Friday Recommendation: A Handy Avengers Comic Guide For Movie Goers Who Don’t Read Comics

By now, you are probably like most people who saw the Avengers and loved it. You probably loved it so much you went out and bought shawarma because of that one funny line. It’s ok, we get it; it was a pretty funny line.

But what if shawarma had never entered the equation? What if Tony Stark had said, “Hey, guys, lets go get some comics. I saw a cool comic store down the street”? Where would you go in the comic store if you were looking for something similar to the Avengers experience?

That’s what today’s Friday Recommendation is all about. I’m going to do my best to point you in the direction of a few choice comics, both new and old, that have been placed in the very long path that eventually culminated in an Avengers feature film. I’ll also tell you exactly where to go if you’re looking for more adventures of whichever character you loved the most.

Consider this, as the title says, “A Handy Avengers Comic Guide For Movie Goers Who Don’t Read Comics.”

Before going further, an important note: throughout the article, I will give you handy links to Amazon if you’re feeling impulsive and just want to buy it now. However, I emphatically recommend finding a local comic store and checking it out in store. You’ll get to flip through things and see what you really might like, and you’ll get a much more personal connection to what you’re buying since you’re not just clicking links on a computer screen. The whole point of this (and, hell, The Avengers doing well at the box office in general) is to get people interested in comics, and ordering from Amazon isn’t the way to do it. If you need help finding a store, visit this link to find a local shop near you.

And while you’re there, why not check out some creator-owned comics too, eh? It doesn’t hurt, I promise.

For starters, if you brought a young one to the film and that kid loved the movie and is looking for a way to get into these characters more with you, our resident dad Brandon Burpee recommends the Marvel Press all-ages book series, starting with “The Mighty Avengers: An Origin Story” by Rich Thomas and Pat Olliffe. Featuring great art and a re-interpretation of the classic battle against Loki, it’s a great entry point for kids looking for a way into Marvel comics, and it’s also a great book for parents to read to their kids at bed time if your kid is a superhero fan. This book is also just one part of a larger series of books you can get, featuring origin stories of the movie characters for Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America but also Spider-Man and the X-Men.

Next, the writer/director, Joss Whedon. If you have any nerd in you whatsoever, then I’m sure you know already that Joss is the man behind the hit television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, as well as Firefly and Dollhouse. He’s also half of the team that brought you Cabin in the Woods, still in theaters and quite amazing.

If you’d like a comic written by him, though, and you don’t fancy getting into Buffy at the moment, Joss has a widely acclaimed and infinitely accessible run on “Astonishing X-Men” that is absolutely perfect for new comic readers. Sure, you won’t get any Avengers in it, but it is a fantastic story that has been largely influential on what came after (and it is arguably one of the two most influential runs of the past decade). You don’t need to know anything about the X-Men going into it that you wouldn’t have learned from the movies, and in fact you may begin to notice some similarities between the third movie and this book. The book also features fantastic art by John Cassaday that you will fall in love with – and if you like that, you should see his work in “Planetary.” (But that’s not really related. Not really.)

If you’d like to check it out, you have three easy options: you can get it all in one big hardcover (looks great on your shelves, if you’re a collector), you can get it in two nice softcovers, or you can get it in four trade paperbacks broken up by story. Pick your poison!

Moving on, now it is time to get into the characters a bit more.Things get a little bit more complicated in terms of the wide variety of options, but stay with us, as we will be providing links to all your Avenging needs.

The Avengers
First appearance: The Avengers as a team first appeared in — you guessed it! — “the Avengers” #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Featuring a different line-up than you saw in the film, it is a classic story among classic stories, and it is one that is highly recommended. You can find it either in the Avengers omnibus (a bit pricy, if you ask me), the Marvel Masterworks collection (my personal recommendation, due to the quality of page and inclusion of colors) or the Essentials collection (not personally recommended, but it’s the cheapest option).

You can also check out Joe Casey and Phil Noto’s “Avengers: Origin“, a modern day re-telling of the classic tale that is honestly quite good.

Classic: If you’re looking beyond the original Avengers stories, you have a ton of great options awaiting you. As with most of the following, there are different versions of the definition of “classic Avengers” based on when a reader came to comics, but the nice thing about the Avengers is the wide variety of options awaiting you. For example, you can check out “Avengers Under Siege”, a book that comes with the emphatic Chad Bowers seal of approval; you can check out the absolute classic “Kree Skrull War”, which is a story that has heavily influenced modern day Avengers comics and was recently collected in a hardcover; you can check out all of Kurt Busiek and George Perez’s classic run (currently collected in three trade paperbacks with a fourth on the way); and, if you can find it, my favorite Avengers villain of all time Kang the Conqueror has a great story in “Time and Time Again” and the capstone to the Busiek Avengers run, “Avengers Forever.”

Not only that, but if you are looking for the book that holds a heavy influence on the film, you’re going to want Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s “The Ultimates,” a book ostensibly made for non-regular readers who are looking for a continuity-free way to enjoy the Avengers. Featuring heavy pop culture references, the Sam Jackson version of Nick Fury and the Chitauri, its the book from which the movie pulls from the most obviously. There are a bunch of different ways to check out “The Ultimates,” from omnibi to several trades, but for my money I’d say you’re best off just checking out the first entire volume of “the Ultimates” in one trade paperback and moving on from there if you like it.

Modern: If you’re planning to walk into a comic store tomorrow and are looking for a monthly book starring the Avengers you saw in the film that is quite literally geared toward a new reader like you, look no further than “Avengers Assemble” by Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley. On its third issue as of this week, it is very much geared for someone who is walking out of the theater and looking for an Avengers book to suit their needs.

Captain America
First Appearance: This will probably come as no surprise to you, but Captain America’s first appearance was in “Captain America Comics” #1 where he punched Hitler in the face. A new volume of the Golden Age tale is on the way from Marvel later this year, but in the mean time Omnibus, Marvel Masterworks and Essential volumes you’ll find on stands do not contain this story. They’re still quite good, don’t get me wrong, but the first appearance of Cap is hard to find unless your shop still has the Golden Age Marvel Masterworks lying around.

If you’re looking for when Captain America was unfrozen and joined the Avengers, check out the previously mentioned Avengers classic collections. You could also check out “Man out of Time” by Mark Waid and Jorge Molina for an interesting update to the tale, chronicling the days immediately after Cap’s awakening.

Classic: Again, as with the Avengers “classic” is in the eye of the beholder, but truth be told if you have a little money to spend you’d be hard pressed to find a run of Captain America more energetic and exciting than the omnibus collection by his co-creator Jack Kirby. Kirby’s work is kinetic and an absolute joy to read, and it not only transcends time in its accessibility but it remains all-ages to this day. However, if you want a run a bit closer to modern day, Mark Gruenwald had a rather prolific run on the book in the 80’s which has been collected in books like “Scourge of the Underworld” and “The Captain,” in which Captain America quits being Captain America for a while.

Modern: In today’s day and age you’d be hard pressed to find a Captain America more important or prolific than the one by Ed Brubaker. Beginning in 2004, Brubaker has taken Cap down a long road of mystery and suspense in a fantastic thriller, starting with “Winter Soldier”. It’s a very long run that features the death and rebirth of Cap (both as a man and as a symbol), but if you want to start at the beginning, it’s all in “Winter Soldier.”

If you’re looking fo a book to pick up monthly, though, the book recently relaunched with a new #1 to be more new-reader friendly with Brubaker still at the helm, and as of this week there are 11 issues out of that (with the first five issues already collected).

Iron Man

First Appearance: Good ol’ Tony Stark. First appearing in “Tales of Suspense” #39, Iron Man has certainly had a steady rise to prominence as a character. Unlike Cap but like the Avengers, you can find his earliest days in an omnibus, Marvel Masterworks and an Essential collection.

Classic: There are many good Iron Man stories, but for my money the classic Iron Man story that is the single most influential of them all is “Demon in a Bottle.” It’s a nine-issue story that deals with Iron Man’s alcholic problems and features both his superhero life and personal one mixed together. It is also arguably the single most Iron Man story since his original origin story, as it has gone on to define the character completely. I couldn’t recommend any book higher than this for those looking for the definitive Iron Man.

But hey, if you do want more, you should take a look at “Armor Wars” and “Extremis,” both of which hold importance both to the comics and to the film adaptations.

Modern: Iron Man is currently written by Matt Fraction in “Invincible Iron Man”, launched in July of 2008 after the events of “Civil War” and in time with the launch of the movie. The basic idea of the book was to give movie goers a brand new jumping on point that they could easily get into. Unlike “Captain America,” however, “Invincible Iron Man” has not had a recent relaunch or jumping on point. You’re best off grabbing the first two omnibi of stories and working your way up from there, as Fraction has been pulling of a long con since his first issue that is just seeing pay-off now.

Also, for the record, the Iron Man story Fraction is telling technically begins in “the Order” of which there are two volumes, which you should pick up if you’re enjoying “Invincible Iron Man.” It happens to be my second favorite Marvel book Fraction has written since coming to Marvel.

Thor

First Appearance: Thor first appeared in the pages of “Journey Into Mystery”, #83 to be specific, in which young Donald Blake unlocks the power of Thor via a magic walking stick. Like Iron Man, you can find his first appearances in an omnibus, in the Marvel Masterworks collection or Essential.

Classic: Like Iron Man, there is truly one major definitive story for Thor, and that is the entirety of Walt Simonson’s run. Reveling in mythology and introducing characters now considered classic left and ride, you’d be hard pressed to find a better overall Thor story than this one. It was recently collected in an omnibus format, and I would emphatically recommend that if you love Thor, you should plop down the money for this wonderful collection of classic stories. You could also try and track down “Thor Visionaries – Walt Simonson” (of which there are five volumes), but those are out of print.

Modern: Also like Iron Man, Thor is currently being written by Matt Fraction in the pages of “The Mighty Thor,” which span out of the page sof “Thor” in time for the launch of the movie. The most recent issue, #13, is a perfect jumping on point. If you enjoy what you see here, there is already a “Mighty Thor” collection by Fraction available with a second on the way in June, and you can find past stories of Thor by Fraction in “Ages of Thunder,” “Secret Invasion: Thor,” and “The World Eaters.”

Hulk

First Appearance: The jolly green giant first made his appearance in “The Incredible Hulk” #1, which you can find in an omnibus, in the Marvel Masterworks collection or Essential.

Classic: This isn’t as classic as the other books referenced throughout this column, but truth be told the Hulk story that I personally am most fond of is “Planet Hulk” by Greg Pak. It is perhaps the first story I ever read of the Hulk that truly played up the characters strengths, with the writer clearly holding the character to great esteem. Telling the story of Hulk being exiled from Earth due to being a volatile time bomb, Hulk is given the Gladiator treatment in a John Carter-esque adventure which went on to inform the character’s stories for the next few years. Pak would go on to write the character until last year, and at no point have I ever read a Hulk story where the character was treated as a three-dimensional being and not a smash-tastic monster.

Is this “classic” in the traditional terminology? Not really. But in the world of Hulk, it is a bit hard to recommend good collections of early stories, specifically because they’re quite hard to find. However, if you can find them, Peter David has a pretty prolific run on the character with some classic stories (including the introduction of Maestro, an alternate supervillain version of the Hulk that absolutely dominates) that are collected in “Hulk Visionaries: Peter David” vol. 1-8. Again, a bit hard to find, but worth it if you can.

Modern: The adventures of Hulk can be currently found in “The Incredible Hulk” by Jason Aaron. It is not the most friendly book for fans of the movie considering it features a radically different version of Hulk and is not really heavy on the whole “SMASH!” bit, but outside of previously mentioned “Avengers Assemble” that’s where you’re going to find him.

Black Widow

First Appearance: Natalia Romanova, also known as Natasha Romanoff, first appeared in the pages of “Tales of Suspense” #52. However, unlike the aforementioned heroes, there are no grand collections of her adventures in size or scope. Instead, her original appearances were collected in “the Sting of the Widow.”

More recently, Paul Cornell retold her origin in the pages of “Deadly Origin,” which fit Natasha into the Marvel Universe as it had been redefined with characters like Winter Soldier.

Classic: To this day, I’m not sure if there is a classic or definitive Black Widow tale — or rather, one that is collected and available to readers. There are still a few good collections of Black Widow stories out there. One classic collection available is “Web of Intrigue,” which features the stories of Black Widow serialized in “Marvel Fanfare” in the 80’s by George Perez and Ralph Macchio, with the modern version of the book also collecting “The Coldest War,” and while I’ve personally never read it, site member Chad Bowers tells me the Devin Grayson and Greg Rucka stories about the Black Widow are quite good, both of which are collected in “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.”

Modern: She appears regularly as the co-star of Brubaker’s “Winter Soldier,” and she is by far the better character in the book. Black Widow was also given a short lived series written by Marjorie Liu and and Duane Swierczynski which eventually dovetailed with a Hawkeye book in the pages of “Widowmaker” and picked up pieces from “Deadly Origin.”

Hawkeye

First Appearance: Appearing soon after Black Widow in the pages of “Tales of Suspense” #57, there is also no great collection of Hawkeye stories. However, his origin (as a villain, mind you!) can be found in the pages of “Avengers: Hawkeye.”

Classic: For most classic Hawkeye series you’ll probably have to look in the pages of old West Coast Avengers. However, Hawkeye got a starring role in “Solo Avengers” in the 80’s, now collected in “Avengers: Solo Avengers Classic” and had his first mini-series in the 90’s by Chuck Dixon, collected in the pages of “Hawkeye: Earth’s Mightiest Marksman.”

Modern: There is a new book by Matt Fraction and David Aja coming out soon that you should definitely get excited about, but in the meantime Jim McCann had an extended run on the character recently beginning with Mockingbird’s return in “New Avengers: The Reunion.” Fans coming to the character from the movie probably won’t recognize this version of the character, but I would imagine that that is what the Fraction/Aja book is for.

Hawkeye also leads the current iteration of the Secret Avengers, starting with “Secret Avengers” #21.1.

Not only that, but if you’re in the shop, ask them for a copy of “Avenging Spider-Man #4,” a Spidey/Hawkeye team-up that reflects the current iteration of the character and addresses his role as a non-powered human on a team of super-powered beings.

Loki

First Appearance: Loki, as we know him today, made his first appearances alongside Thor in the pages of “Journey Into Mystery”, two issues after Thor’s first appearance with #85. You can find that in all the previously linked Thor books.

Classic: Loki, being a supervillain and not a superhero, does not have many definitive solo stories. Most of the Loki stories you’re bound to find are in tandem with Thor stories, in fact. To that end, most Loki books you would buy are actually Thor books. However, the classic Loki stories that you would recognize because of the films are a) previously mentioned “Avengers” #1, in which Loki inadvertently forms the Avengers (check out the previously linked Avengers section) and b) Marvel Masterworks Thor vol. 8 (currently out of print) in which Loki takes over Asgard while Odin sleeps and set the Destroyer on Thor.

Additionally, you’d be hard pressed to find as classic a version of Loki manipulation like “Acts of Vengeance,” in which Loki manipulates all the classic Marvel villains into going after the Avengers and other heroes en masse. There is also a more modern Rob Rodi-penned Esad Ribic-illustrated Loki mini-series in which Loki takes over Asgard that is quite entertaining, recollected (among others) in “Thor/Loki: Blood Brothers.”

Modern: After dying during “Siege”, Loki (albeit not the adult version of the character) returned in the pages of Matt Fraction’s first run of “Thor” (linked above as “The World Eaters”) and currently appears in “Journey into Mystery”, which is by far one of my favorite Marvel titles. The first “Journey Into Mystery” story is a tie-in to Marvel event “Fear Itself” which you can currently get a collection of (as well as one more, with another on the way), and the current story ‘Exiled’ (which began with a one-shot) is in the pages of #637, on sale this week. (Be sure to check out the complete collection of Gillen’s “Thor” as well.)

Nick Fury

First Appearance: This is tricky – the original version of Nick Fury first appeared in the pages of “Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos” #1, which has seen its own out of print Marvel Masterworks collection. The version of the character in the film first appeared in the previously mentioned “Ultimates”. For my money, I prefer the original version of the character, but to be honest both are pretty great for different reasons.

Classic: If you want to read some classic Fury, there is no better than the Jim Steranko run of the character. It is classic spy-adventuring at its finest. You can find it in several different collections at the moment, including the eponymous “Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD” collection and “Who Is Scorpio?”, as well as the recently re-released Bob Harras written “Nick Fury vs SHIELD.”

As for the Sam Jackson Fury, just check out “The Ultimates.”

Modern: Fury appears in and out of various books (mostly “Winter Soldier”), but the last big Fury book was “Secret Warriors.” It’s a masterful espionage/action tale by Jonathan Hickman, and is about to be collected in an omnibus (and can also be found in six trades/hardcovers, starting with “Nick Fury, Agent of Nothing”). There is also a new “Fury MAX” book featuring Fury in his war days, with #1 on stands now.

As for Ultimate Fury, he appears in the pages of “Ultimate Comics: Ultimates”, #10 of which is on stands this week. There’s also a collection for the current story out now, with another on the way.

Maria Hill

First Appearance: Maria Hill, badass SHIELD agent and the second newest character in the Avengers, made her first appearance in “New Avengers” #4 in 2005, which is collected “New Avengers: Breakout.”

Classic: For Maria Hill you can be sure to check out almost any Bendis-written book post-“New Avengers” #4 and “Secret War” in which she was appointed Executive Director of SHIELD when Fury went AWOL for a few years. She also had a rather large role in the pages of “Civil War” and the follow-up series “Iron Man, Director of SHIELD.”

Modern: Hill currently works with the current iteration of Avengers, most of which has already been collected into a few trades (starting with the eponymous first volume), and #25 of which is on stands now.

Phil Coulson

First Appearance: Coulson’s first appearance was in Iron Man as a lovable SHIELD agent who wouldn’t leave Tony Stark alone, but he was recently put into Marvel continuity in the pages of “Battle Scars,” which also introduced a black Jackson-esque Fury into Marvel continuity. All of “Battle Scars” should be available in your local shop.

Classic: Unfortunately for Phil, there is no classic version of the character. If you’re looking for it, you might as well just pop in your Iron Man DVD. If that’s not good enough, Clark Gregg has a Coulson-esque role in the finale of Sports Night that makes me smile every time I see it, especially now.

Modern: While Coulson has not appeared in the Marvel U since the “Battle Scars” finale, he is the SHIELD liaison/principal in Marvel/Disney’s Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, voiced by Clark Gregg himself.

Now the good part. Were you one of the people curious who that weird purple smiling guy was in the first stinger during the Avengers? Did you think he was Hellboy, or Galacto, or “the red guy from Green Lantern,” or any number of possible option? Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was Thanos, one of the best Marvel villains to ever appear in the Marvel Universe since its proper continuity began. If you’re looking for somewhere to get into the character, we’ve got you covered.

Thanos

First Appearance: Despite being a cosmic villain, Thanos actually first appeared in the pages of “Iron Man,” #55 to be specific, as part of a story between “Iron Man” “Captain Marvel”, “Daredevil” and “the Avengers” that was partially collected in the out-of-print “The Life of Captain Marvel.” If you can find it, “The Death of Captain Marvel” or even “The Life And Death of Captain Marvel”, snap it up immediately.

Classic: Thanos made a triumphant return from Death (in the not collected second Thanos War) in the pages of “Silver Surfer: Return of Thanos,” in which the character searches for the Infinity Gems, a set of all-powerful gems that control various elements of reality (the first of which, the Mind Gem, was seen in Loki’s staff in the Avengers). He collects the gems and puts them into a massive weapon known as the Infinity Gauntlet, which leads to three epic cosmic stories: “The Infinity Gauntlet,” “The Infinity War”, and “The Infinity Crusade” (collected over two volumes), all of which were penned by Jim Starlin.

Starlin later revisited the story a bit in the pages of “The Infinity Abyss,” but you’ll be fine with just the previous three.

Modern: After a short-lived 12 issue solo series (collected in “Epiphany” and “Samaritan”), Thanos appeared as a main player in Marvel’s big Cosmic relaunch “Annihilation” by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning among others, whose volumes are currently (and unfortunately) out of print. If you can find “Annihilation” and its sequel “Conquest,” you’ll begin a four-year long story between several books that all dovetail into the epic “Thanos Imperative,” which is on par with the greatness of Starlin’s “Infinity” books.

The character was also just revealed to be the big bad in “Avengers Assemble” #3, on sale now.

Shwarama

Oh, just check your local Yelp listings.

Did I miss something you feel people should be checking out? Feel free to add it in in the comments below.