I was always one of those guys that scoffed at comics, until recently. After reading my introduction into how good comics can be (mostly through Preacher and The Walking Dead), and reading through the Ultimate series, I decided to go back and take a look a the main Marvel line.

The problem I faced was, where to start. I am a completes, to the point of OCD. So I don't want to just read Spider-Man or the X series. I want to read it all, and I want to read it in order. But where to start. I have scoured the internet, and while I see many people asking about a complete reading order, I have never been able to find one. There are reading lists for specific story arcs (which I used as a help in building this list) and Dimlan put together a really good chronological order going up to about the 1980's but this splits up several arcs that should be read together, and of course I want the whole thing.

So I have compiled a list from dozen's of sources, and am working my way to completion. As I finish sections I will be adding them here, but this will take a while as there are tens of thousands of comics to list. I encourage anyone who has thoughts on this to contact me, let me know if something should be switched around or if something is wrong.

A couple of rules I have set up for myself:

1) If a line changes cover titles, I keep the title of the series the same as the majority of the comics (for instance, Thor changes several times form Thor to The Mighty Thor and back).

2) I am only doing titles connected with the main timeline. Titles set before or after (Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commando's or the 2099 series) I have left out.

3) A complete story arch takes precedence over chronological order. For instance a three part Spidey arc be together, even if there is a chronological appearance of Spider-Man in between.

4) Series will be presented in the order published, and originally intended to be read. So issues with flashbacks are still set in their original published order.

5) Issues that are simply reprints of previous issues are ignored.


I hope someone out there finds this useful, other then myself.