A few days ago I posted up an article ‘Five Spidey Stories You Should Read‘ which are some of my favorite stories from Peter Parker’s history. With the release of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ there are going to be plenty of new ‘Spider-Man’ fans looking where to start or even returning fans wondering where they should jump back in. While the stories in my post are highly recommended reading they may not be the best “jumping in” point.
With six hundred plus issues and fifty years of back stories ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ series may be a bit much for people to try and catch up on and even intimidating for the casual superhero comic-book reader. So if you’re jumping into the Spidey-verse I would highly recommend ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’.
‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ definitely borrowed many things from the ‘Ultimate’ universe so new fans that saw that movie will most likely prefer this book. Brian Michael Bendis wrote the book and was joined by Mark Bagley on the first 104 issues and I can definitely say this is my favorite work from the both of them. I really enjoyed how Bendis wrote this series and how he made the characters feel real. You honestly relate to them. Even Uncle Ben’s death to me had more of an impact in the Ultimate book because they really developed the character over an extended version of the origin story. Another reason that this is a great place to start is because this is a story with a beginning, middle, and end. ‘The Death Of Spider-Man’ IS one of the best Spider-Man stories I have ever read and truly impacting. If you read the series and enjoy it I honestly think you will stay on and continue into the current series starring Miles Morales. I can say the series is one of the best written and drawn books out there. There are people who were entirely against the book that I now have picking it up monthly and loving it.
Although Peter may be dead the story of Miles Morales is great and Bendis continues on with the top notch writing he has brought to ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ from the start. Sara Pichellis artwork? Phenomenal. I really love this series and the ‘Spider-Men’ mini-series that just started. This series features a crossover between the 616-universe Peter Parker and Miles Morales in the Ultimate Universe and right now it’s great. Only two issues in and I can already see it making my top five Spidey stories. So, at the end of the day my advice to you is to check out ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ as the easiest choice for a jumping in point without totally destroying your bank account.
But if you’re looking to jump right back into regular 616 Peter Parker I would recommend starting at ‘Brand New Day’. Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca’s ‘Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1’. Fraction condenses years of history into one emotional package, creating an issue that works as an entry point to Spider-Man, but also a fitting end. Currently I am really loving what Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos are doing with the title and if you start at ‘Brand New Day’ you should be able to catch up quite easily.
‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ is in theaters now. ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ is available at your local comic shops. It’s ‘Spider-Mans’ 50th birthday next month. Do yourself a favor and get lost in in the Spidey-verse this weekend.