Comics Where is the ideal starting place?

[Superwoman Prime]

Hey Marvel fans! Well, I've read an accumulative small stack of Spider-Man comics in my entire life, most of them completely out of order.

I've really enjoyed the animated series Spectacular Spider-Man, and figured hey, maybe I could give the comics a serious go.

Where is the best place for a newcomer to start?

 

[Styleshift]

Hey Marvel fans! Well, I've read an accumulative small stack of Spider-Man comics in my entire life, most of them completely out of order.

I've really enjoyed the animated series Spectacular Spider-Man, and figured hey, maybe I could give the comics a serious go.

Where is the best place for a newcomer to start?

I seriously recommend picking up "40 years of Amazing Spider-man" on DVD.

If you can't do that start collecting "Essential Spider-man."

You can't go wrong! Besides with all the controversy surrounding the book right now, you won't have to "choose" sides without having a good idea why alot of readers are making a big fuss.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Hey Marvel fans! Well, I've read an accumulative small stack of Spider-Man comics in my entire life, most of them completely out of order.

I've really enjoyed the animated series Spectacular Spider-Man, and figured hey, maybe I could give the comics a serious go.

Where is the best place for a newcomer to start?

Amazing Fantasy #15! t:

Joking... I would try and pick up the trades dating back to the beginning of the Brand New Day era. That would be ASM#546. That was the last true new starting point. But really, you could pick up any Spider-Man book and jump aboard. Despite what some may tell you, Spider-Man is actually very accessible to new readers, with constant reminders of who the main characters are and what's going on, so it shouldn't be too confusing (just thank your lucky stars you're not jumping on in the middle of the clone saga or 'the other). There's nothing too crazy going on at the moment. Pick up ASM# 600. I bet that will be a good jumping on point and probably a helluva story. Speaking of "helluva story", if you want to see Spidey at his literary best, pick up the classic 'Kraven's Last Hunt' TPB (also known as 'Fearful Symmetry'). Probably the best Spider-Man story ever.

 

[Styleshift]

To be fair ASM 544 would be the absolutely first introduction of Brand new day.

 

[Reikowolf]

A cheaper method would be to subscribe to Marvel.com Digital Comics.

Read up on the history of the characters and key comics during those eras.

Main Arcs include:

ASM Vol1 Issues 1-122

Here you will find all the original stories. If you're a fan of the new animated series, you will find many parallels here. It also includes 'the night gwen stacey died' which is considered 'the' spider-man story second only to his origin. Much of what the series would later grow into comes from these first hundred or so issues.

After that, you are looking at key events for the character such as

- The marriage between Peter and MJ
- Secret Wars and Venom
- Death of Aunt May
- Clone Saga (which I suggest you take with a grain of salt as this is a mess of an arc)
- Reboot and the other
- Civil War and One more day
-Brand new day


I am, of course, skimming over a lot of stuff here but you should have the essencials out of those arcs (issues can be referenced in Wiki)

This would be followed by key events for the villain(s) histories which have all sorts of arcs sprinkled throughout ASM entire run.

Key notable villains include

The Green Goblin (legacy as in the entire Osborn family)
Doctor Octopus
Kraven The Hunter

The original sinister 6 (the key rogues in Spider-Man's mythos)

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

To be fair ASM 544 would be the absolutely first introduction of Brand new day.

Is that the last OMD issue with the bit of BND at the end? If so, I would STRONGLY suggest the poster NOT get it. OMD is a terrible story and it would just confuse the guy. The little snippet of BND in there is not worth it. This board is split between those who like BND and those who hate it, but everyone here pretty much agrees OMD (short-hand for 'One More Day' as the poster probably doesn't know that abbreviation) is terrible.

 

[Styleshift]

Is that the last OMD issue with the bit of BND at the end? If so, I would STRONGLY suggest the poster NOT get it. OMD is a terrible story and it would just confuse the guy. The little snippet of BND in there is not worth it. This board is split between those who like BND and those who hate it, but everyone here pretty much agrees OMD (short-hand for 'One More Day' as the poster probably doesn't know that abbreviation) is terrible.

Um....no .

@ SUPERMAN PRIME

LOL See how divisive this stuff gets? It's split utterly down the middle.
actually OMD aside.

There's really no right answer.
I'd recommend picking up both an essential and ASM 545 to most recent in trades. If you have the cash.

Don't get the single issues. Your just wasting money.
It really hits its stride around 578 in my opinion. You'll definitely like those.

If you don't have the cash just stick with the essentials. Stan Lee wrote the stories that no one here will argue with.

EDIT: Definitely go with what Reikowolf says.

A cheaper method would be to subscribe to Marvel.com Digital Comics.

Read up on the history of the characters and key comics during those eras.

Trust me, you'll appreciate the spectacular Spider-man sooooooo much more.

 

[Superwoman Prime]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! Maybe someday I will return to take part in your discussions. Look forward to it!

 

[Styleshift]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! Maybe someday I will return to take part in your discussions. Look forward to it!

Sure! looking forward to seeing around these boards again .

 

[Reikowolf]

he's gone to find the remains of Krypton

when he comes back, Cyclops will have stolen lois

 

[shinlyle]

Start at the beginning. At least find some collections of ASM 1-122, as others have said.

After that, it's up to you. Continue reading all the way to about issue #350 (which is when the book stopped being awesome for me), then pick up the EARLY J. Michael Stracynski issues (ASM vol. 2 #30-50 all the way through the original renumbering stopping before Sins Past).

Or, you can just start up at #545, and read onto the present.

Enjoy the books, there are some great ones in there ASM#1-122, those are MASTERPIECES.

 

[kguillou]

I would say start with Stracynski's early run. All his stories up to #500 are gold. His first arc, the "Morlun" story is one of the best spider-man stories i've ever read, i guarantee you'll love it. After that you can more or less move on the Brand New Day.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Some of my personal favorite TPB's are
Kravens Last Hunt
The Death of Jean DeWolf
The Origin of the Hobgoblin
Reign you will either like or not like
Spider-Man: Parallel Lives
Son of the Goblin

There were a lot of arcs that were meant to be "jumping on" points over the years. The JMS "Coming Home" is one that has been mentioned and is really good imo. (Others dont like it because it tweaks Spidey's origin.) "Brand New Day" I dont care for but many people think its a great return to the characters roots. Besides that, its easier just to go with the 40 Years of Spider-Man CD. The only problem with that is it only collects issues of Amazing Spider-Man, so if there are story arcs that spanned other Spidey titles, you wont get those.