Compilations | 1st Appearance | Origin Story | Main Publication History | Secondary Publication History | Key Storylines | Media Source Material | Key Issues
by snowbi-wan, updated Jun 2019
TANGLED is the 50th animated feature film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, released in Nov 2010 with a short film, TANGLED EVER AFTER, following in 2012 and an animated television series TANGLED: THE SERIES, following in 2017. Loosely based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the main character's name, Rapunzel has magical long hair which can heal and extend life. Rapunzel escapes the tower in which she is unknowingly imprisoned by her 'Mother' Gothel and gets caught up in the hijinks of a thief, Flynn Rider, which ultimately reveal her true identity as the abducted princess from the nearby kingdom. The feature film received generally favorable praise but failed to outdo any of Disney's signature classics. Comic books based on Tangled consisted merely of a graphic novel adaptation until the TANGLED: THE SERIES animated television show timeframe, to which IDW issued a few original graphic novels and several mini-series. Joe Books published a couple of their cinestory graphic novels in the same timeframe as well.
Compilations
In modern comic publishing, it's common (and expected) for individual comic book issues to be collected into compilations of trade paperbacks and/or hardcovers, as well as other special compilations. Unlike the individual source issues, the collected editions typically stay in print for long periods and are less 'collectible.' If individual issues are out of reach or are not of interest to you or if you just need reading copies, the following collected editions of Tangled comic books are the most recent in-print editions and are the perfect alternative to get started right away with Tangled. The following compilations are presented in a chronologically-based suggested reading order with softcover editions before any hardcover editions (unless the only in-print editions are hardcover--these are integrated into the softcover list).
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| Cover | Release Month | Series / Number / Storyline | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Quick View | Aug 2017 | DISNEY TANGLED [2017-DIG] CURRENT PRINTING |  | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Oct 2017 | TANGLED: THE SERIES--ADVENTURE IS CALLING [2017-SC] CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Feb 2018 | DISNEY TANGLED: THE SERIES [2018-SC] VOL 01: THE FRIENDSHIP MIX-UP CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Jun 2018 | DISNEY TANGLED: THE SERIES [2018-SC] VOL 02: THE WRITE STORY CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Aug 2018 | TANGLED: THE SERIES--LET DOWN YOUR HAIR [2018-SC] CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Jul 2019 | TANGLED: THE SERIES--HAIR-RAISING ADVENTURES [2018-TPB] CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Aug 2019 | TANGLED: THE SERIES--HAIR AND NOW [2019-TPB] | UNAVAILABLE | $8.49 |
1st Appearance
The first appearance of a character in comic book form is often the most valuable issue featuring that character. It's a nice place to get started in Tangled, if it's within your budget. Tangled comics weren't published in standard comic book format for several years before IDW put out a few. All of the early Tangled material is softcover adaptations. The very first graphic novel was exclusive to the Disney Store, and--like anything distributed outside the comic book direct market--is hard to come by in comic book specialty shops.
- TANGLED: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL [2010-SC] (1st appearance of Tangled (in softcover format))
- TANGLED [2018] #1 (1st appearance of Tangled (in standard comic book format))
Origin Story
The original presentation of an origin story or a retelling/recounting of it can be a good place to get started with a character or subject. The 'origin' of a superhero/villain is typically the event or circumstances surrounding how they gained their powers and/or began fighting/committing crime. But, Tangled is a musical fantasy, not a superhero story. The original film was adapted in comics a couple times from 2010-2017 (see other sections of this guide for further details).
Main Publication History
Series beginnings are always great places to get started in comic books. Here is the Main Publication History for Tangled comic books. Before 2017, Tangled comics were just adaptations of the feature movie and the television movie sequel. In 2017, comics based off the TANGLED: THE SERIES animated television show began.
- TANGLED: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL [2010-SC] (feature movie adaptation; graphic novel exclusive to the Disney Store in 2010)
- DISNEY TANGLED: BEFORE EVER AFTER CINESTORY COMIC [2017-DIG] (adaptation of the television movie sequel TANGLED: BEFORE EVER AFTER)
- DISNEY TANGLED [2017-DIG] (manga feature movie adaptation)
- DISNEY TANGLED: THE STORY OF THE MOVIE IN COMICS [2017-SC] (movie feature adaptation; reprint of material in TANGLED: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL [2010-SC])
- DISNEY TANGLED: THE SERIES--TAKE ON THE WORLD CINESTORY COMIC [2017-SC]
- TANGLED: THE SERIES--ADVENTURE IS CALLING [2017-SC] (1st IDW original softcover)
- TANGLED [2018] #1-3 (1st IDW mini-series)
- DISNEY TANGLED: THE SERIES [2018-SC] V1-2 (original softcover series from Jimmy Gownley)
- TANGLED: THE SERIES--LET DOWN YOUR HAIR [2018-SC] (2nd IDW original softcover)
- TANGLED: THE SERIES--HAIR-RAISING ADVENTURES [2018] #1-3 (2nd IDW mini-series)
- TANGLED: THE SERIES--HAIR AND NOW [2019] #1-3 (3rd IDW mini-series)
Media Source Material
If you've enjoyed non-comic media for Tangled, this section describes the comic book source material for some of the most popular non-comic media. However, with Tangled, movies and other media are not created from comic book source material. The original film was adapted in comics a couple times from 2010-2017 (see other sections of this guide for further details).
Key Issues
A key issue can be an acceptable place to get started with Tangled, but they are more of a collector's checklist, as they can carry high price tags. The issues listed in this section are predominantly non-variants (i.e. main covers).
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- TANGLED: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL [2010-SC] (1st appearance of Tangled (in softcover format))
- DISNEY TANGLED: THE STORY OF THE MOVIE IN COMICS [2017-SC] (movie adaptation)
- TANGLED [2018] #1 (1st appearance of Tangled (in standard comic book format))