10 Graphic Novels MCU Fans Must Read
Absolutely marvellous.
Basing a cinematic universe off of eighty years of comic book history is no small feat, and when there is so much source material to read, newcomers may feel overwhelmed when trying to approach it after watching the films.
Comics and graphic novels have a habit of being difficult to get into anyway, with Marvel's numbering system in particular being notoriously confusing. The company only recently (properly) releasing collected additions of their older tales.
Due to the aforementioned eighty years of history, it would be extremely time-consuming to compile a complete reading order for the entire Marvel comic universe, but for the sake of everyone's sanity we have a few recommendations to start you off on your comic book/graphic novel adventures.
You'll probably recognise some of the titles as being the same (or very similar) to their MCU counterparts, but, like many adaptations, the originals have some pretty blatant differences. For example, while the MCU is, for the most part, a brilliant, more grounded representation of Marvel's characters and locations, the comics do not share the problem Disney does: owning the rights to all their characters.
10. Planet Hulk
The closest thing we'll probably ever get to a Planet Hulk film is Thor: Ragnarok, yet if you want to understand where a lot of the inspiration for the third Thor film came from, then you must read this.
Unlike the aforementioned Thor: Ragnarok, Planet Hulk is strictly a green giant event, the Hulk ending up on Sakaar after Marvel's Illuminati (Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Reed Richards etc.) exile him from Earth. Other familiar faces, like Korg, appear in the story, yet with major differences from their MCU counterparts, with this version of the tale being (like most comics) a lot more serious in tone.
The events of Planet Hulk mainly serve to set up World War Hulk (in which the Hulk returns to Earth). Still, the tale told in this book is one absolutely worth reading in isolation, being one of the best stories to feature Puny Banner's alter-ego in recent years.