Marvel is the number one name in superhero comics. The publisher has dominated the industry for decades now, creating some of the greatest superheroes and weaving a plethora of gripping stories. Thanks to the MCU, Marve’s audience has grown, introducing many to classic characters and plotlines.
From Silver Age classics to modern epics, Marvel has no shortage of incredible comics that connect with readers. With so many titles to choose from, it can be difficult to decide what to read next. No matter if one is a casual reader, or a long time Marvel fan, there are certain comics everyone should read.
Updated on December 8th, 2022 by David Harth: Marvel’s classics are great, but the publisher still puts out some brilliant books. Many of the best creators in comics are giving their all to create books that will entertain readers and stand the test of the time. Marvel is on fire right now, and looking at their publishing slate, it’s easy to see why.
17/17 Miracleman: The Silver Age Is Casually Brilliant
Marvel’s acquisition of Miracleman was a big deal, but besides reprinting the series in singles and hardcovers, the publisher did little with Alan Moore’s most disturbing superhero epic. There were always rumors about writer Neil Gaiman and artist Mark Buckingham finishing up their three books saga that began with Miracleman: The Golden Age, but it wasn’t happening. Until now, that is.
Miracleman: The Silver Age takes place in the early 2000s. The world has been under Miracleman’s control for years. His scientists have finally been able to find the original body of Young Miracleman and bring him back. However, this new world proves to be something that YM isn’t ready for. This book is already amazing and fans should definitely check it out.
16/17 Savage Avengers Delivers On Its Premise
Savage Avengers’ relaunch in 2022 took a book that was well-liked but not setting the industry on fire and shot it into the stratosphere. New writer David Pepose and artist Carlos Magno were dealt an unfortunate hand right off the back, as Marvel lost the rights to the book’s central character Conan the Barbarian. However, they rolled with it in their first story arc and have continued to knock it out of the park with every issue.
Starring Elektra as Daredevil, Black Knight, Cloak, Dagger, Anti-Venom, a Deathlok with a surprising identity, and Weapon H, this book is an action extravaganza. Magno’s art is perfect for that, giving readers amazing battle scenes. Pepose is an underrated talent at Marvel, his style working as well for action as it does for character development. This book is the best Avengers book being published right now.
15/17 Moon Knight Is Impressing Fans
Writer Jed MacKay is among Marvel’s hottest writers right now, churning out brilliant stories starring the publisher’s B-list characters. McKay’s work is beloved by fans right now, so it’s hard to pick just one of his books to recommend. However, one stands heads and shoulders above the others and that’s Moon Knight.
Joined by regular artist Alessandro Cappuccio and multiple back-up artists, Moon Knight takes everything great about the character and pushes it to the forefront. MacKay understands and expertly handles Moon Knight and his alters like few other writers ever have. The book is a showcase impeccable wall action, something that a Moon Knight book thrives on.
14/17 Wolverine Is Giving Readers The Best Wolverine Content In Years
Wolverine is the X-Men’s biggest solo star. Even with the popularity of the Krakoa Era, he’s still the only member of the team with his own solo ongoing. Wolverine, by writer Benjamin Percy and regular artist Adam Kubert with multiple back-up artists, has been hitting on all cylinders since it debuted in 2020, giving Wolverine fans the kind of action and characterization they missed while Logan was dead.
Percy has an understanding of who Wolverine is as a character. He writes Wolverine as a warrior poet by way of a dive bar, a brawler with the soul of a samurai. The book’s art teams, headlined by Kubert with artist Juan José Ryp currently knocking it out of the park, have been amazing. It’s a top tier book and among Marvel’s best solo titles.
13/17 Sabretooth And The Exiles Is A Sequel To The Krakoa Era’s Best Non-Event Miniseries
Sabretooth, by writer Victor LaValle and artist Leonard Kirk, was a welcome surprise. The book starred Sabretooth, as well as Third-Eye, Nekra, Oya, Melter, Nanny, Orphan-Maker, and Mole, and dealt with their imprisonment in the Pit, Krakoa’s prison. Exploring the topic of penal systems and the injustices inherent to it, it gave readers an excellent story with adroit social commentary.
LaValle and Kirk return for Sabretooth And The Exiles, a book that depicts Sabretooth imprisoned by Orchis after escaping the Pit on Krakoa. Hot on his trail are the other inhabitants of the Pit, given a mission by Xavier: kill Sabretooth and earn their freedom. Sabretooth was a top-notch comic, so LaValle and Kirk getting back together for this sequel is a great thing.
12/17 X-Men Red Focuses On Arakko
X-Men Red jumped to the top of Marvel’s ongoing titles. Spinning out of SWORD, X-Men Red focuses on Arakko, the transformed Mars, as Storm, Magneto, and Sunspot work with the warlike mutants living there. Meanwhile, Cable, Whiz-Kid, Manifold and other members of SWORD are caught up in an internal war as SWORD Director Abigail Brand tries to consolidate her power and do the bidding of her secret allies in the Orchis Initiative.
Written by Al Ewing with art by regular artist Stefano Caselli and multiple fill-in artists, X-Men Red is the big time sci-fi X-Men book. SWORD was remarkably uneven, but this book trims the fat and turns in a comic that does everything right.
11/17 Immortal X-Men Is The Crown Jewel Of The X-Men Books
Since writer Jonathan Hickman left, X-Men has been an empty book. Technically, the flagship book’s “style and no substance” stories have turned off a lot of readers. However, there’s a better choice for flagship of the line and that’s Immortal X-Men, by writer Kieron Gillen and artists Lucas Werneck and Michele Bandini.
Following the members of Krakoa’s Quiet Council, Immortal X-Men combines big time intrigue, behind-the-scenes politicking, and pulse-pounding action with the best characterization of any current X-Men book. Every issue is a work of art, focusing on one member of the Council, while laying out their machinations. Immortal X-Men is the book X-Men fans have craved since the Krakoa Era started, and it delivers every time.
10/17 Avengers: Under Siege Follows The Team In Their Darkest Hour
The Avengers have become the most popular superhero team ever because of the MCU. For fans who want to see why they earned the appellation “Earth’s Greatest Heroes” in the comics, they need look no further than Avengers: Under Siege, by writer Roger Stern and artist John Buscema. The story pits the team against the Masters of Evil in their most desperate battle.
This story shows the Avengers in a position they aren’t used to, defeated by their enemies. With their home taken from them and their greatest members down and out, the team has to pull a victory from the jaws of defeat. Stern and Buscema are an amazing team, and they created an Avengers story no one will forget.
9/17 X-Men: Mutant Genesis Presents Everything Great About The Team
The X-Men are among Marvel’s most important teams, and there are many great stories to choose from. X-Men: Mutant Genesis, by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, lays out exactly who the X-Men are at their core. Introducing the Blue Team to readers and pitting them against Magneto and his Acolytes, it’s as close to a perfect encapsulation of the X-Men as possible.
X-Men: Mutant Genesis delivers an action-packed epic that has it all: killer art, amazing writing, and an introduction to the X-Men mythos that will make a new reader want to dive deeper. Even thirty years later, it still stands out as a highlight for the X-Men.
8/17 Captain America By Ed Brubaker Omnibus Vol. 1 Contains The Best Captain America Stories In Decades
Captain America comics have their ups and downs in quality, but the best overall run in decades is Ed Brubaker’s. Captain America By Ed Brubaker Omnibus Vol. 1, with artists Steve Epting, Mike Perkins, and Michael Lark, is the beginning of Brubaker’s epic, collecting the first twenty-five issues of his run, including the classic Winter Soldier storyline.
Collecting the entire epic of Captain America’s battle against his former friend, Captain America By Ed Brubaker Omnibus Vol. 1 presents peak Captain America. There are few Cap stories out there that can match it, and it’s definitely a story that every Marvel fan needs to check out.
7/17 Old Man Logan Is A Superhero Western Like No Other
Wolverine has starred in some breathtaking adventures. The character works in just about any type of story, and Old Man Logan, by writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven, is a perfect example of that. The story is basically a superhero Western set in an apocalyptic future.
Old Man Logan follows a pacifist Wolverine embarking on one last job with an elderly Hawkeye to get money to pay off the Hulk Gang. An action-packed book full of great characterization and world-building, it shows not just the versatility of Wolverine but the Marvel Universe in general. It’s a blood-soaked epic, and it behooves every Marvel fan to read it.
6/17 Infinity War Doesn’t Get The Credit It Deserves
Infinity War, by writer Jim Starlin and artist Ron Lim, is the sequel to Infinity Gauntlet, which is a tough act to follow. For this reason, it’s Marvel’s most underrated event book, overshadowed by what came before. This is completely unfair to the comic, which, in a lot of ways, is superior to its predecessor.
Infinity War follows the heroes of the Marvel Universe battling against a hidden foe, Adam Warlock’s dark side, the Magus, who has them beat at every turn. Starring the best and brightest Marvel heroes, it even makes Thanos a convincing hero. It’s a masterwork of plot and art, with brilliant characterization and pulse-pounding action.
5/17 Secret Wars (2015) Is A Character Study Masquerading As An Event Book
Marvel’s event cycle throughout the 2000s hurt the publisher in a lot of ways, but it produced some fantastic event books. One of the best is 2015’s Secret Wars, by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribic. Building out of Hickman’s Fantastic Four, Avengers, and New Avengers, it presented the aftermath of the Incursions, with Doctor Doom of all people saving creation.
More than just a simple battle between the heroes and Doctor Doom, Hickman dives deep into Doom and his conflict with Reed Richards in this story. Between that and Ribic’s breathtaking art, Secret Wars demonstrates exactly what a Marvel comic can do.
4/17 Marvel Boy Is Grant Morrison Madness In The Marvel Universe
Grant Morrison’s time at Marvel was short, but they produced some great work. One of the best is Marvel Boy, with artist J. G. Jones. This six-issue Marvel masterpiece stars Noh-Varr, an alternate universe genetically engineered Kree soldier. His ship is shot down in the 616 universe, the crew killed, and he’s captured by the evil Doctor Midas and his daughter Oubliette.
What follows is Morrison unleashing their personal brand of superhero wildness on the Marvel Universe. Full of big ideas, wonderful art, and more witty humor than one can shake a stick at, Marvel Boy proves a wild ride that has to be read to be believed.
3/17 Earth X Is The Marvel Universe Boiled Down To Its Essence
Superhero comics are full of amazing alternate universes, and Marvel is no different. One of the finest comes from Earth X, based on an idea from and with covers by Alex Ross, written by Jim Krueger, with art by John Paul Leon. Taking place in an alternate future where everyone has superpowers, the Inhumans return with a warning just as a new evil attacks the US.
Earth X touches on every corner of the Marvel Universe in an epic that will change the way readers look at Marvel forever. Tying the origin of superpowers to its narrative, it’s as much about Marvel history as it is its future.
2/17 Infinity Gauntlet Is Marvel’s Biggest Epic
Infinity Gauntlet redefined the event book at Marvel. Written by writer Jim Starlin with art by George Pèrez and Ron Lim, the epic battle between the heroes and cosmic beings of Marvel against the Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos has become legendary in the minds of Marvel fans.
This amazing story gave the MCU the inspiration it needed to become the biggest movie franchise ever. Infinity Gauntlet made Thanos a big deal again in the Marvel Universe, reintroduced Adam Warlock to a new generation of readers, and is chock full of action. It’s expertly written and masterfully drawn, a true epic in every sense of the word.
1/17 Squadron Supreme Is Marvel’s Closest Watchmen Equivalent
Marvel doesn’t have the same artistic pedigree as DC, but it has some gems of its own. Foremost among them is Squadron Supreme, by writer Mark Gruenwald and artists Bob Hall, Paul Ryan, and John Buscema. Its complicated and ambiguous narrative stars Marvel’s Justice League pastiche deciding to take power over their world.
Squadron Supreme took a serious look at superheroes in a way few Marvel books have. It’s still definitely a Marvel-style superhero comic, but that’s not always a bad thing, and it has its moments of brilliance. Squadron Supreme is a powerful story, one that questions the role of superheroes in its world, and what could happen in a real-world setting if people with superpowers existed.
