Below you’ll find our reading selections for the year of 2009, and once we’re finished reading, I’ll post the winners for hero, villain, issue, artist, and writer.
Feel free to discuss the comics and any related thoughts below in the comments!
2009 Comic Reading List
(Check Patreon for Full List & Bonus Round!)
| 2009 | Comic Book Title | Issues |
| 1 | Dark Reign: The Cabal / Dark Avengers / Utopia | #1 / #1 to #12 / Reading Order |
| 2 | Secret Warriors / Fantastic Four | #1 to #10 / #570 to #574 |
| 3 | Punisher | #1 to #10 |
| 4 | War of Kings | Reading Order |
| 5 | Amazing Spider-Man | #595 to #600 |
| 6 | Invincible Iron Man | #8 to #19 |
| 7 | Daredevil | #116 to #119, #500 |
| 8 | Captain America / Captain America: Reborn | #46 to #50, #600 to #601 / #1 to #6 |
| 9 | Messiah War | Reading Order |
| 10 | Thor / Thor Giant-Size Finale | #600 to #603 /#1 |
The Complete X-Men Reading Order Guide (Modern Marvel Comics Era)
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Really an exceptionally good year, with a super high quality level throughout and a lot of very bold and crazy storytelling and artwork. I’ll make this a bit shorter than usual and try out a “Good/Bad/Ugly and/or Weird” style:
Good: Most things. Particular highlights were Invincible Iron Man with incredible pacing and tension, Hickman’s Fantastic Four for wonderful writing and ideas, Secret Warriors for Nick Fury being back in all of his glory, Captain Britain for having great characters, Agents of Atlas for being hysterical and completely nuts, Doctor Doom and the Masters of Evil for the most elaborate Doom plot ever (and that’s saying something), and moving to the Ultimate Universe, Ultimatum for being ridiculously bold and killing off practically every X-Man! Really, almost everything else was also very strong (War of Kings, Punisher, and Thor were also standouts), with only a couple of lowlights.
Bad: I really thought Black Panther got bad after Hudlin left, with way too much dialogue and the same beats played over and over and over again. I just can’t stand Millar’s Ultimate Cap, so Ultimate Avengers was annoying (though I do think the chase scene in the fourth issue is one of the best plotted and executed chase scenes I’ve ever seen in comics, so there’s that). That’s…really it, everything else was solid. Maybe Utopia, which was fine but I think went on too long and wasn’t my favorite, but it obviously sets up something that will be major for the X-Men moving forward.
Ugly/Weird: I think the pacing in some of the runs was odd, mainly that they just ended kind of suddenly. Cap Britain, Agents of Atlas and Thor were examples of that (though Thor had a much more conclusive ending than the other two). I found the American Son run to be fine but odd and ultimately off-putting with Norman’s plot, and I was not convinced at all with the whole “Harry becoming his own person being the most impressive thing Spidey has ever seen” finale. The new Ultimate Spider-Man is such a jarring change in art style that while the writing is fine, I’m still getting used to it six issues in. Finally, Messiah War was solid, but I’m definitely looking forward to the arc concluding at some point soon; it feels very drawn out at this point.
Overall a really great month of comic book reading, and at some point when I have more time, I will definitely go through all of Dark Reign, as I think the concept is strong and in general very well executed. Onto 2010!
Continuing to chip away at this massive year!
War of Kings was a gem, really enjoyed it! The only bits I could take or leave was the Darkhawk / Ascension parts of the storyline. I just don’t give a damn about Darkhawk, But apart from that, great!
I’m almost up to the X-Men / Utopia crossover in Dark Reign. Highlights so far have been all of the Avengers titles (New / Might / Dark / Initiative), Dark Reign: Elektra, Spider-Woman, New Avengers:The Reunion, S.W.O.R.D. and Daredevil’s “Return of the King”.
No particular lowlights. Didn’t care for Vengeance of The Moon Knight (but then, I’ve never cared for any Moon Knight series). I don’t think I enjoyed Dark Reign: Fantastic Four as much as most people. The Deadpool / Thunderbolts crossover didn’t really work for me, too out of sync with the tone of the rest of Dark Reign.
Forgot to mention, Matt Fraction’s run on Invincible Iron Man is going great guns throughout Dark Reign. The ratcheting tension is fantastic.
1. The Cabal: All stories here are at least fine, but Doom and Loki’s stories shine.
Dark Avengers: Once again, everything is at least an average read. #1-2 and #7-8 are my favorites.
Utopia: Great event! The storytelling on and around the X-Men’s island is one of the mutant high points of this millennium.
2. Secret Warriors: The first arc of six issues is great, and the next four are fine.
Fantastic Four: Yes! Yes! Yes! “Solve Everything” is one of the all-time greatest Fantastic Four stories, and Hickman’s run is just a delight.
4. War of Kings: This event is mostly interesting without being exceptional. High points include Nova #23 and Guardians #13-14 and 18-19.
5. Amazing Spider-Man: This is a treat. Amazing Spider-Man gets my vote for issue of the year. We get an impactful A story with Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, and the next five stories are also excellent.
6. Invincible Iron Man: Salvador Larroca’s art and Fraction’s storytelling are top-rate across all 12 issues here.
8. Captain America: This is all right, and it brings back Steve, who does have some more good stories in him down the road.
9. Messiah War: This is an okay bridge between CompleX and Second Coming. I could do without Deadpool, though.
10. Thor: #601-603 are great, and the rest are average.
Ultimate: The Spider-Man issues are terrific, and everything else is dreck.
Bonus: Being my recommendation, of course I like the Legacy stories a lot. I have a soft spot for Gambit and Rogue from the 1990’s animated TV show, so factor that into my high rating and recommendation. Doctor Doom’s story is good fun, and Black Panther’s issues are also worth reading (#7-11 in particular). Agents of Atlas usually strikes me as competent but not very exciting storytelling. I wish Jeff Parker had given us one or two great arcs with the characters and then left them mostly alone.
If you find yourself wanting to read more 2009 stories, there are some great ones out there. Here are some of my favorites not on this year’s list:
New Avengers #49-52, 58
Thunderbolts #128-129
Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1-5
Dark Reign: The Goblin Legacy
Mighty Avengers #25-27, 30-33
Dark X-Men: The Confession #1
Dark Reign: The List – Spider-Man #1
Invincible Iron Man #20-24
Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield?
Amazing Spider-Man #601-607
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36
Astonishing X-Men #27
Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #1-3
Civil War: House of M #1-5
Fantastic Four #563, 567
Immortal Iron Fist #16
Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1-4
Ms. Marvel #47-48
Uncanny X-Men #517
X-Men: Manifest Destiny Nightcrawler (aka Quitting Time) #1
Tricky year to approach, with Dark Reign basically being more of a “state of the world” than a crossover or event.
I’d already planned out a list which basically combined the ongoing series I was reading and enjoying last year, plus the “Top 10 Dark Reign Comic Book Stories” from https://www.comicbookherald.com/question-of-the-week-what-are-the-best-dark-reign-comics/ – and then I added a couple more that were recommended here. It’s a long list, probably no more intimidating than reading all of Secret Invasion though!
Anyway so far I read Messiah War (pretty good, I’m enjoying all of Kyle & Yost’s ongoing X-stuff), Doctor Doom & The Masters Of Evil (liked, didn’t love), finished off the Immortal Iron Fist run (strong final arc), and am starting on War Of Kings.