Marvel Unlimited - Where to start?

Paleblood

I'm not a huge comics fan. Most of what I read is stuff like Alan Moore, Vertigo, Image, etc. But I've went ahead and taken a gamble on an Unlimited subscription, mostly to check out writers like Jason Aaron whose indie work I'm familiar with.

I'd like to dig a bit deeper but I'm completely put off by the massive crossover storylines and the various different series all about the same character. I'd love to just read about a hero from scratch. I used to love the X-Men as a kid. Is there any decent, mature stories that I can just pick up and get into without having to know all of the lore?

I've looked up this question online and there's guys saying start with such a series for 150 issues, then switch to this series for this arc, then over here, etc.

Is there an easy way 'in' to the Marvel universe?

kevinmcm

Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four run is great stuff.
Brian Bendis and Ed Brubakers Daredevil so good, also Brubakers Captain America run is classic.

Do a browse for creators you like and there are many hidden gems.

Marvel Unlimited is great!

Nervous Wreck

^^Hickman's Fantastic Four run is called FF, just FYI.

Agree with above about searching by creator. If you like Jason Aaron, you can just search for his stuff! His run on Thor is fantastic and is still going since around 2013-ish.

Pretty sure Unlimited has the entire run of Amazing Spider-Man up until last years post-Secret Wars reboot, so that's 700+ issues.

I find Unlimited really good for reading events. So you could, for example, read the Civil War arc in its 7 issue form or you can read the whole thing with crossovers (about 40+ issues) all laid out for you in correct reading order!

MarkHall

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

I find Unlimited really good for reading events. So you could, for example, read the Civil War arc in its 7 issue form or you can read the whole thing with crossovers (about 40+ issues) all laid out for you in correct reading order!

Indeed. It's great for keeping events in linear order.

Use the browse option to find characthers, creative teams you like and start there.

If you like your Xmen more mature
Try
MORRISIONS NEW X-MEN run.
CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI:13 from Paul Cornelly
BENDS UNCANNY X-MEN
are all solid reads.
Superior Spiderman is also a surprisingly fun Story

But the simplest option is find something you like the look of and start at the first issue.

Paleblood

Thanks for the replies. I started with Aaron's Thor: God of Thunder. Very enjoyable so far. Great art. I also tried a couple of issues of Hickman's FF. I'm not sure what's going on but I'll stick with it.

One thing that bothers me about Marvel is the quality of the dialogue. I'm reading though Southern Bastards right now and the dialogue in that is fantastic. Admittedly it's a very different type of series from Thor, but it goes to show that Aaron can write.

The same goes for Hickman. I'm reading The Black Monday Murders and the dialogue, and indeed the prose generally, is of a very high quality.

Then you look at their Marvel work and it reads as if it was written for children (and perhaps it is, but it's stapled onto young-adult/adult content). It's so dull and uninspired. And to be fair it's not just a Marvel thing. Saga is one of the most critically acclaimed series out there right now but the dialogue is just desperate, full of f-bombs and skatepark humour.

It's a much-maliged medium, and with dialogue like that I'm not surprised.

Nervous Wreck

I guess that just comes down to taste. I love Saga and I thinks it's acclaimed for good reason. That said, Southern Bastards is definitely a superior book imo but doesn't have half the acclaim.

Paleblood

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

I guess that just comes down to taste. I love Saga and I thinks it's acclaimed for good reason. That said, Southern Bastards is definitely a superior book imo but doesn't have half the acclaim.

Of course. I can only speak for myself.

For what it's worth I think Saga is very good so far. I'm just surprised by how immature some of the dialogue is. I also strongly dislike how characters say "Fcuk you talking about?" instead of "What the fcuk are you talking about?".

That particular Americanisation has been popping up all over the place, and not just in comics (The Witcher 3 I'm looking at you!). I don't have a problem with it per se; I don't expect to read the Queen's English at every turn. But it's starting to become so homogenised that it's difficult to avoid.

My primary interests have always been novels and cinema, and that kind of lazy language, appearing in an otherwise notable piece of work, wouldn't make it passed a good editor. I guess it's going to take time for me to get used to a medium where that type of dialogue forms part of a critically acclaimed body of work.

Ridley

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

^^Hickman's Fantastic Four run is called FF, just FYI.

'Twas Fantastic Four for a while under Hickman before it became FF.

Four.

Nervous Wreck

Ridley wrote: »

'Twas Fantastic Four for a while under Hickman before it became FF.

Four.

My bad, I didn't know that! I hear great things about his run but I can't say I'm a big fan of his.

Ridley

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

My bad, I didn't know that! I hear great things about his run but I can't say I'm a big fan of his.

Well, committing to his run effectively is at least following the "Solve Everything" saga weaving through Fantastic Four/FF into Avengers/New Avengers then Secret Wars.

So if you don't get on with his work, I imagine five years' worth would be quite a slog. Still, it's nice that something that ambitious happened.

Nervous Wreck

Ridley wrote: »

Well, committing to his run effectively is at least following the "Solve Everything" saga weaving through Fantastic Four/FF into Avengers/New Avengers then Secret Wars.

So if you don't get on with his work, I imagine five years' worth would be quite a slog. Still, it's nice that something that ambitious happened.

Ooh, I didn't know all that led into the Avengers/SA and Secret Wars stuff! I found moments of all that to be great, I just can't get into Hickman's style overall. So yeah, that would be a long slog..! Still, nice and ambitious as you say.

Paleblood

Ok, so it's two weeks since I started this thread and The Vision is by far the best thing I've read so far. Mark Millar's Old Man Logan run was also very enjoyable, albeit very derivative and with poor pacing. I'm still into Aaron's Thor and thanks for suggesting Morrison's New X-Men.

Following on from my earlier comment, it's now fully apparent to me that writers like Hickman, Lemire and Aaron are simply not allowed to fully stretch themselves with their dialogue when writing for Marvel. Simple, adolescent dialogue is what you get, even when the themes themselves are much more mature.

Also, it feels as if each series has to be 'cool' at all times. I'm thinking of the flip-page reveals, 'snikt', etc. It's all good fun but repetition kicks in and once again I'm asking, begging for a more sophisticated exploration of these worlds and characters. Is there a Marvel comic that rivals the movie Logan in its tone? Does Marvel have a Watchmen?

I'd love for a writer like Lemire to be handed the keys and told, hey, pick a bunch of characters and do what you done on Essex County. Forget about continuity, crossovers or any of that noise and just tell a story. Deconstruct the genre and write exclusively for adults.

If there's already a Marvel series that comes close to that let me know. They done it with The Vision so I know they have it in them.

Nervous Wreck

The MAX imprint is geared at adults only. I don't really know what qualities you're looking for tbh but Alias is pretty fantastic (it may be under Jessica Jones: Alias, I'm not sure. I think it was rebranded that way after the TV show).

Punisher: Max is also great. I can't remember if Jason Aaron's Wolverine is a Max run but it's definitely an adult book (and grim as all fcuk).

I gotta agree with you about The Vision- easily one of Marvel's best books in years.

Ridley

I don't think there's any mature rated content available on Unlimited.

Nervous Wreck

Ridley wrote: »

I don't think there's any mature rated content available on Unlimited.

That makes sense...!