Comics Experts: What should I read?

[Gonking]

I'm a rookie in reading Spidey's comics and I have some doubts about it.
I began to read Ultimate Spider-man a couple of months ago and I'm loving it. Now, I want to read "The Amazing Spider-man" and I have almost all the comics since the 60s but it's too much, too many issues and arcs.

My question is: Which are the KEY issues or arcs to understand "The Amazing Spider-man" and which have the most importants moments of this comic?

What should I read?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Prison Mike]

I've heard that the Death of the Stacys is pretty good arc along with the black suit and Vemon issues.

 

[gliderpilotgirl]

Like K18 said:
Death of the Stacy's, particularily Gwen's Death. If I had to pick one moment that changed Peter like no other, it would be that. ( Amazing SM 121-122 )
The earlier stuff with the Green Goblin too, he's definately Spidey's most deadly foe. ( as ASM 121-122 proved )
After 121-122, I'd look for the stuff with Harry following his father's legacy ( don't know the references off hand )
Spectacular SM 200 I believe is Harry's Death.
The black suit makes it's first regular appearance ( after the Secret Wars ) in ASM 252, and the series is quite good at that time..Harry's kid is born and Peter proposes to MJ in the 290's. ( Marries her in ASM Annual 21 ) Venom soon appears in ASM 300.
( hopefully I got the references right )

 

[The Joker]

ASM #31-33: The Master Planner saga. Read that. Shows Peter's true inner strength as a hero. That iconic image of him lifting debris off himself while drowning in water.

As already mentioned, the death of the Stacys. George Stacy's death is the flip side of Uncle Ben's death. This time Peter does act against the bad guy [Ock], and he still loses a father figure.

And of course, the death of Gwen is self explanatory.

 

[Kraven]

Also, Kraven's Last Hunt is a great read, but I wouldn't say it's essential to the mythos. Among the other recommendations, I'll also say to get the Birth of Venom trade, if you're into the character, the black suit, or just want to read his origin.

 

[Prognosticator]

the clone saga is great too! lol t:

 

[shinlyle]

I recommend picking up:

-Essential Spider-Man volume 1-7, which collects all of the early issues of Amazing Spider-Man. This will include the Deaths of the Stacys. You could go with the Marvel Masterworks, which reprint them all in color, but those are PRICEY.

-Amazing Spider-Man #248 (my favorite issue ever). I'll just tell you that is is a very touching tale about a "fan" of our beloved wall-crawler.

-Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars...not to be confused with "Secret War". Great story. Lots of fun.

-Spider-Man: Birth of Venom Trade. This includes all of the early appearances of the alien suit, and the first few appearances of Venom. Well worth it.

-Kraven's Last Hunt. It's great. Buy it...just like everyone else said.

-Spider-Man: Blue. Very great story.

-Spider-Man: Son of the Goblin Trade Paperback.

-Spider-Man: Reign. It just wrapped up, look for a nice new hardcover soon.

That's my list. I'm sure there are more I could recommend, but I'm SOOoo tired right now...

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Everyone's said Kraven's Last Hunt, Death of Gwen Stacey, Master-Planner arc, etc... so here's some slightly more obscure arcs/issues you should pick up...

The Child Within,
Spec #200
ASM #400
Spider-Man: The Lost Years
Spider-Man: Revelations (make sure this is the clone-saga tpb, not the JMS "revelations" which is in print right now)
Sin-Eater
The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man (ASM #248)
EARLY McFarlane and Larsen Venom TPBs (you'll know em by the large inviting, toothy grins on the cover) stay away from anything Venom-related that's post-Larsen though...



Some back issues or non-collected arcs you might wanna pick up are the "Blood Brothers" cross-over from the clone-saga, the Jurgens Sensational run, the Dezago Sensational run, Jenkins early PPSM (when he was still good) as well as Jenkins Webspinners' Chameleon arc, ANYTHING JM DeMatties has done (which includes runs on Amazing and Spectacular), Roger Stern's Hobgoblin stories, Return of the Sin-Eater, and there's a lot of great late 80's/ early 90's arcs like "Return to the Mad-Dog Ward", "Something about a gun", "Cult of Love", the Tombstone/Robbie stories, the aforementioned "Child Within", the original and only good "Carnage" arc, "Return of the Sinister Six", "Torment", etc...

Here's one more note ... STAY AWAY FROM ANYTHING WITH THE WORD "MAXIMUM" IN THE TITLE!! That's a telltale sign it's bad.

 

[Eddie Brock]

I would help...but I too am a 616 rookie (more or less).

But keep up with USM, it only gets better!

 

[Captivated]

I'm a rookie in reading Spidey's comics and I have some doubts about it.
I began to read Ultimate Spider-man a couple of months ago and I'm loving it. Now, I want to read "The Amazing Spider-man" and I have almost all the comics since the 60s but it's too much, too many issues and arcs.

If you have ALL of them I assume you have the CD set. So do I, and reading on a computer isn't nearly as fun as holding a book, but here's my advice...

One page at a time.

One issue at a time.

For at least the first 149 issues... which would be Stan Lee and Gerry Conway's run on the title.

It's NOT that tough and would really lay a great foundation for truly understanding the character. Skipping around will not be the same... there are great tidbits and insight that you'll miss. That is, if you really want to be a student of Spidey.

 

[Toxin]

ASM #31-33: The Master Planner saga. Read that. Shows Peter's true inner strength as a hero. That iconic image of him lifting debris off himself while drowning in water.

As already mentioned, the death of the Stacys. George Stacy's death is the flip side of Uncle Ben's death. This time Peter does act against the bad guy [Ock], and he still loses a father figure.

And of course, the death of Gwen is self explanatory.

Master Planner arc was amazing, definitely read it.

 

[Gonking]

Thank you all for your tips. Looks like Death of Gwen Stacey, Kraven's Last Hunt, Master Planner, and Venom's origin are the best ones.

 

[Kraven]

Just to let you know, The Death of Gwen Stacy was recently released in a new hardcover along with the Death of Captain Stacy, and the same was done with Kraven's Last Hunt, if you're into hardcovers.

 

[Eddie Brock]

Not necessarily all Amazing Spider-Man...but:

Courtesy of MadGoblin

 

[Gonking]

^ great

 

[Eddie Brock]

^ great

Wish I could take credit...

 

[Themanofbat]

If you have them, read Marv Wolfman's all too brief run on the book (ASM #185 to 200), which is arguably THE SECOND BEST RUN on Amazing Spider-Man next to Stan Lee's amazing run.

Wolfman really got into the characters (Peter's and his supporting staff) and ASM #200 could have been THE last Spider-Man story ever told. It brought final closure to what happened since issue #1. Absolutely terrific stuff... in my opinion.

 

[Spidey_87]

As a Spider-Man fan for about 15 years, I would reccomend picking up anything during the Lee/Romita period, simply because the art and story are spectacular. Not to discredit Steve Ditko, but these comics from the late 60's and up through the 70's are often available at reasonable prices.

I say checkout ASM 90 (Death of Captain Stacy), ASM 96-98 (the classics "Drug Issues"), ASM 121-122 (Death of Gwen Stacy/Original Green Goblin), and ASM 135-137 (Harry's transformation into the Green Goblin).

Like the previous poster, I also encourage one to pick ASM 200, it is just a great story. Also, some of the best issues with Doc Ock, the Lizard, and the Kingpin came out of the Lee/Romita period, too.

 

[freemadison]

The Clone Saga. ALL of it.

 

[Flint Marko]

Like K18 said:
Death of the Stacy's, particularily Gwen's Death. If I had to pick one moment that changed Peter like no other, it would be that. ( Amazing SM 121-122 )
The earlier stuff with the Green Goblin too, he's definately Spidey's most deadly foe. ( as ASM 121-122 proved )
After 121-122, I'd look for the stuff with Harry following his father's legacy ( don't know the references off hand )
Spectacular SM 200 I believe is Harry's Death.
The black suit makes it's first regular appearance ( after the Secret Wars ) in ASM 252, and the series is quite good at that time..Harry's kid is born and Peter proposes to MJ in the 290's. ( Marries her in ASM Annual 21 ) Venom soon appears in ASM 300.
( hopefully I got the references right )

Agree with her, I have all the issues she mentioned, and their very good reads.
But if you have all those comics, you might as well read them all in order.