Start Squirrel Girl comics with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson, beginning with the first paperback, Squirrel Power. Read the 2015 series #1 to 8, then the relaunched 2015 to 2019 series #1 to 50: 58 issues in 12 paperbacks, all written by North. Her earlier appearances and the 2016 graphic novel are optional extras, not required reading.
Squirrel Girl is Doreen Green, a hero with a bushy tail, enhanced strength and agility, and the ability to talk to squirrels. Marvel’s own listing for her graphic novel notes that she has defeated Thanos, Galactus and Doctor Doom (twice). This guide covers where to start, her earlier history, every collected edition in order, the extras and the adaptations.
Where to start with Squirrel Girl comics
The North and Henderson run is the place to start because it assumes no prior reading. Doreen is starting college at Empire State University, meeting a new roommate and trying to get to class on time while dealing with Kraven the Hunter and then a hungry Galactus, with her squirrel partner Tippy-Toe at her side. The tone is upbeat and joke-dense, and most issues open with a one-page “Squirrel Girl in a Nutshell” recap.
The first paperback, Squirrel Power, collects #1 to 4 and also reprints her 1992 debut story. Readers who want the whole Ryan North run in one book can go straight to the omnibus, which leaves out the 1992 debut and the older reprints.
Squirrel Girl comics in order: the short list
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015) #1 to 8, on sale January to August 2015.
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015 to 2019) #1 to 50, on sale October 2015 to November 2019.
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe (October 2016), a standalone graphic novel. It came out between vol. 2 #12 and #13, but it can be read at any point.
- Squirrel Girl Infinity Comic #1 (2022), a digital one-shot that picks up after the final issue and leads into the podcast.
Optional background, in publication order: Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 2 #8 (1992), G.L.A. #1 to 4 (2005), GLX-Mas Special #1 (2006) and New Avengers (2010) #7. For other series, browse the site’s more reading orders.
Squirrel Girl’s first appearance and early history
Squirrel Girl first appeared in “The Coming of… Squirrel Girl!”, a 23-page Iron Man story in Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 2 #8, cover-dated January 1992. The Grand Comics Database entry credits Steve Ditko with the plot, pencils and inks and Will Murray with the script. Teenage Doreen ambushes Iron Man in the woods to audition as his partner, and she and her squirrel friend Monkey Joe end up handing Doctor Doom a humiliating defeat. Marvel published a tribute to Will Murray in August 2026 after his death at 73.
Great Lakes Avengers and GLX
More than a decade later, Dan Slott and Paul Pelletier brought her back in the four-issue G.L.A. miniseries (2005), where she joins the Great Lakes Avengers, an unofficial Milwaukee team of small-time heroes such as Mister Immortal, Flatman and Doorman. During this run she befriends Tippy-Toe, the squirrel who becomes her long-term partner. After the team was told to stop using the Avengers name, it cycled through new ones, including the Great Lakes X-Men (GLX), the Great Lakes Champions and the Great Lakes Initiative. The GLX-Mas Special #1 (2006) is one of the stories from this period that the second Unbeatable paperback later reprinted.
New Avengers and other appearances
In New Avengers (2010) #7, by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones interview nannies for their daughter Danielle and settle on Squirrel Girl. Marvel’s character profile notes that she later worked with official Avengers groups before turning her focus to college. Many of her earlier stories, from her debut and G.L.A. to I Am an Avenger #1, are gathered in the 2016 paperback The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl & the Great Lakes Avengers.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl reading order
Ryan North wrote every issue of both volumes. Erica Henderson drew the series through vol. 2 #31, Derek Charm took over with #32, and Henderson stayed on as cover artist. Rico Renzi handled colors, and a few issues used other artists, including Jacob Chabot on vol. 2 #11 and Naomi Franquiz on #41. The series won the 2017 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens.
Volume 1 ran eight issues in 2015 before Marvel relaunched the book with a new #1 that October. Volume 2 ran 50 issues and ended in November 2019, and Marvel’s solicitation for #50 bills it as the final issue after 58 issues and one graphic novel. Will Murray returned to write a flashback story in vol. 2 #16 for the character’s 25th anniversary, and the late issues include a War of the Realms tie-in.
Trade paperbacks in order
The 12 trade paperbacks cover the full run in order. Issue ranges follow Marvel’s listings and the Grand Comics Database; years are the paperbacks’ on-sale years. Marvel’s listing for Vol. 6 says #17 to 22, but #22 opens Vol. 7, so the table follows the Grand Comics Database there.
| Vol. | Title | Collects | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Squirrel Power | 2015 #1 to 4, plus Marvel Super-Heroes #8 | 2015 |
| 2 | Squirrel You Know It’s True | 2015 #5 to 8, plus GLX-Mas Special #1, The Thing #8 and Age of Heroes #3 stories | 2015 |
| 3 | Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now | Vol. 2 #1 to 6, plus Howard the Duck #6 | 2016 |
| 4 | I Kissed a Squirrel and I Liked It | Vol. 2 #7 to 11 | 2016 |
| 5 | Like I’m the Only Squirrel in the World | Vol. 2 #12 to 16 | 2017 |
| 6 | Who Run the World? Squirrels | Vol. 2 #17 to 21 | 2017 |
| 7 | I’ve Been Waiting for a Squirrel Like You | Vol. 2 #22 to 26 | 2018 |
| 8 | My Best Friend’s Squirrel | Vol. 2 #27 to 31 | 2018 |
| 9 | Squirrels Fall Like Dominoes | Vol. 2 #32 to 36 | 2018 |
| 10 | Life Is Too Short, Squirrel | Vol. 2 #37 to 41 | 2019 |
| 11 | Call Your Squirrelfriend | Vol. 2 #42 to 46 | 2019 |
| 12 | To All the Squirrels I’ve Loved Before | Vol. 2 #47 to 50 | 2020 |
Volumes 7 and 8 also carry short bonus material from A Year of Marvels and Not Brand Echh #14.
Hardcovers, omnibus and value editions
- Four oversized hardcovers: Vol. 1 (2015 #1 to 8 plus the older stories from the first two paperbacks), Vol. 2 (vol. 2 #1 to 11 and Howard the Duck #6), Vol. 3 (#12 to 21) and Vol. 4 (#22 to 31, the end of Henderson’s run as regular artist).
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Omnibus (March 2023): more than 1,600 pages collecting both volumes, the graphic novel, Howard the Duck #6 and the short bonus stories.
- Three $12.99 paperbacks: Powers of a Squirrel (2015 #1 to 8), Big Squirrels Don’t Cry (vol. 2 #1 to 11 and Howard the Duck #6) and Squirrels Just Wanna Have Fun (vol. 2 #12 to 21), released from 2019 to 2021. They cover the run only through #21.
Extras: the graphic novel, novels and Marvel Rising
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe (October 5, 2016): North and Henderson’s 115-page original graphic novel, in which mad science and some bad decisions create an evil duplicate of Doreen. Marvel pitched it as a standalone for old fans and new readers alike.
- Squirrel Meets World (February 7, 2017) and 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious (March 6, 2018): middle-grade novels by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale that tell an original story rather than adapting the comic. In the second, Doreen is a 14-year-old in suburban New Jersey, juggling middle school and group texts with the Avengers.
- Squirrel Girl: Universe: a prose novel by Tristan Palmgren for Aconyte Books’ Marvel Heroines line, announced for August 2, 2022, in which Doreen and her friends end up lost in outer space.
- Marvel Rising: Squirrel Girl is one of the teen heroes in Marvel’s 2018 Marvel Rising franchise, voiced by Milana Vayntrub in the animated film Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors, which premiered September 30, 2018 on Disney Channel and Disney XD. The tie-in comics include two 2018 one-shots co-starring Ms. Marvel, Marvel Rising: Squirrel Girl/Ms. Marvel #1 and Marvel Rising: Ms. Marvel/Squirrel Girl #1, written by Devin Grayson, Ryan North and G. Willow Wilson.
Squirrel Girl adaptations as of October 2026
- TV: Vayntrub was cast as Squirrel Girl in Marvel’s New Warriors, a live-action comedy for Freeform, but TV Guide reported in November 2017 that the show would not air on the network.
- Podcast: Marvel’s Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show! (April 2022) is a six-episode scripted series from Marvel and SiriusXM, written by North and starring Vayntrub, that picks up where the comics left off.
- Games: Squirrel Girl was playable from day one in Marvel Rivals, which launched December 6, 2024.
- WEBTOON: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl began running in vertical-scroll format on WEBTOON on January 30, 2026, and as of October 2026 its listing says new episodes go up every Saturday.
How many Squirrel Girl comics are there?
The answer most readers want is 58: 8 issues of the 2015 series and 50 of the 2015 to 2019 series, the same total Marvel cites in its solicitation for the final issue. On top of that come the 2016 graphic novel and the 2022 digital Squirrel Girl Infinity Comic one-shot. Her many guest and team appearances, from G.L.A. to New Avengers, are not part of that count, so any larger total depends on what is being counted.
Frequently asked questions
What is Squirrel Girl’s first appearance?
Her first appearance is Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 2 #8, cover-dated January 1992, in a story by Will Murray and Steve Ditko. She tries to become Iron Man’s partner and helps him defeat Doctor Doom. The story is reprinted in the first Unbeatable paperback, Squirrel Power.
What order should Squirrel Girl comics be read in?
Read The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015) #1 to 8, then The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015 to 2019) #1 to 50. That is the same as reading trade paperback Vol. 1 to 12 in number order. The 2016 graphic novel stands alone and can slot in anywhere.
Do you need to read older comics before The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl?
No. The series opens with Doreen starting college, and the first paperback even reprints her 1992 debut. Her Great Lakes Avengers and New Avengers stories are background, not homework.
Who drew The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl?
Erica Henderson drew the 2015 series, vol. 2 through #31 and the 2016 graphic novel. Derek Charm drew most of the remaining issues, starting with #32, while Henderson stayed on as cover artist.
Is The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl finished?
Yes. The series ended with vol. 2 #50 in November 2019, which Marvel billed as the final issue. Ryan North continued the story in the 2022 Infinity Comic and the podcast, and as of October 2026 the comic is being serialized on WEBTOON.
Lead photo: A cosplayer as the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl at WonderCon 2016. Photo: William Tung, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
