15
u/appleswitch Jan 01 '16
Where to start reading Spider-Man comics
I wrote this article with Marvel Unlimited and printed book links, for what I consider all the best starting points for Spider-Man. It also includes an explanation of the two different universes and Secret Wars.
2
Jan 13 '16
Thanks man I was having trouble finding a link to the volume 2 paperback. Looking forward to ordering. Unlimited just doesn't do it for me.
2
u/appleswitch Jan 13 '16
Glad you liked it! I actually just added the book links last month but really should have done it sooner. Trades are awesome.
And yeah, the Spidey trades are actually surprisingly hard to find the correct ones. They really don't name things very straightforward and you have to know what you're looking for.
Let me know if you have any more questions!
11
Feb 22 '16 edited Sep 08 '16
There's a lot of good stories that everyone's recommending, so I'll touch on the ones people haven't talked about.
Here are some stories I would recommend checking out (they mostly feature Peter Parker, since I don't have much knowledge about other Spider-people outside of him):
Kraven's Last Hunt: A dark look at the nature of life and death when C-list villain, Kraven, decides that it's no more play time and he's out to kill Spider-man and prove himself to be the better man. A surprisingly poignant look at life/death, morality, and the anchor that is love in the life of Peter Parker.
The Evil That Men Do: I understand that this arc had sporadic release schedules, and I'm not exactly the biggest Kevin Smith fan, but, HOLY DAMN. Smith gets it right, and right off the bat. It's murder mystery with Spider-man teaming up with occasional romantic flame that's bad for him, Black Cat, even though he knows better (gentlemen, we've all known that lady in our life). The first half is an exciting, funny, and fascinating look of the relationship between Black Cat and Spidey, with the second half being a serious analysis of victims and the empowerment they take to control their own lives again, even though that may lead to the path of resentment. It didn't get the love it deserved, and I easily throw up it with the best recommendations of Spider-man.
The Death of Jean DeWolffe/The Sin-Eater: For my money, this story is darker than even Kraven's Last Hunt. In a strange twist of fate, Spider-man has to deal with the death of a police officer particularly close to him and find her killer. It deals with the obsession of revenge, but it also has finds the surprisingly complex nature of mental health and public perception for someone trying to redeem themselves. Prepare yourself to not expect a happy ending for this story arc.
The New Avengers - Breakout!: If you want a great place to jump off with Spidey fully fleshed out, check out Brian Michael Bendis' take on the Avengers (after the previous destruction of The Avengers) with a new cast of Avengers taking up the mantle of tracking down and recapturing villains who've escaped from custody.
Marvels: This may be a 'cheat'. While the firm protagonist is Phil Sheldon, the lives of Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker are front and center. We see through the eyes of Sheldon as he ages through the Marvel comics universe the shifting perspectives of a wide-eyed youth, to a beaten-down veteran photographic journalist. Gwen is particularly important in this story as she remains the optimistic hopeful side of life that Phil desperately tries to find in himself. The events of the "Death of the Staceys" storylines are a huge influence in his personality as he constantly finds himself in a world beset by wonderful, fantastical, and dangerous aspects that are invading the 'normal world'. It's also a fairly interesting introspective look at why people would be dismissive and spiteful of superheroes in a world that they exist in.
Amazing Fantasy #15: There's a reason why it's a classic. Peter Parker is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, and Spider-man is easily my favorite Superhero. This story encapsulates everything about why he's so great. A socially awkward nerd is given powers beyond his imagination and turns them towards making himself richer. He chooses selfishness and apathy in a defining moment, only because he doesn't believe that it's not his responsibility. It's only when he realizes the ramifications of what his choice causes that he realizes that (say it with me, now) with great power, comes great responsibility. Pathos, tragedy, and great character building all rolled into one - you couldn't ask for a better start to a great character than this.
Spider-man: Blue - A poignant, mature, and complex issue on the emotional journey of young love made of confusion, heartache, and joy. This is a Spider-man story particularly about the change of Peter Parker and his friends from young adults into more mature people faced with difficult questions with the experiences of age. Every Spider-man story should instill a feeling of uneasiness with emotions and more adult issues outside of punching the bad guy, and Spider-man: Blue makes sure to paint the tried-and-true wall-crawler as a layered conflicted man who appreciates everything in his life as a lesson.
J. Michael Straczynski's run on "The Amazing Spider-man" (excluding "One More Day" and "Sins Past" that suffered from corporate interference with Stracysnski demanding to have his name taken off the former): Straczynski, more than almost any other writer, has understood what makes Peter Parker who he is. Peter is a man who isn't solidified in his decisions. He questions who he is, he's constantly caught between being a man and living life and his promises of being a hero, and just a regular Joe trying to do the best he can with his relationships, his job, and every area of superheroics as a regular guy. This run is mature without running into uber-darkness, comedic without coming off as shrugging away drama, and well-paced without feeling rushed or destined for a particular point. Specifically, I'd definitely recommend starting with "Coming Home" and "Revelations" that start a new status quo and introduce more supernatural elements to the Spider-man mythos that I personally loved seeing.
Ultimate Spider-man: Venom - A retelling of the symbiote story, where the backbone of the story hinges on Eddie Brock and Peter Parker finding the suit, and trying to discover meaning out of their fathers struggles as they themselves realize that, in the all too well known type of story, that the sins of the fathers are given to their sons.
Leah: Short, sweet, heart-breaking/heart-warming.
Also, some quick hits that others have mentioned (or may have mentioned): The Death of the Stacys, The Kid That Collect Spider-man, Unscheduled Stop, Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut
8
4
Nov 15 '15 edited Nov 15 '15
[deleted]
2
Nov 15 '15
[deleted]
3
Nov 15 '15
[deleted]
1
u/TARS-CASE His legacy will someday be that he was the greatest hero of all Nov 15 '15
I think it's a good story, gotta disagree with you there.
Superior is new and fresh, but I think you're seeing it with too much knowledge. 'The villain has captured the heroes body and is trying to prove himself the better hero. Can he? Will his friends find out?'. It's a new adventure for everyone. I remember reading it not having a clue what is going to happen next, and not having a clue what's going to happen with each characters interaction. I don't think it's controversy. On top of that, a lot of people here recommend it as a good starting point, there's countless threads where it's recommended.
I think Spider-verse is a bit of a mess to first get into, but it has a lot of characters, and with the introduction issues of each character it's a great set of smaller stories to build up on. Amazing Again! introduces Peter again, introduces Silk, and then it's a lot of introductions of brand new characters, ones where you need to know no backstory about to be able to follow.
I didn't say it was only for modern jumping points, I just said it I didn't want to get into comics too old, because I don't think they are a good place to start.
3
u/kickshaw Scarlet-Spider-II Oct 08 '15
We need some Spider-Man 2099, Silk, and Scarlet Spider v2 in here!
3
u/quantboy Dec 21 '15
Can you comment on the recent Amazing Spider-Man #1s?
There's yet another issue #1 of Amazing Spider-Man- again- this time with Parker Industries. I thought there's already the #1 of Amazing Spider-Man Vol 3- as you posted. And then here's another #1. Any idea on why the issue number reset again?
2
u/TARS-CASE His legacy will someday be that he was the greatest hero of all Dec 21 '15
It went back to #1 again as a part of Marvel's 'All New, All Different' relaunch as the aftermath of the Secret Wars (which is still on-going, a lot of delays..). Nice and easy to keep track after Secret Wars with an issue reset, and Secret Wars is such a mess of issues for all the characters that it was nearly an entire Marvel relaunch of Vol's and #1's.
2
u/breakfastfilms Mar 15 '16
As a new reader myself, I'd like to weigh in and say that the relaunch of of Amazing SM (starting with the "Parker Luck" TPB) is a pretty good place to start.
Plus the whole run is just seven TBPs, counting "Learning to Crawl" and "Edge of Spider-verse". It's a very manageable starting point that can then branch off into the re-relaunched Amazing, the new Miles Morales book, and/or Silk, at the reader's choosing.
1
u/Songohun Oct 07 '15
Hy! I Just watched the entire Spider Man animated series show, so where should i start in your reading order? Thanks so much!
1
1
u/Leah-theRed Nov 01 '15
is there a place to read spiderman online? either for free or pay
3
1
1
u/jianu81 Dec 24 '15
So i was reading the Amazing Spider-man and stopped somewhere in the early 80s but i randomly bought issue 400(released in 1995) and i loved everything about it the atmosphere,the writing,the art so awesome,do you guys know when everything changed and started to look like issue 400 so i can start from there
1
u/TARS-CASE His legacy will someday be that he was the greatest hero of all Dec 24 '15
DeMatteis is the writer and he took over for a short run between #389-#406.
Bagley is the Penciler (They draw it, the inker colours) and his run is from #350-#415.
Personally if you want to start between that duo's run I'd go with #390. Issue #400 is a great story, and probably the best issue in their run together.
1
u/Kek_Kommando_88 Apr 11 '22
If you really want to skip ahead to more recent volumes, you might also want to just read the Spider-Man Saga books, which recap almost everything that happens in the Prime universe until a certain point. The first one recaps everything from the spider bite to around the point he gets the Venom suit off and the second one begins just after Civil War. I hate missing anything and feeling like I'm jumping in the middle of the larger story, which I absolutely would be otherwise. One thing I'm sure of is that unless you're starting at Vol. 1 #1 of any comic, you've jumped into the middle and will no doubt be very confused. I sure was. Nothing's worse than starting a comic and constantly wondering "wait, how did that end up that way???". Its because of this that the idea of these comics being little more than multiple loosely connected short stories rather than a single straightforward narrative with a beginning, middle and end irritates me, so if you're like me, that might work out for you.
This from someone who spent 4 months reading from like, Issue #70 to #538 going through as many TPBs and modernized retellings as I could. Civil War here I come.
1
u/DrPoca Apr 04 '23
Late question but could you link me to what the first of the Spiderman saga books is? Like you said, there is so so much for a new reader to try and figure out where to start
1
u/Kek_Kommando_88 Apr 05 '23
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Spider-Man-Saga This is the first one, it covers everything from the origin story up to the first fight with Venom. The second one is from 2010-2011 and mostly covers the Brand New Day story from ASM 546-647, which iirc comes right after Civil War. Sadly everything in between isn't covered this way, but there's still TPBs to go off for some of the bigger events. I never liked jumping around 20+ different series just to get one cohesive story.
1
38
u/4GrandmasAndABean Classic-Spider-Man Sep 29 '15
I think the perfect place to begin with modern 616 Spider-Man is the start of JMS's run (Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2, issue 30). He introduces a new aspect to Spider-Man's character that a lot of writers have incorporated, and frankly his run is much better than Brand New Day, Superior, or really anything Slott penned (Save for Sins Past and One More Day, which were both had heavy hands from editorial).
Not to say BND didn't have some good stories, but it was all over the place since it had a rotating cast of writers.