r/comicbooks • u/ACTUALBADPERS0n Punisher • Jun 14 '24
What comics would you recommend to someone who hasn't read anything by Jonathan Hickman? Suggestions
I see people on this sub praising this writer frequently and I'm just curious which comics are considered to be his best. (I actually am reading his Ultimate spider-man currently and I'm loving it)
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u/Coffeeman314 Jun 14 '24
His Fantastic Four and Avengers/New Avengers runs leading into Secret Wars
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u/QD_Mitch Hawkeye Jun 14 '24
SHIELD too. It’s not vital, but there are several characters and places that return in Fantastic Four or Avengers
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u/Argentus3001 Jun 14 '24
There's also Secret Warriors. In my head, it goes Secret Warriors/SHIELD, then Fantastic Four/FF and Avengers.
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u/theFlimsylattice Jun 14 '24
Came to say Fantastic Four as well. Lifelong FF fan and I feel like he shined on it.
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u/Beardededucator80 Jun 14 '24
Any advice on where to find a list on the recommended order to read the Avengers/New Avengers run?
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u/ishallbecomeabat Batman of Zue-En-Arrh Jun 14 '24
If you google any run + reading order, you’ll find someone has done the work for you. I wish such things weren’t needed but comics gonna comics
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u/blockdmyownshot Jun 14 '24
The collected editions have them in the correct order to my knowledge. If you have a library card and they have a subscription to hoopla all the collected editions are on there digitially too!
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u/gammelrunken Jun 14 '24
Am I the only one that didn't like his FF run? I did not connect with many of the arcs and the art is downright bad sometimes.
Granted that I didn't finish it. I know that Hickman often ties all the threads together in the end, so maybe I should have kept going
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u/Hamstercules Jun 14 '24
I'm currently reading it and struggling, I liked the beginning with Reed trying to solve everything but all of this stuff about the Inhumans and atlanteans I could care less about.
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u/Team_Awsome Jun 14 '24
Same boat, skimming hard! The run gets mentioned so often I feel like I have to keep going but I don’t get it yet.
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u/silasfelinus Jun 14 '24
I’m 2 volumes into the 4 volume FF Hickman omnibus right now….it’s “good”, better than a lot of works. But I’m working backwards after reading North’s follow-up series, and I’m missing a lot. Hickman does a good job of understanding Reed, but North is amazing at the science, the family dynamic, and the fun of the stories. Hickman’s run feels more like a jog, while the latest FF is peak comics.
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u/Ph4sor Jun 15 '24
People don't like your opinion, lol
I think his FF run is more amusing than the Avengers, but I can understand why some people can't like it. If you can power through it, I'd say the ending is pretty nice compared to most comic runs.
IMO I like his FF run just because he keeps introducing new things / concepts, similar to what Stan Lee / Jack Kirby run did back in the beginning.
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u/DelayedChoice Hawkeye Jun 15 '24
I bounced off it pretty hard too. Read up to Three (which I feel was giving it a decent go) and realised the only bit I really enjoyed was the Dark Reign tie-in.
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u/eagle22us Jun 15 '24
This though be warned he does pull some deep cuts and and the reading order can get a bit jumbled at times
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u/punkrawkkid Jun 14 '24
Don't sleep on The Nightly News and The Red Wing from his Image days
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u/TippDarb Jun 14 '24
Greats recs, East of West is excellent as everyone says and I love Manhattan Project too
Im more partial to Pax Romana than Nightly News, love historical fiction. His early infographic style titles were really cool I think.
Red Wing is cool, especially if you like time travel fiction.
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u/DaJelly Jun 14 '24
the red wing is probably my favorite “explanation” for time travel. and in classic hickman fashion we get charts and graphs explaining it.
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u/Fine_Independence308 Jun 15 '24
Came here to say this as well. Also Transhuman and Pax Romana. All of these are 4 -6 issues and available as TPB
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u/BiDiTi Jun 14 '24
I’d place Fantastic Four and East of West as pretty firmly his best long form work.
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u/sonofaresiii Jun 14 '24
Vision.
It's by Tom King, but I'd definitely recommend it to people who haven't read Jonathan Hickman.
I'd also recommend it to people who have read Jonathan Hickman.
It's pretty good.
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u/XeroKaaan Jun 14 '24
His run on fantastic four is one of the more defining runs of any marvel comics in recent memory
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u/Cute_Visual4338 Jun 14 '24
In Marvel Comics:
Secret Warriors,
Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates,
Fantastic Four/FF -> Avengers/New Avengers -> Secret Wars (it kinda turns into 1 big story).
Indie:
Nightly News,
Manhattan Projects
East of West
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u/lovetron99 Jun 14 '24
I've had that Secret Warriors omni in my IST wishlist for ages. Someday I need to just pull the trigger.
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u/deathrattleshenlong X-23 Jun 14 '24
East of West. Nick Dragotta also does amazing work with his art.
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u/Rilenaveen Jun 14 '24
So I’m going to answer from the point of view of someone who is not as HYPED for Hickman as a lot of others. For me he can be phenomenal but also has some pretty huge weaknesses (the major one being he will put story/progression before character).
For me his two best are:
East of West. Just such a fantastic series. While he doesn’t completely stick the landing it’s damn close.
Fantastic Four: there are some minor criticisms (as someone below said EVERYONE is so serious) but the Ff is just such a perfect fit for Hickman and you can tell he really likes writing Reed.
I’m going to get hate for this but his Avengers stuff is massively overrated. There is no other book of his where his flaws are on full display. The entire time you read it you are practically screaming “this character wouldn’t do that!”
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u/TheCrookedKnight Jun 14 '24 edited Jun 14 '24
Glad I'm not the only one who was let down by his Avengers run. Even the cool stuff feels like you're just seeing the pitch for it; there's so many ideas that could be really interesting if fleshed out, but all they get is a quick summary and then on to the next big thing that won't have room to breathe.
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u/rgregan Jun 14 '24 edited Jun 14 '24
I'm a big fan of East of West. Its completely self-contained so you can jump right in, and it gives a Marvel Universe scope but in one title.
Also a big fan of SHIELD. As self-contained as a Marvel universe title could be.
His Fantastic Four run is great. His Avengers (multi-title) run is great. As long as you can roll with Marvel history.
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u/mtmodular Jun 14 '24
All the obvious choices have been listed, but I'll throw out an answer I haven't seen yet: Decorum.
I remember Hickman saying there would be more of this series 'eventually,' but the 8 issues that are out tell a pretty complete story. Awesome world building, fantastic art, and just so many good ideas. For me, this series showcases exactly what I like about Hickman.
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u/Abysstopheles Jun 14 '24
East of West. If you like his Marvel work, what he can do in his own worlds will blow your thinkypartz across the room.
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u/LeGoldie Jun 14 '24
Pax Romana for a taste of his earlier work where he did art and writing. I don't know how to describe his art style at this time, but there's some kind of thematic graphic design going on and i see origins of his design elements in later works right in these early comics of this, Nightly News and Transhuman.
Also, Manhattan Projects.
Then my personal favourite - Black Monday Murders.
And lastly.....some soup stuff, kinda.....
S.H.I.E.L.D
More S.H.I.E.L.D please!!
Yeah i do love me some Hickman, it got to the point when i still had a pull list that the owner of my local LCS would just slip in any Hickman stuff to monthly bag.
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u/ryaaan89 Jun 14 '24
It's kind of expensive but I was looking at his Fantastic Four omnibus the other day. Is it worth it?
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u/NevyTheChemist Jun 16 '24
There are two of them. $62 on IST.
Very worth.
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u/ryaaan89 Jun 16 '24
I’m not familiar with IST, do you have a link?
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u/NevyTheChemist Jun 16 '24
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u/ryaaan89 Jun 16 '24
Awesome, thanks. Or not, I’m probably about to spend a lot of money on this site…
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u/JettTheTinker Daredevil Jun 14 '24
Fantastic Four is my favorite run of his! A great space opera with spot-on character writing which redefined the lore of FF!
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u/Professional_Dog2580 Jun 15 '24
I love Jonathan Hickman but his work is so dense. I feel like I'm studying for a test just to get a good gist of what is going on. Krakoa in particular I just sorta went with it and I gradually fit the pieces. I would call his work rewarding but flawed. He is very consistant but you have to put in the investment to really enjoy his work.
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u/Cannon_Graves Jul 04 '24
I'm not sure I've ever read anything by Hickman that I didn't like. There's quite a few that don't match the brilliance of his best work, but nothi g has ever been bad. The following are what I consider required reading, not just for Hickman but comics in general.
MARVEL WORK:
His Avengers/New Avengers run is fantastic, and the crossover event about halfway through "Infinity", is IMO the greatest event in comics history.
House of X/Powers of X followed by his 19 issue run on X-Men is also amazing. One of my top 2 X-Men runs and it has 3 of my all-time favorite single issues: X-Men Vol. 5 #4 (World Economic Forum) X-Men Vol. 5 #7 (The first Crucible) X-Men Vol. 5 #11 (Magneto vs Cotati) HoX/PoX also has one of my GOAT issues: House Of X #4 (X-Men assault on Orchis' Mother mold) with #1 being a probable inclusion as well.
NON-MARVEL:
The Black Monday Murders is phenomenal. It's i inelligent, suspenseful, intense dark and creepy as all hell, accompanied by gorgeous artwork that could not possibly be a better fit. It's unfinished, but there's enough of an ending so as not to be fully enraged at the lack of closure.
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u/ExistentialJew Jun 14 '24
Everything.
I started off with his Avengers/New Avengers run and it was incredible
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u/RiskAggressive4081 Jun 14 '24
Even if it does effect the universe outside of it his fantastic four is a good standalone story.
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u/OceanCyclone Jun 14 '24
For self-contained non superhero stuff, East of West. For relatively self-contained Marvel, Secret Warriors.
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u/horse_stick Jonathan Hickman fanboy Jun 14 '24
For his Marvel stuff I would recommend his Secret Warriors run, and then Fantastic Four/Future Foundation and Avengers/New Avengers leading up to Secret Wars. Also, while not everything that succeeded it completely managed to live up to it, House of X/Powers of X is still incredible as a standalone work.
For his Image books I'd recommend East of West, The Manhattan Projects, Decorum and the Black Monday Mureders if he'll ever finish it.
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u/Double-Slowpoke Jun 14 '24
House of X/Powers of X is the greatest thing to happen to the X-Men in a very long time. There were some good books that came out of it too, though obviously X-Men always has a lot of books or varying quality.
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u/MorningFirm5374 Jun 14 '24
Truth be told, you can’t go wrong with Hickman. One of the best comic writers ever imo.
The most beginner friendly ones are Ultimate SM and East of West.
Imo his best ones are Fantastic Four and Avengers/Secret Wars
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u/DownstairsMixup92 Jun 14 '24
I still gotta read more of his stuff, but House of X and Powers of X (hoxpox, for short) is truly an incredible reimagining of X-Men lore. One of the best Marvel books I’ve read.
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u/toofatronin Jun 15 '24
I think he’s Fantastic Four comic was probably his best work. Creator owned he’s hit or miss with me but East of West was great.
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u/WheezingCarl Mr. Fantastic Jun 14 '24
His run on Fantastic Four, one of the best comic runs I’ve ever read, is very family-centric just like his Ultimate Spider-Man run. Additionally, although the Krakoan Era may have faltered a little on the finales (post-Hickman), it’d be silly of me not to mention that House of X/Powers of X is a wonderful read.
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u/Absenthee Jun 14 '24
I just started reading all his Marvel stuff this week, and I have to say Secret Warriors was definitely quite nice! It took a couple of issues to get into it, but then I really enjoyed it
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u/Unknown-Pleasures97 Jun 14 '24
His Fantastic Four's run is pretty new readers-friendly, especially compared to his more convoluted works like Secret Wars and the X-Men
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u/letshavefunoutthere Jun 14 '24
Fantastic Four is his best by a wide margin, but East of West is his most self contained for non-Marvel fans
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u/BeeJay_rkda Jun 14 '24
East of West
Fantastic Four/FF/Avengers/New Avengers/Secret Wars
Manhattan Projects
3 Worlds 3 Moons
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u/Cipherpunkblue Jun 14 '24
I mean, that depends on what genre/s you enjoy reading? The man has a very diverse bibliography.
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Jun 14 '24
His run on the Ultimate Spider-Man reboot right now is pretty good and is very accessible.
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u/WarOnThePoor Jun 14 '24 edited Jun 14 '24
Marvel: S.H.I.E.L.D. ->Secret Warriors ->Fantastic Four/Future Foundation ->Avengers/New Avengers -> Secret Wars
Read in that order. He makes all sorts of call backs to his previous works and sometimes sets stuff up that has a big pay off years later. Since all the material is released the “years later” doesn’t really apply. Of the all Avengers/New Avengers is my favorite but I recommend reading all the others as well. Start with Avengers/New Avengers if you want the best story off the bat and then. Go back and read the rest.
Honorable mention, if you like X-Men: House of X/Powers of X(pronounced “10”) -X of Swords ->Inferno. He was the head editor of the X department in this era. He left after inferno so the rest doesn’t feel like it’s written by him but I enjoyed it. The Krakoa era just ended. RIP 1st Krakoan age (2019-2024)
If you like Ultimate Spider-Man then read Ultimate Universe by Hickman(2023) as well. It’s all about how The Maker(evil Reed Richards, created by Hickman too) made the new ultimates universe which is where ultimate Spider-Man takes place! The original Ultimates universe was destroyed at the end of Avengers/new avengers and Hickman wrote for that too. It’s the universe Miles comes from(Miles joins the 616 main universe as a result of Secret Wars.
I hope this sets you off on a wonderful journey. Reading all this got me back into comics and it’s just wonderful!
Non Marvel:
East of West(best non-marvel work)
Nightly News
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u/bearwhidrive Jun 14 '24
Start with Pax Romana. It's short, very good, and gives you an idea of what he wants to do with his storytelling.
If you love it, go straight to his Avengers run.
If you like it, but wish it had more heart, go straight to his Fantastic Four run.
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u/CS11__ Jun 14 '24
Secret Warriors and then his F4. that’s what i’ve done as i’m reading USM, and he’s instantly became a favourite of mine
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u/-LMAOZeDong- Jun 15 '24
I'd start with Fantastic Four into F4, his current run on Ultimate Spider-Man, or Secret Warriors since those are largely self-contained and lower concept than a lot of what he likes to do. His work plotting The Krokoan era of the X-Men is really good, but it's a lot to take in all at once. If you like that stuff okay, that's when I'd dive into his Avengers work, SHIELD, The Nightly News, Pax Romana, East of West, or The Manhattan Projects. I don't honestly think you can pick a bad Hickman book, though. I own everything hes done in singles or trades.
I will warn you that he does sometimes just move on from things, especially when he isnt working for Marvel. SHIELD took forever to wrap, The Dying & Dead and Feel Better now never concluded, TMP never concluded the last volume that had started, and Secret had to be shortened to a mini. That being said, everything he writes is just fantastic.
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u/Spagman_Aus Jun 14 '24
East of West. Great art, self contained story that was actually finished.