With so many issues out there of our favorite titles spread out over so many years and even “ages”, it’s not easy to catch up on the character by reading all the past issues. While compiling our reading order lists, we found the experience is enhanced by reading your favorite title in smaller pieces, following a particular storyline or character. You’ll get a much better feel of the motivations of a villain such as, for example, Doctor Octopus, by reading only the issues, even just the most essential comics, of the character, which can span just a few issues over a few decades. This becomes even more interesting when it comes to comics with an ensemble cast, such as X-Men, whose single characters might have their development dragged out over the years in but a few essential comics. (This is not to be confused with Marvel’s Essential comics line of reprints.
Essential Comics Lists
This effort just got easier, as we are now compiling our “Essential Issues” posts and listing them by character for easier referencing. These list work in addition to the searchable reading orders we have, which allow you to find all the essential comics concerning the most popular characters.
We have list for villains such as the Green Goblin, heroes such as Rogue and Gambit, whose story is decades old but restricted to a few important issues, supporting characters such as Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy, events such as the many unmaskings of Spider-Man and even “best of” lists of both of these important franchises.
Essential Comics by character
Don’t see your favorite character, event or even franchise in our essential comics lists? Drop us a request in the comment section below. We’d love your feedback to improve our lists, and share the love with other comic fans like you.