Anyone deciding to start reading Marvel or DC comics faces the same problem: where to look when the heroes’ stories stretch over decades? The answer is not to start with the first issue. The most convenient entry point is a complete story of four to thirteen issues, created by one team of writers, which doesn’t require knowing the earlier events.
A comic issue is a thin booklet that usually comes out monthly. A standalone story is usually published as a miniseries with a set number of issues and then collected into one book: Wikipedia notes that collected issues can come out as a paperback (trade paperback) or a hardcover. Those collections are what to look for. Below are eight stories: four from DC and four from Marvel. The data comes from Wikipedia pages checked on October 14, 2026; author names are left in Latin script.
DC
Batman: Year One
Written by Frank Miller (script) and drawn by David Mazzucchelli, with colors by Richmond Lewis. It was published in Batman #404–407, with cover dates from February to May 1987. It is the story of Batman’s first year as a crime fighter and of Detective Jim Gordon’s first year of service in Gotham. According to Wikipedia, this story is one of the sources of inspiration for the film “Batman Begins” (2005), and Matt Reeves has called it an inspiration for “The Batman.”
For whom: for those who like gloomy detective stories without extra mythology.
Batman: The Long Halloween
Written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale; the issues came out from December 1996 to July 1997. Batman, together with District Attorney Harvey Dent and Captain Jim Gordon, hunts for a mysterious killer nicknamed Holiday, who murders people on holidays, one per month.
For whom: for those who want a detective story with a long-running mystery.
All-Star Superman
Writer: Grant Morrison; artist: Frank Quitely; colorist and inker: Jamie Grant. The issues came out from November 2005 to October 2008. Superman performs the “Twelve Labors” and tries to “make peace with the world,” because he faces death from excessive exposure to the Sun. According to Wikipedia, Morrison wanted to make the story as universal as possible, a fresh update for new readers, free of DC’s continuity constraints.
For whom: for those looking for a bright, almost fairy-tale story about a superhero.
Watchmen
Written by Alan Moore, drawn by Dave Gibbons, colored by John Higgins. Twelve issues came out from September 1986 to October 1987. The action takes place in an alternative reality that closely recreates the world of the 1980s. According to Wikipedia, Watchmen won the Hugo Award in 1988, and Time magazine included it in its list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923.
For whom: for an adult reader ready for a complex, multilayered story.
Marvel
Marvels
Written by Kurt Busiek, with art by Alex Ross, who painted everything. Four issues came out from January to April 1994, plus a zero issue in August of the same year. The story covers the period from 1939 to 1974: newspaper photographer Phil Sheldon, an ordinary man, watches the main events of the Marvel Universe from street level.
For whom: for those who want to see superheroes through the eyes of ordinary people.
The Infinity Gauntlet
Writer: Jim Starlin; George Pérez drew issues 1–3 and part of issue 4, and Ron Lim drew the rest. Six issues came out monthly from July to December 1991. The story begins with Thanos collecting all six Infinity Stones and fixing them to a gauntlet.
For whom: for those who love large-scale cosmic events.
Ultimate Spider-Man
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, initially drawn by Mark Bagley, later by Stuart Immonen and David Lafuente. The series launched the Ultimate Marvel line, which started in September 2000. According to Wikipedia, the publisher wanted to reboot the Marvel universe, because after more than 40 years of backstory it had become inaccessible to new readers. This is a modernized Spider-Man: orphan Peter Parker, a teenage prodigy from Queens, gains spider powers after being bitten by a genetically modified spider.
For whom: for those who want to start with a clean slate. This is a longer path than the miniseries above.
Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)
The character was created by editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, and co-created by G. Willow Wilson and artist Adrian Alphona. The first standalone series launched in February 2014. Kamala Khan is an American of Pakistani descent, a teenager from Jersey City who can change the shape of her body. She takes on the name Ms. Marvel from Carol Danvers after discovering Inhuman genes in herself. The collection “Ms. Marvel: No Normal” won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story.
For whom: for those who enjoy youth-oriented stories about finding yourself.
How to choose the first story
| What you want | What to pick |
|---|---|
| A gloomy detective story | Batman: Year One, The Long Halloween |
| A bright, kind story | All-Star Superman |
| Something complex and mature | Watchmen |
| Superheroes through people’s eyes | Marvels |
| A cosmic event | The Infinity Gauntlet |
| Something modern and youth-oriented | Ultimate Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel |
Tip. Don’t try to read “everything in order.” Pick one story from the table, read it to the end, and only then look for a sequel or other stories about the same hero. That way you’ll see whether you like the format itself.
If superheroes aren’t your thing but the format interests you, look at our selection of graphic novels. And for Japanese comics, which look completely different, read our article about manga, manhwa and manhua.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know the previous events?
For the stories in this selection, no: they are designed so that the reader may not know the backstory. For Ultimate Spider-Man, Wikipedia states outright that the line was created for new readers, and Morrison created All-Star Superman as a maximally universal story.
What is continuity, and why does it scare people off?
It is the “shared history” of all of a publisher’s comics: events in one story affect others. For a newcomer that is hard, so publishers occasionally launch lines “from scratch.” Ultimate Marvel is an example of such a reboot.
Are these comics available in Ukrainian?
We don’t list Ukrainian editions, because we could not check them against the publishers’ official pages. Search by title in bookstores and on the publishers’ websites.
What is better: single issues or a collection?
For a newcomer a collection is more convenient: the whole story is in one book. Single issues suit those who want to read every month and collect them.
Sources
- Batman: Year One (Wikipedia)
- Watchmen (Wikipedia)
- All-Star Superman (Wikipedia)
- Ultimate Spider-Man (Wikipedia)
- Marvels (Wikipedia)
Data was checked against live official pages and Wikipedia on October 14, 2026.
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