Reading order
Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heroes For Hire by Abnett & Lanning: The Complete Collection | 2015 | Dan Abnett | N/A |
| 2 | Villains for Hire | 2012 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
Villains for Hire was a four-issue limited series published by Marvel in 2012, written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning as a follow-up to their Heroes for Hire series. The concept inverts the Heroes for Hire premise: while Misty Knight’s network used superheroes as contractors, Villains for Hire follows a rival operation controlled by Purple Man, who uses mind-controlled supervillains on missions for paying clients. The series features a rotating cast of B and C-list Marvel villains.
Abnett and Lanning wrote several interconnected Marvel series during this period, and Villains for Hire sits within the same creative run as their Heroes for Hire and related titles. The collection also includes the Heroes for Hire by Abnett and Lanning Complete Collection, which gathers the earlier series that directly precedes Villains for Hire.
Readers should read the Heroes for Hire collection before Villains for Hire to understand the setup and the relationships between the characters. The concept works best in the context of the contrast Abnett and Lanning establish between the two competing operations.