The Top 28 Best Spider-Man Comics

Everything’s coming up Spider-Man lately. Barely a week passes without news of some new movie, TV or game featuring our favorite wall-crawler.

To celebrate our love of the wonderful wall-crawler, we're looking back on his greatest comic book stories -- not an easy feat with over 60 years of history to dig through. Be warned, though, if you've never read these stories, there are spoilers within. Most of said spoilers are decades old, but hey, you never know. And just to keep things simple, we’re limiting the list to stories focused on Peter Parker, not other characters like Miles Morales, Venom, or Spider-Gwen.

Check out the slideshow gallery below or scroll down to see the essential Spider-Man comics every fan should read.

Spider-Verse is full of drama and high stakes, but it’s also some of the most fun you’ll have reading a Spider-Man comic. The crossover pays tribute to many different incarnations of the Spidey franchise in comics and television. Even the Spider-Men from the 1960’s animated series and the Hostess Fruit Pies ads are drawn into this fight.

By their own admission, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko never had a solid plan in mind for who was behind the mask of the Green Goblin when they created him. Luckily, the eventual decision to make him Norman Osborn in this two-parter became one of the most crucial moments of the entire Spidey saga. Having been recently acquainted with Harry Osborn at school, Norman’s role as the Goblin instantly created a personal connection to the character that would go on to become Spidey’s most popular rogue.

Ultimatum is widely regarded as one of the worst Marvel Comics crossovers ever published, but it's not all bad. Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen truly made lemonade out of lemons when their ongoing Ultimate Spider-Man series tied into the event and explored how Peter Parker dealt with the massive climate catastrophe unfolding in New York City.

Dan Slott has the longest tenure of any Amazing Spider-Man writer, and it goes without saying he did a lot to reshape the franchise and redefine Peter Parker during that time. No Slott-penned storyline was more ground-breaking or controversial than Superior Spider-Man, a book wherein Doctor Octopus’ mind took over Peter Parker’s body and set out to prove himself as the better hero.