If you’ve been a part of the My Marvelous Year reading club since Jan 1. 2016, you know full well that we have now covered an entire decade of Marvel Comics, plowing through the 1960s in eight weeks.

If this is the first you’re hearing of My Marvelous Year, we’re reading 10 Marvel stories published during one calendar year each week. So the first week of 2016 we read Marvel Comics published during 1962 (plus Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961), the second week of 2016 we read Marvel Comics published during 1963, and so on. We just finished the 1960s and will start the 1970s on 3/4/16! You can sign up here!

The reading club is currently voting on the hero, villain, and series of the decade, and you can check out our winners for each individual year here.

In the meantime, I’ve put together 1960’s Marvel Comics power rankings!

1960’s Marvel Series Power Rankings

It’s simultaneously cool and extremely daunting to realize just how essential so many 1960’s Marvel Comics feel. After all, nothing in Marvel’s history rivals the unbridled that first decade’s burst of creativity in which comic after comic delivered the origins or first appearances of worldwide icons.

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So for all intents and purposes, just about every comic we read as part of the My Marvelous Year comics are essential. (Yes, those Mike Murdock v. Stilt Man issues are an exception, and no, I will never apologize!)

Nonetheless, we can still – with great difficulty – sort these comics into certain tiers of greatness. While similarly influential, there’s a clear gap in quality and consistency between the likes of Amazing Spider-Man and the Uncanny X-Men.

The below should help newer readers gauge how to invest your reading time in comics from the 60’s. I’ve broken the titles into 4 tiers, in order of greatness.

So with that understanding in our back pocket, I give you the 1960’s Marvel Comics power rankings. Here are the best of the best:

1) Best of the Best

Fantastic Four

Marvel’s first shared universe comic from the Marvel Age is also consistently one of its absolute best. There’s an endless cycle of wheel-spinning regarding how posterity should view the creators involved in Fantastic Four, but I think the takeaway is pretty clear: God bless Artie Simek.

Well, that, and Jack Kirby and Stan Lee were at their absolute best collaborating on Marvel’s first family. Not only that, but both Kirby and Lee got demonstrably better at telling Fantastic Four stories as they went, reaching a pinnacle in 1966 with Fantastic Four #48 to Fantastic Four #60. That year-plus long stretch (which spills over into 1967) saw Kirby and Lee introduce the Inhumans, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Black Panther, and Klaw to the Marvel Universe, all while telling some of Marvel’s first multi-issue epics (“The Coming of Galactus” and Doctor Doom stealing the Silver Surfer’s power cosmic and riding around on his surfboard just because).

Of all the My Marvelous Year 1960s reading we did over the past eight weeks, no comic impressed me more than Fantastic Four. Kirby’s imagination is simply boundless, and Lee’s dialogue creates genuine laughs among tense familial dynamics.

Here’s the long and short of it: If you consider yourself a fan of Marvel Comics, and you haven’t read the first eight years of Fantastic Four, you’re doing yourself a disservice!

Where To Find Fantastic Four Comics From the 1960s:

Fantastic Four Omnibus Volume 1 – Collects FF #1 to #30, plus FF Annual #1

Fantastic Four Omnibus Volume 2 – Collects FF #31 to #60, plus FF Annual #2 to #4

OR

Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four Volume 1 – Collects Fantastic Four #1 to #10

TO

Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four Vol. 9 – Collects Fantastic Four #82 to #93, FF Annual #7

Marvel Unlimited 1960s Fantastic Four Reading Order:

Fantastic Four #1 to #15

Fantastic Four Annual #1

Fantastic Four #16 to #29

Fantastic Four Annual #2

Fantastic Four #30 to #42

Fantastic Four Annual #3

Fantastic Four #43 to #55

Fantastic Four Annual #4

Fantastic Four #56 to #67

Fantastic Four Annual #5

Fantastic Four #68 to #79

Fantastic Four Annual #6

Fantastic Four #80 to #93

Amazing Spider-Man

While my relative lack of familiarity led me to consider Fantastic Four the most impressive early Marvel series, Amazing Spider-Man will always be my favorite. I’ve waxed obsessed for weeks now, so I’ll simply say that the above note about needing these Fantastic Four issues in your life as a Marvel fan applies just as much to Amazing Spider-Man. There are other comics I like, of course, but if you can only read two series from the 1960s, it should be Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four

Where to Find Amazing Spider-Man Comics From the 1960s

Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Volume 1 – Collects Amazing Fantasy #15, AMS #1 to #38, AMS Annual #1 to #2

Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Volume 2 – Collects AMS #39 to #67, AMS Annual #3 to #5, Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1 to #2

OR

Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1

TO

Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 8

Marvel Unlimited 1960s Amazing Spider-Man Reading Order:

Amazing Fantasy #15

Amazing Spider-Man #1 to #16

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1

Amazing Spider-Man #17 to #28

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2

Amazing Spider-Man #29 to #41

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #3

Amazing Spider-Man #42 to #53

Amazing Spider-Man #4

Amazing Spider-Man #54 to #61

Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1

Amazing Spider-Man #62 to #65

Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #2

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5

Amazing Spider-Man #66 to #79

2) Really, Really, Really Good

Strange Tales / Doctor Strange

I came extremely close to slotting Doctor Strange’s 60’s stories in the above tier, and honestly, there’s a strong case to be made. Doctor Strange enters Strange Tales as a B-side backup to solo Human Torch, and almost immediately becomes the mag’s main attraction. Steve Ditko’s mystical kalleidoscope pages have defined decades of supernatural and cosmic comics, and Strange’s “Search for Eternity” (Strange Tales #130 to #141) is a mid-60’s highlight.

Even with all that in his favor, Doctor Strange is never quite on the same level as Spidey or the Fantastic Four, and with Ditko’s departure after 1966, the good doctor doesn’t keep accelerating to finish the decade.

Where to Find Doctor Strange Comics From the 1960s

Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Volume 1

Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Volume 2

Marvel Unlimited 1960s Doctor Strange Reading Order:

Strange Tales #110 to #121

Fantastic Four #27

Strange Tales #122 to #168

Doctor Strange #169 to #178

Journey Into Mystery / Thor

Thor is remarkably consistent throughout the 1960s, and although Fantastic Four gets most of the Stan & Jack accolades, the duo was notably well suited for these Tales of Asgard. For Kirby, Thor was an opportunity to explore his endless fascination with gods in space, and for Lee, it was the glove-like fit of boisteroius and winking faux-Shakespeare dialogue.

Thor actually improves as he ages, advancing from the “I better reach my cane in 60 seconds!” tropes to having a heart-to-heart conversation with Galactus by the end of the decade.

Where to Find Thor Comics From the 1960s

The Mighty Thor Omnibus, Vol. 1

The Mighty Thor Omnibus, Vol. 2

OR

Marvel Masterworks, The Mighty Thor Vol. 1

TO

Marvel Masterworks, The Mighty Thor Vol. 8

Marvel Unlimited 1960s Thor Reading Order:

Journey Into Mystery #83 to #95

Avengers #1 – Thor remains a regular Avenger through issue #16

Journey Into Mystery #96 to #120

Journey Into Mystery Annual #1

Journey Into Mystery #121 to #125

Thor #126 to #132

Thor Annual #2

Thor #133 to #155

Avengers Annual #2

Thor #156 to #171

Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer does more with 18 issues than some characters do in a lifetime (looking at you Hank Pym). Worth noting that actually only the first 11 issues of Silver Surfer take place in the 60s (the rest carry over into the 1970s). Nonetheless, his Fantastic Four appearances carry the Surfer into the 2nd highest tier of the series power rankings.

Where to Find Silver Surfer Comics From the 1960s

Silver Surfer Epic Collection: When Calls Galactus

Marvel Masterworks Silver Surfer Vol. 1

Marvel Masterworks Silver Surfer Vol. 2

Marvel Unlimited 1960s Silver Surfer Reading Order:

Fantastic Four #48 to #50

Fantastic Four #55, #57 to #60

Tales to Astonish #92 to #93

Fantastic Four Annual #5

Fantastic Four #74 to #77

Silver Surfer #1 to #11

3) Hit or Miss

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1 to #23 / Strange Tales #135 to #168 / Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1 to #11

Frequently a hoot, and the three issues of Jim Steranko art and story on Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD nearly bump the whole suite up a tier.

Tales of Suspense #13 to #99 / Iron Man #1 to #20 / Captain America #100 to #120

Plenty to like, from Iron Man’s fighting the Crimson Dynamo with Happy’s life on the line (some of the comics that got me into comics) to a variety of great Cap vs. Red Skull cosmic cube comics.

Avengers #1 to #71

A few lulls between the Stan Lee and Roy Thomas team transition, but the by the end of the 60’s Thomas had found his groove and was unleashing the likes of Ultron on the Marvel Universe.

Captain Marvel #1 to #19

Not the must-read it would become, but an interesting beginning for Marvel’s Kree-born hero.

Uncanny X-Men #1 to #63

Strong start and finish, and a very passable middle. Nonetheless, the Lee & Kirby debut of the X-men, Magneto, and the Juggernaut is excellent, as are the latter issues featuring Neal Adam’s gorgeous art.

4) Passable

Tales to Astonish #15 to #101 / Incredible Hulk #1 to #6, #102 to #122 / Sub-Mariner #1 to #14

The early days of Ant-Man, Wasp, and Incredible Hulk are all worth a look, but the ongoings become tedious throughout the 60s. Likewise, Sub-Mariner never lives up to the potential he displays in his ffrequent Fantastic Four appearances.

Daredevil #1 to #53

DD has an interesting first eleven or so issues, and then really falls into a deep lull. As the My Marvelous Year faithful have let me hear, you really don’t need much 1960s Daredevil.