[Serious question] Why does Dan Slott get more criticism than Straczynski

[Scott Taylor]

Yeah, I mean, his take on the series is very different from what came before and doesn't really conform to what a lot of people would consider "typical" Spider-Man. Whether that's good or bad is personal preference.

Most of the nineties weren't typical Spider-Man either. And they get hammered by fans as well.

JMS may not be typical Spider-man either, but it wasn't as atypical as some of the Slott stories (SSM, Parker Industries) or the nineties. Fair statement?

[Kevinroc]

Most of the nineties weren't typical Spider-Man either. And they get hammered by fans as well.

JMS may not be typical Spider-man either, but it wasn't as atypical as some of the Slott stories (SSM, Parker Industries) or the nineties. Fair statement?

I wouldn't agree with that. The Spider-Totem stuff was VERY atypical. Sins Past was VERY atypical. I think some of JMS' later stuff that tied into the larger Marvel Universe like Spider-Man joining the Avengers (Bendis' call) and moving into Avengers Tower with MJ and Aunt May (JMS' call) was not AS atypical as some of his earlier work, but could still be very atypical. (How many Spider-Man vs. Titanium Man stories have we had over the years?)

[boots]

atypical ain’t so bad in a 50 year run. sometimes you gotta shake it up

[Lukmendes]

Most of the nineties weren't typical Spider-Man either. And they get hammered by fans as well.

JMS may not be typical Spider-man either, but it wasn't as atypical as some of the Slott stories (SSM, Parker Industries) or the nineties. Fair statement?

The way the characters feel in JMS' run feels more like Spider-Man than Slott's run (With the exception of Aunt May, since her finding out his secret identity is as atypical as it can be for her), but the stories themselves? Then JMS' run is the most atypical story about Spider-Man barring only PI era, because Spider-Man usualy deals with science/pseudo-science, Spidey was fighting magical beings, with Spider-totem, being hunted by Morlum and that other creature and whatnot.

[Green Symbiote]

The answer to this is pretty easy for me. JMS wrote Spider-Man, MJ and Aunt May as natural progressions of the characters that they had been since we first met them and as the sum of their years of experiences. JMS wrote them as a celebration of the rich history of these three characters.

Slott on the other hand deserves credit for knowing more about Spider-history, coming up with crazier ideas, and using the supporting cast and rogues gallery more, but he is really poor in doing character development. Peter Parker as written by him has rarely if ever felt like Peter Parker, and Peter, MJ and Felicia in particular have all regressed in terms of their personalities and how they act.

And since Spider-Man is first and foremost a character driven story, Slott gets more criticism. He cares more about the plot and shoves the characters in there to fit regardless of if the plot suits them at all, while JMS used the story as nothing more than a vehicle to move along the lives of the characters themselves. That's why he got away with those light fluffy stories about Peters tailor, or MJ trying out for a part in a play, or Aunt May doing research on Spider-Man at the library. Stuff like that moves me to this day.

The funny thing is, I'm not sure why it's this way for Slott. I devoured everything he did before he jumped to Spidey. Even his RYV was fantastic. I'm guessing with ASM, he's so transfixed on telling his long term story that the characters are just pieces of it, rather than the main focus. Perhaps he is fatigued because his BND stuff and the early big time stuff was decent and he's lost steam since.

[Shadowcat]

I feel like the odd poster out, because I hated JMS’s work. There’s a lot of rose colored glasses at work when a lot of people tend to look back on his run. Has Slott’s run been flawless? No, but name one writer who worked in the same book for a decade who never had a steaming pile of poo.

[Alan2099]

I feel like the odd poster out, because I hated JMS’s work. There’s a lot of rose colored glasses at work when a lot of people tend to look back on his run. Has Slott’s run been flawless? No, but name one writer who worked in the same book for a decade who never had a steaming pile of poo.

You and me both.

For all the talk of "progressing" the characters, JMS seemed to cut everybody except MJ and Aunt May out of Peter's life. I didn't mind the de-aging of Aunt May as much, but he also felt like he aged MJ and Peter a decade out of nowhere.

Also we find out Peter was fated by a mystic spider-god to get his powers. Then he grew retractable claws, fangs, and ate somebody's head. Then he fights a bunc of mystic people and lame rip offs of his own rogue's gallery. I don't care what his intentions where, there was no way the Gray Goblin(s) were ever going to be interesting.

[boots]

You and me both.

For all the talk of "progressing" the characters, JMS seemed to cut everybody except MJ and Aunt May out of Peter's life. I didn't mind the de-aging of Aunt May as much, but he also felt like he aged MJ and Peter a decade out of nowhere.

Also we find out Peter was fated by a mystic spider-god to get his powers. Then he grew retractable claws, fangs, and ate somebody's head. Then he fights a bunc of mystic people and lame rip offs of his own rogue's gallery. I don't care what his intentions where, there was no way the Gray Goblin(s) were ever going to be interesting.

yeah, i've run into rabid supporters/haters of jms or slott online. kinda like how there's fans and detractors for most writers/runs, weirdly enough

there's no objective way to measure this stuff.

from what i've encountered though, i feel like the spOck storyline will be remembered better than the clone saga, but less regarded than kraven's last hunt. maaaybe somewhere in the death of superman-age of apoc range

[Spidey5640]

You and me both.

For all the talk of "progressing" the characters, JMS seemed to cut everybody except MJ and Aunt May out of Peter's life. I didn't mind the de-aging of Aunt May as much, but he also felt like he aged MJ and Peter a decade out of nowhere.

Also we find out Peter was fated by a mystic spider-god to get his powers. Then he grew retractable claws, fangs, and ate somebody's head. Then he fights a bunc of mystic people and lame rip offs of his own rogue's gallery. I don't care what his intentions where, there was no way the Gray Goblin(s) were ever going to be interesting.

Amen. I'm with you. JMS is a great writer..on other books. For ASM he did not fit. His 5 + years were brutal for me.

[WebLurker]

yeah, i've run into rabid supporters/haters of jms or slott online. kinda like how there's fans and detractors for most writers/runs, weirdly enough

there's no objective way to measure this stuff.

Very true.

from what i've encountered though, i feel like the spOck storyline will be remembered better than the clone saga, but less regarded than kraven's last hunt. maaaybe somewhere in the death of superman-age of apoc range

I can see it being remembered, but will it be as a something fans will still be reading (and re-reading) years down the road, or just remembered as something that was once written ("there was a comic series where Doc Ock became Spider-Man." "Wow, that's weird." "Yeah. How about them Vikings?")?

[boots]

I can see it being remembered, but will it be as a something fans will still be reading (and re-reading) years down the road, or just remembered as something that was once written ("there was a comic series where Doc Ock became Spider-Man." "Wow, that's weird." "Yeah. How about them Vikings?")?

pretty much. that's why i put it in the range of "there was once a comic series where professor x died and the x-men all became mirror universe versions of themselves. wow, that's weird" and "there was once a comic series where superman died and then became four dudes but then really came back. wow, that's weird".

[Zeitgeist]

Well, I think whether intentionally or not, his run also embodies some of the issues people have with post-OMD Spider-Man.

Well the thing is that whoever got the gig would be following the same editorial mandates, so chances are these people would have the same 'issues'.

[Kevinroc]

Well the thing is that whoever got the gig would be following the same editorial mandates, so chances are these people would have the same 'issues'.

I don't think Marvel editorial made Slott turn Felicia into the Queenpin.

[Harpsikord]

I don't think Marvel editorial made Slott turn Felicia into the Queenpin.

Seeing as how it recently got reversed and other writers have been slowly dissolving it anyway, likely not.

Slott never did like Felicia. Never.

[Frontier]

I think Slott was the one who came up with the Queenpin status quo, but the fact that Marvel promoted her as much as they did in that role tells me that, to some degree, they supported it for whatever reason.