Which comics should I read?

[drakestar]

Let me start this by saying I have just lost my comic cherry (at 28), so please excuse my ignorance...

So due to the movies, the games, my other half and best friend I have just bought my first ever Graphic Novel - Uncanny X-Men (The Complete Collection by Matt Fraction). I am loving it but I dont know where to go after this.

I cant ask my other half as he loves spider man (im not the biggest fan of that but do like it) and my best friend is much more DC.

I do love X-Men and wouldnt be adverse to cross-overs. I particularly like the storyline in the novel I have and would like to know more of the backstory, the history i.e. where is Professor X etc.

I would be appreciative if people could suggest other novels to read or even if they could provide me with links to timeline of the comics etc. (as when I search I just get the marvel films etc.).

Please and thankyou

 

[KevanG]

Well there's one big website for x-men I can suggest that I like - Uncannyxmen.net. They have a special section called Spotlight On where they have very detailed histories of dozens of characters. Some haven't been updated in a few years but up until that time they're very well done.

 

[drakestar]

Thankyou

 

[Gee]

Check out Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men and Grant Morrison's New X-Men.

If you want something outside of the X-Men, there's Frank Miller's Daredevil stuff which is fantastic (The Man Without Fear and Born Again). If you enjoyed what Matt Fraction did with Uncanny, you should check out his current Hawkeye run (first three volumes are out).

 

[Mike Murdock]

I'm always a fan of the classics, so my suggestion is, if you want to read X-Men, read Chris Claremont. If you want to read Daredevil, read Frank Miller (his three volume Omnibus first. Only after that should you read Born Again).

That being said, the movies tend to skew modern in what it shows. So that would be Brubaker for Captain America, Brian Michael Bendis for Daredevil, etc. Bendis's Daredevil will certainly influence the Netflix series a lot.

My only suggestions are to (a) read it in order (I didn't like the story Hardcore at all the first time, but I liked it a lot better when I read the stories that came before) and (b) keep in mind that this is a character that evolved a lot from his Miller days (and was going through specific problems that suggested his behavior was abnormal). Don't read Bendis and then be saddened if not every previous story had exactly the same tone. Also, Bendis's stories are drawn out. They're worth investing in, but you pretty much have to read five stories to get what another writer could do in one.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

If you like Deadpool, you can check out the current series.
It will end at its 45th issue, numbered 250.

 

[drakestar]

Thanks guys Appreciate it, looks like I've got a lot of spending come payday.

 

[CTFFFan]

I woud say my favorite comic if it wasn't going away in April. Fantastic Four. But my favorite other than that is still Amazing Spiderman.

 

[steelio2006]

Is there a point of even trying to get back into Marvel comics? I mean what with the Secret Wars coming up and all the news that was introduced yesterday. Having a reboot kinda makes it seem a little pointless to read through.

 

[KevanG]

If you want to read up the old stuff anywhere from the 60's onwards, it's all one big history.

 

[steelio2006]

Yeah, that's very true. I mean I'll probably go back and read through Daredevil (v2) and have digital collection of Amazing Spider-Man as well.

 

[steelio2006]

In terms of X-Men, what are some of the best stories from the modern that are worth checking out? I heard that the Messiah trilogy was worth checking out (Complex, War, and Second Coming). And looking into Schism as well.

 

[KevanG]

A good amount of it before Schism is great. Loved everything from when they moved to San Francisco to the start of Schism. Some of the best X-Men stories we've had in years. Schism is stupid. AvX is stupid. I like what they had Cyclops go through after AvX and the new team he started.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

If you want to catch up with the past stories of characters from old ages, check them on Marvel Wikia
Below, they recommend a few stories.

 

[steelio2006]

Thanks.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Is there a point of even trying to get back into Marvel comics? I mean what with the Secret Wars coming up and all the news that was introduced yesterday. Having a reboot kinda makes it seem a little pointless to read through.

I briefly debated this, but I firmly believe a good story is a good story. One of my favorite Daredevil stories is Man Without Fear. And that story is semi-canon at best. And, if it's canon, it's rebooting previous stories that contradict it (which I plan to read too). Given all that, I plan to continue reading old Daredevil issues until I catch up. That being said, I might not go forward post-reboot (or, if I do, I'll pick up specific stories that are apparently good rather than follow the entire ongoing plot).

Really, to me, a reboot is unnecessary. You want to enjoy the characters how they once were, pick up a TPB, Omnibus, or other collection and read that classic story. You want a new story like that, set the new story in the past. Reboots by fiat typically don't work so well - especially in something that's been developing over time for so long.