications this story provided for Avengers: Disassembled and House of M, but in fairness it is trying to find a delicate balance between keeping Wanda culpable for her actions while also explaining why she shouldn’t be seen as a villain because of them. Do they nail this? No. Is it still a really incredibly entertaining story? Absolutely yes.
