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The Crow: How and where to read James O'Barr's gothic hero in comic form

Here’s how to read the source material on which the cult film and its sequels were based.

In 1994, the big screen adaptation of The Crow won over critics and audiences alike. Starring Brandon Lee as Eric Draven and directed by Alex Proyas, the movie was an adaptation of the comics created by James O’Barr and later others. The movie led to sequels, a television series and eventually an upcoming reboot. But what about the comics on which the dark superhero movies were initially based? 

Here’s your guide to reading The Crow comics.

How to Read The Crow

Here’s how to read The Crow comics that inspired the movies.

The Crow Origins

While The Crow has become an internationally recognized franchise, it started as a deeply personal story. When O’Barr was 18 years old, his fiancé was killed by a drunk driver. As such, O’Barr created the comic with the intention of using it to purge some of the “anger and hate” over the tragedy from his system.

Unfortunately, the work had the opposite effect. But O’Barr shares that he found he was “focusing on the negatively” and “intensifying it.” He believes it may have exacerbated his problem rather than alleviating it. However, after meeting and befriending Lee, experiencing his death and seeing the film myriad times, O’Barr “reached what is currently called ‘closure’ while visiting his grave in Seattle.”

Have you had a chance to read any of The Crow comics? Which one is your favorite?


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Avery Kaplan

Avery Kaplan: Avery lives and writes in Southern California. She is the co-author of Double Challenge: Being LGBTQ and a Minority with her spouse, Rebecca Oliver Kaplan. Avery is Features Editor at Comics Beat, and you can also find her writing on StarTrek.com, The Gutter Review, Geek Girl Authority, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.

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