Guide Part 1 (1998-2004)

Comments

1. glassneedles says

   February 28, 2019 at 12:11 pm

   I just finished reading the whole list (started on 11th of December and now slightly worried I read so many comics so quickly) as well as some extra ones I will get into below but there are a few issues I thought I would mention:

   You mention “If you’re reading via the trades, this volume will begin to weave in Busiek’s concurrent run on Thunderbolts in the crossover titled “The Nefaria Protocols!” which is incorrect. Busiek left after issue 33 and Fabian Nicieza took over including issues 42-44
   You haven’t included the full Elektra run and skipped an issue of Powerless
   Vision is labelled in Unlimited as Avengers Icons Vision (it took me about 10 minutes to find it)
   She-Hulk 11&12 don’t appear on later sections of the list. I know it says to read after Disassembled but just in case people forget
   Marvel Knights Fantastic Four doesn’t seem to be on later lists
   Second volume of Sentinel also appears to be missing (note I haven’t read this yet as it starts in 2005 so it might be terrible and hence not on the list)

   Now as I was coming to the end of the list I was getting sad it was almost over (I am aware that there are more pages) so I decided to read some more comics from 1998-2004, I feel this is the best jumping on point if you want to get into Marvel seriously. There was Heroes Reborn in 1998 which relaunched Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Fantastic Four and the Avengers, in 1999 Spider-Man and Hulk both got relaunches and in 2000 there was a mini failed X-Men relaunch prior to the Grant Morrison stuff. I’ve written up my thoughts on each comic I tried and if I think people who want more from this era should read it or not.

   Bit of background on my comic history before starting, I’ve mainly been a DC guy over the years with a brief venture into the Marvel universe when they did their Marvel Now (2012) relaunch but that only lasted a year or so, I jumped back into trying to read Marvel Comics after the Spider-Man PS4 game and I quickly read the entire Ultimate Universe before discovering this site and deciding to dip my toe back into 616 continuity. Each title is based on what was in Marvel Unlimited so people can find it easier but any questions please reply and I shall do my best to answer!

   Amazing Spider-Man (1999-2013) & Peter Parker Spider-Man (1999-2003) -Both these series was fairly mediocre with some good issues however including the MJ plane crash and subsequent parts on his own before her return I found to add to my enjoyment of the Spider-Man titles included in the main list. (this is talking about the issues pre JMS coming onto Amazing)

   Captain America (1998-2002) – Parts were interesting and it definitely helped understand parts of the Avengers better (mainly why Cap didn’t have his shield and the whole skrull business). The last issue however is pretty damn bizarre and seems to kill him off without them ever explaining how he came back (at least that I could see)

   Iron Man (1998-2002) – I enjoy
   ed this one quite a bit and definitely think it should be on the list. You get a fair amount more of Warbird including the whole plane fight incident and her struggle with alcoholism. You also get to see the hilarity of the Iron Man armour becoming sentient and falling in love with Tony arc which is very very bad but still somehow so readable

   Fantastic Four (1998-2011) (pre Waid) – It was a very wise reason to skip this, I found this the hardest to get through and the 55 issues seemed to take longer to read than all the others. Only thing I would recommend is the few issues before Valeria’s birth so you get a grounding on that whole weirdness.

   Captain Marvel (2002-2004) – Why the hell is this not on the list. It fits into the time-frame of this part, it’s a continuation of the series that is already on the list and most importantly it’s really really good. Definitely one I would recommend to everyone who enjoyed the first series.

   Captain America Dead Men Running (2002) – Skip this, wasn’t very good
   Captain America Sentinel of Liberty (1998-1999) – This was more of an anthology and seemed to tell random stories from WW2 ranging to the future (well based on when it was published). Nothing very interesting so skip.

   X-Men (1991-2001) – I decided to start reading some of the X-Men comics from around Grant Morrison’s run and I saw Chris Claremont had done a failed relaunch about 10 months prior so thought I would check some of them out
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_(Marvel_Comics) I read 100-113 where it was renamed New X-Men and Morrison took over. The Claremont issues 100-109 I found borderline incomprehensible and would not recommend anyone pick up. There are four issues after he leaves and the last three are part of Eve of Destruction a rather good crossover with Uncanny X-Men which I recommend to anyone who is looking for a good event from around this era.

   Generation X (1994-2001) – Came onto this with the previously mentioned Revolution relaunch (issue 63) as it was written by Warren Ellis and I have to say I really really enjoyed this title considering I had no idea who most of the characters are. It has Emma Frost running a school where some of the students are mutants and it was kind of a feeder team for the X-Men (note I have only read the last 13 issues so maybe slightly wrong on this). It has some good story-lines and it’s interesting to see where Emma was before she joined the team in New X-Men. It also has the team splitting up at the end and they appear in a few different X-Men teams. Definitely read this one.

   Hulk (1999-2008) – Now the first 32 issues of this series are very forgettable and I wouldn’t really recommend these however issue 33 I think would be a good fit somewhere in the Black Panther part as it has Hulk teaming up with Queen and I really enjoyed it. With issue 34 it got a new creative team and I absolutely loved this. The latter part of this run is on the list and I read this first and found it hard to get started with and just pretty crap but the beginning is fantastic. It is basically Bruce Banner in a cross between the fugitive and the X-Files. Now if you are looking for a book that focuses on the hulk it is not for you but I would recommend reading this over the issues included on the main list (even if they are part of the same run).

   Peter Parker Spider-Man (1999-2003) – My previous comments were based on issues 1-30 and these are 31-57. This is really just more Spider-Man, its not amazing not terrible. There is issue 35 which can be read completely standalone and I would recommend anyone check out.

   Uncanny X-Men (1963-2011) – I jumped on with issue 381 (first of Chris Claremont’s relaunch) and when I started this I could see why I had trouble following the X-Men run as some of the issues run into each other but it never says to go to the other series to continue, I didn’t really enjoy any of these issues and found them hard to follow just like the X-Men ones. Not sure if I would of had this issue if I interwove them but life is too short for me to do that.

   Thankfully his run finishes at 389 and then 390-409 are a lot more readable. There’s nothing too amazing however with the main stand out being the introduction of Stacy-X a new member of the X-Men who used to be a prostitute (this is her main personality point and if you are thinking wait a second that has nothing to do with personality then you have already seen the problem). It seems to be a lot of treading water until the introduction of…

   Chuck Austen, the very name alone that strikes fear into the heart of comics fans everywhere. I have no idea why but upon reading how his X-Men run was legendarily bad and was contemporary with Morrison (and later on retconning or ruining a lot of his run) I had to read it. This lived up to the hype, it’s so so bad. However it unfortunately isn’t so bad it is good and I wouldn’t recommend reading this (I didn’t have problems following along with this however unlike Claremont’s previous work I have already spoken about so read into that what you will. I do recommend checking out these two links which give a good run down on Austen’s insanity.

   https://comicdomwrecks.wordpress.com/special-features/chuck-austens-x-men/
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glqoiUm5ECQ

   Following Austens move over to New X-Men (shortly to be renamed back to X-Men) Claremont took over again. Now I know there are currently Claremont fans looking to yell at me for comparing his work to Austens and finding it lacking but I really liked the issues I read! I only read 444 to 454 (so as not to go beyond disassembled) but I didn’t have any issues following these, it’s a completely new team compared to the previous few runs (pretty much the same team from 390-443). It’s not the greatest comic I’ve ever read but still enjoyable.

   Avengers (1998-2004) – Now I hear you thinking but this is on the list! It is, however it is missing one crucial run CHUCK AUSTEN (yes the capitals are justified in this case) who wrote 77-84. The easiest way to describe these issues are filler, Geoff Johns left to go be exclusive to DC and Bendis wasn’t ready to disassemble so they got Austen (who in shades of Mussolini and the trains apparently never had late scripts [insert your own joke here]) in to write some forgettable issues to keep the series ticking over. He has all his old standards (horrendously bad dialogue, everyone being suddenly obsesses with dating, horrendous misogyny) and his main contribution is introducing a new Captain Britain. Very skippable.

   Thor (1998-2004) – So when I read the death of Odin arc in the read through I didn’t really enjoy it, there was a fair amount of characters I wasn’t familiar with and it seemed to jump around a lot. I wasn’t really looking forward to read more of the same so I left it to near the end of my read through. I could not of been more wrong (unless I suddenly turned into Chuck Austen somehow), it starts off slow but after the death of Odin arc it gets ridiculously good to the point when I could not believe that this wasn’t on the list. Thor becomes king of Asgard and ends up intervening in human affairs more and more which leads to all kinds of problems. There is an arc called spiral where everything seems to get worse and worse and just when it was getting to what I thought would be the big finale it had a massive plot twist that floored me. Seriously if anything extra I’ve read deserves to be on this list then this does. Please add it and if it hasn’t been I implore everyone reading this comment to try it.

   Quick note on starting it it gets really good after the death of Odin but I can’t really say to skip the issues prior to this. There are a fair few characters set up in the first couple of arcs that play an important role in the finale (which is issue 79 just before it goes into disassembled) and based on how I was confused while reading death of Odin I can’t really say to skip the early stuff.

   Captain America (2002-2004) – Let’s start with a positive on the first 16 issues, it has really good art! Shame about the writing. This started in April 2002 and is focused on Islamic terrorism for the few few issues and it really struggles to say anything really and then afterwards those issues it went into a story that changes Captain America’s origins (he was purposely frozen by the US military so he wouldn’t stop them nuking Japan, it is immediately forgotten and as far as I can see isn’t brought up again so I don’t feel guilty about spoiling it). During this arc they introduce a new Atlantean girlfriend who is so badly written I double checked and was correct, my old nemesis Chuck Austen had taken over writing duties halfway through an arc. The first 16 issues are very bad and I can’t recommend them to anyone. however after these Chuck Austen leaves and we get two new writers who do 1 and 2 stories respectively the first is an alternative reality where Nazis won WW2 and Red Skull is running America and 2 arcs set in what I assumed was meant to be current continuity up until the last pages of issue 28 (if anyone has an answer for whether Marvel Knight stuff is ever out of the 616 universe that would be good as this really confused me). Overall pretty good and the only reason I’m not recommending it is none of the stuff was ever built upon by subsequent writers.

   X-treme X-Men (2001-2004) – This is where Claremont went after he was kicked off of Uncanny and X-Men with a team not based in the mansion and not beholden to Grant Morrison’s work at the time. I was a bit hesitant about starting this after not enjoying his earlier work but I shouldn’t of worried. The first 18 issues are very hit or miss but after that it settles into a nice pace and I enjoyed this series (beside from a terrible near end arc of Storm becoming a gladiator slave, the less said the better). It also led into his run on Uncanny following Austen (444 onward) so I got a much better understanding of the team in that from this. It seems like Claremont isn’t the best at starting stories but once he has built up steam they improve. If you do want to read this it has the absolutely bizarre notion of having parts of the story branch out into mini series without mention in the main book, the correct reading order is 1-4, Savage Land 1-4, 5-9, annual, 10-19, X-Pose 1-2, 20-23, Mekanix 1-6, 24-46. All except the annual are on unlimited.

   Excalibur (2004-2005) – This series is set after sentinels destroy Genosha and has Professor X and Magneto team up with a new group of young mutants. I am not sure why or how and instead of blaming myself for not paying attention I am assuming it is all this comics fault for being terrible. Has the notable distinction of being the introduction of the Magneto wasn’t Xorn but instead Xorn was pretending to be Magneto pretending to be Xorn for reasons I do not care to know.

   X Force (2004-2005) – This comic was so terrible it made Excalibur look good. It also happens to be my first run in with Rob Liefeld and I do not care to repeat the situation. I only read it 2 days ago (at the point of writing this) and if someone asked me what the plot was it was something to do with time travel and then I have no idea.

   X-Men (2004-2007) – So at this point I was quietly crying to myself wondering when I had become such a masochist as I read 157-165 which happens to be the last of Chuck Austen’s excrement to stain Marvel. Surprisingly there were 2 moments I enjoyed in this comic, firstly there was a joke where Wolverine was trying to explain to Scott that his schedule was a bit much and he couldn’t be on all the teams (the first time I had laughed during a Chuck Austen comic at a joke and not through how terrible it was) and there was a kind of moving death scene (for a character he had introduced and as far as I can see exclusively wrote). Still nowhere close to being recommended but slightly less terrible than his earlier work.

   Soldier X (2002-2003) – This was my first comic starring Cable and it was fine. Nothing amazing nothing terrible.

   Wolverine (2003-2009) – I added this on as issue 20 onward are included on the disassembled-house of M list and I couldn’t see the first 19 issues. The first two arcs were really good and I enjoyed them a lot more than the Wolverine issues that were included on the list, the third arc wasn’t as good but still did not regret reading it.

   New Mutants (2003-2004) – Before I talk about this book I have to admit I seem to have a bias towards any sort of book set in a school environment with people learning their powers, not sure why since I’ve been out of school for over 10 years but thought I would preface the following section with this warning. I loved this book which had members of the original New Mutants team becoming teachers at Xavier’s school and gathering new students. I would recommend this to anyone especially since New X-Men Academy X appears in later sections and is a direct continuation of this story-line.

   NYX (2003-2005) – Introduction of X-23 in what I felt was an unnecessarily gritty story (X-23 is a prostitute specialising in S&M for anyone who didn’t know). I did enjoy reading it however I think it would of worked better if it had tried to be less edgy. It is only 7 issues long however and it does serve as the introduction for a fairly major character going forward so I would recommend reading it.

   Truth Red White and Black (2003) – This is a weird and depressing comic that I definitely recommend. The art style is pretty out of place with the tone of the story but I think that might be intentional (a smarter person who is better at analysis should be able to figure this out). It deals with super soldier experiments done on black soldiers in world war 2 and has a lot to say about this. It stars Isiah Bradley the black captain America (who appears in the crew and whose grandson is one of the young avengers) and as he keeps popping up in different parts of the 616 universe I think this should be on the list.

   Thunderbolts (1997-2003) – So this series starts during the Heroes reborn palava and the first issue reads like a no name avenger rip off then on the last page there is a twist! Now I’m going to spoil the twist in the next paragraph so be warned. This book is worth reading the whole way through (beside from the last 6 issues where they pulled an X-Force and completely changed the cast and story) so feel free to go in blind.
   So the last page shows that all of the Thunderbolts are actually villains and they are conning their way into getting power and doing villainy things. They start to like being heroes and they end up trying to give it a go properly and Hawkeye comes over from the Avengers to lead them. He gets a lot of character development and the progress the villains make is fantastic. The series overall is brilliant and the first 32 issues are by Busiek who did the amazing run on Avengers detailed in the main list. I think it should be read for that alone. Just imagine the Avengers if you haven’t heard of most of the members and they are distrusted like Spider-Man. Read all 75 issues. Now after the success of X-Force turning into X-Statix they tried to do this again with Thunderbolts and changed it into a comic about a superhero fighting ring. I really didn’t enjoy this but your mileage may vary.

   Avengers/Thunderbolts (2004) – Follow up to Thunderbolts starring the original team, none of this fight club nonsense and co-written by Busiek and Nicieza (who did issues 34-75 of the previous series). Pretty good and should fill in what the teams been up to before New Thunderbolts.
   ​
   So by reading all of those I added 791 comics onto the list. Do I regret it, no. Do I recommend it, absolutely not! I read these pretty out of order depending on what parts caught my eye (for example I read Chris Claremont Uncanny X-Men follow up to X-treme before I read X-Treme) and while some of it was interesting that way (such as getting to know Husk before her brother Cannonball or her other brother Angel-Lite) it was a pretty bad way to do things. If you absolutely want to read more comics from this era these are the ones I would happily recommend and I think that Dave should add to the list:

   Captain Marvel – Just needs to be on there
   Thor – Just the whole run, best thing extra thing I read
   Hulk from 34 onward (I also like 33 and think that should be put at an appropriate spot in the Black Panther section
   Generation X – I loved this however it might be a tad confusing jumping in at this point and only sticking around for 12 issues. I can see why this wouldn’t be on the list as New X-Men seems to be the lists preferred starting point for all (minus Deadpool) X-Men comics
   Wolverine – This should be on the list especially since issue 20 onward appear later on
   New Mutants – Same as Wolverine the follow up series New X-Men Academy X appears on the list
   NYX – Enjoyable if a bit weird and introduces X-23
   Truth Red White and Black – Very interesting comic that makes you think and introduces an important element to Captain America’s backstory
   Thunderbolts – Ties in with the Avengers at parts, shows a bit from the time they were missing and the later continuations appear in later parts of the list
   Avengers/Thunderbolts – See above
   Iron Man – Either skip 26-30 or be forewarned his armour becomes sentient and falls in love with him

   Now for the more hesitant stuff I would recommend IF you are really enjoying this era and want more:
   Captain America – If you read the 2002-2004 volume after the 1998-2002 one then skip the first 16 issues not worth it
   Amazing Spider-Man & Peter Parker Spider-Man – there is interesting stuff here, it’s just a bit hidden by muck at times.
   X-Treme X-Men – Just because it feeds into stuff later on the list

   Anything not on the previous 2 sections is not worth reading (unless you are a masochist like me in which case go nuts).

   If anyone has any comics in the 1998-2004 range that I have missed that you would recommend please let me know. While I am going to move on throughout the rest of the reading list I really enjoyed this era of comics and would always be happy to come back for something else.
   ​

   Reply

   • Arthur says

     April 16, 2019 at 8:06 pm

     Hi, these suggestions are awesome!!

     I am still going through the reading order and would be much interested in reading your Captain Marvel, Thor, Hulk, Wolverine, Thunderbolts and Iron-Man suggestions. Could you please give me any tips about which point do these comics fit on the overall reading order?

     Thank you!!

     Reply

     • glassneedles says

       April 29, 2019 at 8:48 am

       Hi!

       No problem at all. I read these once I finished the overall list (which I do not recommend) so please take the timings with a grain of salt as it’s been a few months since I read them all. If when you are reading them you spot an issue pop it in a reply for the next person!

       Captain Marvel – This has already been added to the list so no need to worry about it.

       Thor & Iron Man – These were both relaunched at the same time as Avengers (Thanks Heroes Reborn!) give or take a few months so I would read them around the same time as issues for the main Avengers title, Iron Man even ties into a crossover at issue 7 so that’s a good start. Iron Man is more connected to the main Avengers title so definitely try and keep that close whereas Thor goes off and is pretty much completely on it’s own from issue 40 or so (if I recall correctly.

       Hulk is an interesting one and I would suggest fitting it in somewhere around the end of Black Panther, issue 33 is the first Hulk issue I recommend and that has a nice tie in with Black Panther then with issue 34 it starts a new creative team who shake things up so you don’t need any prior knowledge (outside of general HULK SMASH etc etc). If that doesn’t work for you definitely fit in the 34-69 before you get to issue 70 (which is on the list) as it doesn’t make much sense without the prior stuff.

       Wolverine is a more tricky one as it’s largely on it’s own so could fit in anywhere. If it was me I would put it in just after Runaways so it’s near the Hulk/Wolverine storyline that was fairly good and at only 4 issues leaves you wanting more Wolverine.

       Now Thunderbolts I would start this before Avengers as it’s set before they return to the main universe. If I remember correctly there is a good point at issue 12 or so where you can jump off and go to the Avengers stuff that’s on the list. This is the hardest one to do and I’m going to take a bit of a cop out and link you to the wiki:

       https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Avengers_Vol_3
       https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Thunderbolts_Vol_1

       With those links you can get a sense of where to read up to on each one before switching over as it’s got the publication months. Both are by Kurt Busiek and have roughly the same feel so enjoy!

       Now I’ve done that for a few issues I have even more respect for Dave as it’s one thing recommending a book but a whole other thing when working out how to split them up.

       Reply

       • Arthur says

         April 30, 2019 at 12:06 pm

         Wow! Awesome answer! Thanks a lot!

         Reply

   • nc says

     July 30, 2019 at 8:16 pm

     do you recommend sticking to this list or also reading the extra things you read and listed? i’m wondering how well the main avengers’ arcs are set up based on this list alone and am wondering if you can give me guidance. i don’t want to get to weighed down at the beginning with the nitty-gritty series about the specific characters, so what do you think is necessary to read before reading avengers disassembled? from this list and your own knowledge

     Reply

   • nc says

     August 15, 2019 at 6:03 pm

     do you suggest reading these extra series (i’m mainly focusing on iron man, cap, thor, and thunderbolts) according to release date, that way they’re interwoven with the ongoing avengers series, or should i read each series individually?

     Reply

   • Kyle (council of cross time Kyle's member) says

     June 28, 2022 at 2:06 pm

     This man is correct, and I’m glad when i did this a few years ago i read everything he recommended, as Dan Jurgens Thor is one of my favorite things i read in this era right along with daredevil and black panther. If you read anything extra, read that thor run.

     Reply

2. Sabrina says

   February 19, 2019 at 1:34 pm

   Thanks so much for making this guide! It’s very easy to follow and I really appreciate you taking the time to make this. I’ve been wanting to delve into Marvel comics for a while but had no clue where to start. I especially appreciate how you’ve delineated where to start if you’re more interested in the modern era of Marvel comics. I’m a full time student so I don’t exactly have the time to get into 80 entire years of comic book history!

   I think I’ll do some combination of your fast track and long track guides, adding in the “non-essentials” that I’m interested in to make my own “medium track” reading list if that makes sense.

   Thanks again, you da best.

   Reply

3. Jack says

   October 27, 2018 at 11:57 pm

   Is there a reason you don’t have Deadpool Classic Vol 1 on here?

   Reply

4. Mike says

   October 6, 2018 at 1:48 pm

   Is Powererless #6 meant to be read later in the timeline? It only list 1-5 here

   Reply

5. Devin says

   July 1, 2018 at 6:07 pm

   Okay, so I am reading these by the issue and not collected/TPB. It starts out with Inhumans and then goes to Deadpool Classic Vol. 2

   Collects: Deadpool #2 to #8, #-1, Daredevil/Deadpool Annual 1997

   Where does the first issue of Deadpool come in?

   Reply

   • Michael says

     July 3, 2018 at 12:27 am

     That 1st issue they snuck into Deadpool Classic Vol. 1, which contained the previous DP run by Fabian Nicieza (marketing genius or just pure evil?). I just read that 1st issue in Marvel Unlimited and the rest in the TPBs (my normally preferred way to read)

     Reply

     • Devin says

       July 3, 2018 at 11:29 am

       Oh okay. Thanks a lot

       Reply

6. Stephan says

   June 30, 2018 at 10:20 am

   Did they just never collect Iron Man #73-83 into a TPB?

   Reply

7. Stefano says

   June 17, 2018 at 6:17 pm

   Just want to fix a typo in the list above. You wrote “Hulk: Nightmercia (1-6)”. It supposed to be “Hulk: Nightmerica (1-6)”

   Thanks for this awesome website btw

   Reply

8. Kevin says

   February 27, 2018 at 5:00 pm

   Could you make a fast track guide for this guide? It’s a lot of comics and I’d like to get to the event era of comics.

   Reply

   • Dave says

     March 12, 2018 at 12:22 pm

     Here you go: https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-modern-marvel-universe-in-25-trade-collections-2000-to-2012-fast-track/

     Reply

9. AP says

   February 22, 2018 at 8:28 pm

   So I am so overwhelmed and taken aback with how many comics there are in the marvel universe. I watched all the movies in the MCU and I wanted to know more about the characters. With Infinity war movie coming up in May, I wanted to brush up on reading. Hence, I read the Infinity arc but then i was confused; I didn’t realise I had to read the Infinity trilogy first. Btw, is infinity a reboot of the Infinity trilogy?

   I tried starting from the beginning with Marvel Knights so I read Inhumans. The art style wasn’t great. I think I prefer more uodated and polished art style like in the recent comics. I only enjoyed it towards the end otherwise I couldn’t wait till it was over.
   Black panther 1-9 bored me. The art style and confusing politics were not nice. I was confused as to how black panther knew the avengers; I thought these issues would explain his origin story, life in wakanda and joining and leaving and joining the avengers again.

   My question is, isn’t there a faster way to brush up all these years of comics while skipping out on non-essential comics? The purist in me wants to know as much as possible but it’ll probably take years to finish all these arcs and now marvel is having yet another reboot this year .

   Reply

   • Mathias Bjørnskov says

     March 21, 2018 at 5:02 pm

     Well, at the name “Marvel Universe” implies, you are getting a peak into just that – an actual universe. Hence, there’s a lot of to keep track of, and being a completionist is pretty much impossible unless you dedicate the rest of your life to reading through it all.
     Personally, I feel the same way like you (though I loved The Inhumans art style) and got into reading following this guide just last year, after becoming interested thanks to the movies.
     I started reading through the Ultimate universe, which is an alternative timeline, that many of the movie drew their inspirations from. It is MUCH shorter (I think around 500-600 issues spanning all series), and much more digestible and is a great way to get to know all the characters, and it also has a lot of pretty cool stories, especially pretty much the entire Ultimate Spider-Man series. It’s does however contain an event known as Ultimatum, which I heavily regarded as one of the worst comic book events of all time (I kinda liked it though).
     If I were you, I’d buy a month worth of Marvel Unlimited, follow the guide for the Ultimate Universe right here on the comicbookherald, get to know the characters and figure out if you want to follow this guide afterwards, or maybe just follow a few characters.

     Reply

     • Jason says

       May 13, 2018 at 12:33 pm

       Really great advice and I am one of the minority when it comes to Ultimatum. I loved it

       Reply

10. Gpmushu says

    December 22, 2017 at 10:27 am

    Like a number of people who have posted here, I’ve been following this page for about two years (I think it was just past Secret Wars at the time) and it’s been an amazing way for me to get into comics.

    I never read comics when I was younger and then when I was interested the backlog of things I would need to read was just too expensive to think about. Marvel Unlimited has been an amazing breakthrough for me and allowed me to read years of stuff I wish I had read when I was younger and this page has been at the heart of that.

    I’m finally at the bottom of the page with only the last two Spider-Man runs to read and I’m very excited to start Disassembled.

    Thank you so very much for having this here for people like me who are looking to catch up on what we missed in childhood.

    Reply

11. DMC says

    November 18, 2017 at 9:49 am

    Any particular reason Truth: Red, White & Black isn’t on this list? Isaiah Bradley factors into reading-order titles The Crew and (in part three) Young Avengers, and I personally thought it was a fairly major miniseries far as these things go. Great list in general, by all means, though!

    Reply

12. Joe Stevens says

    August 19, 2017 at 3:46 pm

    Thanks for this guide. As a sporadic comics reader I feel like I’ve been working on page one for a short eternity, but I’m finally on to page two.
    While everyone has their own taste in comic art, it seems to me that the artwork improved dramatically from the beginning to the end of page one. The earlier comics often seemed to either have been impacted by the horrific style of Rob Liefeld or simply to have been drawn be inferior artists. The later comics in the mid 2000s seem to be drawn to a higher level by folks who knew anatomy and architecture. Also the color seemed to improve significantly across the first page.

    Reply

13. Agent Beard says

    August 14, 2017 at 3:00 am

    The MCU developing gave me an urge to meet our superheroes better so I thought I would give the comics a try. And I just finished reading inhumans 1-12 and I am so excited. That was such a thrill. And more on the political side.

    So I have a possibly ignorant question. This list is taking us through the main conti nuity events of this era. So, we are kinda skipping all the parts of the individual series that are not central to the main continuity right???

    So in a completionists mind, someone would go through this list and then come back to complete the individual series. ???

    Also, this order is great but I can’t seem to find an order of the earlier comics (before the avengers assemble list). Am I missing it?

    Last question, would it be somehow possible to simultaneously jump into the most recent books and still make sense?

    Amazing blog. This is such a good job!!! Thank you

    Reply

    • History_sensei says

      August 17, 2017 at 9:49 pm

      At this early stage I wouldn’t necessarily say that is true but as the “age of events” really ramps up in the second half of the 2000s and into the 2010s that might be a bit more accurate I suppose.

      But yes, in a completionist’s mind, you could go through the list a section at a time, and then go back and read the individual titles you want to keep current with where you are in the main reading order…although with many of the main titles (Avengers, X-Men, Spidey, etc…) that probably won’t be too necessary as they will already be in the reading list.

      The great thing about starting reading at this point in Marvel continuity is that many of the titles all had jump-on points around this time where the story and/or titles reset with new volumes and so on. Avengers (team and solo titles) in 1998, Daredevil in 1998, Spidey in 1999, X-Men titles to a small extent in 1999, but definitely in 2001, the whole (and largely excellent) Marvel Knights imprint in 1998/1999… it’s just a really good point to jump in to Marvel Comics.

      If you’re interested finding a reading order or at least the important stories before this era, I would strongly recommend the very excellent “My Marvelous Year” on this blog in which our fearless leader has put together lists of the top 10 key stories-arcs, events, and issues from each year all the way back to Fantastic Four #1 in 1962. There’s more than enough reading there to keep you occupied, and that’s without being a completist!

      With Secret Empire going right now and ramping up to it’s conclusion, it would probably be difficult to just “jump into” the most recent books without some knowledge of what’s been happening in the last year or two with HydraCap and Civil War II and so on and have it all make sense. If you want to simultaneously jump into the most recently published books, you may want to just hold off a couple months until Marvel Legacy kicks off…

      Reply

      • Agent Beard says

        August 21, 2017 at 10:11 am

        Thank you so much!! I am working my way throigh Black Panther and I am hooked and also went a little back to build my following of the inhumans. This is a thrill!!!

        Reply

14. Krish says

    July 30, 2017 at 6:47 am

    Is it really necessary to read Deadpool?
    I like The Merc with a Mouth a lot but this type of cartoon is not my type .
    So can I skip the Deadpool series?
    Btw U r doin a great job
    I mean it really tough to make blogs like this.
    Ta
    Thank you!!

    Reply

    • Kkerklaan says

      July 30, 2017 at 7:38 am

      Yes, you can skip it. It was added because a lot of the people asked for it, after the movie came out.

      Reply

      • Kkerklaan says

        July 30, 2017 at 7:41 am

        Only deadpool #44 needs to be read, alongside black panther #23. But it says so in the guide.

        Reply

        • Krish says

          August 2, 2017 at 8:18 am

          Thanks

          Reply

15. Trent says

    May 27, 2017 at 9:21 pm

    First I need to say that this page has been my life for almost two years. I’ve read every single one plus some others from going down the rabbit hole.

    I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I’m on Rogue #1 but I was totally confused by Gambit being blind but that’s apparently in X-Men #160ish which I’m not seeing anywhere on here. Should Rogue be later in the reading or X-Men 157 and onward earlier?

    Thanks so much dude!

    Reply

16. Daniel says

    May 23, 2017 at 9:52 pm

    Anyone else absolutely love the Maya plotline towards the end of daredevil 16-60? It gave me chills and the artwork is just fantastic

    Reply

17. Jake says

    April 25, 2017 at 6:44 pm

    Hey Dave!

    This guide has really been a revelation for me. For so long I’ve wanted to get into marvel comics and this has been the perfect starting point for me. I’ve just finished Avengers Volume 4 and I’m loving all the comics so far.

    Thanks a bunch and keep doing what your doing!!

    Reply

18. Juan Andrés says

    April 19, 2017 at 10:13 pm

    Hi Dave!

    After a year I finally read all the comics in this part. I just wanted to thank you for the guide, for a while I had been wanting to inmerse myself in the Marvel comics and I didn’t know where to start.
    I had a lot of fun going through this list. Loved some of the classics like Daredevil, Fantastic Four or Spider-Man and also some titles that I didn’t know about like Sentry or Exiles.
    Can’t wait to get started with Avengers Disassembled so once again thanks for what I think will be a lot of time reading great stories!

    Reply

    • Dave says

      April 20, 2017 at 10:14 am

      Congrats on finishing the list, and I’m glad you’re enjoying the Comic Book Herald guides. Enjoy Disassembled!

      Reply

19. John says

    March 14, 2017 at 9:21 am

    Hello Dave

    Great guide. It’s really helping to make sense of all the various titles. I’ll probably have a number of questions like this but here goes. Is Tomb of Dracula (1 – 4) collected as a trade paperback? WHen I look on Amazon for it, different titles come up but they all look like they’re from the seventies.

    Thanks very much for this guide.

    Reply

20. Ariel says

    February 5, 2017 at 4:20 am

    Hi, is there any Shield issues worth reading?

    Reply

21. JerkyGunner says

    October 17, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    Just got a couple of questions:

    1) You added a few new reads since the last time I visited, among them a number of Avengers comics. I follow on Marvel Unlimited and noticed that Avengers #35 (the one right after the Count Nefaria storyline, I think that’s the right issue) forms part of the Maximum Security storyline. I found what I think should be the rest of that event and am currently reading through it but you might want to fit them into the reading order so that issue doesn’t just come out of left field.

    Presumably the trade version covers it nicely but for anyone following on MU, it’s something you should mention. Also, on a similar note, the Nefaria plotline that’s mixed between the Avengers and Thunderbolts comics should have the last Avengers issue come last, rather than reading through the Avengers parts and then the Thunderbolts parts.

    I hope what I said made sense.

    2) Is the X-Men Onslaught read still an issue for MU users? Its mention at the top of the list was also something I hadn’t noticed before and following the link you mention it’s poorly collected on MU but I’m not sure how recent that statement is.

    Thanks and keep up the good work!

    Reply

22. Skydean says

    October 5, 2016 at 6:21 am

    Just finished this part of the guide and I can’t thank you enough because it was a really cool journey !!!
    FYI : if I didn’t forget any, there are 1083 comics in this guide that are available on MU plus 28 that aren’t (Alias) for a total of 1111 comics in total ! Sorry, just had to measure the extent of what I read over the past 2 years (with big pauses) so I could be proud of myself xD
    Bottom line is : I can’t wait to read the next part of the guide, so I’ll have to end my comment here !
    Thnk you again for your amazing work !!!

    Reply

    • Dave says

      October 5, 2016 at 11:30 am

      I’m glad you enjoyed the guide! I hadn’t counted in a while, that’s a lot of comics

      Reply

23. Mark Edward Hendricks says

    October 1, 2016 at 2:13 am

    I don’t know how on Earth you could have possibly found time to read all of the comics on the pre-Avengers Disassembled list much less all those on your many other lists, but thanks a million. Whatever you do, for God’s sake, don’t ever take this site down. I will be utterly lost if you do.

    Highest Regards,
    Eddie

    Reply

24. Brent C says

    September 16, 2016 at 1:06 pm

    Just an FYI, Deadpool Classic Vol 4 includes the Deadpool and Death 98 annual

    Reply

25. Zom-Bot says

    August 26, 2016 at 1:34 pm

    Quick question regarding the Avengers run you added: The reading order for post Disassembled has Avengers stopping at issue 56. Next time we see an Avengers title is 500.

    SPOILER:
    At that time, JOH comes back and Scott Lang is on the team?
    Seems like there are a few important items missing that could lead us to this?

    Reply

26. Joe Stevens says

    August 6, 2016 at 12:13 am

    I’ve been slowly working my way through this list using Unlimited and taking breaks along the way. I figure I’m finally making progress off page one and then I come back and you’ve added over 100 comics!

    I will make it to page 2, I think I can, I think I can…

    Anyway keep up the great work. Thanks for the list!

    Reply

27. Namfoodle says

    July 8, 2016 at 11:50 am

    I really enjoyed the Eighth Day storyline which leads up to Avengers Assemble volume 3. This would include Iron Man (1998) #21-22, Thor (1998) #17, Peter Parker Spider-Man (1999)-#11, and Juggernaut (1999) #1. Worth reading if you want some background there.

    Reply

28. Seth says

    May 31, 2016 at 2:06 pm

    So black panther #50-62 on the list is not out yet in collection form?

    Reply

    • Michael says

      June 3, 2016 at 11:22 pm

      Not yet. According to Amazon, it is scheduled to be released on August 23rd:

      http://www.amazon.com/Black-Panther-Christopher-Priest-Collection/dp/1302900587/ref=pd_sim_14_3/184-6522448-5482003?ie=UTF8&refRID=0Y4ACJY4J3P58SKVB5AD

      Reply

29. ANON says

    May 30, 2016 at 1:59 am

    You should make a co Part 1 so you can fit in all the useless but fun extras in the marvel universe like Howard the Duck.

    Reply

30. Joe says

    May 24, 2016 at 3:33 pm

    Hi Dave! Two questions:

    1) What about the X-Men? There’s a real paucity of X-Men early on, especially with adding in Deadpool, some of his storylines seem to continue in the X-Series…

    2) What’s up with the Hulk? In Deadpool and Sentry he seems anti-Banner and stuck in Hulk form. Can you direct me to the arc where that happened? I highly doubt Marvel storylines are quite sophisticated enough to add in a major secret like that across multiple series to be filled in later, but I could be wrong.

    Reply

    • Joe says

      May 25, 2016 at 2:47 pm

      Followup: Much of what’s going on seems to harken back to Onslaught. Are we still in imaginary worlds? Is/will Onslaught be resolved?

      If I go back to read Onslaught, am I just going to find another background event to go back and read which has another background event which has another…? I only mention it as maybe it’s another option for a jumping on spot.

      Reply

      • Dave says

        May 27, 2016 at 1:54 pm

        Good question. You certainly could go back to Onslaught, although I don’t think it’s a very functional jumping on point. There’s a ton of X-Men continuity to catch up on before Onslaught even makes an appearance.

        If you love X-Men, then by all means do Age of Apocalypse and Onslaught prior. Otherwise, it’s all resolved by the time that busiek/perez avengers #1 hits, and we are on the one and only Earth-616!

        Reply

31. Will says

    May 18, 2016 at 2:07 pm

    For the dead pool vol. 2, the Amazon description says that it collects issues #2-8 and issue #-1. Why is it -1 and why isn’t issue #1 in it.

    Reply

    • Joe says

      May 24, 2016 at 3:35 pm

      #-1 is a sort of flashback issue. It fits in best right before #5, in my opinion.

      Reply

    • Joe says

      May 24, 2016 at 3:36 pm

      Oh, and it doesn’t include #1 because that was in the previous volume for whatever reason.

      Reply

      • Will says

        May 25, 2016 at 3:52 pm

        So #1 is the first issue in the series, not #-1

        Reply

32. Jokokoe says

    May 18, 2016 at 7:04 am

    Does Venom #1-18 (2003-2004) written by Daniel Way is a continuity to something or can I read it whenever I want ? Anyway , this is a wonderful website, keep up the good work !

    Reply

33. Michael says

    May 8, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    With the addition of the Deadpool TPBs into this reading order, thought I’d share this find on Amazon:

    http://www.amazon.com/Deadpool-Classic-Omnibus-Vol-1/dp/0785196749/ref=pd_sim_14_58?ie=UTF8&dpID=61%2B3lCH-dxL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR109%2C160_&refRID=0GV67JV3261X03P3JW9E

    It is the Deadpool Classic Omnibus Vol. 1, which is a complete collection of the Classic TPBs Volumes 6-10. 5 TPBs in 1. This might be a good buy, just throwing it out there…

    Reply

    • Michael says

      May 8, 2016 at 5:19 pm

      And just for clarification, Agent X Issues 1-15 are contained within the Deadpool Classic Vol. 9 and 10 Trades.

      Reply

34. Will says

    May 6, 2016 at 9:52 am

    Hi Dave, first of all I love this site but I’m a bit confused. I want to start using this reading order but I’m confused on what to read. For example, with the Inhumans, do I just read the Inhumans graphic novel (which is the link) or do I need to read everything in the reading order also?

    Reply

    • Will says

      May 6, 2016 at 9:59 am

      I mean the inhumans reading order btw

      Reply

      • Joe says

        May 6, 2016 at 10:17 am

        Will,

        It really depends on how much of the Inhumans’ story you’d like to read and how much you’d like to know and how much time you have to read. What’s listed here is sort of “main continuity,” this is the sort tuff you really ought to read to keep up on the Marvelverse(s) in general.

        If you find yourself really enjoying the Inhumans or Hulk or X-Men, or your just a foolish completionist like myself, that’s what the other guides are for.

        Short amswer: if you just want to read the “main” guide, the graphic novel is what you’re looking for.

        Reply

        • Joe says

          May 6, 2016 at 10:18 am

          *Sort of stuff*, not *sort tuff*. Stupid phone.

          Reply

          • Will says

            May 6, 2016 at 11:22 am

            Ahh, ok thanks for helping me understand. This was very helpful.

35. David says

    May 5, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    Just read ASM 515, there an editor’s note indicating this takes place after New Avengers number 3. The whole arc should probably be moved to the guide between Disassembled and House of M.

    Side note, I am finally almost done with this stage of the guide, hooray!

    Reply

36. Kkerklaan says

    May 4, 2016 at 3:27 am

    I’ve given some thought about the sentry miniseries, and I think the best way to read it after #5 is x-men, fantastic four, spiderman, the hulk and sentry. In that way you get the back stories in a chronological order.

    Reply

37. Paul says

    April 24, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    Hi, I’ve looked through your entire guide and I have to say it is the easiest guide to follow for Marvel comics for the past 15 years. As a new comic book reader, I’m excited to get started on it. However, I am curious as to Marvel comics and storylines prior to 1999 that you would suggest reading. If you could help me out with that, that’d be awesome. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Dave says

      April 25, 2016 at 3:03 pm

      Hey welcome to the site. I have two recs for you.

      One, check out my 1961 to 1998 fast track. This will get you the essentials: https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-25-essential-trades-to-marvel-comics-from-1961-to-2000/

      Two, check out mymarvelousyear.com. this is my reading club, and we go through every year of marvel in more palatable chunks. Then we vote on the hero and villain of the year. It’s fun, I promise

      Enjoy the comics!

      Reply

38. Fabian Lopez says

    April 22, 2016 at 10:14 pm

    Hey Dave,

    I was looking through the list and noticed that the link for She-Hulk shows the same She-Hulk series that later appears in Guides 6 and 7 (Pre-Civil War and the Civil War event itself). Is this an error or did you want us to read that She-Hulk series now?

    Reply

    • Michael says

      April 25, 2016 at 12:04 pm

      I believe the difference here is that in this part 1 the She-Hulk being referenced is She-Hulk (2004) 1-10, whereas the She-Hulk in Guides 6 and 7 is She-Hulk (2005). The TPB linked to here contains She-Hulk (2004) 1-12, plus She-Hulk (2005) 1-5, and there and then Amazon contains links Collection Volume 2 to get the remainder of the She-Hulk (2005) issues. On a related note, however, here it says to save She-Hulk (2004) #11-12 until after Avengers Disassembled, but I couldn’t find anywhere in the guides that those 2 issues were re-inserted into the reading guides to be finished.

      I know I’m not Dave, but hopefully this helps.

      Reply

39. Mike says

    April 22, 2016 at 1:46 pm

    I just started on this list and it’s been amazing. I was wondering if there’s a good way to combine the Joe Kelly Deadpool run? Or is #44 enough for continuity? (I haven’t gotten that far into BP yet)

    Cheers

    Reply

    • Kkerklaan says

      April 22, 2016 at 2:06 pm

      I just use the deadpool reading order as focus point next to these orders, so I read until the beginning of the first comic (1999) and then after I’m done with this first part, I catch up again with deadpool.

      Reply

    • Fabian Lopez says

      April 23, 2016 at 3:49 pm

      The Deadpool #44 is the part 1 of “Cat Trap”, and this continues on to Black Panther #23 for part 2.

      Reply

40. cronanbor says

    April 15, 2016 at 6:54 pm

    I’ve just started to read the comics on this list. Inhumans was sooo good, now I’m onto Black Panther!
    I wanted to pass this link along, it contains the anticipated release of the TPB for Black Panther (50 – 62); as well as Crew 1-7 which is also on this list.

    http://www.amazon.com/Black-Panther-Christopher-Priest-Collection/dp/1302900587/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460764453&sr=1-1&keywords=black+panther+by+christopher+priest+the+complete+collection+vol.+4

    Reply

    • cronanbor says

      April 17, 2016 at 5:45 pm

      Offering a helping hand with the TPB’s.
      Regarding the Daredevil 1-15 link, it brings you to the Guardian Devil TPB which has issues 1-8.
      Issues 9 – 15 are collected in the TPB Parts of a Hole.
      http://www.amazon.com/Daredevil-Echo-Parts-David-Mack/dp/0785142878/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460933113&sr=1-2&keywords=daredevil+parts+of+a+hole

      Then I also found this which says it collects 1-15.
      http://www.amazon.com/Daredevil-Vol-2-Parts-Hole/dp/0785108084/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460932919&sr=1-1&keywords=daredevil+parts+of+a+hole

      Reply

      • Michael says

        April 18, 2016 at 10:34 pm

        The description on that 2nd one is incorrect on Amazon, as I found a lot of the Amazon descriptions are unfortunately (either that or incomplete). That 2nd link is actually the TPB I have. The only difference in the two is that your 1st link is Hardcover, the 2nd link is the Paperback. Both collect Issues 9-15

        Reply

        • cronanbor says

          April 19, 2016 at 8:16 am

          Cool, thanks Michael. Wish there was a way to edit our posts.

          Reply

          • Michael says

            April 23, 2016 at 12:48 pm

            Ha! Yes, many times I wished I could edit mine too

41. Justin Gazlay says

    April 11, 2016 at 11:08 am

    Hi Comic Book Herald Community,

    I have created a fun way to track your progress through this list if you are interested: https://trello.com/b/UjJbREAO

    Simply copy the board and all it’s card to use it for you own comic reading checklist/journal. You can comment on each series to remember things about story or makes notes to yourself. The cards can be dragged between the different lists.

    Enjoy!

    Reply

    • Kkerklaan says

      April 11, 2016 at 12:34 pm

      How does it work? Made an account, but how clan I use the cards?

      Reply

      • Justin Gazlay says

        April 11, 2016 at 2:06 pm

        on the left hand side click on the “Show Menu” link. in the menu click “… More” then there should be an item that says “Copy Board” you use that to copy it your own space where you can use it and edit it freely. Just make sure the Keep Cards box is checked.

        Reply

42. Kkerklaan says

    March 11, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    I lost it at black panther #22, with the batman spoof!! ????????

    Reply

    • Justin Gazlay says

      April 12, 2016 at 3:04 pm

      That whole series is one of my favorites so far!

      Reply

43. Kkerklaan says

    March 7, 2016 at 9:19 am

    Wondering why avengers (1998) isn’t in this part or the next, as it leads up to avengers disassembled. Does it mean that it isn’t important to the storyline?

    Reply

    • alphasquid says

      March 7, 2016 at 9:55 am

      This was discussed previously by another user in the comments, so I’ll copy/paste what was said:

      “Finally a question I feel like I can answer and add value to the thread!

      Having been in the same predicament, I dipped my toes in the Avengers (98-04) world while starting part 1 of the guide. To be honest this run on the Avengers doesn’t even get close to some of the genius found in later runs on Avengers and New Avengers, but there are still some good stories to pick out, and the issues on MU have all had gorgeous HD-style makeovers, so they look great.

      I read Black Panther (which is really good, by the way) #1 to #12, and then read Avengers #19 to #22 (this is the Ultron Unlimited storyline, which is really enjoyable and influenced the Age Of Ultron movie in some respects). I didn’t stick with Black Panther much further after that, I seem to remember the creative team changed after the initial 12 issues? May be wrong. Anyway, it ties in nicely with Cap’s appearance early in the Black Panther run.

      After that and at any point before (I think) Iron Man #73 to #83, pick up the Avengers with #41 to #44, Avengers Annual 2001, and #45 to #55 – this is the Kang Dynasty story arc, and is brilliant from start to finish. In fact I think it’s the only Avengers arc from the pre-Disassembled era which could legitimately be listed under part 1 of the guide because, well, because Kang. If there’s one arc from the 98-04 Avengers run you should read, it’s this one.

      In the interests of setting up the events of Disassembled completely you could also read to the end of the run from #65, as from here you’ll pick up the Red Zone story arc, the Search for She-Hulk, and also includes some quality Captain Britain action of the highest order in Lionheart of Avalon. #76 also explains Jack Of Hearts’, er, “predicament” in the midst of Disassembled).

      The rest of the run is pretty forgettable to be honest, unless you’re totally into the romantic endeavours of Hank/Janet Pym and Wonderman/Vision/Scarlet Witch. There’s far too much other quality stuff in the rest of part 1 of the guide (for instance Daredevil, Captain Marvel, Sentry – so good!) to worry about picking too much up from this Avengers run, especially the early issues.

      As Dave has already said, nearly all the story arcs here are self-contained enough that the occasional appearance of another character from an associated story is either inconsequential, or is explained away in two panels.”

      Reply

      • Kkerklaan says

        March 7, 2016 at 10:06 am

        Thanks, read some of the comments, but couldn’t find anything about it, guess I should have read further.

        Reply

        • alphasquid says

          March 7, 2016 at 10:32 am

          There’s like a million comments though.

          Reply

44. Michael says

    February 22, 2016 at 11:33 pm

    Thank you for the amazing hard work and dedication you’ve put into this site and the reading lists. Just a thought, since the reading lists are so wonderfully comprehensive… I know sometimes they will get updated, perhaps even earlier parts of the list. Have you considered perhaps a short post just to highlight any changes made to the reading list, like the complete list? (E.g. Black Panther split up with Deadpool 44 added) This does 2 things. It helps us to know any changes, perhaps issues we might have missed and can go back and read; also, it makes an entry that those of us using RSS newsreaders can see to know a change has been made. Otherwise it seems impossible to keep up with all the changes. Not sure if this makes sense. It isn’t a complaint at all BTW. I love how wonderfully you are keeping up the reading order lists. Just an idea that I think would help us loyal readers keep up with you. Thanks again for the amazing work on this website!!

    Reply

45. JD says

    January 31, 2016 at 4:33 am

    Great site. Really enjoying working through this list. I think you should add Marvel 1602: New World 2005 in before Spider-Man 1602.

    Reply

46. David says

    January 20, 2016 at 12:26 am

    Powerless has 6 issues instead of 5… but issue 6 isn’t on Unlimited at the moment.

    Reply

47. David says

    January 16, 2016 at 6:52 pm

    She Hulk number 10 leaves off at a bit of a cliffhanger. When should 11 and 12 be read?

    Reply

48. David says

    January 3, 2016 at 2:39 am

    1602: New World should be read right before Spider-Man 1602.

    Reply

49. Joe says

    January 1, 2016 at 2:28 pm

    I gotta say that first recommendation of Inhumans got me hooked. What a fantastic comic.

    I have a question about the next comic though. There’s clearly a lot I’m missing as far as Black Panther goes, like the fact that he was apparently an Avenger, for example. For the big names (read: movies made, sorry, I’m new) I sort of know the background enough to jump in the middle, but I want to know more about who Black Panther is, where he came from, and how he became an Avenger. Any recommendations on where to start?

    Reply

    • Chris says

      January 1, 2016 at 3:14 pm

      You’re in luck. The first Black Panther series is on Marvel Unlimited and is only 13 issues long, you’re looking for Black Panther (1976).

      For his very first appearance, you’re looking for Fantastic Four #52-#53, then Tales Of Suspense #97-#99.

      Black Panther first joins Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers #52.

      Reply

      • Joe says

        January 1, 2016 at 3:33 pm

        Phenomenal! Thanks so much!

        Reply

50. Joe says

    December 22, 2015 at 3:13 pm

    Dave,

    First of all, though I’m sure I’ve said this elsewhere: thank you for this/these amazing list/s.

    Second, I’ve begun the rather ambitious project of translating all of your lists into Marvel Unlimited jargon (e.g. instead of “Vol. I” my list reads “Title (Years) Issue Numbers”), with the ultimate goal of combing all of your lists (including Cosmic, Spider-Man, Marvel Ultimates, etc.) into one giant reading list (which I’ll happily share with you if you’d like…is the forum a good place for that?).

    In the process of doing this, I’ve noticed a handful of errors in your hyperlinks (such as Sentinel Vol. I actually leading to Vol. III on Amazon), and have continuity questions about how things all work together – again, are the forums a good place for those discussions?

    Thanks again, and sorry for the lengthy comment.

    Reply