How To Start Reading Spider-Man Comics

Spider-Man comics are among some of the most popular–and best-written–stories in the superhero genre. First appearing all the way back in 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Stan Goldberg, and Artie Simek, Spider-Man quickly became the unofficial mascot for Marvel Comics.

Ever since his debut, Spider-Man has been one of the most popular superheroes in the world, appearing in countless comics, television shows, movies, and video games. However, the character’s vast history in Marvel Comics can be quite intimidating to new readers. Even so, there are a few places where interested fans can begin to read Spider-Man’s comic book adventures.

Where Was The First Appearance Of Spider-Man?

Spider-Man makes his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, a historic comic book that first hit shelves in 1962. The issue tells the iconic origin story of Spider-Man, a young high schooler named Peter Parker who gained great power after being bitten by a radioactive spider while attending a science experiment. Using his power to become a stunt-performing entertainer, Spider-Man grows selfish and irresponsible, inadvertently causing the death of his beloved Uncle Ben. From that moment on, Spider-Man learns that “with great power, there must also come great responsibility” and vows to always use his powers to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Amazing Fantasy #15 is a perfect place for readers to begin reading Spider-Man’s comic book journey. The issue introduces the iconic hero and tells his well-known origin story, which sets up everything that comes thereafter. The beloved Marvel hero’s origin is certainly one Spider-Man story everyone should read. After Amazing Fantasy #15, readers can jump right into The Amazing Spider-Man, beginning with its first issue. However, readers may also choose to skip right over the early issues of The Amazing Spider-Man in order to get to some of Spider-Man’s more well-known storylines. Either way, everything starts with the fateful day that Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider in Amazing Fantasy #15.

How Many Spider-Man Comics Are There?

As one of the most popular superheroes of all time, there are far more Spider-Man comics out there to read than there are for most other Marvel Comics characters. Because he resonates so well with readers, Spider-Man has not only starred in his flagship series, The Amazing Spider-Man, but also in several other secondary titles. Over Spider-Man’s last 60 years in Marvel Comics, he has acted as the protagonist in no fewer than seven ongoing titles, many of which ran concurrently. As such, modern readers are faced with multiple spinoff titles, including Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Sensational Spider-Man, and many more. This vast backlog of comics can be quite overwhelming to the incoming reader.

While each of the spinoff series contains many iconic storylines that are worth checking out, the titles combined make for far too much for a reader to work through in any reasonable amount of time. In fact, when combined with the many limited series, one-shots, and team-up comics starring the web-slinging superhero, there are multiple thousands of comics for Spider-Man fans to work through. However, there are also plenty of alternative options for non-completionist readers who are just looking to jump in at an interesting point in Spider-Man’s history.

Where Are Other Places To Begin Reading Spider-Man?

The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #1

Writer Howard Mackie took Spider-Man in a new direction in 1999, as Marvel Comics relaunched The Amazing Spider-Man, reverting the title’s numbering back to #1. The new volume picks up several months after Peter Parker officially retired as Spider-Man, choosing instead to enjoy his life with his wife, Mary Jane Watson-Parker. However, the draw of superheroism consistently pulls on Peter, eventually drawing him back into his crime-fighting days.

Starting with Volume 2 of The Amazing Spider-Man may skip over some of the web-slinger’s best stories, but it also does away with the worldbuilding and convoluted nature of earlier plotlines. Readers who already have a basic grasp of Spider-Man, his supporting cast, and Rogues Gallery, may prefer to jump right into this era of the character’s history rather than relive the many origin stories and early battles that can sometimes be a pain to plod through.

Ultimate Spider-Man #1

Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Universe stories offer fresh takes on old characters, including Spider-Man himself. Set in the alternate timeline of Earth-1610, Ultimate Spider-Man #1 introduces a rebooted version of Spider-Man, who is still a high school student attending classes in the modern day. With longtime Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis at the helm, Ultimate Spider-Man is a fun reinvention of the classic Spider-Man mythos.

Ultimate Spider-Man is perfect for fans of the MCU’s version of Spider-Man, which is more directly based on this iteration of the character. Moreover, Spider-Man’s supporting cast and enemies are all updated to better fit modern sensibilities, much like recent film adaptations of the characters have done. This is also a terrific place for fans of Miles Morales to start reading Spider-Man comics, as it is eventually he who becomes his universe’s Spider-Man.

The Amazing Spider-Man #546

The infamous “One More Day” storyline changed Spider-Man comics forever, with Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson allowing Mephisto to erase their marriage from existence. In the aftermath, Marvel launched a brand-new era of Spider-Man with the “Brand New Initiative.” In this newly opened chapter of Peter Parker’s life, The Amazing Spider-Man starts fresh, introducing many new supporting characters and opening up new ongoing plotlines that would span the next several years.

While sometimes criticized by fans of the pre-“One More Day” era of Spider-Man, “Brand New Day” includes plenty of interesting stories that are worth reading. In addition to reinventing supporting characters like Harry Osborn, “Brand New Day” marks a nice, clean place for new readers to jump into Spider-Man comics.

The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 3) #1

Dan Slott’s run on The Amazing Spider-Man is historic, not just for its length but also for its new and inventive stories. Afer the heavily controversial Superior Spider-Man storyline, Slott relaunched The Amazing Spider-Man with a third volume, which saw the titular superhero trying to clean up the mess that Doctor Octopus had made of his life over the last several months.

This run presents a very different take on both Spider-Man and Peter Parker, especially with the character finally taking over his own business, Parker Industries, after Doctor Octopus first created it during Superior Spider-Man. While readers may have to play catch-up in the first few issues, the third volume of The Amazing Spider-Man presents a relatively short read for fans to kick off their love of comics.

The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #1

Spider-Man’s longest-running writer, Dan Slott, brings his time on The Amazing Spider-Man to an epic conclusion in The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 4), which first launched in 2015. The volume begins by transforming Peter Parker into a business mogul similar to Tony Stark before setting about a series of events to bring him crumbling to the ground. Nevertheless, as Spider-Man is known to do, the hero doesn’t stay down for long.

In the final days of Dan Slott’s run, the author makes some of the boldest moves in the character’s history. While the Parker Industries arc was controversial, later stories make up for it with the introduction of fan-favorite villains like the Red Goblin. For readers looking for cinematically inclined storylines, the end of Slott’s run is a perfect place to start reading The Amazing Spider-Man.

The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #1

The Amazing Spider-Man relaunched once again in 2018 with Nick Spencer taking over as writer. For the first time in years, Spencer’s run made it seem as though Spider-Man’s most controversial story, “One More Day,” would be overwritten. While this might not have happened in the way that many readers had hoped, volume 5 of The Amazing Spider-Man still represented a return to form for the hero that many had long been hoping for.

Nick Spencer’s run is the perfect place for new readers to start if they want to catch up with The Amazing Spider-Man quickly. The beginning of Volume 5 of the long-running title marks its latest relaunch, allowing readers to jump in and catch up with ongoing stories without too much trouble.