New-ish to Marvel - What are the top runs I should check out?

[BatmanJones]

I grew up as a big DC and Marvel fan but DC's characters always had my heart. I'm 49 but from ages 5-18, in addition to all the DC stuff I loved, I loved Spider-Man, The Hulk, X-Men, New Mutants, Alpha Flight, Avengers, West Coast Avengers, Fantastic Four, and others. Through my teen years, through about 1987, I was up to date on Marvel.

Then college came and I took a break from comics and when I came back to them I only read DC stuff, by and large. I have read the excellent Vision series by Tom King and much of the Morrison/Quitely X-Men and Planet Hulk, but not much else wrt modern Marvel Comics. Now I've read and re-read the DC stories I love so much that I'm ready to try getting back into Marvel. I know there must be so many great comics out there that I've missed out on and I'm ready to dive back in.

Can folks help turn me into a fan of Marvel Comics by suggesting best runs? I'm open to characters I didn't list. I just want to get hooked on Marvel as I am on DC and any recommendations (especially anything from '87 or so until now) would be most helpful.

I hope this, my first foray into the Marvel forum, will help get me hooked on Marvel again. So what say, Marvel fans? Where should I start and what should I read?

[CaptCleghorn]

Walt Simonson's Thor
Frank Miller's Daredevil.
Jim Starlin's Captain Marvel/Warlock

a little known series by Bruce Jones and Brent Anderson, Ka-Zar the Savage.

as for more recent, Jonathan Hickman's FF moving into his Avengers/New Avengers runs and then Secret Wars.
Christopher Priest's Black Panther

[BatmanJones]

Walt Simonson's Thor
Frank Miller's Daredevil.
Jim Starlin's Captain Marvel/Warlock

a little known series by Bruce Jones and Brent Anderson, Ka-Zar the Savage.

as for more recent, Jonathan Hickman's FF moving into his Avengers/New Avengers runs and then Secret Wars.
Christopher Priest's Black Panther

Awesome, thank you! Keep 'em coming, y'all.

[BlueElf94]

Chris Claremont's X-men run was bound to get mentioned eventually, so I'll save everyone the trouble and mention it here. It really hits it's stride with John Byrne on art.

Garth Ennis on Punisher (Marvel Knights and Marvel MAX) is the definitive take of the character to many people.

Ed Brubaker on Captain America is essential if you're an MCU fan

Doeg Moench and Paul Gulacy on Shang-Chi is also an often overlooked but excellent run

[Daniel22]

Immortal Iron Fist by Brubaker and Fraction.
Avengers Academy by Gage.
Hawkeye by Fraction.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by North and Henderson (really).
Venom by Rick Remender.
Thor God of Thunder/Mighty Thor by Aaron.
Hickman's Fantastic Four.
Astonishing Ant Man by Spencer.
Superior Foes of Spider-Man by Spencer.
Ms. Marvel by Wilson.
Uncanny X Men by Gillen.
Wolverine and the X Men by Aaron.

[CaptCleghorn]

Doeg Moench and Paul Gulacy on Shang-Chi is also an often overlooked but excellent run

Although the Gulacy art was incredible, the power of the run continued even after Gulacy left. This is AMAZING! And recently reprinted finally!

[OldManBrian]

In publication order,

Daredevil run by Frank Miller
Daredevil run by Brian Michael Bendis
Daredevil run by Ed Brubaker

All excellent highly recommended runs.

[dan12456]

Here's my recommendations based on what I've read:

My Gold Standard

Daredevil by Bendis (I'm a massive fan of Daredevil and he kind of has the Batman luck where he just always gets amazing creators. That said Bendis' run is the very best of the character imo)

Captain America by Brubaker (Really more of a Winter Soldier run, I love everything about it. Great plot, villains and supporting cast)

Inhumans by Soule (I absolutely love everything about this run, it did have some issues with editorial mandates *cough*IVX*cough* but other than that)

Black Panther by Priest (this is a character defining run, lots of influence on the recent movie. Some of my all time favourite arcs. If you like political intrigue this is a great series)

Other Great Runs

Runaways by Vaughn (My favourite Marvel teen book. Some of the most lovable characters and really unexpected twists)

Thor by Aaron (I'm not even a Thor fan, so that says alot about how much I love this run. Has had incredible art throughout too)

Daredevil by Miller (not really a fan of older comics, but the highs of Miller's run are undeniable.)

Daredevil by Soule (I really love this run. It introduced an amazing new villain (Muse) and has done the best with the legal side of Matt's career. Soule is a lawyer so that is unsurprising, Supreme was a serious high point for me)

Daredevil by Waid (More of a slice of life style Daredevil book. Like Bendis' run it deals with his depression well)

Daredevil by Brubaker (last daredevil on the list I promise. This book was just a great time, classic Brubaker)

War of Kings and Annihilation (My two favourite Marvel events. Just massive cosmic stories. The characters used are a bit less popular, which gave them freedom to really take some risks)

[cc008]

In addition to everyone's Daredevil suggestions, which I fully endorse,

Deadpool by Joe Kelly
Deadpool by Duggan & Posehn
Deadpool by Duggan
Cable and Deadpool by Nicieza

Invincible Iron Man by Fraction

Uncanny X-Force by Remender

Hawkeye by Fraction

[Assam]

Not exactly a Marvel aficionado myself, but I can definitely give some recs.

Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan. IMO the best run Marvel has ever published. The current run by Rainbow Rowell is almost as good.

Spider-Girl by Tom DeFalco. I'm still making my way through this massive 100+ issue run, but I'm absolutely loving it.

Exiles by Various. Despite some missteps...a lot of missteps along the way, I'd say everything in the first volume should be read, up until the last 11 issues where Clairemont took over and it just got bad.

New Mutants by Chris Clairemont. Everyone under the sun is gonna recommend you his classic X-Men and Uncanny runs, and for good reason, but this is my favorite of his work.

Captain America: Sam Wilson by Nick Spencer. Don't let the name of the author scare you off, this book is genuinely excellent.

All-New Wolverine by Tom Taylor. It's still going and it's the first time I've ever liked a Wolverine book.

Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson. There's a good reason Kamala became so popular so fast.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson. The first Marvel book I was ever picking up month to month, this run is still going (although Henderson is sadly leaving) and it's consistently charming and hilarious.

Other runs mentioned on the thread that I can second, despite only having read a little of, include Fraction's Hawkeye, Duggan's Deadpool and Aaron's Thor.

[Mike_Murdock]

I'm a huge fan of Frank Miller's Daredevil, so that's my first choice. Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men will keep you busy for ages, but I'll also throw in Chris Claremont's New Mutants and his Excalibur run. Also, Alan Davis's Excalibur run was great. I'll also echo Walter Simonson on Thor.

I feel, for the most part, I'm hitting low-hanging fruit and, also, not hitting the era you're looking for.

Real quick, I'm a big fan of Steve Englehart and will recommend his run on the Avengers. If you're a fan of off the wall and like his Avengers, check out his Silver Surfer, his West Coast Avengers, and even his 12-part Vision and Scarlet Witch maxi series. Also, for Silver Surfer, check out Jim Starlin.

For other Avengers writers, I'm a big fan of Roger Stern. That at least puts you into the 90s.

For modern, I like Bendis's New Avengers and will defend that as probably Bendis's best work on a mainstream Marvel 616 title. I still think that's the best way to read all the events of the 2000s - Disassembled, House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, and Siege. I would also add JMS on Thor and Ed Brubaker on Captain America.

For very recent, Mark Waid on Daredevil, Charles Soule on the Inhumans titles, and Jason Aaron on his long Thor run all come to mind.

[soundsci]

In publication order,

Daredevil run by Frank Miller
Daredevil run by Brian Michael Bendis
Daredevil run by Ed Brubaker

All excellent highly recommended runs.

I came here to say just this. Daredevil has been the best written marvel character by a handful of writers. It’s not as universally acclaimed, but I’d even throw Waid’s run in there. It’s comparably brighter and more superhero-y, but it’s great for what it is and I love the visualizations of his senses.

Not Daredevil, but Bendis’ Alias (Jessica Jones) run is another I’d recommend.

Edit: Tom King’s Vision is also essential. Dan Slott’s Silver Surfer is fantastic but I’m a sucker for anything with Michael Allred on art.

[BatmanJones]

You all are going to make me a Marvel fan again. Can't thank you all enough.

[Mike_Murdock]

If you're a DC fan and really, really want to hunt down a complete hidden gem, there's Alan Moore's run on Captain Britain (The Jasper's Warp story). I was familiar with it because Jim Jaspers appeared in Uncanny X-Men #200 and Claremont really wanted to create an American version of that story.

[Jekyll]

I will also add to the recommended Daredevil runs. Like you, I have been mostly DC with the exception of Daredevil. He is my second all time favorite character. The best thing is with ALL the crazy Marvel relaunches and reboots through the years it really has not effected Matt Murdock’s story at all.

I will also second the recommendation of Fractions Iron Fist and will recommend the current Iron Fist run by Brisson. It’s like Enter The Dragon but for comics.

I am also thoroughly enjoying Bendis run on New Avengers. However, I am mostly a Marvel street level guy which is why that particular run appeals to me.