J.M. DeMatteis's intro to the art book Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular

J.M. DeMatteis wrote an intro to Matt Singer's Spider-Man: From Amazing to Spectacular, an oversized art book that takes a detailed tour through Spidey's entire history.

He posted it on his blog.

[url]http://www.jmdematteis.com/2019/10/still-amazing-after-all-these-years.html[/url]

An excerpt where he talks about what makes Spider-Man so important...

[QUOTE]In my experience, the vast majority of people are decent and compassionate at heart: we want to be kind, to do what’s right, to treat others fairly and be treated fairly in return. And, like Spider-Man, we do our share of failing, of not living up to our own ideals. What’s wonderful about Peter Parker is that, no matter how discouraged he may be, he always picks himself up and tries again; and every time Peter triumphs, it’s a triumph for the human spirit, because he’s such a wonderful example of that spirit at its best. Spider-Man both mirrors our human weaknesses and inspires us to reach for our highest ideals—and that makes for a truly timeless character.[/QUOTE]

Fittingly for an art book, he also describes the impact of seeing Ditko and Romita Sr's work.

Marvel will see this and still refuse to collect Child Within.

[QUOTE=Snoop Dogg;4635451]Marvel will see this and still refuse to collect Child Within.[/QUOTE]

Even Panini collected that story arc in italian (Il bambino dentro), french (L'enfant intérieur) and, this year, a pretty cool edition in spanish which I own (El niño que llevas dentro)

[QUOTE=Chubistian;4635756]Even Panini collected that story arc in italian (Il bambino dentro), french (L'enfant intérieur) and, this year, a pretty cool edition in spanish which I own (El niño que llevas dentro)[/QUOTE]

Panini has (had) a better management than US Marvel since decades. The last couple of years they only raised prices and delayed the publishing of collections, like Child Within, to push the sales of Amazing.


About J. M. DeMatteis intro: he is the greatest writer in Spider-Man's history, I'd put him even above Stan Lee, but this intro....

Those are nice words, but not the words I'd expect from a writer, an accomplished one nonetheless. It looks more like a forum post or a personal blog. I expected from him considerable examples of Peter's failures and accolades, I expected more about his run, why he chose to focus on the psychological side of the characters, rather than the mere action sequences and human drama.

[QUOTE=AlexCampy89;4636621]About J. M. DeMatteis intro: he is the greatest writer in Spider-Man's history, I'd put him even above Stan Lee, [/quote]

My picks for greatest are (in no order): Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Conway, Roger Stern, Bill Mantlo, J. M. DeMatteis, David Michelinie, J. Michael Straczynski, Paul Jenkins, Zdarsky.

And I would put JMD over Stan Lee too.

[quote]Those are nice words, but not the words I'd expect from a writer, an accomplished one nonetheless. It looks more like a forum post or a personal blog. I expected from him considerable examples of Peter's failures and accolades, I expected more about his run, why he chose to focus on the psychological side of the characters, rather than the mere action sequences and human drama.[/QUOTE]

It's an intro for an art-work not a critical commentary and personal history (for that read JMD's intro for KLH). It's not supposed to be very verbose and distract readers from the book. And for all we know JMD will be among the many voices interviewed about Spider-Man in the pages.

JM DeMatteis wrote the introduction to a Spider-Man art book. It can be read at his blog here: [url]http://www.jmdematteis.com/2019/10/still-amazing-after-all-these-years.html[/url]

(Don't use this thread to complain about other writers.)

[QUOTE=Lee;4667170]JM DeMatteis wrote the introduction to a Spider-Man art book. It can be read at his blog here: [url]http://www.jmdematteis.com/2019/10/still-amazing-after-all-these-years.html[/url]

(Don't use this thread to complain about other writers.)[/QUOTE]

Not surprisingly, JMD writes great introductions. He really gets what makes Peter Parker tick and why audiences respond to him so powerfully.

Very nice intro that was able to say a lot about the character and could speak to anyone in the fractured fanbase without alienating anyone.

Finally read the book by Matt Singer. It's a good book, respectful to every period of Spider-Man and clear, and everyone should read it.

There's not much new information though. A lot of it is republished stuff and compiled well.

The one interesting thing is that Matt Singer seems to have interviewed JMS for this, and JMS hardly every talks about his run in detail.

So one cool thing was that JMS felt that Spider-Man before he came on-board got too cluttered with supporting cast and so on who took attention away from Peter, so JMS felt that he had to narrow scope to the, "Trinity" (his words), of Peter, Aunt May, and Mary Jane. So it's interesting that was something JMS made as a deliberate choice.

Singer also suggests, though he doesn't quote JMS on this, that part of the reason why Quesada and Jemas chose JMS and gave him mandate to age Peter and have him work as a teacher was that since Ultimate Spider-Man featured a teenage Spider-Man that meant that ASM didn't have to feature by default a forcefully youthful Peter anymore, so that allowed JMS to portray Peter as a fully realized for the first (and perhaps the only) time.

Which is part of the reason why BND is such a failure and Post-OMD anymore. I mean with Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen around, there's absolutely no need for Peter to be "young" anymore. Their stories don't feel unique nor does Peter properly feel like the senior hero and mentor they should look up to.

[video=youtube;7xBgl-ULHlw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xBgl-ULHlw[/video]

Ginocchio-Gvozden (though Dan here) are interviewing Singer. Interesting stuff on aging and so on, and of course Matt Singer is an out-and-out JMS fan.

[QUOTE=Revolutionary_Jack;4732054]Singer also suggests, though he doesn't quote JMS on this, that part of the reason why Quesada and Jemas chose JMS and gave him mandate to age Peter and have him work as a teacher was that since Ultimate Spider-Man featured a teenage Spider-Man that meant that ASM didn't have to feature by default a forcefully youthful Peter anymore, so that allowed JMS to portray Peter as a fully realized for the first (and perhaps the only) time.

Which is part of the reason why BND is such a failure and Post-OMD anymore. I mean with Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen around, there's absolutely no need for Peter to be "young" anymore. Their stories don't feel unique nor does Peter properly feel like the senior hero and mentor they should look up to.[/QUOTE]

Putting one's personal opinions aside, BND wasn't a failure at all, never mind "such a failure." And post-OMD Spidey has gotten along very well for over a decade now.

I liked JMS' run for the most part but it can be argued that he came out of the gate hot with one great story and never had another one to match it and that the back end of his run was kind of a train wreck (even if editorial had a heavy hand in that downslide). The best aspect of his run, through whatever ups and downs it had, was his handling of Peter, MJ, and May. His narrowing of the cast always seemed like a deliberate move and it was a smart one.

I've got Singer's book on my Christmas list. If it doesn't arrive under the tree, I'll get it for myself after the holidays.

[QUOTE=Prof. Warren;4732336]I liked JMS' run for the most part but it can be argued that he came out of the gate hot with one great story[/quote]

That doesn't explain the fact that BACK IN BLACK, JMS' final story is often high on list of all-time great Spider-Man stories, often higher on the list than "Coming Home", leave alone "The Conversation, Doomed Affairs, Book of Ezekiel" which are also highly ranked.

[QUOTE=Revolutionary_Jack;4732350]That doesn't explain the fact that BACK IN BLACK, JMS' final story is often high on list of all-time great Spider-Man stories, often higher on the list than "Coming Home", leave alone "The Conversation, Doomed Affairs, Book of Ezekiel" which are also highly ranked.[/QUOTE]

I'm not crazy about Back in Black.

I know many people like it and I agree it is the best arc from that tail end of the JMS era but I felt like ASM #32's "Man on a Rampage" did it first and better.

As for those others stories, they're fine. But "Coming Home" was just explosive in a way that I don't think JMS ever matched.

Doesn't mean that he still didn't have many other good stories to tell.

[QUOTE=Prof. Warren;4732370]...[/QUOTE]

Anyway, Matt Singer's book is quite good for anyone who isn't too familiar with the inside-baseball stuff.

The artwork is presented elegantly, and as a writer and observer, Singer can be insightful.

He gives due diligence to the JMS era and actually every era of Spider-Man is treated fairly and respectfully. This is a book that brings people together in a big way.

If you like Slott, he's quoted extensively in the book and some of the stuff he says there is new and maybe insightful about his run, for those who care for that sort of thing.

[QUOTE=Revolutionary_Jack;4732412]Anyway, Matt Singer's book is quite good for anyone who isn't too familiar with the inside-baseball stuff.

The artwork is presented elegantly, and as a writer and observer, Singer can be insightful.

He gives due diligence to the JMS era and actually every era of Spider-Man is treated fairly and respectfully. This is a book that brings people together in a big way.

If you like Slott, he's quoted extensively in the book and some of the stuff he says there is new and maybe insightful about his run, for those who care for that sort of thing.[/QUOTE]

I'm definitely looking forward to checking it out.

I imagine there won't be much in the way of new info for me but I'm mainly interested in the art and presentation.