Can I read a single character series and still know what is going on?

Let me explain the question a bit. I read mostly 60s and 70s Marvel but I have read some newer stuff and really enjoyed it. Superior Spiderman, Scarlett Spider, Ms Marvel 2014 Spiderman and some of the newer Xmen like House of X and Powers of X and a few titles after as well as Savage Avengers.

What I would like to do is read some more modern stuff for characters I enjoy Like Sam Wilson Captain America, more Ms Marvel Titles, and some current Spiderman as well as more of the Karoka Xmen. I am really loving the Karoka Xmen titles. I have not been this excited for the Xmen universe in years and want to keep that going.

But with all of the crossovers and events do I have to read a lot of the current Marvel line to understand what is going on in the more modern books IE anything after 2014? Will I get lost if I read some Spiderman and Ms Marvel but not the events and such? How about Avengers centered heroes like Captain America?

If the writer is good, then yes.

Good writers tend to either recap crossovers within dialogue to the reader is not lost or they have one shots that are dedicated to the crossover which leaves the main title alone.

Bad writers tend to rely on editorial notes (which I personally find annoying) or they continue their story with the new status quo without ever explaining it leaving the onus on the reader.

Unfortunately without looking at wiki it can be hard to figure it out nowadays.

I think one of the better writers that can navigate crossovers is Dan Slott.

He wrote Spidey for nearly a decade and you can read nearly his entire run without ever missing a beat.

[QUOTE=charliehustle415;5737201]If the writer is good, then yes.

Good writers tend to either recap crossovers within dialogue to the reader is not lost or they have one shots that are dedicated to the crossover which leaves the main title alone.

Bad writers tend to rely on editorial notes (which I personally find annoying) or they continue their story with the new status quo without ever explaining it leaving the onus on the reader.

Unfortunately without looking at wiki it can be hard to figure it out nowadays.

I think one of the better writers that can navigate crossovers is Dan Slott.

He wrote Spidey for nearly a decade and you can read nearly his entire run without ever missing a beat.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, i have my issues with Slott, but that was something he did extremely well in

Thanks for the answers guys. I have read some Slott Spiderman and I really enjoyed it. In fact his stories are what made me look more into modern comics again and I got in Ms Marvel and Koraka Xmen. Maybe it is a lack of exposure to other new guys but I really do enjoy Slott.

[QUOTE=FFJamie94;5737221]Yeah, i have my issues with Slott, but that was something he did extremely well in[/QUOTE]

Yeah totally, and on the flip side there's Hickman (who I absolutely adore) but he is so bad at this.

His Avengers run would never even acknowledge the fact that certain characters are different.

If a normie tried reading it they would be totally lost - why is Spidey acting like a dick now (because he is now Superior Spider-Man), uh why does Thor have an axe and a cyborg arm (because he is Unworthy Thor), why is Iron Man evil (because of AXIS), so on and so forth.

Comics nowadays are so unapproachable this makes me appreciate entire runs when a publisher collects them in it's entirety and correct reading order, for example currently I am reading IDW's TMNT and it is amazing because I am reading the IDW collections (which I highly recommend).

I feel for OP, because I think about how I could introduce comics to my kid without overloading them with so much baggage.

[QUOTE=charliehustle415;5737293]Yeah totally, and on the flip side there's Hickman (who I absolutely adore) but he is so bad at this.

His Avengers run would never even acknowledge the fact that certain characters are different.

If a normie tried reading it they would be totally lost - why is Spidey acting like a dick now (because he is not Superior Spider-Man), uh why does Thor have an axe and a cyborg arm (because he is Unworthy Thor), why is Iron Man evil (because of AXIS), so on and so forth.

Comics nowadays are so unapproachable this makes me appreciate entire runs when a publisher collects them in it's entirety and correct reading order, for example currently I am reading IDW's TMNT and it is amazing because I am reading the IDW collections (which I highly recommend).

[B]I feel for OP, because I think about how I could introduce comics to my kid without overloading them with so much baggage[/B].[/QUOTE]

This is one reason I have stayed with mostly older comics. When I have tried to read some new stuff I have been pretty overwhelmed. I read an Avengers run with the Infinity story with the builders or something? I was kind of lost and not only did I have to stop reading the Avengers so I could read the Infinity Mini but the other books I tried to read all had Infinity Crossovers. There were several issues I read where I had no clue what in the world was going on. or the lead in to the Secret Wars event where the Avengers split between Captain America and Stark and then Thanos was leading a team of people to destroy multiverses and Narmor was involved and Black Panther set off some bomb to kill him and the others? Huh? Kind of turned me off the newer stuff for a bit.

Now I will admit I didnt really have this issue when I read more modern Spiderman because I knew enough about him and his history to not get lost in the more modern story arcs. Xmen and the Karoka stories I am lost on who some of the characters are but I understand enough of what i going on to get the gist of what I was reading and still enjoyed it.

[QUOTE=babyblob;5737446]This is one reason I have stayed with mostly older comics. When I have tried to read some new stuff I have been pretty overwhelmed. [B] I read an Avengers run with the Infinity story with the builders or something? I was kind of lost and not only did I have to stop reading the Avengers so I could read the Infinity Mini but the other books I tried to read all had Infinity Crossovers. There were several issues I read where I had no clue what in the world was going on. or the lead in to the Secret Wars event where the Avengers split between Captain America and Stark and then Thanos was leading a team of people to destroy multiverses and Narmor was involved and Black Panther set off some bomb to kill him and the others?[/B] Huh? Kind of turned me off the newer stuff for a bit.

Now I will admit I didnt really have this issue when I read more modern Spiderman because I knew enough about him and his history to not get lost in the more modern story arcs. Xmen and the Karoka stories I am lost on who some of the characters are but I understand enough of what i going on to get the gist of what I was reading and still enjoyed it.[/QUOTE]

That's Hickman for you.

To understand his Avenger's run, you'd have to read Bendis' Avengers run, Avengers vs X-Men, and a myriad of other titles.

Spidey has been good because writers tend to shunt him to his little corner of the Marvel Universe and when there is a crossover they will make one shots or miniseries with him in it as opposed to pulling his flagship title into it.

Try using good reading orders to get into newer books.

I recommend using Comic Book Herald, his site is pretty amazing and he has good break downs on what to skip and what to read.

[URL="https://www.comicbookherald.com/"]https://www.comicbookherald.com/[/URL]

[QUOTE=charliehustle415;5737467]That's Hickman for you.

To understand his Avenger's run, you'd have to read Bendis' Avengers run, Avengers vs X-Men, and a myriad of other titles.

Spidey has been good because writers tend to shunt him to his little corner of the Marvel Universe and when there is a crossover they will make one shots or miniseries with him in it as opposed to pulling his flagship title into it.

Try using good reading orders to get into newer books.

I recommend using Comic Book Herald, his site is pretty amazing and he has good break downs on what to skip and what to read.

[URL="https://www.comicbookherald.com/"]https://www.comicbookherald.com/[/URL][/QUOTE]

Thanks I will check that site out. I know I have asked on here a few times over the last couple years where to start with new stuff. I have gotten some good answers on some titles but never really on Marvel universe as a whole. That is why now I am going to focus on a few characters like Spiderman and Ms marvel whom I enjoy really more then pretty much any other hero right now. I think I will stay away from the Avengers for a bit while I get caught up on older comics.

[QUOTE=charliehustle415;5737293]Yeah totally, and on the flip side there's Hickman (who I absolutely adore) but he is so bad at this.

His Avengers run would never even acknowledge the fact that certain characters are different.

If a normie tried reading it they would be totally lost - why is Spidey acting like a dick now (because he is not Superior Spider-Man), uh why does Thor have an axe and a cyborg arm (because he is Unworthy Thor), why is Iron Man evil (because of AXIS), so on and so forth.

Comics nowadays are so unapproachable this makes me appreciate entire runs when a publisher collects them in it's entirety and correct reading order, for example currently I am reading IDW's TMNT and it is amazing because I am reading the IDW collections (which I highly recommend).

I feel for OP, because I think about how I could introduce comics to my kid without overloading them with so much baggage.[/QUOTE]

I always thought that some of this is the legacy of the Bill Jemas/Joe Q. era. This was when it was decided to get rid of any thought balloons or text boxes. Some of that has come back. I always thought it was interesting if the character said one thing but then the thought balloon had their true thought/opinion. But it would help to have the text box reference what issue something happened if a character refers to something in the past.

YOu don't need to read anything before jumping on to something. There is barely any continuity

Edit: except for on the xmen side of things recently. that's gonna die soon though

[QUOTE=Iron Maiden;5738154]I always thought that some of this is the legacy of the Bill Jemas/Joe Q. era. This was when it was decided to get rid of any thought balloons or text boxes. Some of that has come back. I always thought it was interesting if the character said one thing but then the thought balloon had their true thought/opinion. But it would help to have the text box reference what issue something happened if a character refers to something in the past.[/QUOTE]

I remember when Bendis brought back thought balloons in The Mighty Avengers and it was a big deal that went nowhere.

But I do think thought balloons end up being a crutch for writers and you'll eventually have an panels covered in words (see Claremont)

Thought balloons and text boxes should come back, they added so much flavour to comics

[QUOTE=charliehustle415;5738355]I remember when Bendis brought back thought balloons in The Mighty Avengers and it was a big deal that went nowhere.

But I do think thought balloons end up being a crutch for writers and you'll eventually have an panels covered in words (see Claremont)[/QUOTE]

For sure Claremont was one of the wordiest guys. But then you get a writer/artist like John Byrne that could balance it pretty well. Having a wordy panel does give the artist a bit of a break. I always thought that when Marvel had that Silent issue event some years back it put all the work on the artist!

[QUOTE=FFJamie94;5738422]Thought balloons and text boxes should come back, they added so much flavour to comics[/QUOTE]

They really did.