Superheroes are more popular and more mainstream than ever. It seems like every week there’s a new superhero movie, TV show, or videogame hitting the screens. Of course, nearly all of these superheroes and their stories originated in comic books. There are decades and decades worth of comics out there, and to a new fan it can be daunting trying to figure out which ones to read. In this column, Where to Begin, I’m gonna try my best to give new fans fun, easy-to-understand jumping-off points into the world of comics. As far as accessibility goes, most of these comics are collected and readily available from comic shops, bookstores or online from subscription services such as Comixology, Marvel Unlimited, and D.C. Universe. Additionally, I always recommend your local library as a free source of comics to read, and with inter-library loan systems you can get your hands on pretty much anything.
For Where to Begin’s debut, I’m gonna start out with unquestionably one of the most popular superheroes of all time, Spider-Man. Spider-Man’s been in the news a lot lately, with his new billion-dollar movie, Far From Home, and the ensuing custody battle between Sony and Disney over his movie rights. Even if Peter Parker’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is uncertain, his status as one of the pillars of the comic book Marvel Universe has never been in question. For all you Spider-Fans and Tom Holland Stans looking for more Spidey content, here’s where to begin.
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, by Lee, Ditko, & Romita Sr. (1963-)
Note the clever use of paneling by Ditko on “If This Be My Destiny!” 
As Spider-Man stands up, the panels become taller with him 
Culminating in his triumphant rise from defeat
Not every comic book character requires the reader to go back to the very beginning to appreciate them, but for Spider-Man, the original series still holds up as the most perfect depiction of the Web-Slinger. Everything that has come to define Spider-Man and make him special is present in this early run. The core of the series has remained unchanged all these years, with Peter trying and often failing to balance the needs and wants of his personal life with his responsibilities as Spider-Man. The series is creatively and technically astounding. Creator Steve Ditko lays out and illustrates the first 38 issues with a slight touch of the surreal befitting Spider-Man’s outsider nature and the colorful cast of villains he fights. The series is then picked up by artist John Romita Sr., whose sleek, action-hero Spider-Man would become one of the character’s most iconic iterations. And of course, it wouldn’t be Spider-Man without a few wisecracks and a lot of snappy dialogue courtesy of Stan Lee.
The original Amazing Spider-Man run is one of the most influential and innovative comics of all time. It strikes a perfect balance between offering satisfying single-issue experiences and tying together multi-issue plot threads, using a broad cast of supporting characters that was the first of its kind in comics. There were teenage superheroes before Spider-Man, but he was the first to act and talk like a regular teenager, and deal with typical teenager problems as well as super-villains. He was the first superhero to struggle with poverty, and although he defeats his villains in most issues he often ends up sad and downcast about personal problems cause by his career as Spider-Man. That is one of the most important aspects of Peter Parker’s character, as his near-constant sadness makes his moments of happiness so much more meaningful. All these things make these original Spider-Man comics not only the best introduction to the character, but also a gold standard against which all other superhero comics can be judged. The best arcs within this run are “If This Be My Destiny…!” (Issues 31-33) and “Green Goblin Reborn!” (96-98).
MARVEL TEAM-UP, various creators (1972-1985)
I don’t remember this scene in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Cover by John Romita Sr. for Marvel Team-Up 39. 
Look everyone, it’s Howard the Duck. ‘Nuff said. Cover by Alan Kupperberg for Marvel Team-Up 96. 
I hope Spider-Man’s longstanding friendship with Johnny Storm can make it to the big screen someday. Cover by John Romita Sr. for Marvel Team-Up 10.
Marvel Team-Up is a series of mostly single-issue stories in which Spider-Man partners with a different guest superhero every issue to defeat some villain. These guest stars include mainstream heroes such as Iron Man, Thor, and Wolverine, as well as more obscure characters such as Man-Thing, Adam Warlock, and Howard the Duck. Some notable Marvel artists take to the pages of Marvel Team-Up, including Ross Andru, Gil Kane, and John Byrne doing his first take on the X-Men years before he would produce his career-defining run on that title. The stories in this series aren’t super serious, deep, or consequential, but it’s always fun to see Spider-Man interacting with the Marvel Universe at large. This series is also a great way for newer comic readers to familiarize themselves with a wide variety of Marvel heroes and villains.
The Works of J.M. DeMatteis (1987-1993)
J.M. DeMatteis wrote many great Spider-Man stories, keeping the soul of Peter Parker intact while putting him in darker, more serious conflicts. I’m choosing to highlight two of his most famous arcs here, the first being “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” Kraven, a super-powered big-game hunter and longtime Spider-Man nemesis, is forced to confront his own mortality, and sets off to kill and replace Spider-Man to prove once and for all that he is the better man. With art by Mike Zeck, this arc reaches a level of creepy and bone-chilling Spider-Man rarely comes close to. This is one of the most iconic Spider-Man stories for a reason, as it takes the classic formula of Spider-Man fighting one of his numerous adversaries and flips it into a grim, almost Batman-esque battle of wills, stretching Peter within an inch of his life and revealing a lot about his character in the process. This arc has been collected many times, and should be easily available.
The other DeMatteis arc I’d like to highlight is the tragic story of Harry Osborn, told in Spectacular Spider-Man #178-184, 189-190, & 200. This story forces Peter to fight his best friend Harry, who has lost his mind, given into his father’s influence, and taken up the mantle of the Green Goblin. With artwork by Sal Buscema, this story features many callbacks to Spider-Man continuity, and uses a lot of Spider-Man’s supporting characters in heart-wrenching ways. It’s the rare superhero story that makes you wish the hero and the villain weren’t fighting. This is one of the best examples of the advantages comics can have in telling long-term emotional stories.
The Works of Dan Slott (2007-2018)
If you have enjoyed Spider-Man’s history and wanted to read some of his more recent adventures, you’ll have plenty of material in Dan Slott’s decade-long run on the character. Slott’s writings can be complex in their use of continuity, so I wouldn’t recommend making them the first Spider-Man comics you ever pick up. But once you have even a rudimentary knowledge of the character, this run is well worth your time. Slott shows the best understanding of the character of Peter Parker among modern writers, and his stories are rich and satisfying. Among Slott’s best inventions is the Spider-Verse, which provided the basis for the 2018 award-winning animated movie, Into the Spider-Verse. The man wrote Spider-Man for ten years, and there’s something in his run for every different kind of Spider-Fan.
BONUS: SPIDER-MAN: BLUE, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
If you’re into Spider-Man comics for the melodrama, boy do I have the book for you. Created by the legendary duo of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale, this tells the story of how young Peter fell for his tragically-doomed one true love, Gwen Stacy, narrated through an older Peter’s private journal. This series is equal parts fun and heart-wrenching, telling a genuinely moving story of young love and paying homage to a character that up until recent years was receiving precisely none of the respect she deserved. All the best Spider-Man stories are Peter Parker stories, and this is one of the best Peter Parker stories. If you read comics for the feelings, this is the best place to look.
That concludes my introduction into the world of Spider-Man. There are many more Spider-Man comics out there than I had space to mention, including the current ongoing series, The Amazing Spider-Man, by Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley. This series is recently relaunched, pretty accessible for new readers, and available in every comic shop in America. Leave a comment below if you have any of your own Spider-Suggestions, or if you have another character you want to see covered in a future edition of Where to Begin