The Amazing Spider-Man is finally in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which can only mean one thing: It’s time for a Modern Marvel Spidey reading order guide!
I’ve already put together the Ultimate Spider-Man reading order (which is highly recommended for you webheads out there who’ve avoided the Ultimate Universe thus far), so it’s time to dive into Amazing Spider-Man. This is an occasionally complex continuity, so make sure you have plenty of spare web cartridges and possibly a clone nearby. We’re gonna be here a while:
Quick Caveats & Tips
1) Spider-Man has approximately 700 billion tie-in series. I make an effort to find a place for many, and definitely all of the good ones, but some may slip through the cracks. As always, if you see something, say something.
2) My ‘modern’ Marvel era kicks off with the start of the 2000’s and the launch of Marvel Knights. There are TONS of great Spider-Man stories from before this time, and there’s also a Clone Saga. I include the essentials below.
3) Amazing Spider-Man is the flagship Spidey title, and as a result I may give short shrift to some of the other offshoots. Essentially, if you’re looking for the cleanest possible route through Spider-Man continuity, stick to AMS, with the occasional Civil War/Event interruption. Additionally, I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers for those catching up.
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Bonus Update – The 10 Best Spider-Man Stories Before 1998
While this initially started as a “modern” Spider-Man reading order, that’s clearly limiting the amount of great Spidey stories you read before the 2000’s approach. As a result, I’ve listed out the best Spider-Man comics of all time. Put these in your back pocket, and you’ll be a regular webhead in no time.
1– Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Great Power
Collects: Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #1 to #17, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1
Simply put, Amazing Spider-Man is an excellent comic book for the vast majority of its early issues, launching in 1963 and holding its own as one of Marvel’s best (if not the best) through the early 70’s.
You would not be wrong to read the first 123 issues of Amazing Spider-Man straight through. I’d argue this is a must for any Peter Parker fan. The collection above will get you started and give you a feel for how much you may enjoy these early days of Spidey.
As a final note, if you want, I have a reading order for you to read all of Spider-Man’s 1960’s appearances.
The linked edition above will highlight 1968’s Spectacular Spider-Man magazine #1 and #2, which features an essential Green Goblin story. Note that you should definitely have read Amazing Spider-Man #39 to #40 prior to these issues!
3– Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #88 to #92, #121 to #122
4 — Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #139 to #150
5 — Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #238-239, #244-245 and #249-251
Collects: Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider -Man #107-110, 134-136
Reading Order: Web of Spider-Man #31, Amazing Spider-Man #293, Spectacular Spider-Man #131, Web of Spider-Man #32, Amazing Spider-Man #294, Spectacular Spider-Man #132
8 — Spider-Man: Birth of Venom
Collects: Secret Wars #8, Amazing Spider-Man #252-259, #298-300 & #315-317
9 — Maximum Carnage
10 — The Amazing Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga
Note that the Clone Saga (really stretching the borders of ‘best’ and expanding into ‘intriguingly complex attention vortex’) runs through a fifth Complete Clone Saga Book 5
Updates 1.20.22 by Yavi Mohan
Where to Start With a Modern Spider-Man Reading Order
Revenge of the Goblin & Flowers For Rhino
The 2000’s are a very Norman Osborne heavy decade for the wall-crawler (see also: 60’s, 70’s, 90’s), so we start here with the Revenge of the Goblin story arc. I’d note as well that Peter Parker: Spider-Man #1 – #24 occur before these issues. I’d consider them less essential, but they’re out there. There are also a number of references to late 90’s Spidey continuity (with MJ in particular) – keep calm and carry on.
Spider-Man: Revenge of the Goblin (#1 – #3)
Amazing Spider-Man #25
Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #5-#6 (Flowers for Rhino)
The J. Michael Straczynski Amazing Spider-Man
JMS took over the writing reigns on AMS in June, 2001 with Amazing Spider-Man #30, and it was a title he wouldn’t relinquish until Amazing Spider-Man #545 in December, 2007.
There are some VERY controversial moments from this lengthy Spidey run, including some of the worst Spider-Man stories ever told, but on average I’m a fan of the early going. JMS and John Romita Jr. take Peter Parker to some new and unexpected places, changing the status quo for Spider-Man in a number of meaningful ways.
The JMS and John Romita JR Collected Editions:
Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection Book 1
Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection Book 2
Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection Book 3
Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection Book 4
Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection Book 5
Issue by Issue Order:
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1: Coming Home
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #30-35
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2: Revelations
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #36-39
Peter Parker, Spider-Man: Return of the Green Goblin
Collects: Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1999) #44-47
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3: Until The Stars Turn Cold
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #40-45
Collects: Spider-Man: Blue #1 To #6
Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1: The Hunger
Collects: Spectacular Spider-Man (2003) #1-5
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 4: Life & Death of Spiders
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #46-50
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5: Unintended Consequences
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #51-56
Spider-Man & Wolverine #1 – #4 (Marvel Knights)
Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure
Spider-Man / Human Torch: I’m With Stupid #1 – #5 (outside continuity)
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 6: Happy Birthday
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #57-58, 500-502
Note Here: You haven’t lost your mind – Amazing Spider-Man renumbers to the original numbering started in 1963 for the 500th issue.
Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 2: Countdown
Collects: Spectacular Spider-Man (2003) #6-10
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 7: The Book of Ezekiel
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #503-508
Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 3: Here There Be Monsters
Collects: Spectacular Spider-Man (2003) #11-14
Marvel Knights Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 8: Sins Past
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #509-514
Avengers Disassembled (Spectacular Spidey tie-ins)
Marvel Knights Spider-Man #5 – #8
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 9: Skin Deep
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #515-518
Marvel Knights Spider-Man #9 – #12
New Avengers
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 10: New Avengers
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #519-524
Marvel Knights Spider-Man #13 – #18
House of M (Spider-Man tie ins are separate miniseries)
Spider-Man: The Other
The Other gets its own special placement because it involves a crossover between all of the Spider-Man titles. The reading order for Spider-Man The Other
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 1
Marvel Knights Spider-Man 19
Amazing Spider-Man 525
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 2
Marvel Knights Spider-Man 20
Amazing Spider-Man 526
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 3
Marvel Knights Spider-Man 21
Amazing Spider-Man 527
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 4
Marvel Knights Spider-Man 22
Amazing Spider-Man 528
Civil War (tie-ins include AMS #529 – #538)
The Amazing Spider-Man #539 – #543 (Back in Black
One More Day
Like The Other, One More Day
The Amazing Spider-Man 544
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 24
Amazing Spider-Man 545
Spider-Man: Brand New Day – Joe Kelly, Dan Slott, Mark Waid, Zeb Wells & More Form the Spidey Brain Trust
Following the conclusion of One More Day and with it the conclusion of JMS’ six year run on Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel made a decision to bring Peter Parker back to his roots. With this decision comes a reduction in Spider series, meaning Amazing Spider-Man can be read without much invasion or crossover from other titles. AMS also switched to a publishing schedule of three issues a month, meaning the numbering shoots up towards #700 fairly quickly.
There are some really good Spidey stories within this 100+ issue run, including American Son
The Amazing Spider-Man #546 – #599
Dark Reign The List: Spider-Man #1 – For more on this Green Goblin focused Marvel event, check out the Dark Reign reading order.
The Amazing Spider-Man #600 – #647
Spider-Man: Fever
Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine
Dan Slott Spider-Man: Big Time Reading Order
Amazing Spider-Man: Big Time Ultimate Collection
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #648 to #662
The Amazing Spider-Man #648 – #657
Fantastic Four #588 (note here that Spidey’s involvement with the FF will pose major Fantastic Four spoilers from this time period)
FF #1 -#4 (FF runs for #23 issues so you can keep the FF detour going as long as you like. Really up to you.)
The Amazing Spider-Man #658 – 665
Fear Itself (tie-ins)
Spider-Island
The Spider-Island
Spider-Island – Emergence of Evil
Spider-Island Daily Bugle
The Amazing Spider-Man 666 – Prelude
The Amazing Spider-Man 667
Spider-Island – Cloak & Dagger 1
Spider-Island – Deadly Foes 1
Venom 6
Spider-Island – Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu 1
Spider-Island – The Amazing Spider-Girl 1
Spiderman 668
Spider-Island – Cloak & Dagger 2
Spider-Island Avengers 1
Herc 7
The Amazing Spider-Man 669
Spider-Island – Amazing Spider-Girl 2
Venom 7
Herc 8
Spider-Island – Spider-Woman 1
The Amazing Spider-Man 670 – Part 4
Spider-Island – Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 2
Spider-Island – I Love New York City
Spider-Island – Heroes for Hire 1
Spider-Island – Cloak & Dagger 3
Black Panther – The Most Dangerous Man Alive 524
The Amazing Spider-Man 671
Spider-Island Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu 3
Spider-Island Amazing Spider-Girl 3
Venom 8
The Amazing Spider-Man 672
The Amazing Spider-Man 673
The Amazing Spider-Man #674 – #700
The Superior Spider-Man & Marvel NOW!
I won’t say too much about Superior Spider-Man in case you’re in the dark on what happens in AMS #700. What I will say, is that this most recent addition to the Spider-Man mythos from Dan Slott is highly, highly entertaining. One of my favorite Spider-Man developments in years, despite all the fan backlash you may have heard.
From this point forward, I recommend you check out the Spidey sections of the Marvel NOW! reading order. This will get you every Spidey comic from 2012 to 2015, including great runs on Venom, Scarlet Spider, and Amazing Spider-Man.
You’ll also find in this section a complete reading order for 2014’s Spider-Verse event.
With that, you’re up to speed with Marvel’s 2015 Secret Wars, and you’ll want to pay particularly close attention to the Secret Wars Spidey tie-ins.
All-New All-Different Amazing Spider-Man – Worldwide
Following Secret Wars, Peter Parker hits the big time as part of the Dan Slott led “Worldwide” story arc in Amazing Spider-Man.
If you want every Spider related title from this time period, I recommend checking out Comic Book Herald’s All-New All-Different Marvel reading order.
Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide Vol. 1 (Amazing Spider-Man #1 to #5)
Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide Vol. 2
Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide Vol. 3
Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide Vol. 4
Spider-Man Clone Conspiracy Reading Order
The link above will take you to Comic Book Herald’s complete Clone Conspiracy reading order, which includes Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide Vol. 5.
Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide Vol. 6
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows Vol. 1: Brawl in the Family
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows Vol. 2: The Venom Experiment
Spider-Men II
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1: Into the Twilight
Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider Vol. 1: Back in the Hood
Marvel Legacy
Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide Vol. 7
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 29-32, 789-791
Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider Vol. 3: Slingers Return
Collects: Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider 10-14
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 2: Most Wanted
Collects: Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man 297-300
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows Vol. 3
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows 13-18
Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc.
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. Alpha 1, Amazing Spider-Man 792-793, Venom 159-160, Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. Omega 1
Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider Vol. 4
Collects: Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider 15-20
Damnation tie-ins
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 3: Amazing Fantasy
Collects: Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man (2017) #301-303 And Annual #1
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 4
Collects: Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man 304-307
Amazing Spider-Man: Red Goblin
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 794-801, Annual 42
Marvel Fresh Start
By Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 5
Collects: Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man 311-313
Collects: Spider-Geddon 0-5, Spider-Geddon: Vault Of Spiders 1-2
See here for Comic Book Herald’s complete Spider-Geddon reading order.
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 2: Friends and Foes
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 6-12
Insert your commentary or clarifications here.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol. 1
Collects: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2019) 1-6
Insert your commentary or clarifications here.
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 3: Lifetime Achievement
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 11-15
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 4: Hunted
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 16-23, 16.HU, 18.HU-20.HU
These issues overlap with the Spider-Man mini event Spider-Man: Hunted, which includes special “.HU” issues, blowing the minds of those familiar with things like “decimal numbers” and “logic.”
Amazing Spider-Man #16
Amazing Spider-Man #16.HU
Amazing Spider-Man #17
Note here that was never an Amazing Spider-Man #17.HU, which is upsettingly obnoxious. Props to the trolling, Marvel.
Amazing Spider-Man #18
Amazing Spider-Man #18.HU
Amazing Spider-Man #19
Amazing Spider-Man #19.HU
Amazing Spider-Man #20
Amazing Spider-Man #20.HU
Amazing Spider-Man #21
Amazing Spider-Man #22
Amazing Spider-Man #23
Collects: Superior Spider-Man 1-6
Miles Morales: Spider-Man Vol. 1
Collects: Miles Morales: Spider-Man 1-6
Friendly reminder that Spider-fans looking for Miles Morales focused comics can find a complete Comic Book Herald guide just for Miles!
Collects: Superior Spider-Man 7-12
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol. 2
Collects: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2019) 7-14
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 5: Behind The Scenes
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 24-28
Miles Morales: Spider-Man Vol. 2
Collects: Miles Morales: Spider-Man 7-10
The artist formerly known as Spider-Gwen makes her way into the 616 Universe. Collects: Ghost-Spider 1-5
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 6: Absolute Carnage
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 29-31, Red Goblin: Read Death 1
Absolute Carnage is another event, for which Comic Book Herald has a dedicated reading order here.
Everyone’s favorite redhead gets her own ill-fated spin-off book. This trade collects issues 1-5, and the title appears to have been cancelled after #6, having just started a second arc.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man Vol. 3
Collects: Miles Morales: Spider-Man 11-15
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 7: 2099
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 32-36. This is part of the wider Marvel 2099 event, celebrating Marvel’s 80th anniversary in 2019…by peeking 80 years into the future, to their 2099 universe that was originally created in the 1990’s. Got it? If not, don’t worry – we got you. Here’s a guide to Spider-Man 2099, and also a guide for the 2019 Marvel 2099 event.
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 8: Threats & Menaces
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 37-43
Collects: Ghost-Spider 6-10
Miles Morales: Spider-Man Vol. 4
Collects: Miles Morales: Spider-Man 16-21
Yep.
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 9: Sins Rising
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 44-47, Amazing Spider-Man: Sins Rising 1. A Spider-Man arc starting with the word ‘Sins’? It’s OK, breathe. Marvel editorial can’t hurt you anymore (disclaimer: may not be true).
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 10: Green Goblin Returns
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 48-49, Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn 1
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 11: Last Remains
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 50-55
Amazing Spider-Man: Last Remains Companion
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 50.LR-54.LR. More of those “.” issues that reading order fanatics like us love so much.
Meanwhile, a bunch of symbiote-related stuff is going on in the King in Black event (including a King in Black: Spider-Man mini). You can find a full King in Black reading order here.
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 12: Shattered Web
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 56-60
Miles Morales: Spider-Man Vol. 5
Collects: Miles Morales: Spider-Man 22-28
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 13: King’s Ransom
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 61-65, Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: King’s Ransom 1
Collects: Non-Stop Spider-Man 1-5. This title written by Joe Kelly was cancelled after these 5 issues…however, Kelly is picking up the story again in February 2022 with Savage Spider-Man 1!
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 14: Chameleon Conspiracy
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 66-69, Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: Chameleon Conspiracy 1
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 15: What Cost Victory?
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 70-74. The end of Nick Spencer’s three-year run!
Miles Morales: Spider-Man Vol. 6
Collects: Miles Morales: Spider-Man 29-32. That’s the most recent trade published for now, and the issues immediately after this tie in with Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond (see below).
Spider-Man Beyond
After Spencer’s run on AMS ends, we begin Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond – an extended arc that’s still going on at the time of writing this. The numbering does not restart (yet), picking up at 75 and continuing on. There are however a few “.BEY” issues – not only does this numbering system continue to grate slightly, but the issues also do not involve Beyoncé in any way.
Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond Vol. 1
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 75-78, 78.BEY, 79-80
Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond Vol. 2
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 80.BEY, 81-85
Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond Vol. 3
Amazing Spider-Man #86
Amazing Spider-Man #87
Mary Jane and Black Cat: Beyond (2022) #1
Amazing Spider-Man #88
Amazing Spider-Man #88.BEY
Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond Vol. 4
Amazing Spider-Man #89
Amazing Spider-Man #90
Amazing Spider-Man #91
Amazing Spider-Man #92
Amazing Spider-Man #92.BEY
Amazing Spider-Man #93
And after that…time for another renumbering! Amazing Spider-Man Volume 6 #1 released in April 2022, by Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr.
Amazing Spider-Man by Wells & Romita Jr. Vol. 1: World Without Love
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #1-5
Latest Additions
Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1: World Without Love
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #1 to #5
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2: The New Sinister
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #6 to #8
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3: Hobgoblin
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #9 to #14
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 4: Dark Web
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #15 to #18, Dark Web #1, Dark Web Finale #1
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5: Dead Language
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #19 to #23
Strange Academy: Amazing Spider-Man #1
Strange Academy: Miles Morales #1
Collects: Miles Morales: Spider-Man #33 to #36, material from Miles Morales: Spider-Man Annual (2021) #1
Miles Morales Vol. 8: Empire of The Spider
Collects: Miles Morales: Spider-Man #37 to #42
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #24 to #32, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1
Note: No collected volume published as of yet (1/24/24).
Looks like may things are missing, I don’t know what comes next Maximum Carnage. Like where are issues 400 and on?
There seems to be a lack of Sensational Spider-Man and Spider-Man Family in the early sections…
You don’t seem to have any mention of the Beyond tie-in Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond
You go from Superior SPider man to worldwide, but there are more amazing spider man in between, by Slott, (paperluck etc)
It is covered in the Spider-Man sections on the Marvel NOW! reading order mate, get a grip. He even states it in the reading order.
is there any chance this list will be updated or will we have to rely on the Era lists from now on?
Update the list, and other lists too, all are outdated.
I hope The Rona ain’t got this guy or I’m gonna cry. How on Earth are we supposed to order these comics without him?😨
I would just read all the epic collections although its annoying that they don’t make them all in order
Update the list to include all the books that have come out since Miles’ 2018 Vol 1, and Gwen and Miguel’s books.
Great list. I would recommend you to add “If this be my destiny” and the “six arm” saga, they’re classic story arcs that are super important to understand more deeply Peter’s character. Even “Spider-Man no more” Is a must for who love comics. Anyway I really appreciate your site and your efforts. Marvel’s comics are billions, It’s impossible to read them all, so It’s a lot more easy and enjoyable to have a list that Is simple to follow through.
Last night my 9 year old son asked me for a movie to watch. We tossed around a few ideas, and came down to his never having seen the Raimi Spider-man movies. So I pulled up the fist for him, and I was quickly pulled in to it too. Loved it all over again. So right away I wanted to read me some Spidey.
Some good Spidey.
But frankly? I’ve read pretty much every ASM up to the end of Superior Spider-Man, I struggled after Brand New Day ( I will always harbor a deep secret hatred for Quesada), but how can one live without Spider-man? So eventually I kept going.
I’ve also read most every other PPSSM, Web, Spectacular, etc up to that point, but I jumped ship at Spider-Verse. And I am a little old school, so Slott does not do it for me. Too big, too many events, too much “TOO MUCH”. So I was about to re-read Blue, when I came across the “Amazing Spider-Man Reading Order (Modern Marvel Era)” and read good things about the back to basics Zdarsky PPSSM. And suddenly I am reading modern Spider-Man again.
Thanks for the reading order Dave.
Hi Thank you so much for this guide!! i had a couple questions but first let me make my self clear on what my goal is. so i have been very interested in spider man since i was younger but i recently started comics. i have been reading lots of the new 52 and the dc universe rebirth. But i want to start some marvel stuff and spidey is my fav hero other then THE FLASH lol. and my ultimate goal is to catch up to the newest Amazing spider-man run the world wide one. so i went in too the comic book store by my house and they recommended me some stuff and i decided i will start at big time (when slott starts writing it). so i bought Matters of life and death (652-547) because big time was not sold anymore. i also read amazing fantasy #15 and the amazing spider man 1-17 on MU. ow and i read the beginning of big time (648-652) on MU too and then read the book i bought. so i am currently reading until 700 on MU. so here are my questions. can i read just the amazing spider-man trough spidey island or is the rest of that event necessary. my other question is about spider verse. i am really confused when it comes down to that reading order. is it necessary to really follow that guide issue by issue or am i good by just reading trough the amazing spiderman after i read superior spiderman. and what amazing spiderman run is the one mentioned in the spider verse. is that the 2014 one? could you maybe send me some MU links if you understand what issues i am looking for. and then lastly what would be the most spider-man approach to reading secret wars i see that on MU there is an issue by issue secret wars page and it ends on renew your vows is reading renew your vows all i should do ?? i would rather not read trough all of secret wars because i probably wont understand anything because i have not read any other marvel stuff.
Thank you so much for all these Amazing guides i am enjoying comics a lot. sorry i am being such a newbie with a million questions but thank you if you have answers to them!!!!
I’m interested in the various Spidey Spin-Offs such as Spider-Gwen, Silk, and Scarlet, etc. I want to know if they are stand-alone? Or do you need to have read up on Spider-Verse or something else to grasp the gist of it?
Spider-Verse will provide some background for Spider-Gwen. Silk makes her first appearances in the post Superior Spider-Man reboot of Amazing Spider-Man.
Spider-Gwen’s background is less essential to enjoying her standalone series, I’d say, although she’s a highlight of Spider-Verse.
Love your reading orders, just one quick question… Shouldn’t the Pulse 1-6 go before Marvel Knights Spider Man? I think the pulse issues lead right into the Marvel Knights story line as its in the Pulse that Norman Osborn is finally unmasked and confirmed to be the green goblin, thus put away in a jail cell for Marvel Knights Spider Man.
Keep up the good work.
I believe you’re right, at least according to my own guide part. Thanks, and enjoy the comics!
Thwip! Another reading order! Thwip! Another one! Thwip! Yet another reading order to help me on my web-swinging journey! Thank you!
Hi Dave,
I just have a question about the differences in this reading order vs. the complete Marvel reading order Part 1. Specifically under the JMS era, here you say read Spectacular Spider-Man 1-5 after AMS 46-50, but on the complete Marvel list you have a note to read it before AMS 46-50. Also, Blue 1-6 in the Complete Marvel list is listed after Spectacular 1-5, but on this list it would be read before those issues. I was wondering if there is a difference in the reasons for reading them in those orders, or if one of them is incorrect? Thanks!! Keeping up with these lists must be a huge challenge. I can’t even imagine. Thanks for doing this!
Honestly, I think those three are pretty flexible. I’m sure the disparity is just my general forgetfulness and lack of cohesion 🙂
Hi this looks like a great reading order that I’d like to try out however, is there a version of this reading order for these stories in trade paperback form or should I just try to find what tpb these issues are found in on my own? Thank you!
I hate hate to be this guy (who am I kidding, I love it), but in the Spider-Island section the first line reads:
“The Spider-Island crossover results in a whole slow of one-shots and tie-ins.” I’m 87.35% sure you meant to write slew instead of slow. 🙂
Great list!
Hi Dave,
Thanks for all your hard work!! I just completed reading Amazing Spider-Man through issue #700. Before I go on to Superior Spider-Man, I noticed that Marvel Unlimited has issues #700.1 – #700.5. I was wondering where these fit in the reading guide. Should I read them before Superior? Or should I read them after Superior but before the all-new Amazing Spider-Man?
So I’m just now finishing up the Civil War event and am on issue 539 of Spider-Man. How would you recommend reading the what comes next in light of the other trades/events coming up. I’m thinking specifically about things like The Initiative, World War Hulk, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, Siege, Fear Itself, etc… Just looking for a general outline, like “you’ll really want to read issues ______-______ of ASM before you read Fear Itself.” Thanks!
My spidey reading order should call out sort of where the events are in relation to spidey’s story: https://www.comicbookherald.com/amazing-spider-man-reading-order-modern-marvel-era/
Top of my head, the Dark Reign era stories stand out the most. American Son and so on.
Hi there- your reading orders are amazing, and I have enjoyed catching up with so many Marvel events! I was wondering if you were going to do one for Spider-verse. Please do! Thanks!
Coming very, very soon!
I’m just wrapping up j Michael Straczynskis run, and I was wondering something. When I eventually get to spider island, do I have to read every single tie-in?If I don’t what are the core issues during spider-island?
Thank You
If you do the Amazing Spider-Man and Venom tie-ins you should get a good feel for the event. The tie-ins aren’t too overwhelming for Spider Island, but definitely understand if you don’t have time for them all!
Would I miss a ton of details if I just read the amazing spiderman series alone? So I dont miss these details, which other things do you find essential?
You’ll be ok with that approach. When you get to the other and one more day, you’ll need to read the the tie ins to get what’s going on. Would also recommend millar on marvel knights.
So is this the end of a PP/MJ Romantic relationship?
So far it has been, yeah. The newest AMS issues have them as friends only.
It’s sad. I think she’s a great foil. But sounds like Slott and co. Don’t want to go there.
Yeah there was a definite editorial effort to keep them from getting too close following the dissolution of their (happy) marriage. MJ’s still around though 🙂
I guess that means there’s potential.
Thanks
I just got the Unlimited Subscription (couldn’t find any deals with those coupons) for a 1 month fee, but I think I will upgrade very soon to the full year. These reading guides are great. Thanks for the post.
One thing I noticed is your mention of the Clone Saga for Spider-Man. I looked for a good reading guide for this, and haven’t been able to find one other than just noting the collected editions in each of the Trades. The problem is that many of these issues are not included in the unlimited subscription. I made a list of what ones are missing from the subscription and what ones are not available digitally yet and the missing ones are a majority of the series.
Is this saga worth a read? From what I understand it was a major story arc for spider-man and since spidey is my favourite I was hoping to give it a read. I hope Marvel is adding these issues and adding them to the Unlimited service. A lot of mid run missing issues in here.
Thanks for the help.
Mark
Hey Mark,
Great question. The Clone Saga is frequently referenced as possibly the worst thing to ever happen to Spider-Man comics. It’s a running joke in many snarky circles. The Clone Saga is also kind of insanely ambitious and developed a ton of Spider-Man characters that are making comebacks in the comics currently (For example: Scarlet Spider).
Honestly, making your way through the whole thing is a HUGE task. Spider-Man is my favorite character, too, and even I’m like “Yeah that might be too much. I’d have to quit my job.” If you do decide to go for it, I really like this guide. It’s a 35 part series that dives DEEP into the Clone Saga. I might recommend just reading that and then that way you’ll have the history under your belt.
Thanks Dave, that sounds good. I had only seen the wikipedia article about it saying it was one of the biggest and most controversial spider-man events so I figured it might be worth a look. After compiling my list of what issues are not in Unlimited, I don’t think it is worth it to read the whole thing. That guide looks great and I’ll have to check it out. I also have been loving the Ultimate Spider-Man books. They are fantastic. Thanks for posting that guide as well!
Love Ultimate Spidey, glad you’re enjoying!
Going back to my comment earlier about the clone saga, I just listened to the “This Week in Marvel” podcast about the marvel history of the 90’s in marvel. There’s a big section in there about the clone saga and how it came about and why it happened the way that it did. Very interesting listen. Also, they have done a few of these podcasts now, one for each decade sort of thing and they’re all good listening for those interested!
http://marvel.com//files/podcasts/mcom_this_week_marvel_160mini.mp3