Well I have almost finished fractions run on iron man and am ready to check out a new.character for awhile. I'm thinking either Spider Man or Captain America.

Any suggestions on which to start with and any good starting points for either character? As of right now I'm trying to stick to more modern runs. Thanks for your help guys!

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I would say Spider-Man if you are reading if you want to go back and read older stuff, Captain America if you want to read newer.

Spider-Man is one of my favorites at the moment, but Brand New Day was annoying enough that it threw me off the modern day character. On Cap, his current stuff I am enjoying.

How far do you want to go back to do reading?

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I don't mind going back a bit, but it seems like everytime I go back and try to read something older (like one of the hulk omnibuses, I borrowed from a friend), it ends up being something that has kind of a silly arc and I can't get into it. In the 3 short years I've been reading comics I've had much better luck with more modern titles, I'm sure there are some excellent old runs out there... I just really don't know where to start haha.

Spider man has always interested me as a character but he has sooooooo many different arcs and titles and I hear some are just plain awful while others are awesome. I just don't know where to begin.

Captain America is the opposite I had no interest in the character until I saw the movie and thought "hmm maybe this is a character I could read about."

Whatever it is, I tend to get dedicated to whatever I read and follow entire authors runs... If that helps at all in your suggestions.

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Spider-Island wasn't bad, although I know DOOM didn't like some of the tie-ins.

Captain America was good in the Civil War.

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Spider island sounds interesting, is that easy enough to jump into with just knowing the basics of spider man's back story?

Is the civil war worth reading? I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on it. But if its a good place to get my feet wet with cap then I'm down to give it a shot.

Random question, but how do you guys do this reading order thing and keep it all strait and not to mention the financial aspect of it all... I mean serious kudos to you. Also, what made you decide to even undertake a project of this size? I walk into my local store and I'm lost as it is, I can only imagine how you feel piecing this all together.

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This is kinda related although it's not the true Spider-Man - I really love Ultimate Spider-Man. Pretty much from the beginning the stories are top-notch. Enjoyed it pretty much start to finish - and I'm loving the recent stuff.

I quite enjoyed the "Coming Home" arc by JMS and Romita Jr. Some elements were a bit spurious (The slight reimagining of the origin) - but I really liked it overall. Then there's some of the more classic stories, like the introduction of Venom, Death of Gwen Stacy or Kraven's Last Hunt.

I think Civil War is one of the stories where you will learn a lot about the Marvel Universe, as it involves so many of the heroes. At the same time, Tony Stark is a bit out of character in it.

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I think if you saw the Spider-Man movies, you more or less have enough info. There is some additional backstory stuff, but they are pretty good about bringing readers up to speed.

I am mixed on Civil War. It has its good and bad points. But as events go, it is a landmark and so worth reading for that.

And, the whole reason of the site is to keep the reading straight. So it makes sense as you go from title to title. And yea, it can get expensive, but there are ways around it. The MDCU covers you for the first 12 years at this point. Essentials and other collections is another good way too.

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Yea, Ultimate spidey is really really good. Bendis at his best. Not as crazy about Ultimate X-men. The 1st run of Ultimates is also really good.

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Well, as usual you vote have been a great help. I think I'm going to start with ultimate spider man and spider island, saving cap for a later date.

The incredible spider man is the original series right? How or why did the ultimate spider man come about? Just a reboot point?

You guys do an awesome job around here and you might just make me fully convert from dc to marvel haha.

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Amazing Spider-Man was the original, then there's Spectacular Spider-Man, and then Web of Spider-Man (I think those are the three main ones).

"Ultimate" is a completely separate universe from the normal comics. Normal comics are the "Mainstream Universe or continuity", and then "Ultimate" is a separate thing altogether. They do share a lot of similarities, but the idea is that you can write new Spider-Man comics and the like without being bogged down by loads of backstory and continuity to worry about. There are series for all kinds of Ultimate characters. Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Iron-Man, etc. But it's much more accessible for new readers, as it's basically starting from scratch.

The universe started in 2001 I think, so it's all quite modern.. and it's nowhere near as intimidating as the entire Marvel back catalogue. It's generally been very well-received by fans and critics (Except Ultimatum.. ugh).

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