Marvel Unlimited is pretty incredible in many ways; subscribing gives you access to tens of thousands of comics, in a mostly-consistent narrative stretching back to 1939. It's a pretty daunting body of work to tackle, though--where do you start?

Below, I've listed some of my favorite series. I update this list periodically as I find new gems.

21st Century #

Astonishing X-Men (2004) #

Written by Joss Whedon, art by John Cassaday.

Immortal Iron Fist (2006) #

Written by Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction; several artists, but David Aja will later collaborate spectacularly with Fraction on Hawkeye.

Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. (2006) #

Weirdness from Warren Ellis. The Nick Fury parody is genius.

Invincible Iron Man (2008) #

Written by Matt Fraction.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (2011) #

Written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Justin Ponsor. Introduces Miles Morales.

FF (2012) #

Written by Matt Fraction, art by Mike & Laura Allred. The Allreds' art style is maybe my favorite in all of comic books, and this is the first I really became aware of them.

Hawkeye (2012-2015) #

Written by Matt Fraction, art by David Aja (and others). This book is fucking genius.

Captain Marvel (2012-13, 2014-15) #

Kelly Sue DeConnick reboots Carol Danvers and takes her from B-list to A-list.

Young Avengers (2013) #

Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, doing some awesome stuff just before embarking on The Wicked + The Divine.

Moon Knight (2014) #

Written by Warren Ellis, art by Declan Shalvey. A clever take on one of Marvel's weirdest heroes.

Ms. Marvel (2014, 2015-) #

Written by G. Willow Wilson, edited by Sana Amanat. A profoundly brave book and a really risky choice by Marvel, that paid off fantastically.

Silver Surfer (2014-15, 2016-17) #

Written by Dan Slott, art by the Allreds. Beautiful and heartbreaking and joyful.

Karnak (2015) #

Written by Warren Ellis, art by David Aja. An extremely cool look at one of the most underrated Inhumans.

Mighty Thor (2015-2018) #

Written by Jason Aaron, art by Russell Dauterman. Another really risky choice that really pays off.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015-) #

Written by Ryan North, art by Erica Henderson. Briliant and sweet and hilarious.

Doctor Strange (2015) #

Written by Jason Aaron, art by Chris Bachalo. My favorite rendition of the Doctor.

Darth Vader (2015) #

Written by Kieron Gillen, art by Salvador Larroca. Really dark, really good.

Mockingbird (2016) #

Written by Chelsea Cain, art by Kate Niemczyk. Tragically cancelled too early. I would have liked to see where else they could have taken her. Great use of corgis.

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2016) #

Written by Kieron Gillen, art by Kev Walker. A sly book, with an unconventional protagonist, and a pair of droids that are not to be fucked with.

Black Panther (2016) #

Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, art by Brian Stelfreeze. A really thoughtful perspective on power and liberation.

Black Bolt (2017) #

Written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Christian Ward.

Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (2017) #

Written by Chip Zdarsky, art by Adam Kubert.

Lockjaw (2018) #

Written by David Kibblesmith, art by Roberto Poggi. More Lockjaw, please.

Golden Age #

Marvel Comics (1939) #1 #

Introducing the original android Human Torch and Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner.

Captain America Comics (1941) #1 #

Pretty simplistic by today's standards, but it's cool to see the introduction of an iconic character, with bonus Hitler-punching. Note that these comics are jingoistic as hell and are very much a product of their time, in every sense of that statement.

Silver Age #

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #1-6 #