Started reading comics in release order and it completely changed how I see Marvel's 1960s stuff

I always bounced around picking up random issues from different eras, but last month I decided to go back and read Fantastic Four from issue #1 in order. Man, what a difference. I figured it would feel dated and slow, but the way Stan Lee and Jack Kirby built the team dynamic issue by issue actually made me understand why the early stuff matters. The thing is, my buddy swears reading by event arcs or by character is the only way to go because jumping around keeps it fresh. He says going in order makes you slog through filler issues that kill the momentum. I gotta admit, after hitting issue #50 I started to feel the drag with some of those monster of the month stories. But then you hit a big reveal like the coming of Galactus and it hits way harder because you watched them grow into it. So who's right here, is reading in release order the real deal or does jumping around by key arcs keep the fun alive? What's your take on this?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_john7d ago

Try mix of both, read arcs in order but skip the filler issues you know are weak.

anna_shah97d ago

Your buddy probably reads Wikipedia summaries and calls it a day.