GoCollect Blog: Stories You Can't Miss! Episode 4 (investing-in-high-quality-storytelling-episode-4 )

There are a lot of different ways to approach comic book investing and speculation. Some people tend to focus on covers, others on print runs, and others still on first appearances. With so many different ways to engage with the hobby and the boundless creativity that the medium affords, trying to predict which characters will make it big, which covers will catch people's eyes, and which low print books could become collector's items down the line can be incredibly difficult. Difficult, but not impossible. One variable that can really help illuminate things is the quality of the storytelling.

For all my talk about considering the wider entertainment industry or minimizing risk, a lot of my success with buying and selling comics has just come from reading a lot of comics on Marvel Unlimited and buying the ones with great stories.

It is important to remember that writers often use classic and acclaimed stories as jumping-off points, making them solid investments for comic and/or movie-based speculation. Over the course of this article series, I will try to highlight some of my favorite Marvel comics, explain why they resonated with me, and hopefully get you to check one or two of them out along the way.

Angela: Asgard's Assassin, 1602, and Queen of Hel

I am not sure I have ever read a collection of comic books with more talent behind them than this trilogy of Angela stories. While each series is absolutely incredible on its own, it is the composite story they tell that elevates them from merely great to revelatory.

This should come as no surprise, given that the books represent the combined efforts of master storytellers Kieron Gillen, Marguerite Bennett, Phil Jimenez, and Stephanie Hans. Tasked with truly defining Marvel's version of Angela and her place in the universe, these creative luminaries chart a course through the entire Marvel Universe that can only be described as mesmerizing.

I have never encountered a story, comic book or otherwise, that more effortlessly and effectively blended humor, drama, love, intensity, and simplicity into one beautiful narrative. Each series masterfully builds on and connects to one another, while still retaining enough individual identity to render them meaningfully distinct. Regardless of whatever happens next to Angela, these books will always stand as a grand testament to her versatility and the wonderous storytelling that comic books can offer.

Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #18.HU

Set against the backdrop of the larger Hunted storyline, where Kraven and Arcade have captured dozens of animal-themed characters in order to hunt them for sport, Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #18.HU focuses on the D-List villain Gibbon, his backstory, and his efforts to survive the hunt. This book is an absolute revelation because it does more to flesh out and actualize the character than the combined 47 previous years of continuity ever did.

Over the course of 20-some pages, the Gibbon is revealed to be a deeply tragic character, one who, much like Spider-Man, only want to do good in the world, but is beset by tragedy at every turn. The Spider-Man comparison is a particularly important one, as even he is unable to see past the character's bizarre schtick to the noble intentions that initially underly his behavior.

In many ways, Peter functions as a stand-in for the reader and forces them to question their own culpability in the Gibbon's villainous turn and failure to afford him even the most basic modicum of decency and respect. Nick Spencer's writing here is absolutely top-notch, taking what would otherwise be an unimportant, ignominious death and turning it into a masterful meditation on what we, as people, owe one another and how, in some cases, the only difference between a hero and a villain is one bad day.

Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #18.HU is a beautifully composed work of fiction that maximally leverages the benefits of the event comic format and proves that no matter how long a character has been around, there is always something new and meaningful that can be explored.

Mark Millar's Marvel Knights: Spiderman

Whenever somebody asks me for a recommendation for a first Spider-Man book, I immediately point them to this tour de force. Every time I read these twelve issues; I am blown away by how effectively Millar leverages the entire Spider-Man mythos while still making the story completely accessible to new readers.

In this effort, he is aided by Terry and Rachel Dodson, whose masterful use of color, facial expressions, and atmosphere renders the story in a way that demands the reader's attention. Each issue expertly builds on the previous one, weaving a grand narrative of conspiracy and intrigue that builds and builds to a massive crescendo that fully embodies Spider-Man's core tenet of perseverance.

Packed to the rafters with classic villains and bold reinterpretations, this series has all the action a comic book fan could ever ask for. This is truly the gold standard by which all Spider-Man stories should be judged.

Spider-Girl

Spider-Girl (along with its two sequel series: Amazing Spider-Girl and Spectacular Spider-Girl) is set in the MC2, a possible future version of the primary Marvel Universe where Peter Parker and Mary Jane have settled down and had a child named May "Mayday" Parker. Mayday starts out as your typical, all-American teenager whose life is suddenly and permanently altered when she begins to manifest the same Spider powers as her father (as well as a couple new and interesting ones as well).

Growing up as the child of Peter Parker, Mayday knows that with great power there must also come great responsibility. And so, when the deranged grandchild of Norman Osborn comes after her family, Mayday puts on a costume for the first time and does everything she can to protect her loved ones and anyone else who needs protecting. From that day onward, she is Spider-Girl.

If the premise of a teenage superhero with Spider-powers who feels duty bound to help those in need sounds familiar, that is very much by the design. The true brilliance of Spider-Girl is how it leverages the weight of Spider-Man's history to its advantage, using familiar characters and premises in order to highlight what makes Spider-Girl unique and distinct from her father.

Where Peter is haunted by the specter of his dead father figure and struggles to atone for his own failures, Mayday must contend with a very present father figure and his immense misgivings about the path she is walking. Where Spider-Man is primarily a meditation on grief and perseverance, Spider-Girl is focused on growing up and the difficult choices that come with it.

It is a beautiful story deliberately crafted as both a love letter to Spider-Man's history and a distinct narrative about a young woman trying to make her own mark on the world. Legacy can be a very loaded word when it comes to comic books, but in this case, it functions as the rich, fertile soil from which a new, beautiful story can grow.

Taskmaster Vol. 2

One of the best things about the longevity of American comic books is that it allows a lot of different writers and artists to provide their own unique takes on established characters. This idea is perhaps best exemplified by Fred Van Lente's Taskmaster mini-series, which somehow finds a way to completely rewrite the titular character's history without invalidating it.

This is accomplished through the revelation that there is a consequence for Taskmaster's ability to retain the skills of those he watches: the loss of his explicit memory, i.e., the ability to remember personal experiences and life details (for those wondering how that could possibly be squared with the character's previous actions, trust me when I say that the book addresses it).

This paints Taskmaster in a whole new light, making him a drastically more tragic figure than readers had ever previously thought. This new dimension is used to the fullest extent, as Van Lente makes those forgotten experiences a key part of the overarching narrative. This ultimately adds up to a brutal final issue that is positively Shakespearean in its emotional scope.

This series has informed every subsequent portrayal of the character and fundamentally changed the way I view him. If you have not yet read this series, I can say with absolute certainty that you are missing out.