Hi I’m new to comics and comic vine and want to start reading Amazing Spider-Man but have no idea where to start. So where is a good place to start without reading all 600 issues and not being lost in the story and if it helps i watched the Spider-Man show in the 90's

 Thanks   

Kind of in the same situation as you. Loved watching spider-man as a kid (90's show) and want to start with the comics but with so many its a bit overwhelming to say the least.

Can anyone help me and Alicabob out

I would prefer to pick up the new stuff but i don't want to be lost so if i have to go back a bit and start from there thats ok 

Don't start with Origin of Species, it sucks.

Oh, and another thing. Don't listen to people who say "it sucks" or "it's awesome." Whenever you're interested in trying something, it's best to read through it yourself and make your own opinion about it.

I'd say either start with origin of species or maybe wait until Big Time starts in November

" Oh, and another thing. Don't listen to people who say "it sucks" or "it's awesome." Whenever you're interested in trying something, it's best to read through it yourself and make your own opinion about it. "

I think Big Time, which begins this November, is a good jumping on point. That said, I agree with @The Angry Comic Book Critic that ASM is really accessible and you can practically start wherever you want. You can get The Gauntlet by collecting the recent trades if you want a relatively recent starting point, or even start from the very beginning with the Essential trades (collecting early Lee/Ditko issues) or Marvel Digital Comics and read issues from the 60s, 70s and then onward.  
 
Best of luck, and enjoy! 

start with 600 and then go form there. 600 kicks off the final chapter of one more day

" Don't start with Origin of Species, it sucks. "

" @Detektor said:

" Don't start with Origin of Species, it sucks. "

Indeed. Start with 'BIG TIME'. "

 You can Start with Grim Hunt.  That started somewhere in the 630's

Ok i think im just going to wait till Big Time starts and read from there thanks to everyone for the help

If you want the best run on the character I'd say Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run. Modern stuff I'd just finish reading New Ways to Die and it's okay.

id say 600 is a good point. i read a lot when i was a kid and restarted at 690 and it seemed great. some of the early 600+ stink, but after 606 or so its pretty awesome. also, if you buy one of these books like The Ultimate Guide to Spider-Man they can really help a ton. that and comicvine is great for the character profiles, but watch out for spoilers!

Big Time is a great place to start. And yes Spider-Man stories are extremely easy to jump into no matter the number on the cover.

<p>This Amazon list shows all the collections from issue #546 (Brand New Day) to #647 (Origin of Species). Should I just read Brand New Day and skip to Origin of Species? I'd like to read a lot but I can't exactly afford too much. Which ones between those two should I read?</p>

http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Spider-Man-Brand-Complete-Collection/lm/R3HFGLKLR0STBN

This thread has been extremely informative and awesome for me as a new spidey reader. However, I am also in the same boat as the above reader. I have chosen to buy trades between brand new day and the most recent arcs, so are there recommendations for which trades in this timeline I should make sure to read and which can be skipped?

@lou00: dude i just joined comic vine and comics too and i asked the same question. i would also like to know where to start but i just ordered some key issues that should be here soon. i got some key goblin issues, shadow land, rage of the rhino and some other awesome battles.

I started with ASM 678 and enjoyed mostly everything Dan Slott wrote between then and 700. So I would say the tpb for Trouble on the Horizon and Ends of the Earth are good places to start. I've also heard The Gauntlet Book 5 - Lizard is a great story.

Watching the 90's cartoon won't help you except to know the names and slight back story of each character. The cartoon was pretty much it's own entity with tweeks to the characters to bring them up to date for a 90's audience. (i miss that cartoon) If you're just starting to read Spidy you'll have to start with something after the One More Day arc. Don't read the arc, it will just confuse you since it retcons previous Spidy stories. And Supiorior Spidy is Doc Ock in Peter's body so start somewhere before then I guess. Good luck, I'm gonna go find the cartoon and rewatch it.

lol you forgot the part where spider-man is actually able to punch people in the comics, he couldnt get away with that in the cartoon XD

I am so glad I realized this thread was years old before I went to post, because it made the subsequent answers make a lot more sense.

Honestly I'm a little confused why anyone looking to catch up with the modern story would even bother reading all the way back from OMD, seeing as Superior was clearly designed as a jumping on point for new Spider-Man readers. The character who led ASM for all that time is completely dead right now, so it's not exactly background for SSM.

He'll be back though. They always do.

Start from issue #300....Pete is married,the comics are written in a modern -like today-way,so you dont get bored by reading 60s and 70s dialog......and as i understand you know some villians and generaly Spider-Man from the series most of the villians are introduced,but in #300 you find the first Venom appearance,so its preety exciting!

I also want to start reading spider man and i want to witness the gwen stacy death and when peter gets together with mary jane etc but i dont want to read AAALLL the issues of amazing spider man so can you tell me where to start and how many issues to skip and so on?

Why do you not want to read them all?

You can get the essentials and they are not expensive.

@mikail174 said:

Keep in mind that Peter and Mary Jane split a lot before they finally get married. I recommend getting Essential Spider-Man volumes two, three, and six. I recommend volumes two and three because they introduce Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane, as well as the development in Peter and Gwen's relationship. Volume six includes The Death of Gwen Stacy. Near the end of that volume, Peter and Mary Jane start dating. After that, if you want to see Mary Jane find out that Peter is Spider-Man, pick up the Birth of Venom trade paperback. Included in that book are issues #257-258, where Mary Jane finds out Peter is Spider-Man. After that, they date on-and-off.

Im also looking to start reading spiderman but from the begginning, is there like some sort of "volumes" all the way to where the spider is now?

Well I liked Spider-man since the first movie of the raimy trilogy came out , I was like 6-7 y/o back then...Bue I had never read a comic until a while ago, because Spider-man was always my favorite hero from cartoons and everything I decided to try his comic.
Looked it up on the internet and people said I should start from civil war , but I was afraid I was gonna be lost so I started like 10 numbers before..
Then after I reached the current number I just went back and started from TASM #1 and read all of it until the part I had read already... This was like 5 years ago. Glad I did , Spidey is the best super hero ever

I'd say Return of the Sinister Six