Marvel comic recommendations for a beginner

[Goblin King]

No matter where I go online every time I ask for a comic book recommendation, people always suggest a newer series. But isn't reading some of the older comics a good way to learn about the characters and their personalities? I bring this up because I see people that talk about This guy Vs. This guy and they name all the powers they have and the story arcs they've been in. I just feel like I'm missing out because I started further down the line. In my mind I think I should start with the Golden Age comics but people who've read them always suggest something else. So what comics do you guys recommend for a beginner reader who wants to start with X-Men, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and Fantastic Four? (Oh and some crossovers would be nice as well.)

(Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask but it seemed to most likely)

[MathC]

You don't exactly need to get into the old comics to be able to follow the story of recent issues so I'd suggest getting into a few series you think you'd enjoy.

If you have to buy older issues though, there are the essential tpb that marvel is releasing that could give you what you need but I haven't personnaly read any of them so ....

[The Confessor]

In my mind I think I should start with the Golden Age comics but people who've read them always suggest something else. So what comics do you guys recommend for a beginner reader who wants to start with X-Men, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and Fantastic Four?


Well, if you're talking about older Marvel comics (and I assume you are since this is the Marvel forum) the Golden Age era, when Marvel was called Atlas or Timely, aren't really that important to what's happening in comics today. The modern Marvel Universe as we know it today began in 1962 with the publication of Fantastic Four #1 (the start of the so-called Silver Age). When people talk about "The Marvel Universe", what they mean, by and large, is the accumulated continuity, characters and adventures from Fantastic Four #1 up to the present day.

With regards those older Silver Age or Bronze Age comics featuring the likes of the X-Men, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four etc, there's some really good options available to you regarding re-prints. By far and away the least expensive way to obtain a lot of classic back issues is to start picking up the "Essentials" collections. These books reprint all of the important issues of a particular series in chronological order and work out really cheap with regards to how many actual comics you get in a book.

The downside is that they're printed in black & white and not colour like the original comics were. If that doesn't bother you too much, here's a link (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Marvel+Essential) to them on amazon.com (I assume you live in the USA)

Alternatively, if you like your classic comics in colour, there's the Marvel Masterworks (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=marvel+masterworks&x=13&y=17) that collect 5 or 6 issues at a time I believe, although these can be a pricey option. Better value are the big hardcover Marvel Omnibuses (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=marvel+omnibus) which collect 30 issues at a time in colour, but although they're good value per comic, they are fairly pricey in themselves.

Another option, if you don't mind reading comics on your computer, are the Marvel DVD collections. I'm not sure how many of these there available are but I know that there's one that collect every issue of Amazing Spider-Man from 1963 to 2006 (http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Spider-Man-Complete-Comic-Collection/dp/B000HKIM7Q/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1234902574&sr=8-3).

Hope that helps.

[Leebenhouse]

I'd suggest an omnibus or essentials for you to just read. Also cheap are the Essential handbooks, which will brief you on the histories of characters, without having to read every story a character has been in. The same with the recent handbook hardcovers.

Continuity: fun for longtime readers, a bastard for new readers.

[Lawmune]

I would give Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited a try: http://www.marvel.com/digitalcomics/

You can sample a lot of old stuff, and a decent amount of newer stuff as well.

[Warpsters]

Check out the Lee-Ditko run on Spider-Man. The Essential collections are a great cost effective way to check out the classics but if you've got some cash to blow check out The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol.1. It collects the entire Lee-Ditko run in one awesome over-size HC complete with letters pages.