10 Brilliant Marvel Event Comics Fans Should Read

Where the good and great meet each year, to beat the snot out of each other.

Maximum Carnage
Marvel Comics

Even though Marvel had tried to get the whole event idea up and running over the Bronze Age of Comics, it wasn't really until the 1980s, and more specifically the first Secret Wars (more on that later), that they really found their feet.

Since then, every year has brought a brand new spectacle to the eager eyes and hands of its fanbase and, with the occasional exception, they've all pretty much hit their mark.

They've given us Clone Sagas, Eves of Destruction, and so many variations on war that it can, at times, make the mind boggle. But fear not, faithful reader, if it seems that the back catalog of tales that litter Marvel's history is intimidating for someone new to the franchise, then consider your back truly taken care of.

Events tend to get a bad rap from readers, and while it's true both Marvel and DC have a habit of saturating their solicitations with events, to the point where they encroach onto individual comics, there's a reason they're so frequent.

What follows is a look at those events that you really need to spend time with, the ones that are more Civil War than Reed Richards and Susan Storm's Wedding.

10. War Of The Realms

Maximum Carnage
Marvel Comics

It was a tough decision on whether or not War of the Realms should be on this list. Not because it isn't any good, it's actually excellent, but because it's still a work in progress. This is the only reason that it's not higher up on the list as, unless Marvel really drops the ball with it, it's one of the biggest and best stories to ever come out of the company.

During his sensational run on Thor, Jason Aaron laid the foundations for the event that follows. With the Bifrost Bridge destroyed, and Malekith trying every trick he can think of to see Odin suffers the same fate, it is revealed that the Dark Elves have built their own version - the Black Bifrost - and can now travel anywhere they choose.

This, inevitably, leads them to Earth and only the combined efforts of the greatest superheroes the planet has ever known will bring the Elves to their knees.

Or maybe they won't. No-one knows yet, as it's still going.

Brilliantly written and illustrated, the War of the Realms has, so far, been everything you'd expect from a Marvel event. Here's hoping they nail the landing.

Contributor
Contributor

Jack of all trades, Master of none. The former rocker of the big beard.