Hello everyone, a few years ago I decided to get into reading comics. I wasn't sure where to start but knew I wanted to read Spider-Man because of my love for the character in other forms (TV, Movies etc.) Ultimate Spider-Man was suggested to me by someone and I read a bit of it before my town was hit by a hurricane and I was never able to get back into it. Essentially I am new to comic books, I want to start with Spider-Man (I have quite a bit of general back story knowledge on most prominent characters) and I am not sure where to start. From talking to people and online research I think I am going to start with One more day/Brand new day and go from there. Is this a good place to start? Would anyone recommend anything else? Thank you very much!

@jcd1795: do not start with one more day or brand new day they are trolling you

i havent read alot of spider man up until a year ago but i did enjoy spider verse and i hear spider island was good

but with secret wars happening i suggest trying the spider tie ins

@jcd1795: If you want to get into the character, most fans would recommend you start with Ultimate Spider-Man. In that volume, you can start with its first storyline/tpb called "Power and Responsibility". It's a solid intro to the character. If you find yourself invested in that world (most likely you will), you can continue from there.

As for the main continuity version of the character, for a more recent intro to the character you can check out the recent "Learning to Crawl" mini-series. While for long time fans it's nothing special, for newer fans like yourself it could be a fun place to familiarize with the character. It gives you that 60's Stan Lee/Ditko/Romito feel to it, while at the same time makes it feel in a modern setting.

Now if you want a solid jumping on point that gets you into the meat of the character, there are 3 modern points you can choose from.

1- Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 #471 (aka ASM Volume 2 #30) - This is is the start of JMS's six year run on the title, and the start of his first storyline, which is collected in the TPB "Coming Home". This took place back in June 2001.

2- Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 #546 (February 2008) - Brand New Day. Most fans will tell you this is the worst era of Spidey stories, but all it really is is simply a re-introduction to the character. I should note, DO NOT read the previous story, One More Day, because it's basically one big retcon story and as a new fan, you really don't want to get mixed up in it and that's why BND has a bad reputation, simply because it is the after-effect of OMD, not because of bad quality. You can just start with Brand New Day, because this is simply the beginning of brand new stories and a nice starting point to anyone wanting to get into the character. Also, it has actually produced quite a number of really strong stories.

3- Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 #648 (January 2011) - This is the post-Brand New Day era also known as The Big Time Era and the start of Dan Slott's full-time run that is still ongoing today as of May 2015. This is a jumping on point for the character that establishes a new status quo and new cast members. The first arc is called Big Time, and the second arc is No One dies, and these two arcs remain to this day two of Slott's strongest arcs yet. As they both have different ones that quickly establish what Peter goes through on emotional levels. The first arc is a lighthearted, action packed, superhero tale while the second one is a character driven tragic story.

Read a classic story, like Kraven's Last Hunt. Or the original Hobgoblin saga. Fairly easy to track down.

Stick with Ultimate Spider-Man also

I'd also recommend tracking down the Spider-Man newspaper strip online (google it) if you want something quick, light, and breezy to waste a few seconds on, and, if you can, also check out Spider-Girl, as it is the natural continuation of the Spider-Man story

I disagree with this. BND's quality is notoriously shakey regardless of the controversy caused by OMD. There are some highlights (New Ways to Die, Mind on Fire, Emergency Stop), but the examples are few, and anything that includes crap like Peter Parker: Paperazzi, Shed, Red-Headed Stranger, OMIT, and Origin of the Species in it's run cannot be recommended.

It does'nt help much that when you go back the way and read everything before BND, the realization dawns on people that they are essentially reading a LIE, as it is NOT how things are supposed to be, the characters are not consistent with who they used to be and have taken either monumental steps backwards or have been radically altered beyond recognition.

He's best reading something that is TRUE to the characters, like anything by Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, or DeMatties, JMS (especially JMS, as his storylines are actually what help make sense of Spider-Verse later down the road)

Slott's Big Time run is absolute cartoonish drivel, again, some occasionally good stuff, but nothing overall remarkable, and the "Nobody dies" gimmick is patently ridiculous if you know Peter's character and this is even pointed out several times by his supporting cast. After that, you get the dire Superior arc, which in my mind was worse than OMD. And Slott's recent run on ASM from 2014 onwards is probably the nadir of his career so far. Spider-Verse is only saved by the nostalgia factor of seeing alternate Spider-Men, a decent final act, and all of the spin-off titles that are not written by Slott.

@zarius:I've seen you here in the forums criticizing anyone who even remotely praises the more recent takes on Spidey, which you clearly are not a fan of, and you seem to feel strongly about this so I won't antagonize you nor even attempt to waste my time arguing with you. Here's just a few things I need to clarify.

- From what I could understand, the op was looking for a way to jump into the character's mythos and make his way to his present continuity, and I'm assuming he's looking to get into modern SM stories so those are the jumping on point I mentioned. I didn't mention the classic stuff because simply put, they're too many and for a new fan it could be a little confusing, so I figured he should at least familiarize himself with modern Spidey and if he liked what he sees he could always track down the classic stuff.

- The stories you mentioned, while they are definitely some of Spidey's most memorable stories, are not exactly new reader friendly. Sure he could get by, but the core of the stories wouldn't have the same impact if he were a long time reader. That's why he should familiarize himself with the character before jumping into those heavy hitter stories. For example, he can't truly appreciate the Hobgoblin saga without having some idea about the relationship between Spider-Man and the original Goblin, or how Kraven was always a joke before Kraven's Last Hunt.

- How things are "supposed" to be as you call it is subjective, and calling BND a "LIE" is your biased way of seeing it. I'm not gonna bother debating quality, but you can't deny that this is an introduction to current day Spider-Man, and I guess this is what the op is looking for. Why don't we let the new guy decide for himself?

- Superior is worse than OMD? oy...ok ok, like I said won't debate quality, but why even mention Superior? It's irrelevant to the discussion, and it's way too soon for the op to even think about going there anyway. Why do you turn every thread into a Slott hate thread? There are plenty others who enjoy his take, if you don't like it don't read it.

1. How is it in any way subjective when it is very apparent BND follows an alternative timeline created and maintained by demon magic? (snippets of the deal with Mephisto are even shown in OMIT, which is a part of BND), If I was new to Spider-Man, and I felt like reading the rich history of the character after being subjected to the BND material, I would find myself confronted with a completely different tone and feel, one might even say a a more MATURE feel. Yes, current Spidey starts with BND, but that does'nt mean it's the best jumping-on point when years of history serve to expose it as something of a step back. History makes BND feel like a waste of one's time.

2. I mentioned Superior because the beginning of the story is very much the culmination of Slott's "Big Time" run, everything sort of bleeds into the other, and much of what is set up in Big Time is eventually resolved in Superior.

3. Ah yes, the usual "don't like it, don't read it" card. A weapon used only by the most desperate of fan insecure about their own tastes and opinions because they know if someone like me stops reading the comic and thus does'nt then share their outlook through equally diligent reading, they stand a better chance of giving the book praise without feeling threatened by an alternative viewpoint. Fat chance mate. I aim to still read anything pertaining to this era. I can still be pleasantly surprised now and then, I don't make it my mission to hate every page of this era, it's just the way I feel about the overall quality. If you don't feel like debating that, I respect that.

4. I could care less what "plenty of others" think, considering "plenty of others" also like Micheal Bay Transformers movies. "Plenty of others" can have a lot of bad taste in things.

5. I actually don't "hate" Dan, I'm actually a fan of his work most of the time, I just feel he's a terrible Spider-Man writer. I am not the only one who turns threads sour regarding him, Slott bashing was happening before I even joined.

I respect your opinions, don't feel as if I'm trying to put you down, I just disagree with statements like "the only reason BND is hated is because of OMD". People don't like BND for other reasons besides that.

You should read JMS's run as well as as much of ultimate spider-man as you can, so you have something to do until the reboot that's coming after 'Secret Wars' (probably in the summer). I'd imagine they will make the character more accessible to new readers after that.

Okay, firstly, I sense a degree of hostility in your reply. I'm trying to have a civil conversation, if you cannot reciprocate then we're done here, but luckily, I don't get "put down" easily and I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

- So you agree with me that BND is a jumping on point for current day Spidey. The op is not aware of Spidey's rich history and, from what I understood, is only interested in reaching the character's current day adventures. Therefore, my suggestion of BND as a jumping on point is fairly accurate, considering that BND was mostly geared towards new readers anyway, which fits the op. And I'm sorry, but who are you to say that BND is a waste of time? Who cares about history as long as there are quality stories, and I'm assuming that's what the OP is looking for, and from my perspective and even to a certain very small extent, yours, BND provides that. Whether what ever he ends up reading he considers a step-back or not is entirely up to the reader. What if the reader actually liked BND? What if the reader preferred the post-BND world over the previous one? No one is being "subjected" to anything, he can always stop when he stopped enjoying it. It's that simple. Don't like it don't read it remember? I simply provided a place to start, from which there is actual quality from where I stand, therefore BND is recommendable, and what happens after that is entirely up to him. And dude, OMIT and most of the other "crap" you mentioned take place like towards the end of BND, there's like two years of stories preceding those, so I wouldn't define the entire run by only those. And btw, I didn't even read OMIT because I kinda knew what they were going with. I didn't like that and so stayed off the storyline until it ended. Another example of "Don't like don't read it".

- Yes Big Time and Superior are connected, but each are still their own story. You can read Big Time without reading Superior and you wouldn't necessarily feel cheated, and the official set up for superior takes place like a year and half after the original big time story, so the new reader has long ways to reach that story anyway and by that time he would have decided whether or not the run is as bad as you say it is or maybe he ended up actually enjoying it.

- First of all, "don't like it don't read it" was simply a friendly piece of advice, not sure why you were offended by it or considered it a "weapon", that wasn't the intention. Maybe it speaks about our differences as readers, but where I come from, if I don't like the direction of a book or think its quality is "terrible", I just stop reading it and I definitely don't continue supporting it with my hard-earned cash and then complain about it online and demand change. For me, that's just basic logic and I thought my advice was just that. You continue reading something that you don't like in hopes of being pleasantly surprised only to be consistently disappointed by it...umm ok, I can't personally relate to that but hey, whatever works for ya, to each his own right?

And I think it's hilarious that you're accusing me of using a "desperate card" when you even used an even more desperate one. The "Michael Bay Transformers" argument, which is used by bitter fans to justify the fact that their taste does not match up with the majority, and so feel left out, and in order not to feel that way, they try to justify their minority stance with a "I'm right and they all have bad taste" argument. Not saying "Transformers" is of high quality, but those who hate on something that usually is pretty popular and actually sells well compare it with "Transformers/Kardashians/JustinBieber" in order to give more weight to their stance, which may be subjectively justifiable, but that doesn't make it as factual as they think it is. And for what its worth, when I watched the first Transformers movie, I didn't like it, and so didn't bother watching its sequels. See what I did there? :)

- I only used the "plenty others" argument in reply to your "it's notoriously bad" argument, which I assumed you meant "plenty of others think it's bad". Therefore, like you, I could care less what others think, so hey congrats, we agree on something!

- Whether or not you hate Dan or whatever is your business, no offense but I don't care. I don't care about other users since I'm conversing with you at the moment and I was simply pointing out the fact that I've noticed that you always turn threads into "Dan Slott is a terrible Spider-Man writer" hate thread. But hey it's your business. And unlike what you called me, I am actually secure in my opinion and that's why I don't bother replying to your hate-filled rants on other Spider-related topic, and the only reason I'm replying here is simply because you replied to me in the first place, and I don't want to derail this thread with another childish "Slott sux! - No he doesn't" argument.

And finally let me reiterate my comment that got us into this debate in the first place. Most fans hate on BND because of its controversial ties to OMD, and so in turn, its what gives it a bad reputation, and I was simply advising the OP not to judge it by reputation, but by quality for which I shared my subjective opinion and that's why I support BND. Now obviously every fan will have their own reasons for not liking it, but as you yourself have demonstrated, the main reason for the hate comes from its bad reputation. In your case, the fact that it is a step-back in the Spidey mythos because it references the deal with Mephisto and disregards some of Spidey's well developed history is one of the main reasons you seem to hate it (at least that's the impression you gave me). My argument, BND tells Brand New stories that actually have quality, regardless of history, which is kind of irrelevant to a new reader, to whom I am suggesting it. That's why I recommended "Learning to Crawl", even though I don't personally think much of it having already read many similar stories, I can still objectively say that it's a nice introduction for new fans.

@anjales: to clarify and possibly settle this "argument" I have some knowledge of the history but would like to know more, learn about it first hand in a way. At the same time I would enjoy "catching up" and reading modern stuff. I would love to know the history but know enough to go modern.

@darklordx123: I enjoyed what I read of ultimate and I might just read that again. I would love to read JMS's run but most are unavailable on the marvel app and I can't find them in my local store. I did pick up secret wars and even though I was kind of lost, I enjoyed it

I started with the Marvel Masterworks trade paperbacks of Spiderman, they collect his first issues which can be helpful to check out. They're also pretty good in terms of entertainment. Kraven's Last Hunt might not be bad either, you don't need to know a lot about the canon and it's ranked as one of his the character's greatest stories.