Jumping on point for Marvel Comics?

Hey all,

Before we all disappear, I wanted to pick the brains of all the comic book fans out there.

Many years ago I used to collect comics voraciously, but had to stop due to the inevitable financial reasons kicked in. Back then, I started out by collecting DC Comics, mostly because I was more familiar with the flagship names, such as Superman and Batman. (this was when Bat Fever hit the world back in '88) I also realised just how many different titles there were and how expensive it would get and had to make the decision which company to follow, DC or Marvel.

DC won, simply because the sheer amount of Marvel comics on the shelf, including what seemed to be about 500 X-Men titles just seemed to costly.

Now, having got back in to comics over the previous 10 years or so, especially after playing CoH so much, I managed through various means to start reading comics properly once more. Having decided to continue with DC Comics as I loved them so much, I decided that the best "jumping on" point was the Crisis on Infinite Earths and as such, have been reading almost all the DC Comics since then, currently up to about 2003 comics (Yeah, I know, still 9 years to go, but I'm getting through them fast! )

Anyway, I know that eventually, probably within the next year, I will be reaching the current DC stuff and I then want to move on to Marvel comics.

The thing is, I don't know Marvel that well and am not sure what is the best place to start!

So, comic book fans, what do you think? Is there a Crisis style event that would be a good place to start? Am i looking at a similar era, the mid 80's or should I start earlier? Or later? I don't really want to go back too far, as that gets very expensive then, but nor do I want to miss out on too much of the back history of the characters either, so the challengs is to find a good year, or event, or crossover to start with. Thankfully, I can fill in a lot of the blanks in the history thanks to the web, Wikipedia etc, but I appreciate the skills of the comic fans on here

Fantastic Four number 1.

Marvel Now is about to rejumble the entire comic line up. Hard to call that a jump-on point, but it is a major event.

If you're looking for a jump on point, as Anti_Proton said, Marvel is set to relaunch their titles after the events of Avengers vs. X-Men. However if you want to brief yourself on what's been happening in the current Marvel universe. Feel free to pick these trades

Civil War
Secret Invasion
Dark Reign
Siege
Golden Age
Fear Itself
Schism


These are a few titles, and there are more, but should give you a rough idea of what's going on in the Marvel Universe.

Last year Marvel did have the "point one" thing designed as jumping-on points for their various mags.

Marvel .1 graphic novel.

Try Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men 1
True, it's not mainstream Marvel...but on the upside there aren't half that many continuity errors or X-Men.
Still has a few errors, mostly due to FF.

@Redcap

I just jumped off Marvel (and DC) comics. Only thing I will be getting now is the Walking Dead trade when it comes out.

Also there's the Punisher: War Zone mini series set to start. Deals with the Avengers (Iron Man, Capt. America, Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Black Widow) agreeing to put a stop to the Punisher once and for all.

Well, as someone once pointed out, the web, Wiki-pedia in particular, are excellent for reading up on continuity and answering question for things you've missed.


Crisis was the first company wide comic event and lead to a continuity restructuring (Which DC pretty much did again last year with Flashpoint and the New 52). Marvel has never really done a continuity restructuring like that (Although the rumour is that is coming up). They have done company wide crossovers with consequences abound, but never a wholesale reboot (I did like Crisis and what they were trying to do, sadly some of the follow ups led to inconsistencies, but that's another story. The "New 52" feels like a big marketing ploy and I really haven't been happy with most of the results since)

I believe Marvel's first "Crisis Like" multi crossover event was the 1980s (85? 86?) Secret Wars. If you haven't read it, then you would probably enjoy it. They followed it up with Secret Wars 2, which wasn't as good.
Personally I liked a lot of the 80s and early 90s stuff, and for my money, the Infinity Guantlet (And they just re-released "Thanos Quest, which was a set up for that) is probably one of the best Marvel Crossover events.

Personally I've been a big hulk fan (look back to issue 300ish, once Peter David is writing on the book (320s?? till 425) the storylines and humor are top notch) and would highly recommend those (Although in the late 90s and on things have been hit and miss).
I'm also a big spidey fan, Loved the 80s and early 90s, hated a lot of the stuff that would lead to "The Clone Saga" (If you're buying up old books I recommend giving those a miss and just using wiki or other places to catch up with the story)
Check here for what you missed http://lifeofreillyarchives.blogspot.ca/

Some other sites you might want to check out.
http://www.comics101.com/archives/co...1/archives.php Excellent articles on various comic events, history etc.

Also a lot of people seem to enjoy the "Ultimate" line. Its an alternate universe that started about 10 years ago, so you could probably get most of the important stories without breaking the bank. On top of which they killed off the Ultimate Peter Parker last year so a brand new Spidey there.

Hope some of this helps.

If you're an X-Men fan A vs. X is a great jumping OFF point.

The X-Men are dead. Marvel killed them with their own hands. Somewhat integrating them into the Avengers line may seem like a keen idea, but it destroys the entire foundation that the X-Men are built on. They're social outcasts who fight the monsters (both mutant and human), that other groups like the Avengers turn a blind eye to.

I've enjoyed most Marvel titles... But some insular series that kinda have their own thing going may be the best spot to start.

Invincible Iron Man - Good series, but you'd probably have to go back quite a bit... To where Matt Fraction first began writing.

Venom - Only up to issue #23 or so.

Scarlet Spider - Texas' (alright, FINE, Houston's) own Spider-Man. Only up to issue 9 or so.

Hawkeye - Matt Fraction again, and David Aja. They had a great Immortal Iron Fist series, and through two issues, this one looks like a whole lot of fun as well.

I'd avoid any Avenging or Mutants for a while. There are good stories in there - Hell, I just bought Bendis' New Avengers Omnibus - but you kind of have to be all into the continuity and stuff to really get the most out of 'em.

My favorite Marvel series right now is probably Journey Into Mystery. It picked up after a big Marvel event, but don't let that deter you, here's the breakdown: Loki was resurrected as a young boy, and he's a lovable scamp who gets into mischief, but GOOD mischief, not "Loki is trying to **** us" mischief.





And it's technically Marvel now (their Icon imprint), so: Powers: Bureau (I think that's the subtitle). This is Brian Michael Bendis' long-running cop-drama involving superheroes. The current series (just called "Powers") just ended (though I'd say it never really began - It only went 11 issues and it took about two years due to all of the delays), and the new series is picking up with larger superpowered threats on a national stage being the main impetus.

The series is in the works as an hour-long F/X series (though there are some hangups), so get in on it!




And also, definitely not Marvel (Image), but Brian K. Vaughn's Saga is what I'm currently recommending to everyone. SO CONSIDER YOURSELF RECOMMENDED.