-
First I finally found a copy of ASM 252 in great condition that didn't require your first born child, so I am super excited to add this issue to my collection!
Other great pick ups that I enjoyed reading:
Marvel Team Up Annual #4- Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Iron Fist, Power Man, and Daredevil
Great story where they go against The Purple Man!
Spider-Man King Size Annual #14
Spider-Man & Doctor Strange vs Doctor Doom & Dormamu..........amazing art and story by Denny O'Neil & Frank Miller!
Marvel Team Up #50
Spider-Man & Doctor Strange
-
I recently bought and read Spiderman: El regreso del duende, that collects ASM #275,276 & 278-281. Such a good read! I also order El Duende Vive (Hobgoblin Lives) from Spain, so I'm expanding my collection of stories involving Roderick Kingsley as the Hobgoblin (though I know it's debatable as canon about Hobby's identity had him as Ned Leeds for years)
[IMG]https://www.universomarvel.com/fichas/esp/portadas/archspif11.jpg[/IMG]
-
My re-read of The Clone Saga has led me to the midway point of Maximum Cloneage, and it's becoming clear to me why the storyline was vilified for so many years.
A lot of the drama of the early installments of the story has been replaced by tedium - with Kaine revealed as Peter Parker's clone, and Spidercide returning after his apparent death, there are now four Peter Parkers running around, which massively dilutes the impact of Ben Reilly as a character. The Jackal just isn't an interesting enough character, and he doesn't have a compelling enough motivation to make him work as the mastermind of the story, and his over the top dialogue makes him an incredibly irritating presence throughout his appearances. I have just read the issue where Peter joins the Jackal, and his motivations for doing so are frankly laughable and, if you'll forgive the hyperbole, insulting to the reader.
The style of storytelling has also become a bit of a chore to read. While the early four parters like Power and Responsibility and The Exile Returns worked, to some extent, having every storyline stretched to four parts has worn thin by now and led to some really decompressed storytelling. It doesn't help that the quality of artwork has taken a nosedive, with regular colouring errors giving some stories a really cheap and rushed appearance.
There have, of course, been occasional bright spots. I might be biased, as it was one of the first issues that I ever read, but Web of Spider-Man #125 is a creepy and atmospheric introduction to an intriguing new Green Goblin. Parts of 'The Trial of Peter Parker' are dramatic and exhilarating to read. The much maligned issue of Spectacular Spider-Man where Peter finds out that he is the clone, is actually a really pacy, well plotted story with excellent (if idiosyncratic) artwork from Buscema and Sienkiewicz. As a complete story-arc though, it just does not work.
-
[QUOTE=JTait;4373971]My re-read of The Clone Saga has led me to the midway point of Maximum Cloneage, and it's becoming clear to me why the storyline was vilified for so many years.
A lot of the drama of the early installments of the story has been replaced by tedium - with Kaine revealed as Peter Parker's clone, and Spidercide returning after his apparent death, there are now four Peter Parkers running around, which massively dilutes the impact of Ben Reilly as a character. The Jackal just isn't an interesting enough character, and he doesn't have a compelling enough motivation to make him work as the mastermind of the story, and his over the top dialogue makes him an incredibly irritating presence throughout his appearances. I have just read the issue where Peter joins the Jackal, and his motivations for doing so are frankly laughable and, if you'll forgive the hyperbole, insulting to the reader.
The style of storytelling has also become a bit of a chore to read. While the early four parters like Power and Responsibility and The Exile Returns worked, to some extent, having every storyline stretched to four parts has worn thin by now and led to some really decompressed storytelling. It doesn't help that the quality of artwork has taken a nosedive, with regular colouring errors giving some stories a really cheap and rushed appearance.
There have, of course, been occasional bright spots. I might be biased, as it was one of the first issues that I ever read, but Web of Spider-Man #125 is a creepy and atmospheric introduction to an intriguing new Green Goblin. Parts of 'The Trial of Peter Parker' are dramatic and exhilarating to read. The much maligned issue of Spectacular Spider-Man where Peter finds out that he is the clone, is actually a really pacy, well plotted story with excellent (if idiosyncratic) artwork from Buscema and Sienkiewicz. As a complete story-arc though, it just does not work.[/QUOTE]
I think the Clone Saga starts pretty strong, or it's solid at least at the beginning. But certainly there comes a moment when it starts to fall and to get through it is a challenge on itself. It would have worked much better if it hadn't be stretched so drastically, though the "if" is a dangerous concept when talking about the Clone Saga, because it could mean that if it was better fan's outrage wouldn't have been so big or maybe the change from Peter to Ben as the original Spider-Man would have been so fast that fans wouldn't have had the chance to react before the change was applied and consolidated, as I remember J.M DeMatteis saying in an interview. Though I don't agree with DeMatteis' point of view about the Clone Saga, he's one of the highlights of it, especially with issues like ASM#400 and the plot of MJ coming to peaces with her sister.
Currently, I'm re-reading [B]Epic Collection The Amazing Spider-Man: Great Power[/B]; by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. As always, it's lots of fun and epicness
-
Currently onto Masterworks Vol 4 and loving these charming stories all over again. The Master Planner arc is amazing ( see what i did there lol ).
By the end of this Vol i will be finished Ditko’s run and into Romita’s.
-
[QUOTE=Chubistian;4374228]I think the Clone Saga starts pretty strong, or it's solid at least at the beginning. But certainly there comes a moment when it starts to fall and to get through it is a challenge on itself. It would have worked much better if it hadn't be stretched so drastically, though the "if" is a dangerous concept when talking about the Clone Saga, because it could mean that if it was better fan's outrage wouldn't have been so big or maybe the change from Peter to Ben as the original Spider-Man would have been so fast that fans wouldn't have had the chance to react before the change was applied and consolidated, as I remember J.M DeMatteis saying in an interview. Though I don't agree with DeMatteis' point of view about the Clone Saga, he's one of the highlights of it, especially with issues like ASM#400 and the plot of MJ coming to peaces with her sister.
Currently, I'm re-reading [B]Epic Collection The Amazing Spider-Man: Great Power[/B]; by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. As always, it's lots of fun and epicness[/QUOTE]
While I’m part of the minority that thinks #400 was overrated, I loved how they managed character development between Peter, Ben, and MJ which is why I’m annoyed by the implication that only the “real” Peter deserved a life.
Thank god for TPBs. I don’t think I could’ve read that comic as it came out.
-
[QUOTE=Chubistian;4374228]I think the Clone Saga starts pretty strong, or it's solid at least at the beginning. But certainly there comes a moment when it starts to fall and to get through it is a challenge on itself. It would have worked much better if it hadn't be stretched so drastically.[/QUOTE]
It's funny; although I do tend to agree that the Clone Saga would have been a much better story if it had ended sooner, I don't think that this was the biggest problem with it. The biggest problem was a lack of quality control (Maximum Clonage Alpha and Omega were both technically incompetent) and the editorial edict that every story arc had to be stretched to four parts, running through all of the core titles. This led to some really choppy, uneven storytelling and didn't play to DeMatteis and Defalco's strengths.
I think the Clone Saga could have been a solid storyline if the creators involved had been left to their own devices, and if it had been wrapped up with a satisfactory, well thought out conclusion, written by DeMatteis and illustrated by Bagley or Buscema.
-
I'm starting my re-read of [B] Epic Collection The Amazing Spider-Man:Great Responsibility[/B]
-
I just reread one of my favorites: What If? #88
[IMG]https://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/What_If_Vol_2_88.jpg[/IMG]
This might be my most obscure favorite story, but it uses What If? in a clever way to show a world where Peter Parker's genre is different, where instead of being a superhero, he's a science monster. It opens up dark with a middle-aged Peter Parker recognizing that his scientific experiments are turning him into a monster, and probably going to kill him at some point in the next few days. His main goal is to prevent his son Ben from suffering the same fate. At the same time, his son is bullied at school but starts to develop the power to fight back.
Ariel Olivetti has a different art style now but uses the garish 90s colors to depict what looks like a horror movie set to great effect. There's one great moment where Ben is going to what looks like a mad scientist's house, except it's his own house, and that conveys what it would be like to live there and much about Peter and Ben's relationship. This story ends in tragedy and hope. The biggest villains turn out to be ordinary people, imagining the worst of outsiders.
I'm a bit disappointed that there hasn't been any appearance from these characters in the various Spider-Verse or Spider-Geddon stories, but it also works well to just keep it as is.
-
Reading the late 80’s and early 90’s Marvel street level characters, which the 3-4 of the Spider books are included. Just wondering what the objective of Web of was? I mean, Amazing was the big, franchise book, while Spectacular was focused on the more down to earth supporting cast, and rogues, but I’m having a hard time figuring out Web’s intended goal was.
-
[QUOTE=Shadowcat;4455587]Reading the late 80’s and early 90’s Marvel street level characters, which the 3-4 of the Spider books are included. Just wondering what the objective of Web of was? I mean, Amazing was the big, franchise book, while Spectacular was focused on the more down to earth supporting cast, and rogues, but I’m having a hard time figuring out Web’s intended goal was.[/QUOTE]
The joke answer is that the purpose was "Do you like Spider-Man, and [I]Amazing Spider-Man[/I] and[I] Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man[/I] aren't enough. Try Web of Spider-Man!"
It did sometimes have a hook. During Michelinie's run, Peter Parker went on assignments all over the world.
-
[B]Amazing Spider-Man 39- How Green Was My Goblin?[/B] This issue is probably my favorite issue of the Lee/Ditko era! The fight between the goblin and Peter was fantastic. Norman revealing his identity to Peter was a great cliffhanger as well. Can't wait to read the next issue!
-
I am reading early Spiderman. I am on Spiderman 108. I started at isue 1 and have been going in order. The only break I took was to read Spiderman 698-700 so I could jump into Superior Spiderman first run.
-
I finished the fourth volume of Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, titled The Goblin Lives. Great stuff as always. I started today the last story arc written by Dan Slott, Go Down Swinging, in an edition done by Panini Comics Spain which collects ASM #797 to ASM #801
-
I finally got Child Within thanks to Panini Spain. I read this arc years ago in my iPad, but I'm not a big fan of digital reading. The edition is pretty good and it has the only stories I was missing of Harry's tenure as the Green Goblin in Dematteis' Spectacular Spider-Man. A gem that deservers as much recognition as KLH
[IMG]http://www.eslahoradelastortas.com/blog/media/2019/06/El-Espectacular-Spiderman-El-ni%C3%B1o-que-llevas-dentro.jpg[/IMG]
