Post Clone Saga Pre Mackie/Byrne era

[WeirdSpider]

Why does no one talk about the post Clone Saga, pre Mackie/Byrne period of the Spider-Man comics? Personally I thought that this was a pretty good period for the books especially Spectacular. There was some good stories like Norman Osborn buying the Daily Bugle, and framing Spider-Man which led into the 4 part Spider-Hunt story. Plus there was Identity Crisis which was fun. Plus the PeterxMary Jane relationship was well written during this period.

Anyone else enjoy this period of the comic?

[Spiderfang]

Why does no one talk about the post Clone Saga, pre Mackie/Byrne period of the Spider-Man comics? Personally I thought that this was a pretty good period for the books especially Spectacular. There was some good stories like Norman Osborn buying the Daily Bugle, and framing Spider-Man which led into the 4 part Spider-Hunt story. Plus there was Identity Crisis which was fun. Plus the PeterxMary Jane relationship was well written during this period.

Anyone else enjoy this period of the comic?

I'm currently collecting the trade paperback editions of this run, after collecting some of Straczynski's early 2000 TASM stuff.

[Miles To Go]

A great era. The Electro storyline in ASM was a much needed resurgence for Max, Ock was revived, MJ studied psychology, Chameleon finding out Peter's secret (and the infamous thrashing MJ gives him with the baseball bat is probably the most iconic moment of this era for her), Osborn winning the Oscar for best Lex Luthor impersonation, some of Peter's "loser villains" getting some focus, the Identity Crisis being the backdoor pilot for the Stingers. Also Spider-Girl was launched near the end of this era.

[Spiderfang]

Would anyone care to post the collected editions/issues of this particular run? I know of Identity Crisis, I need the other titles.

[oldschool]

I agree this is a very good, yet overlooked, era. My guess is it was sandwiched between the Clone Saga run which most everyone agrees went on way too long and did longtime damage to the title and the poorly conceived Mackie/Byrne relaunch so it got kinda lost in the shuffle and was also conspicuous by not being infamous. Oddly enough, the big sagas---good or bad----tend to draw more attention than well-told stories that don't make headlines. Probably why Marvel shifted their strategy over the last decade to event after event, hero death after hero death, replacement after replacement, etc.

[Rincewind]

I agree this is a very good, yet overlooked, era. My guess is it was sandwiched between the Clone Saga run which most everyone agrees went on way too long and did longtime damage to the title and the poorly conceived Mackie/Byrne relaunch so it got kinda lost in the shuffle and was also conspicuous by not being infamous. Oddly enough, the big sagas---good or bad----tend to draw more attention than well-told stories that don't make headlines. Probably why Marvel shifted their strategy over the last decade to event after event, hero death after hero death, replacement after replacement, etc.

There is also the whole Industry Crash factored in there. That, plus the readers burnt out from the Clone Saga left few people reading all the titles. While there were some good stories, that was not enough to overcome the damage the title had taken just prior.

[Huntsman Spider]

Would anyone care to post the collected editions/issues of this particular run? I know of Identity Crisis, I need the other titles.

I've seen Spider-Hunt and Identity Crisis in my local comic shop. Even bought Identity Crisis, but I haven't seen much else collected from the era besides those two.

[Pav]

I loved the Clone Saga, but as a youngster I was only able to buy sporadically. It was the post-CS era where I really started buying every issue each month - thanks allowance money!

I agree with what's been said so far: they were some really enjoyable stories, but it's sandwiched between two controversial eras and so gets overlooked.

I loved how each book had its own tone, and I really appreciated how Sensational dealt with Peter's grief over Ben's death.

Cool appearances by...

Alyosha Kravinoff
Mad Jack
Morbius
SHOC
Stegron
Black Tarantula

-Pav, who still hopes we see SHOC again someday...

[Mister Mets]

I've heard a description of it as the intermediate era, and that's what I've used to describe it.

I think the main reason it's not talked about is that it's not that good. It's not bad, but I haven't heard claims that DeFalco is better on ASM during his second go-around than he was during his first, or that DeMatteis is better on Spectacular than he was during his earlier run on the title. Mackie may never have been better, but there were plenty of better writers before and since. DeZago was decent. There's nothing from the era that clearly deserves to be in a Top 50 Spider-Man stories list.

The art was pretty damn good, with Luke Ross, John Romita Jr, Mike Wieringo and Steve Skroce, although part of the problem might be that there were a lot of fill-ins.

[WeirdSpider]

There's nothing from the era that clearly deserves to be in a Top 50 Spider-Man stories list.

Personally I'd say that Spectacular Spider-Man issue 250 could make the list. DeMatteis did a really great job writing Norman Osborn showing why he is Spider-Man's number one foe.

[Spiderfang]

I've seen Spider-Hunt and Identity Crisis in my local comic shop. Even bought Identity Crisis, but I haven't seen much else collected from the era besides those two.

Were they reasonably priced (as in $20.00 ~ $25.00 USD?) I've seen Identity Crisis listed for $44.00 used on Amazon, ($44 being the cheapest) and I don't think I want to pay that much for an old used book, that I could potentially get for a more reasonable price elsewhere.

[Huntsman Spider]

Were they reasonably priced (as in $20.00 USD ~ $25.00?) I've seen Identity Crisis listed for $44.00 used on Amazon, being the cheapest and I don't think I want to pay that much for an old used book.

I got Identity Crisis for $25 USD, last I remember. I'll have to check my copy for the price that was listed on it, but at the very least, I did buy it directly from the store.

[RD!]

This is one of the best eras in my opinion

[WeirdSpider]

Love this moment.

Also this moment.

As I've said before Norman was much more interesting when he knew that Peter was Spider-Man.

[SignorMiracolo]

Love this moment.

Also this moment.

As I've said before Norman was much more interesting when he knew that Peter was Spider-Man.

Osborn may be more interesting if he knows SM real identity, but it's not something that can last on a serialized story. How many plans to defeat Peter can he devise that involve not unveiling SM identity before it gets ridiculous? And how many Osborn unveils SM identity stories one can do? It can be a good hook for a run, but then you are left with either make him forget his identity, or with Peter losing his secret identity for good, or with Peter killing Osborn / Osborn dying for some reason. If one is hellbent in destroying another person life, it stands to reason he will use any possible way available to him.