overwhelmed. Questions on what to get next.

I'm just getting started and I've read a few of the essential comics. theres so much stuff out there I dont know what to get next and whats good. so far I've read essential hulk, amazing spiderman, and fantastic four first volumes. The spiderman book I thought was the best. hulk was just ok. I thought the fantastic four was terrible and had to force myself to finish it. Some of the stuff was just plain stupid. I think what I found interesting about the spiderman book was how he kept his secret identity. he was always getting in trouble with the characters around him as peter parker and had to take a lot of insults . My favorite part was when he finally got to clobber flash. Here is a list of some more stuff i ordered but havent read yet. A friend highly suggested the x-men for me so thats why I blindly ordered so many.

essentials captain america #1 daredevil #1 uncanny xmen #1 xmen vol #1-3 Ultimate X-men vol #1-2 hardcovers

I will read anything thats good but I only want the collections. I dont want to mess around with individual issues. it looks like the essentails dont really go that far for most of the series.does this mean whatever i cant find in the essentails i have to miss out on unless i hunt down the individual comics? I know some of the newer stuff is releasead in nice hardcovers and color. should I even be reading this older stuff? I have been ordering from amazon so far. they have good prices but their selection is limited. what are some of the other big sites for ordering the books? I have a lot to read already but im addicted and its going by fast.

If you like secret identity hijinks Essential Thor might be your best best. Of coarse, with any of the old Lee/Kirby stuff there's plenty of goofy stuff. You know, Stan's 'make the Reds look stupid' stories.

The Ultimate Spider-Man trades are very good. Its the freshest, most modern take on the character you'll find anywhere.

I suggest adding the following to your list:

Ultimate Spider-Man Essential Dr. Strange Vol. 1 Essential Spider-Man Vol. 2-5 Essential X-men Vol. 4

As for the newer stuff, everything in the Ultimate Marvel Universe (a restart that is 'inspired by' but needn't follow the regular stuff) has been collected in trade paperback format (with the exceptions of the latest issues, which will be released, but not yet.)

For the mainstream books, I really enjoy 'Exiles.' That's had four volumes released already, with a fifth to come to comic shops in September. (Bookstores like Amazon are often a bit behind. They were two months behind on volume four, due to Marvel's distribution methods.)

As for filling in the gaps between then and now, yes, there are a couple of decades and creative teams between the most recent Essentials and the current titles. (The Spider-Man Essentials go up to issue 113 or so, and issue 500 ships in October.) There are a few good 'jumping on points' in between. I've found that the Essentials cover the first appearances of most major Marvel characters, and that the missing pieces are fairly easy to pick up on. Go with what interests you.

Also, my tastes may not exactly match yours. If you head over to http://www.bureau42.com and use the 'search' feature, you'll find my reviews of everything you said you've already read. Comparing my opinions to yours on these works, and the stuff you haven't read, should give you a good feel for what's out there.

I would strongly advise against Ultimate Spider-man. The stories have a much slower pace. What you gain in 'hip' 'fresh' and 'modern' dialogue, you lose in a lugubrious tone and glacial plotting. Stick with the fun Essentials. I particularly recommend Essential Avengers.

Actually, their selection is going to be exactly what most comics shops have, if you're going to stick exclusively to collections. The shops may occassionally have out of print collections you could grab, but as far as current stuff they order, amazon has basically all of the same trades the shops offer. The main advantage to the shops is that you can flip through the book before you pay for it. I can bet that if you thought FF was bad, you're going to HATE Essential Uncanny, although you should hopefully like the other Essential X-Men volumes more.

And no, for the major series, none of them have been collected in their entirety, so if you stick to collections, you're going to have some huge holes. Hopefully the highlights of those missing years will be collected. (The Death of Gwen Stacy and Wedding trades cover the most pivotal events between the Essentials and the recent collections, for example.)

As for whether you should be reading the older stuff at all, I'd say whether you enjoy it is the best way to decide the answer to that. Would you rather spend the money on a shorter trade of more recent stuff? If the answer is yes, you should stop spending money on the Essentials and buy more trades of the later work.

Dave Doty

Are you reading them in trades, or in regular issues? Reading them in trades, as the original poster is suggesting, makes the slower pace much less obvious. (Slower than what, by the way? It's slower than the Lee/Kirby comics, for sure, but those always felt rushed to me. I like the pace of Ultimate Spider-Man.)

I like the pacing just fine as well. And I agree the older style found in Essentials is much to rushed for my tastes. There's nothing wrong with slower pacing, especially when the focus is more on emotion than plotting. Sure, one issue of Ultimate takes place exclusively in Peter's bedroom, and all that happens is he reveals his secret identity to MJ, comes close to kissing her, and has the 'talk' with Aunt May. Its way slower than most comics from yesterday, but its also so damn good I'm not complaining. Its not a marathon after all.

Yes, but if the frame of reference is an enjoyment of Essential Spider-man, then I think cautioning against the Ultimate books makes sense. They are telling the same stories in USM that the original poster just read and enjoyed the first time. Buying USM is in at least one way - a waste of money.

I think this comment contradicts the point you are making.

They also retell the same stories you just read in the Essentials. If you want something all-new, go for Amazing Spider-man trades.