Between you folks on the Dope and all the superhero movies that have been released and are upcoming, by interest in the Marvel Universe has been re-kindled. However, I dropped comic books late in high school, so I probably haven’t kept up too much since 1987 or 1988. The last things I seem to recall were Captain America finally (as final as things can be :p) killing the Red Skull (which was apparently in issue 300) and a whole bunch of anti-mutant sentiment in the X-Men. Things that come to mind are the Morlocks and the phrase “Die, Mutie, Die!” I might have actually read through the Mutant Registration Act stuff, but I’m not sure.
I did read Avengers Disassembled, and I think (I’ll have to check the bookshelf) the main Civil War book (which seemed vastly incomplete since I didn’t read the tie-ins in all the other titles).
I realize this is a massive undertaking and probably un-doable, but what collections should I read in order to catch up on the main goings-on? Price is an object, but pretend it’s not.
Over the last year or so, Marvel has been publishing some nifty give-aways called [Character or title] Saga. Your local comic book store will have them. They are basically text discriptions of what has been happening to a particular title or character(s) over the last several years.
Long story short: things got sucky, then they got suckier, then they got shitty, then they got even shittier, then they got so unreadably awfully shitty that you’re best bet is to just treasure you nostalgic reminiscences of the past and not bother trying to comprehend the tragedy that is current Marvel Comics.
I’d also recommend reading Marvels, the graphic novel that tells nearly the entire history of the Marvel universe - at least the New York-centered part of it, which is a good amount - from the perspective of a news photographer.
I was impressed by the amount of research and timing they put into this story, and it shows you a lot of the early Marvel history and how it affects the common man as well as New York city. Great Alex Ross artwork too.
Yeah, I’ve been reading since Spider-Man #12 (19…64? 65?). And I’d agree. Stick with the original versions (which luckily are still alive in your memory), and don’t be corrupted by the complicated machinations that came later.
And often betrayed the hero’s core values and character! C’mon, Peter sells his soul / sells out his marriage to have Aunt May alive? Not the Peter I know…
That’s what I love about all the superhero movies coming out. They need to tell a good story, so they ignore all the '90s angst, and go back to the basics. Back to the origins.
As one of my kids said after watching the first Spider-Man movie: “Spider-Man? That was more like ‘The Peter Parker Movie’!” And I said “Exactly! It’s ‘what would it feel like to suddenly have powers, that you don’t understand and that you aren’t emotionally prepared for’.” “Yeah, what, ever, dad…”
Ignore them. There’s plenty of good Marvel being published today. Just try and avoid the annual “everything will change forever!” crossover.
(the same is true for DC, of course)
P.S. No matter how much anyone hates the current books, I refuse to accept that they could possibly think that they’re worse than what was being pumped out in the 90s.
That is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read. The artwork is amazing (fully hand-painted!) and the story is told from a totally unique perspective. When are they going to make this movie instead of continuing to pump out effects-driven pieces of shit that comic book movies have (inevitably) degenerated into (or always were)?
It doesn’t get as much press or hatred as the Peter Parker sells his soul thing, but the Civil War/Captain America thing is much, much worse, IMO.
Cap decided that the way to handle a law he didn’t like (that was passed 100% legally–no alien mind control or anything) was to (as his first step) go to full-out violent armed rebellion.
He didn’t even consider trying to go a friendly judge to have the law suspended pending review or overturned, or going on TV to drum up support for his position or say, going to the Supreme Court or peacefully protesting.
No–he grabs a bunch of adolescents and teens and other, dumber heroes and commits acts of (fairly mild) terrorism while attacking legally authorized representatives of the government.
Civil War sucked as a storyline in the first place, but having a Captain America with no regard for the law and who’s apparently never had a civics class was where I quit Marvel for good.
