#Ray has excellent characterization in his solo series and then devolved into a background character that no one knew what to do with

[isfjmel-phleg]

Ray Terrill Reading List

I don't think one of these already exists around here, so here it is! I read/skimmed 200+ comics in which Ray appears, made note of any relevant appearances (as opposed to cameos or extremely minor roles), and compiled them into a chronological list for your reference. Issues that I would consider essential reading (your opinion may differ!) are in bold; everything else I would consider optional.

Please note: the Rebirth version of Ray is different enough to be a completely separate character in a completely separate continuity, so I am not including any of that material on this particular list.

The Ray Vol. 1 #1-6 (the miniseries that introduces the character)

Black Condor #9-10 (notable as a glimpse of Ray's life between his intro and his joining the JLA, trying to adjust to the real world)

Justice League America #71 (Ray is recruited for the JLA)

Justice League America #73, 75-77 (Ray plays a very minor role in these and other early JLA appearances, but I'm including them and the ones below in case you want a sense of how that went)

Black Canary Vol. 2 #8 (Ray meets Dinah Lance, and there will be consequences later in his second solo series)

Justice League America #78-79, Annual #7, 80-83

Guy Gardner Vol. 1 #15

Bloodbath #1

Justice League America #84

Justice League Quarterly #13

Justice League America #85-88

Guy Gardner: Warrior #20

The Ray Vol. 2 #1-2 (beginning of his second solo series)

Justice League America #89

Justice League Task Force #13

Justice League International Vol. 2 #65

Justice League Task Force #14

Justice League Task Force #15

Justice League Quarterly #15 (featured as a main character in one story)

The Ray Vol. 2 #3-5, 0

Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 [numbered backward intentionally] (Ray doesn't play a huge role, but he makes a significant contribution, and this event has lasting consequences)

Justice League Task Force #0, 17-24 (from here on, Ray is a significant supporting character in this team book, and its stories will occasionally intersect with his solo)

The Ray Vol. 2 #6-12, Annual #1, 13

Damage Vol. 1 #14 (a team-up with Grant Emerson, whom he met at Zero Hour)

Justice League Task Force #26

The Ray Vol. 2 #14

Justice League Task Force #27

The Ray Vol. 2 #15-19

Justice League Task Force #29-30

Underworld Unleashed #2-3 (adds some extra context to the arc above)

Justice League Task Force #31-37

The Ray Vol. 2 #20-28

Final Night #1-3 (crossover event involving darkness, of course Ray's involved in a supporting capacity)

Green Lantern Plus #1 (team-up with Kyle Rayner, last glimpse into Ray's personal life as established in his solo)

Action Comics #733 (after Superman undergoes a change in his powers, he turns to Ray for advice)

JLA Vol. 1 #29-31 (Ray's former Task Force teammate Triumph is back and evil and uses mind-control on Ray and others in an attempt to take over the JLA)

Guide to the DC Universe Secret Files & Origins 2000 #1 (only notable because Ray turns up in a class that is mandatory for him to take to stay in good standing with the JLA after the mind-control incident)

JSA: Our Worlds at War #1 (doing his part as a JSA reservist during the Our Worlds at War event, first time working with the Freedom Fighters)

Young Justice Vol. 1 #41, 45-55 (is invited to join Young Justice and doesn't get to do much but does get actual characterization)

Adventures of Superman #614-616 (has only a very minor role here but it's useful as an explanation for what happened to him after Young Justice ends--he contracted a weird disease)

JSA Vol. 1 #49, 73 (established as a part of the Freedom Fighters along with Grant Emerson)

Infinite Crisis #1 (the Freedom Fighters are attacked and mostly killed, Ray is taken prisoner, he's present for the rest of this series but doesn't really do anything besides be imprisoned and later rescued)

52 #1 (only notable for Ray's being welcomed back by Black Canary and Green Arrow after his imprisonment, you can skip the rest)

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters Vol. 1 #7-8 (dramatically returns to confront someone posing as the Ray on a newly reformed version of his old team)

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters Vol. 2 #1-2, 4-8 (none of the Freedom Fighters series are good Ray content, especially this one, which features a poorly executed attempt to reconcile him and his father)

Final Crisis #4, 6 (I have no idea what's going on this series but we get Ray interacting with speedster children and looking oddly like his father)

Weird Western Tales #71 (Ray gets attacked by a Black Lantern during the Blackest Night event)

Freedom Fighters Vol. 2 #1-9 (Ray is...present, I guess? But he gets almost no characterization and not much interesting to do.)

#comicsposting again #RT: born with the light #Ray has excellent characterization in his solo series and then devolved into a background character that no one knew what to do with #despite being in a supporting role in various team books - he tended to get less attention/characterization than some of his teammates #that and the quality of writing went WAY down somewhere around the mid-2000s #so if you really want to get to know the character the two solo series and the specified issues of Task Force are your best bet