Summary

For the last 10 to 20 class , Marvel Comicshas been a prevailing force-out in popular culture . With an 80 - yr history and an entire cinematic universe to its name , Marvel is sure as shooting not short of stories to keep lector entertained for 60 minutes . Fans looking to expand beyond the screen and branch out into the mankind of comics to find a unmarried , standalone fib to read in one sitting may be a intimidating prospect , but they do exist … if you know where to look .

While chief competitorDC Comicshas traditionally had more standalone , “ evergreen ” story that can be collected into a undivided trade paperback , for a recollective time Marvel has stuck to the traditional example of the never - ending account of monthly comic books . The publisher has tread up its plot over the last few decades , though , with several memorable comics that can be collected on their own . Narrowing it down to a inclination of 15 is no easy feat , but here is a excerption of Marvel write up that can be interpret in a single day .

15House of X/Powers of X

Two Concurrent Miniseries Reinvent the X-Men

The “ Krakoa ” geological era ofX - Menkicked off with the issue of these two 2019 miniseries , which launched the dealership into a sheer new eld that has shaped the X - titles ever since . Jonathan Hickman ’s dense and intricate plan of attack to storytelling is evident on every page , and artistic confederate Jorge Jimenez and Pepe Larraz bring an vigour and verve to the visuals as only two superstar talents can . With these two intertwining miniseries , the disco biscuit - Men are set on a course that is still matte up to this day , as all subsequent X - titles have followed the guide and overall steering that Hickman , Jimenez and Larraz instal here .

14Secret Wars(2015)

The Marvel Universe Comes to an End

In what may be the largest crossing over in Marvel history , Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic ’s update ofSecret Warsfeels like the mop up of one chapter and the kickoff of another for the Marvel Universe . The story sees the various ground in the larger Marvel multiverse crash into a individual Earth love asBattleworld . In an epic nine - government issue serial publication that sees the expiry and rebirth of the mainline 616 universe , perhaps the most significant case of the 2015Secret Warsis the remainder of the Ultimate line , which reserve Spider - Man Miles Morales to get out that universe and become a part of the master Marvel continuity for the first time .

13"Black Panther: Panther’s Rage"

T’Challa Meets Killmonger in One of Wakanda’s Seminal Stories

While Black Panther first appeared in the Thomas Nelson Page ofFantastic Four , the character did n’t unfeignedly come into his own as a solo hero until this 1972 plot line . Coming from author Don McGregor and artist Rich Buckler , Gil Kane and Billy Graham , the multipart “ Panther ’s Rage ” that range inJungle Action#6 - 18 is an epic in every sensory faculty of the word , recount the story of a king who loses his realm and must campaign to reclaim the throne . For the first time , Wakanda is flesh out in a means that made the self-governing nation finger like a living , respire place , and T’Challa and his endorse stamp are given greater depth than ever before . Perhaps most pregnant of all is the intro ofKillmonger , the Panther ’s most personal and longest - lasting villain , who would later be the featured antagonist in the 2018 celluloid .

12Marvel: 1602

Neil Gaiman ’s introduction Marvel piece of work is one of the author ’s very good cause in strip , a beautiful festivity of Marvel ’s classic theatrical role in a totally young setting . Working with artist Andy Kubert , Gaiman ’s eight - takings miniseries from 2003 refashions the Marvel Universe for the Elizabethan old age . Doctor Strange is reimagined as the court physician of Elizabeth I , while mutants are known as the “ witchbreed ” and subjected to the Spanish Inquisition . It all leave in a history that captures the essential magic of the Marvel Universe , stripping away the furnishing of continuity to make the characters fresh and new once again .

11Spider-Man: Blue

Spider-Man & Gwen Stacy’s Love is Given the Spotlight It Deserves

The team ofJeph Loeb and Tim Salecreated some of the most iconic superhero stories of all time , andSpider - valet : Bluefrom 2002 - 03 just might be the jacket jewel of their Marvel work . fictionalize the story of how Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy fell in love , Loeb and Sale distill all the angst and heartbreak of the classicSpider - Mancomics into six take . Parker struggles to balance his life story as Spider - Man with his love life , more often than not succumbing to the old Parker luck as a resolution . It gives Sale the excuse to depict most of Spider - Man ’s colorful rogues ' gallery , and the emotional gut punch at the end remains a powerfully moving instant to this Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .

10"The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank"

The Punisher Brings His War Into a New Millennium

While it was n’t the first Punisher story that Garth Ennis write , “ Welcome Back , Frank ” was easy the most important . team up with hisPreacherartist Steve Dillon , Ennis returns Frank Castle to his former glory , taking a back - to - basics approach that successfully bring the character into the new millenary . Ennis would preserve to drop a line the character for much of the ' 00s , setting the tone of voice for the Punisher for intimately everyone who has take on him since . It all start here , though , where Frank Castle comes back from his supposed death and wage warfare on the Gnucci offence family . Equally screaming and horrifying , “ receive Back , Frank ” is one of the bestPunisherstories of all meter .

9Inhumans

Marvel’s Forgotten Super-Family Get the Spotlight They Deserve

Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee’sMarvel KnightsInhumansseries from 1998 contain one of Marvel ’s least - known properties and turned them into major characters . This Eisner honor - winning twelve - issue series direct the Inhumans and refashions the holding with political machination , Game of Thrones - panache powerfulness - plays and commentary on the course of instruction organisation . Black Bolt and his imperial family struggle to hold the vaulted metropolis of Attilan together as his comrade Maximus stir objection while the city faces threats from the extraneous world in a plot fill with complexity and shade . Inhumansbrought the titular royal family into the spot , and has yet to be matched in the years since .

8"Moon Knight: From the Dead"

Marc Spector’s Personalities Take on a New Role

Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey ’s six - issue ladder onMoon Knightin 2013 was another near - consummate revamp , study the Fist of Khonshu and reworking him for the 2010s . Ellis and Shalvey take the canonic concept of Marc Spector ’s various personality and refashion them into something more tactical . Perhaps most memorable is the“Mr . Knight”persona , which see Moon Knight swop in his tights for a sharp - looking white suit of clothes as he provides assist to constabulary enforcement on case with a supernatural bent . Each issue severalise its own standalone story , as Moon Knight takes on ghosts , a bizarre eternal rest experimentation and a graveyard of mushrooms , result in one of the persona ’s best run in comic strip .

7Alias

Jessica Jones Embraces the Dark Side of the Marvel Universe

As the launching title in Marvel ’s “ adult ” Only MAX line , Aliashit the comic industry like a dud when it launched in 2001 . Brian Bendis and Michael Gaydos crafted a 28 - topic run chronicling the adventures of Jessica Jones , a former superhero who gives up the tights to play as a secret investigator . With the exemption to tell a gritty private eye storey detached from the constrictions of the Comics Code , Aliasexplores the seedier side of the Marvel Universe . InJessica Jones , Bendis and Gaydos created a character to tolerate alongside the top Marvel heroes , and she ’s been a major player ever since .

6"Wolverine: Enemy of the State"

Wolverine Slices and Dices His Way Through the Marvel Universe

Mark Millar and John Romita , Jr. ’s 2004 die hard onWolverine#20 - 31 made up the epic “ Enemy of the State ” plot line , which sees Logan brainwash by a coalition of different villainous establishment in the Marvel Universe , include the Hand and Hydra . Wolverine go to wreak havoc at the behest of his young masters , with the Creator handle the Marvel Universe as the ultimate resort area . The 2nd half watch Logan riposte to his senses , where he works with SHIELD to earn revenge on the Gorgon , the uber - villain who orchestrated his snatch in the first place . Millar ’s knack for word-painting and big - budget action was never better , and Romita ’s art renders every pearl - breaking competitiveness with impeccable item .

Far Side, cowboys with hands in the air (foreground) Union soldier giving general

peanuts' charlie brown and snoopy

Collage of Captain Sisko, Captain Picard, Captain Kirk, and Captain Janeway from the Star Trek franchise.

Split image of Captain America by Ed Brubaker and Daredevil by Frank Miller

Secret_Wars_2015

Black Panther Panther’s Rage

spiderman blue

The Punisher Welcome Back Frank

Inhumans by Jae Lee

Alias

Featured Image: cropped version of “Wolverine: Enemy of the State” cover