Brotherhood of the Fist Reading Guide

Overview:

The Brotherhood of the Fist storyline, published by DC Comics in 1998, is a crossover event involving multiple titles, primarily focusing on martial arts characters within the DC Universe. Written by Chuck Dixon with contributions from various artists, the story runs through titles such as Green Arrow, Detective Comics, Robin, and Nightwing.

At its core, the plot centers on the Brotherhood of the Monkey Fist, a secretive and deadly martial arts clan that seeks to claim dominance over the martial arts world by defeating the top fighters. This draws in a range of heroes, with Green Arrow (Connor Hawke) playing a significant role alongside other street-level heroes like Nightwing, Batman, and Robin. They face not just the Brotherhood but also other skilled martial artists with competing interests.

Fan reception was generally positive, with readers appreciating the spotlight on underutilized martial arts heroes, while the artwork was praised for its dynamic action scenes. It is a memorable crossover for its focus on hand-to-hand combat and its character-driven approach.

Best Way To Read:

Not Collected

For crossover and significant events, I typically only read the main story the first time I encounter it. Trying to read all of the tie-ins with the story tends to make them increasingly convoluted and are not crucial to the main narrative. However, I think they are important to read, as many series-shifting plotlines can happen.

For the tie-in issues, I only read them as they come up in the reading guide that I am working through. This can become problematic because the tie-in issues are not always included in collected editions of the event. So you may need to hunt for them.

Reading Order:

References:

• Wikipedia
• Comic Book Reading Orders

Feature Image from Green Arrow #134 cover art by Todd Klein, Robert Campanell, and Rodolfo Damaggio