Where do you start reading Spider-Man comics? And other recommendations.

[Mister Mets]

For obvious questions, one of the most often asked questions on this board is for recommendations for new readers.

And there are plenty of choices available.

There's some excellent material available in various reprint collections. You could find most of these stories in well-stocked bookstores or internet retailers.

There are also fantastic stories that have never been reprinted, or that were collected in volumes that have since gone out of print. These stories may require a bit more searching, but it should be well worth it.

And Marvel's making an effort to have digital comics available, either on their website or on the Ipad.

You could just start picking up the title during its next jump-on point.
* Edit- Or the most recent jump-on point (Amazing Spider-Man #648) collected as part of a hardcover.

And there's a new thread about mini-series and one-shots.

[Mister Mets]

This thread mainly exists to cut down on the number of stickies (from eight to five) and to provide links to the various recommendations threads in all the different formats.

[MillerFan]

I want to know about the current status quo. Please mention the issues from which I can get the idea about it. Also I would like to know that out of all the spiderman titles which are the great ones.

[thegravytrain]

I first started reading religiously when I first discovered Maximum Carnage! Great start

[Mister Mets]

I want to know about the current status quo. Please mention the issues from which I can get the idea about it. Also I would like to know that out of all the spiderman titles which are the great ones.

The latest issue of Amazing Spider-Man (#648) kicks off the new status quo for the title.

I'd say Amazing Spider-Man is the great title.

[Jackscifi]

Surprisingly enough One Moment in Time got me into Spiderman but for anyone who doesn't want to spend large amounts of time on the internet finding out back stories, the start of Big Time (648) or the start of Origin of the Species (642) require little background (most of which is in the comic).

[Wasp777]

Started with ASM issue #600.

[Vampman87]

I'll never forget my first Spider-man comic... got it at a gas station in Alabama. Spider-man #52, which concluded the fight between the Scarlet Spider and Venom. (Took me a while to realize the Scarlet Spider WASN'T Spider-man.)

So yeah, the Clone Saga screwed up my experience right from the get go.

[swampwater]

Hey guys. I'm fairly new to Spider-man comics. I've went through the usual stuff to get started, but I was hoping you could help me find some specific comics.

I fondly remember The Lizard from the animated series in the 90s and I've also done some research and added "Spider-man: Torment" and "Spider-man: The Gauntlet - The Lizard" to my list. I was just wondering if there's anymore comics I should look in to buying that feature The Lizard. Ideally, I'd want to get comics from the late 80s up until the present. Not really a fan of older comics. Thanks!

[Mister Mets]

Hey guys. I'm fairly new to Spider-man comics. I've went through the usual stuff to get started, but I was hoping you could help me find some specific comics.

I fondly remember The Lizard from the animated series in the 90s and I've also done some research and added "Spider-man: Torment" and "Spider-man: The Gauntlet - The Lizard" to my list. I was just wondering if there's anymore comics I should look in to buying that feature The Lizard. Ideally, I'd want to get comics from the late 80s up until the present. Not really a fan of older comics. Thanks!

I'm a huge Lizard fan myself. Two back issues I would recommend are Ultimate Marvel Team Up #10 (a solid one-off issue with art by John Totlebon and what may be the best possible take on the Lizard's origin) and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #127 (which remains my favorite story with the villain.)



I'd also recommend the Spider-Man: Blue mini-series, which has an excellent and accessible retelling of the Lizard's appearances in Amazing Spider-Man #43-45, amongst other stuff.

[swampwater]

I'm a huge Lizard fan myself. Two back issues I would recommend are Ultimate Marvel Team Up #10 (a solid one-off issue with art by John Totlebon and what may be the best possible take on the Lizard's origin) and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #127 (which remains my favorite story with the villain.)

I'd also recommend the Spider-Man: Blue mini-series, which has an excellent and accessible retelling of the Lizard's appearances in Amazing Spider-Man #43-45, amongst other stuff.

Great! I've just bought Ultimate Marvel Team Up #10 and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #127 on ebay! Will nab Spider-Man: Blue on amazon I think. Thanks so much for the recommendations, I'm really looking forward to reading them. I don't know why I love The Lizard so much, but it's great to have a fellow fan to throw recommendations my way. If you think of anymore, be sure to let me know !

How does Amazing Spider-Man #43-45 hold up today?

[Mister Mets]

Great! I've just bought Ultimate Marvel Team Up #10 and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #127 on ebay! Will nab Spider-Man: Blue on amazon I think. Thanks so much for the recommendations, I'm really looking forward to reading them. I don't know why I love The Lizard so much, but it's great to have a fellow fan to throw recommendations my way. If you think of anymore, be sure to let me know !

How does Amazing Spider-Man #43-45 hold up today?

It's solid stuff, but not Lee/Romita's best.

I would personally recommend the silver age material in its entirety. The cheapest reprints are the black & white Essential Spider-Man volumes (and the artwork of Ditko & Romita is solid enough in that format.)

If you prefer the stuff in color, there are always the Marvel Masterworks collections, Marvel's reprinting the most popular ones in softcover, and they're up to the fifth Spider-Man volume, which collects Amazing Spider-Man #41-50, as well as the third annual.

[swampwater]

It's solid stuff, but not Lee/Romita's best.

I would personally recommend the silver age material in its entirety. The cheapest reprints are the black & white Essential Spider-Man volumes (and the artwork of Ditko & Romita is solid enough in that format.)

If you prefer the stuff in color, there are always the Marvel Masterworks collections, Marvel's reprinting the most popular ones in softcover, and they're up to the fifth Spider-Man volume, which collects Amazing Spider-Man #41-50, as well as the third annual.

Thanks again! I'll pop down to my local comic shop and see what he has. Got the Carnage: Mind-Bomb one-shot for a third of what some people list it for on ebay.

I'll check out the Marvel Masterworks, have a flick through it and decide. You were right to recommend it, I really dislike black and white stuff - unless it's glossy. It's put me off other comics too, such as Judge Dredd .

[The Sword Is Drawn]

Hi guys,

Here's a question...

I've been out of reading Spidey regularly since Osborn returned from dead. A LONG time. I kind of defected to Ultimate Spidey when that kicked off, and other than reading The Other I've still been away from 616 Spidey completely.

Regardless of public opinion on the quality/logic/angst of the last few years, dies anybody know where I could find a list of trades, in chronological order, since One More Day onwards?

Yes, I know the whole thing is likely to make me angry, but I'd like to catch up.

[sirvk]

Hi guys,

Here's a question...

I've been out of reading Spidey regularly since Osborn returned from dead. A LONG time. I kind of defected to Ultimate Spidey when that kicked off, and other than reading The Other I've still been away from 616 Spidey completely.

Regardless of public opinion on the quality/logic/angst of the last few years, dies anybody know where I could find a list of trades, in chronological order, since One More Day onwards?

Yes, I know the whole thing is likely to make me angry, but I'd like to catch up.

Wikipedia has a list of Spider-Man collections.

This is a list of all the trades since One More Day:

1. Spider-Man: Brand New Day Volume 1
2. Spider-Man: Brand New Day Volume 2
3. Spider-Man: Brand New Day Volume 3
4. Spider-Man: Kraven's First Hunt
5. Spider-Man: New Ways To Die
6. Spider-Man: Crime and Punisher
7. Spider-Man: Death and Dating
8. Spider-Man: Election Day
9. Spider-Man: 24/7
10. Spider-Man: American Son
11. Spider-Man: Died In Your Arms Tonight
12. Spider-Man: Red Headed Stranger
13. Spider-Man: Return of the Black Cat
14. Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Book 1 – Electro & Sandman
15. Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Book 2 – Rhino & Mysterio
16. Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Book 3 – Vulture & Morbius
17. Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Book 4 – Juggernaut
18. Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Book 5 – Lizard
19. Spider-Man: Grim Hunt
20. Spider-Man: One Moment In Time
21. Spider-Man: Origin of the Species

All of those are available now and that collects the last three years worth of stories, the era was dubbed 'Brand New Day'. A few other trades from this era that might be worth a look are Ms Marvel Volume 9: Best You Can Be, Dark Reign: The Underside and Spider-Man: The Short Halloween.

The current direction is called 'Big Time' and only four issues have been released so far (Amazing Spider-Man 648, 649, 650 & 651). The trade containing these issues comes out on February 16. It's called Spider-Man: Big Time Volume 1

There is also a trade called Spider-Man: One More Day, which contains the big retcon.