I was out of Marvel comics for at least 15 years and finally got back in with the digital subscription. I've been eating it up, but I find I am really far behind. In many cases I am simply clueless. I read the Invasion storyline where the Skrulls try to take over, and it was an amazing story. Often they referred to the Civil War, and I was lost. I finally found the civil war story line and am reading that now. What other truly impressive story lines are out there? For example, when did Spidey get the new suit with the doc ock type legs?

I would really appreciate any huge happenings (like Secret Wars from the 80s or the Civil Wars, or even the Marvel Zombies stuff) that have happened and what are considered "must reads" of the past 15 years. For example, I also see that cyclops is doing Emma Frost?

Spidey wore the "Iron Spider" costume during the lead-up to Civil War (after The Other storyline). Tony Stark built it for him when they were still buddy buddy. Stark also sneakily had the costume monitor Pete's abilities and learn how they work. One Civil War Iron Man Tie-In had Stark and Spidey fight. Stark had his armor give out false Spider Sense warnings and confused the hell out of Pete. I wish they would use that more often.

Cyclops and Emma Frost started a psychic "affair" during Morrison's run. Jean found out when she entered their thoughts. There was a blow out. Then she became Phoenix and died (again) soon after.

Scott and Emma have been pretty steady since then.

The original Secret Wars still holds up pretty well (IMO). I thought the main Civil War mini-series was bland but the crossovers were really well done. The first Marvel Zombies mini is great. The follow up/prequels Marvel Zombies: Dead Days & Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness are both a blast. I didn't care for any of the other Marvel Zombie books (2, 3, 4, Returns).

I enjoyed the hell out of Planet Hulk & World War Hulk. Over a year of good storytelling. I've heard that the Annihilation books are good too. New Avengers: Illuminati which led into the Secret Invasion.

Here's a brief synopsis of what's been going on in the Marvel U I typed up a month or so ago. Be warned, there are spoilers.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/comic-book-...se-please.html

I was going to copy and paste but didn't want to bog this Thread down.

A lot of people here seem to hate Marvel the last two decades, but i've been doing my catch up the last couple months too and having a lot of fun.

It seems like the last decade of stories kicked off with Avengers Disassembled and House of M. I really liked House of M, which really leads into the other big stories going on right now. House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion, Utopia and then Siege seemed to flow together and got me caught up.

On the X-Men side, following House of M I read Messiah Complex and Messiah War which was fun too. I also really liked Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, despite knowing little of the character.

This is kinda nifty, although not quite as cool as Valeyard's awesome summary that inspired me to read them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...arvel_Universe

It's hard to say what you should read over the last 15 years, because Marvel went through a few shifts during that time. There is a chronology to read stuff in, but I'm not really so good with that, however I think these books are required readings, as they're the best books Marvel has put out in the last decade. They're also character based, but do inform your larger understanding of the Marvel U as a whole.

Planet Hulk
Captain America by Ed Brubaker
Invincible Iron Man by Matt Fraction
Alias by Brian Bendis
Old Man Logan and Wolverine: Enemy of the State by Mark Millar
Thor by JMS

Just to name a few. There are other books that are critically acclaimed, like Iron Fist, that I haven't read yet, so I can't comment on.

Oh, and you should read New Avengers too. That has been the backbone of Marvel ever since issue 1, and a lot of stuff has sprung from that run.

Thanks.

I always wanted to read that Hellfire Club storyline from X-Men.

I wasn't wild about Secret Wars--I thought DC's original Crisis (whatever it was called) was better (I read both in TPB years after the original runs). I'll probably give it another spin at some point.

This, and I would add Brubaker's Daredevil run.
Yes, the Fraction/Brubaker run on Iron Fist is fantastic.

BTW, I don't understand this whole following Marvel thing.
I personally don't care for following characters or a publisher's "universe", because in the end you will always be let down. I tend to follow the work of the writers and artists I like, regardless of what they're working on, and am rarely let down.

It's pretty easy to understand. People who get into comics usually attach themselves to specific characters who's plights, stories, and powers they find interesting. Maybe more thought and recognition should be given to the creator of the character and the writer of the time, but once you're interested it's nice to see what's going on in that character's world.

It's not like you don't watch a particular episode of a TV show because it wasn't written by someone you enjoy.

How can you say that with a straight face after the shit going on with Spider Man recently, or going back, something like the Clone Saga?

As for your TV show analogy; TV shows have show-runners that keep the quality consistent through a writing team that's on the same page. The shows I like tend to like have good show runners and when they leave, the show usually turns to shit.

Alan Moore might say that "there's not such thing as bad characters, just bad writers", I say "there's no such thing as good characters, just good writers".

I don't see how my comment has anything to do with those particularly bad stories. That has absolutely nothing to do with the reason why people get attached to characters, which is what I was commenting on.

Edit: As an example...
I grew up when the X-Men hit big in the early 90's because of Jim Lee and the animated series. I grew fond of the characters, knew their personalities, dug all their powers, and the interaction and history of how they got there. After a lull of about 10 years where I didn't pay much attention to comic books, it made sense to "catch up" with the characters I remember and knew. There's some duds and bad stories, both present and past from reading the entire history (which i had started a thread on), but there's something refreshing about reading what's changed, especially the familiarity from when you're a kid reading about super heroes. That's all I'm pointing out.

I really can't recommend anything Marvel has done recently except the early run of Brubaker's Captain America (around 2004-2005'ish).

I read House of M and it was excellent. But it obviously still took place too late for me. Wolverine is/was an Avenger? Spidey too? Hell, those guys never even seemed to know each other before.

kvrdave, if you liked House of M you're in for a wild ride. A lot of long time fans did not care for that story, but I think a lot of that was because they've become so jaded that the ridiculousness of comics is lost on them. If that story resonated with you, I think you'll enjoy a lot of the stuff that came after, especially since the writer, Brian Bendis, is the main architect for Marvel these days.

Wolvering and Spidey become Avengers in New Avengers. That should probably be the next thing you start reading, if it's available in Marvel's digital service, if you're curious as to how the mainline Marvel U works these days. New Avengers goes along nicely with House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion, and Siege.

I'm in both camps, I definitely hate Marvel the past few decades as they have helped to kill my love of mainstream comics with the endless epic story arcs that have a million tie-ins & just lead into the next epic story arc & the entire body of work by the worst mainstream comic writer going in Brian "overrated" Bendis. Yet at the same time they have put out some of the best superhero comics I've ever read in the past decade as well.

The best Marvel of all the Marvel stuff over the past 10+ years IMO is the Brubaker-world so those are the trades I recommend picking up first KVRDave. His runs on Captain America, Daredevil, Iron Fist, are all the best pure story-driven runs each character has ever had. Add on the original Marvel Zombies & Criminal & you have one of the best writer-runs ever.

Planet Hulk is a must read as it redefined the character.

The Millar/Hitch run on Fantastic Four has been incredible, the book has been solid for a very long time & is the type of nutty-sci-fi that the FF should be when they are done right.

And Thor has been really worth reading as well since the book relaunched.

I would avoid all things Avengers since Bendis got involved but I know I'm in the minority. Its just become a directionless gimick-book since he first took over.

I got back into comics a few years ago after an almost 20 year absence. For someone who was pretty out of touch with the happenings in the Marvel universe, I found the Annihilation storyline to be very accessible and very enjoyable, as long as you're okay with the fact that it centers around lesser-known Marvel characters, for the most part:

http://www.amazon.com/Annihilation-B...4391243&sr=1-2

Bendis is a talented writer, but he's drunk off his own hype almost as much as Millar is. He was handed the keys to the kingdom and basically drove Marvel into the ground, creatively.

I'll echo the love for Brubaker's Marvel work. Like a couple of other posters, I really only follow writers and not characters these days, and it seems like with Brubaker I can't go wrong. (Though admittedly, his Secret Avengers comes close to wooing me over based on the cast alone - the Beast[!!], Moon Knight, Ant-Man, Nova, Black Widow, Valkyrie, Steve Rogers, and War Machine!)

I'd also throw in a recommendation - and a lotta love - for The Incredible Hercules.

Well, I read Avengers 500-503. That was good. Obviously, it should have been done before House of M. I am trying to slow down my reading as I have been getting headaches from it.

I'll try to find the Brubaker stuff. I am much better at looking up issue numbers than writers, but I can probably figure all that out.

Let me say how absolutely thrilled I have been to see some of the old no-names in these comics. Cloak and Dagger were one of my all time favorite limited series back in the 80s. Cloak is just bad ass.

I need to get around to reading Cap. There seems to be so much praise for what has sounded to me like a dreadful synopsis since his "death."

I guess it's because i'm just a casual mainstream comic book fan that I find the recent Marvel Universe fun. I know the guys really into comics here seem to hate crossovers and mega events that happen ad nauseum, but I think it's been really interesting reading the major events since House of M and Civil War and how things have unfolded. Of course, I also recently read 70's and 80's X-Men for the first time a couple months back and found recent crossovers more entertaining too. I guess i'm the type of person Marvel is selling to

Got done with Wolverine 20-25: enemy of the State. That was fun.

Okay, Rachel of the X-men is Cyclops and Jean Grey's daughter....when did that happen? I'd like to read that.

Um, about 30 years ago in Uncanny #141.

Well, she's their daughter in an alternate future... Cyclop's only real kid so far is
(really old spoiler but may be new to someone going through old comics)

Wow, the first X-men comic I ever read. The one that got me hooked.

Sorry, forgot about the alternate universe daughter. When did she cross over to our real universe?

I think it was Uncanny #199.