Marvel reading order recommendations for "out-of-sync" reader

[lillumultipass]

Hi everyone,

as I said in the DC forum (where I got great help), I will turn 40 in a few months and I used to read a lot of comics when I was a kid, mostly Marvel as they were easier to come by in France. I basically stopped reading around the end of the 1980's and I have only dabbled a little with comics since then (notably when I used to play games such as Wizkids' heroclix).

Nowadays, I am very happy that comics have become "trendy" on TV, in movies as I can watch the Flash, Supergirl, the Avenegers...but I think I want more. Hence, I am looking to delve back into comics, but even after reading some stuff on the universe I am a bit lost with all the reboots.
Hence, as for DC, I am wondering where to start.
As to my liking, I tend to love big events involving a lot of heroes/villains, I love "huge" and powerful villains that need to be defeated through teamwork (that's why I tend to prefer team stories than individual stories on average), I don't really like the more "normal" heroes such as Daredevil...In terms of individuals, on the top of my mind, I used to like Thor, The Silver Surfer, Dr Strange, Magneto...and the Avengers or the X-men primarily.


Ok, so, I found this guide : https://www.comicbookherald.com/best...-1998-to-2015/
which allowed me to pencil in a few things I would like to read (the series on the Inhumans for instance).
At this point however, I am not sure about the timing to read things. It seems secret war and civil war are 2 of the biggest events of the 2000s and I should probably start around that.

So would something like that make sense :
1. Avengers dissasembled
1bis. Astonishing X-men (which looks well-regarded)
2. Secret War
3. House of M
but then can I continue with Civil War and Annihilation (which looks interesting).
Afterwards, I could go on with Thor and Dark Avengers ?
Or, it seems that Secret Invasion is another interesting event that took place around that time that maybe I should read before that.

Afterwards, if I understood correctly, several years later Marvel Now! started. It seems reading AvsX-men is a must to lead to Marvel Now. But then what ? The next big event seems to be Secret Wars and I am interested in that as well.
Well...as you can see, I am a bit lost, facing all those possibilities...
Above all because, as related to my last question, Marvel Unlimited exists so that most comics are available at a reasonable cost.

Ok so here is the final question : paper or digital ? I guess most people here have been reading comics for a while and are quite fond of paper. I read a lot of books as well and I do like paper, but for ease of transport (and lack of shelf space) I also read a lot on my kindle. Hence, digital might be the way to go for me and Marvel Unlimited is enticing. What do you think ?

All recommendations/links are welcome!

[Snoop Dogg]

If you're trying to read all the multi-event mega arcs that run for years and years, Unlimited is the most practical option.

[Force de Phenix]

Hi everyone,

as I said in the DC forum (where I got great help), I will turn 40 in a few months and I used to read a lot of comics when I was a kid, mostly Marvel as they were easier to come by in France. I basically stopped reading around the end of the 1980's and I have only dabbled a little with comics since then (notably when I used to play games such as Wizkids' heroclix).

Nowadays, I am very happy that comics have become "trendy" on TV, in movies as I can watch the Flash, Supergirl, the Avenegers...but I think I want more. Hence, I am looking to delve back into comics, but even after reading some stuff on the universe I am a bit lost with all the reboots.
Hence, as for DC, I am wondering where to start.
As to my liking, I tend to love big events involving a lot of heroes/villains, I love "huge" and powerful villains that need to be defeated through teamwork (that's why I tend to prefer team stories than individual stories on average), I don't really like the more "normal" heroes such as Daredevil...In terms of individuals, on the top of my mind, I used to like Thor, The Silver Surfer, Dr Strange, Magneto...and the Avengers or the X-men primarily.


Ok, so, I found this guide : https://www.comicbookherald.com/best...-1998-to-2015/
which allowed me to pencil in a few things I would like to read (the series on the Inhumans for instance).
At this point however, I am not sure about the timing to read things. It seems secret war and civil war are 2 of the biggest events of the 2000s and I should probably start around that.

So would something like that make sense :
1. Avengers dissasembled
1bis. Astonishing X-men (which looks well-regarded)
2. Secret War
3. House of M
but then can I continue with Civil War and Annihilation (which looks interesting).
Afterwards, I could go on with Thor and Dark Avengers ?
Or, it seems that Secret Invasion is another interesting event that took place around that time that maybe I should read before that.

Afterwards, if I understood correctly, several years later Marvel Now! started. It seems reading AvsX-men is a must to lead to Marvel Now. But then what ? The next big event seems to be Secret Wars and I am interested in that as well.
Well...as you can see, I am a bit lost, facing all those possibilities...
Above all because, as related to my last question, Marvel Unlimited exists so that most comics are available at a reasonable cost.

Ok so here is the final question : paper or digital ? I guess most people here have been reading comics for a while and are quite fond of paper. I read a lot of books as well and I do like paper, but for ease of transport (and lack of shelf space) I also read a lot on my kindle. Hence, digital might be the way to go for me and Marvel Unlimited is enticing. What do you think ?

All recommendations/links are welcome!

"Infinity." Infinity War had some elements from it, but they didn't use a key element of the story. It's before "Secret Wars." A lot of "Death of _____" stories are pretty lame, and if you see what's out now, you'll see that everyone's back. "Earth X" isn't Earth 616, but it's a fun story.

[Inversed]

Here is an order for the major event stories of the 2000s, if you are interested:
Avengers Disassembled
Secret War
House Of M
Civil War
World War Hulk
Secret Invasion
Dark Reign*
Siege
The Heroic Age*
Fear Itself
Avengers Vs. X-Men
Marvel Now*
Infinity
All-New Marvel Now*
Original Sin
Secret Wars
All-New, All-Different Marvel*
Civil War II
Marvel Now 2.0*
Secret Empire
Marvel Legacy*
Infinity Countdown/Wars
War Of The Realms

* - these aren't exactly stories, but instead initiatives and that follow a thematic through line across nearly all the books published at the time

[LordMikel]

Here is an order for the major event stories of the 2000s, if you are interested:
Avengers Disassembled
Secret War
House Of M
Civil War
World War Hulk
Secret Invasion
Dark Reign*
Siege
The Heroic Age*
Fear Itself
Avengers Vs. X-Men
Marvel Now*
Infinity
All-New Marvel Now*
Original Sin
Secret Wars
All-New, All-Different Marvel*
Civil War II
Marvel Now 2.0*
Secret Empire
Marvel Legacy*
Infinity Countdown/Wars
War Of The Realms

* - these aren't exactly stories, but instead initiatives and that follow a thematic through line across nearly all the books published at the time

Yes, you have a few listed on here from your original post. So I would read in order.

Two others I will suggest because they come before everything.

Infinity Gauntlet.
Maximum Carnage.

From reading your "What I like" I think you will love both of those storylines.

[Reviresco]

Hi everyone,

as I said in the DC forum (where I got great help), I will turn 40 in a few months and I used to read a lot of comics when I was a kid, mostly Marvel as they were easier to come by in France. I basically stopped reading around the end of the 1980's and I have only dabbled a little with comics since then (notably when I used to play games such as Wizkids' heroclix).

Nowadays, I am very happy that comics have become "trendy" on TV, in movies as I can watch the Flash, Supergirl, the Avenegers...but I think I want more. Hence, I am looking to delve back into comics, but even after reading some stuff on the universe I am a bit lost with all the reboots.
Hence, as for DC, I am wondering where to start.
As to my liking, I tend to love big events involving a lot of heroes/villains, I love "huge" and powerful villains that need to be defeated through teamwork (that's why I tend to prefer team stories than individual stories on average), I don't really like the more "normal" heroes such as Daredevil...In terms of individuals, on the top of my mind, I used to like Thor, The Silver Surfer, Dr Strange, Magneto...and the Avengers or the X-men primarily.


Ok, so, I found this guide : https://www.comicbookherald.com/best...-1998-to-2015/
which allowed me to pencil in a few things I would like to read (the series on the Inhumans for instance).
At this point however, I am not sure about the timing to read things. It seems secret war and civil war are 2 of the biggest events of the 2000s and I should probably start around that.

So would something like that make sense :
1. Avengers dissasembled
1bis. Astonishing X-men (which looks well-regarded)
2. Secret War
3. House of M
but then can I continue with Civil War and Annihilation (which looks interesting).
Afterwards, I could go on with Thor and Dark Avengers ?
Or, it seems that Secret Invasion is another interesting event that took place around that time that maybe I should read before that.

Afterwards, if I understood correctly, several years later Marvel Now! started. It seems reading AvsX-men is a must to lead to Marvel Now. But then what ? The next big event seems to be Secret Wars and I am interested in that as well.
Well...as you can see, I am a bit lost, facing all those possibilities...
Above all because, as related to my last question, Marvel Unlimited exists so that most comics are available at a reasonable cost.

Ok so here is the final question : paper or digital ? I guess most people here have been reading comics for a while and are quite fond of paper. I read a lot of books as well and I do like paper, but for ease of transport (and lack of shelf space) I also read a lot on my kindle. Hence, digital might be the way to go for me and Marvel Unlimited is enticing. What do you think ?

All recommendations/links are welcome!

I'm not a huge fan of events, and find most to be disappointing, but these were awesome reads, and I might fit what you said you liked.

Annihilation
Planet Hulk
Annihilation Conquest
War of Kings (which starts with the X-Men in Deadly Genesis, goes thru the Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire, some miniseries, and then leads into the War of Kings proper, where one of the kings is Black Bolt)

1. Avengers dissasembled
1bis. Astonishing X-men (which looks well-regarded)
2. Secret War
3. House of M
but then can I continue with Civil War and Annihilation (which looks interesting).
Afterwards, I could go on with Thor and Dark Avengers ?
Or, it seems that Secret Invasion is another interesting event that took place around that time that maybe I should read before that.

Astonishing X-Men by Josh Whedon is an evergreen X-Men book that you can read at any point, and is a very good read.

Other than Civil War, I don't think the rest of those books will inform you much about what is going on in the MU right now.

Secret War really isn't a 'big' book and is mostly street characters. It's pretty, cause it's painted by Gabriel Dell'Otto and some pay offs in some of Bendis later stuff. Though, at least, the heroes ARE fighting the villains.

House of M is all alternate universe stuff, but is an okay read.



Just to catch up, I would recommend:

Illuminati series

Civil War

Avengers vs X-Men (it's a spotty read, but a bombastic, event, and it sets up a lot of stuff)

Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers run, which leads into Infinity and then Secret Wars. Unless you like alternate universe stories, I'd just stick with the main Secret Wars book.


Though, there's probably more heroes fighting heroes in most of these, except for Hickman's Avengers and Infinity.

I haven't read any of the newer events, and haven't really felt I'm missing anything.

[lillumultipass]

Ok, thanks everyone for those answers and suggestions. However, I am unfortunately almost as lost as before ;-)

If I understand correctly, reading Avengers dissasembled, Secret War and House of M should not be my priority. Hence, I should probably start around Civil War right ? And then continue with AvX, Avengers and New Avengers that lead to Infinity and then Secret Wars ?
And, I guess it would be better to read Whedon's X-men before AvX no ?

[Snoop Dogg]

Ok, thanks everyone for those answers and suggestions. However, I am unfortunately almost as lost as before ;-)

If I understand correctly, reading Avengers dissasembled, Secret War and House of M should not be my priority. Hence, I should probably start around Civil War right ? And then continue with AvX, Avengers and New Avengers that lead to Infinity and then Secret Wars ?
And, I guess it would be better to read Whedon's X-men before AvX no ?

These are the things you are interested in reading--







If you want to read Whedon's X-Men, just start with it since it's not part of one of these long mega arcs and takes place before them.

[Snoop Dogg]

When you're finished with all those things, this is the next thing--



In the orbit of all these things are many great things and many things that aren't involved at all. Have fun. Take your time.

[lillumultipass]

wow, that's great thanks !