Please prove me wrong about Marvel.

[reallycoolusername]

I have been reading comics for about 6 months now and i am really getting into it. I started by getting graphic novels from my library and went from there. I have been getting into Hellblazer, Transmetropolitan and the such and something is annoying me.

I can't get into Marvel. Say what you will about DC but there are some real gems in things like Kingdom Come, Red Son and 52 and i like characters like Constantine and Batman.

Where is that over at Marvel? I'm hoping Civil War will change my mind about all this. I came close to liking Daredevils "the Murdock Papers" but that was only because it was functional.

The Marvel books i have read so far don't really have a lot going on. Their starved for any meaningful ideas.

Is Marvel an under 18's zone? if so thats totally cool. Or am i just looking at the wrong books?

 

[DannyJBeckett]

If you're looking for 18+ stuff from marvel, look no further than the Marvel Knights publications, like the Punisher, Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, etc. and some of their other stuff like the Marvel Zombies series. Also, look at the recent X-Force series.

 

[OriginalLadders]

I have been reading comics for about 6 months now and i am really getting into it. I started by getting graphic novels from my library and went from there. I have been getting into Hellblazer, Transmetropolitan and the such and something is annoying me.

I can't get into Marvel. Say what you will about DC but there are some real gems in things like Kingdom Come, Red Son and 52 and i like characters like Constantine and Batman.

Where is that over at Marvel? I'm hoping Civil War will change my mind about all this. I came close to liking Daredevils "the Murdock Papers" but that was only because it was functional.

Get ready for disappointment; Civil War had a decent concept behind it, but the ending is just insulting the intelligence of the reader.

The Marvel books i have read so far don't really have a lot going on. Their starved for any meaningful ideas.

Is Marvel an under 18's zone? if so thats totally cool. Or am i just looking at the wrong books?

Marvel MAX titles are explicitly 18+, Punisher MAX being (in my opinion) the best MAX title so far.

Besides the Murdock Papers, what else have you read? It's hard to recommend things without knowing specifically which stories your disliked.

 

[Bucht]

Someone recommend me the Cosmic Marvel comics a few months ago (start with the Annihilation crossover-event) and I've loved every part of it.
Also pretty much anything I've read from Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Daredevil #82+, The Immortal Iron First,..) was awesome from the first page to the last.

 

[Cuacuani]

Marvel 1602 is really good, but you probably want to be familiar with the Marvel Universe before you read a re-imagining of it.

I'd reccomend Ultimate Fantastic Four - it's the Fantastic Four, but it doesn't suck (I don't understand how they managed it, either).

 

[WolfThomas]

Please don't judge Marvel on Civil War, or heck any of the crisis crossovers, they're never really that good. There's great stuff out there, like:

Punisher Max (The Ennis Issues)
Alias
Next Wave
Runaways
Captain Britain and MI13
The Entire Cosmic line (Annihilation, Conquest, War of Kings etc)

Currently some of the ongoing titles are brilliant, like:
Fantastic Four/Future Foundation by Hickman
Uncanny X-force
Avengers Academy
X-Factor
Thunderbolts
Amazing Spiderman
The really new Daredevil by Mark Waid is wonderful fun.
Black Panther - Man without fear/Deadliest Man alive

I'd reccomend Ultimate Fantastic Four - it's the Fantastic Four, but it doesn't suck (I don't understand how they managed it, either).

You should read Hickman's Fantastic Four, it's amazing, they used to be my least favourite heroes, but he really the nails scientist/explorer family vibe in an enjoyable way.

 

[Jonny49]

If you can find them, I suggest you read the new Daredevil and Moon Knight volumes. They're both fantastic and an easy place to start since neither require much back reading. Daredevil is 4 issues in and Moon Knight is 6, but if you can find them, I highly recommend picking them up.

Also if you're looking for collections, I urge you to pick up Marvels. It's the story of the Marvel universe told through the eyes of a photographer starting in the 30's through to the 70's and it's just brilliant. Great writing and artwork.

And The Ultimates from Mark Millar, the same guy who wrote Superman: Red Son.

 

[Airsoftslayer93]

I far perfer Marvel over DC, but i can honestly not tell you why, different preferences i suppose.

 

[WolfThomas]

And The Ultimates from Mark Millar, the same guy who wrote Superman: Red Son.

This also Ultimate Galactus Trilogy, by Warren Ellis who wrote Transmetropolitan (and Nextwave).

All of the new Ultimate Reborn stuff is pretty awesome too.

 

[Corax_1990]

Deadpool. That is all.

 

[Vivi22]

Currently some of the ongoing titles are brilliant, like:
Uncanny X-force
X-Factor

These are easily two of my favourite ongoing's. I'd also add Ultimate Spider-Man (pre and post death of Peter Parker so far anyway), Thor/Mighty Thor, and pretty much Ed Brubakers entire run on Captain America. I'm also only a few volumes into Invincible Iron-Man by Matt Fraction, but that is also really good.

Mind you, it's a lot easier to know what to recommend if we know what the OP has already tried.

 

[deshorty]

I would recommend World War Hulk. But honestly, I would stick to DC imo. I prefer way more of their weekly stuff and massive events.

 

[VoidWanderer]

I prefer the majority of the Marvel Heroes more as not many are god-like (Except Thor).

The Ultimate Universe was quite well done as it told the origin stories surprisingly well, but the way the entire series ended... not so much.

But I would recommend it to read though.

 

[Something Amyss]

The Marvel books i have read so far don't really have a lot going on. Their starved for any meaningful ideas.

Is Marvel an under 18's zone? if so thats totally cool. Or am i just looking at the wrong books?

I find these hilarious because DC has effectively nicked Marvel's style over the last few years. No offense or anyhing, just saying.

 

[Cuacuani]

I'd reccomend Ultimate Fantastic Four - it's the Fantastic Four, but it doesn't suck (I don't understand how they managed it, either).

You should read Hickman's Fantastic Four, it's amazing, they used to be my least favourite heroes, but he really the nails scientist/explorer family vibe in an enjoyable way.

Cheers, I'll check that out.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

I know how you feel, OP. For the longest time after I began reading comics I basically just read DC. I simply couldn't find anything I felt like reading. I'd had my fill of Spidey back in the 90s with the animated series (still wish I could find that on DVD though) and almost everything else simply didn't grab me. I tried an issue here or there but it just didn't work.

I did read Secret Warriors for a time, which I enjoyed since I felt, and still feel, like Nick Fury is under-appreciated. World's Oldest and Grumpiest Super-Spy. I enjoyed the series...until they got into some madness with aliens and old soviet programs and some other bullshit. At that point I went 'why can't this just be Nick Fury setting the world right like it should be?' and put it down. It may have gotten better, and I've been meaning to have a look, but eh.

Recently I picked up Future Foundation when it started. THAT I at least enjoyed. If only because of certain plot elements involving Reed, and Valeria pissing off Doom. Not to mention everyone being surprised that Spidey can keep up with them when they start talking advanced science. There's some good stuff in Marvel, but I think at least in my case my apathy towards it comes from just being over-exposed. I enjoy the movies. That tends to be enough for my Marvel fix.

Still, World War Hulk isn't bad. I enjoyed it for the most part. If you're willing to dig back a bit The Inhumans tend to be pretty good too, plus I have a soft-spot for Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers. It's just too damn funny. Otherwise, basically what people have suggested here already. House of M is good, but...eh. There's just something about X-Men that makes me apathetic. Dunno what.

Oddly enough though this is the opposite of what I usually see. Usually people are really into Marvel and they either dislike or have to ask what to get into for DC. Good to know the street goes both ways.

EDIT: I'll give Civil War a plug too, if only because it was pretty interesting. Especially the Frontline series, and the Camp Hammond/50-State Initiative business.

 

[WolfThomas]

Recently I picked up Future Foundation when it started. THAT I at least enjoyed. If only because of certain plot elements involving Reed, and Valeria pissing off Doom. Not to mention everyone being surprised that Spidey can keep up with them when they start talking advanced science.

There's some Fantastic Four issues that precede it that are pretty good, the ones that have the death of the human torch and Nathanial Richards return.

House of M is good, but...eh. There's just something about X-Men that makes me apathetic. Dunno what.

Spoiler: I'll agree here, the X-men line has slumped in the last few years, but the new stuff coming out of Schism looks good, some clearly defined teams with different agendas.

Oddly enough though this is the opposite of what I usually see. Usually people are really into Marvel and they either dislike or have to ask what to get into for DC. Good to know the street goes both ways.

Personally I love both and think comics would be poorer with just one.

 

[Mestraal]

Planet Hulk and its followup World War Hulk are worth considering. They're the only decent Hulk comics, actually.
Niel Gaiman's Eternals are also a good read, but then again, I'll read anything with his name on it. Oh, and there's House of M, I really enjoyed that.

As said by many others though, DC is so much more worth it. So much more.

 

[Zach of Fables]

You're not wrong, DC rules! But I do like Runaways and Ultimate Fantastic Four is acceptable if you really need to read something Marvel writes.

 

[Sonicron]

Well, my personal rule of thumb has always been this:
If you want great character design and mediocre characters, go with Marvel.
If you want eye-cancer-inducing character design and great characters, go with DC.