Before you see Iron Man (out May 2), read Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle by David Michelinie and Bob Layton
True, Jon Favreau's movie is more of a cheeky origin story, but it merely sets the foundation for what he's reportedly said will lend itself to a warts-and-all sequel. Enter Demon in a Bottle. Fifteen years after Iron Man's invention, Michelinie and Layton created this definitive portrait of the alcoholic hero. Tony Stark, the playboy industrialist under the armor, goes head-to-head against whiskey sours and amaretto and scotches — it's probably the only time you'll hear the battle cry, ''I should never have had that fourth martini!'' Reminders that it's 1979 include disco fashions and Ed Koch. —Sean Howe
Before you see Speed Racer (out May 9), read Speed Racer: Mach Go Go Go by Tatsuo Yoshida
Speed Racer has a long and colorful history, and we're not talking about the 20 or so years the film toiled in production until the Wachowski brothers finally gave it big-screen life. Before becoming an anime TV series in Japan and later making its way to American television in the '60s, the hyper car-racing adventure series was the brainchild of comic-book writer Yoshida. Originally titled Mach Go Go Go, the complete black-and-white manga series has been translated and reprinted in a two-book box set that shows off Yoshida's ability to sketch race scenes so energetic that you can practically feel them kick into overdrive. Take that, CGI. —Loren Lankford
Before you see The Incredible Hulk (out June 13), read Hulk: Gray by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
Of all the Marvel icons, the Hulk surely has the fewest canonical storylines — the Jekyll/Hyde conflict of Bruce Banner and ol' greenskin has only so much richness to explore. Loeb and Sale turn the exclamation points of the Lee-Kirby origin story into stoic periods, adding the patina of subtlety that appeals to contemporary audiences. (Whether you want attempts at gravitas in a story about a nine-foot green behemoth is up to you.) Director Louis Leterrier has cited this as a major inspiration for his upcoming, embattled film. —Sean Howe
Before you see Wanted (out June 27), read Wanted by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones
James McAvoy stars as a disaffected, emasculated white guy (boo-freakin'-hoo) who, with the help of a killer hottie named Fox (Angelina Jolie), gets a rise-to-power makeover when he discovers his secret heritage: His father was a super-powered assassin who belonged to a secret organization known as the Fraternity, which executes the death orders of fate itself. Reading the brilliantly dark source material — a 2003-04 miniseries by Mark Millar and JG Jones — won't illuminate, as it doesn't involve any established characters. In fact, it might set you up for disappointment: The comic book isn't about mystical assassins, but a fractured, warring secret society of wantonly evil and sadistically twisted super-villains who've killed all the superheroes and secretly rule the world. Clearly, the movie has replaced the geek tropes to appeal to a wider audience, which may cause fanboys to cry foul and critics to carp ''Chicken!'' But hopefully the wicked poke at nihilistic wish-fulfillment fantasies remains. —Jeff Jensen
Before you see Hellboy II: The Golden Army (out July 11), read Hellboy: Darkness Calls by Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo (available in paperback on May 9)
With the Guillermo del Toro-helmed Hellboy II looking to shy away from the first film's pulp influences in favor of a full-fledged journey into Pan's Labyrinth-worthy fantasy, Darkness Calls (which jibes with the movie's timeline, but didn't inspire its plot) also widens the scope of the Hellboy universe. It finds the gruff, grouchy demon stepping into a Russian legend and facing off against the witch Baba Yaga and her minions — including a skeleton army and the fearsome Koschie, an unkillable swordsman. Newcomer artist Fegredo stays true to series creator Mignola's Kirby-esque stylings, lending the book a unique mix of cartoon-like energy and mythic horror. —David Greenwald
Before you see The Dark Knight (out July 18), read Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
The gripping, twisty Halloween (which is said to have influenced Knight) picks up with Batman-as-indefatigable-gumshoe fixin' to crumble a crime family that's intermingling with supervillains. But there's trouble, too, in the hero ranks: Workaholic district attorney Harvey Dent undergoes an unsettling, heartbreaking transformation into his alter ego, Two-Face, which calls into question the nature of crime and, yes, punishment — all under an ominous, noir-Gotham backdrop. —Nisha Gopalan
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