Comic Chronology

May 25, 2007 12:02 PM

Is there an agreed upon chronology for where Amazing Spiderman annuals fit into the the regular issues? How about X-men annuals?

I have both the Amazing Spiderman and X-men comics from the past 40 years on disc. I'd like to read them in order but I don't know where the annuals fit in. Is there an accepted or agreed upon list of what issues the annuals come between? I'm looking for where they fit chronologically, not what month and year they were printed.

posted by stavx to media & arts (6 comments total)

In my experience (granted this was 12 years ago), the annuals would usually tell you where they fit into the storyline with those little yellow boxes that Marvel loved.*

*Editor: See issue 412.
posted by drezdn at 12:25 PM on May 25, 2007

Or they would tell you where they fit in the regular comic if the heroes suddenly appeared mid comic or at the beginning in an unusual place

Ex:

Editor: This issue takes place right after the X-Men Annual, on sale NOW.

Basically, they fit whereever they fit.

Also, don't go reading X-men or Spiderman and expect them to make sense over the long haul. Dead people come back, characters change personalities. This happens a lot when creatve teams shift in and out.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:33 PM on May 25, 2007

Thirding drezdn and BB, the caption box is your friend.
However, there is an in the works Spidey Chronology here, but it includes "untold stories", flashabacks, and retcons which may be confusing if the only run you have is Amazing Spider-Man. You could also check this out, though it looks like a real dog's breakfast to me.

There's also a fellow who makes chronologically complete Marvel Comics torrents for downloading; I'm a little reluctant about linking to a torrent site from AskMe, but with a little googling you could probably find him and send him an e-mail asking if he has a chronology list he could share with you.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:00 PM on May 25, 2007

I don't know if there is any agreed upon chronology. Usually annual stories are going to be self-contained, or at least to storylines running through other annuals. So if you read the annual at the end of the year it's for you should be good.

If you know what month the annual is published in you're almost certainly safe to read the annual after that month's issue. The editors aren't going to let the annual include spoilers for a continuing storyline.

The easy thing to do is read the annual once it is referenced by another issue, and if it isn't referenced in any issue then to read it after the December issue.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:04 PM on May 25, 2007

If you know what month the annual is published in you're almost certainly safe to read the annual after that month's issue.

This is exactly right. And if an annual for some reason fits elsewhere in the chronology, it'll tell you up front.

(I just got my Fantastic Four DVD on Wednesday.)
posted by jdroth at 2:18 PM on May 25, 2007

This "Masterworks-by-the-Month" chronology will take you through mid-1968. Annuals are generally listed right after the monthly issue for the same title.

This Margel Comics Group: 1939-1980 page will take you farther and is much more detailed; but it's harder to navigate.
posted by macrone at 3:55 PM on May 25, 2007 [1 favorite]