Unsung/ Unrecognized Spider-Man Talent

[arosenbarger]

We all have our favorite Spider-Man runs, however not all of those runs are collected or even recognized.

Whom are your favorite creators that made great contributions to the Spider-Man mythos that you believe doesn't receive their due and/or should be collected?

I personally enjoy

JM DeMatteis Spectacular Spider-Man (I had this run custom bound)
Tom DeFalco
Ron Frenz - love their Amaz & Spider-Girl runs, with Spider-Girl getting a custom bind.
Alex Saviuk - great Web of Spider-Man art.

[oldschool]

A good question but an odd poll: I don't know of many who would consider JMD "unsung" for his SSM run (it is widely considered one of the best ever). Similarly, Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz' 1980's work is often mentioned among best runs ever. Not sure if a poll is needed here but I would say Bill Mantlo, Chris Claremont (MTU in the 1970's) and Paul Jenkins would all be more interesting choices to debate as somewhat unsung.

[Miles To Go]

The newspaper strip writers. Some really enjoyable arcs have come out of that lately which are seldom acknowledged by the company or by comic sites in general..and usually whenever they are, the latter tends to mock it, which I think sucks. Most of the time it's better than the stuff we have currently.

DeFalco and the gang on Spider-Girl. I really hope Marvel have something in mind for Mayday's 20th anniversary next year...maybe have her meet RYV's Annie or marry her off to Wes.

If we're talking the core stuff, maybe when DeMatties and DeFalco had their stints with Peter in the late 1990s shortly after The Clone Saga and prior to the 1999 relaunch.

[arosenbarger]

A good question but an odd poll: I don't know of many who would consider JMD "unsung" for his SSM run (it is widely considered one of the best ever). Similarly, Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz' 1980's work is often mentioned among best runs ever. Not sure if a poll is needed here but I would say Bill Mantlo, Chris Claremont (MTU in the 1970's) and Paul Jenkins would all be more interesting choices to debate as somewhat unsung.

Well, dang it. you're right. I'll kill and repost as a quest

[Mister Mets]

Well, dang it. you're right. I'll kill and repost as a quest

I removed the poll.

"Who is the most unrecognized Spider-Man creator?" could be a poll, although that's a bit of a Catch 22. If everyone acknowledges someone is underappreciated, is he?

[Mister Mets]

I read an interesting argument for John Verpoorten as one of the most important Marvel talents. He was their production manager in the 1970s.

John Verpoorten never got the credit he deserved. As much as Kirby and Jim Steranko, he was the real creator of the trademark Marvel “look” and “feel” of the Sixties and on into the early Seventies.

The horror comics of the Seventies were mainly his doing, and they were very much the pattern for not only later horror comics, but modern horror movies and even the “urban fantasy” novel genre.

(Which is getting a bit ridiculous I admit; if I see one more “beautiful detective/lawyer/profiler falls for sexy vampire” title I swear I’ll… sharpen a stake.)

If you want to see what comics could have been from the beginning of the “Marvel Age”, try to find the original1960s animated Spider-Man TV series (ABC-TV), specifically the second season episodes (1968-69). They were less “comic book” than hardcore “Speculative Fiction” crossed with the pulps of the 1930s. The main reason being that John Verpoorten, who was Marvel’s executive on the series, brought in Lin Carter as story editor and head writer.

It would be fair to state that Verpoorten had as strong an influence on comics from the Sixties onward asAlfred Bester had on SF from the Fifties to the present day. (Bester virtually invented modern-day SF single-handed; see The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination. Also, the Terminator owes as much to Bester’s “Fondly Fahrenheit” as he does to Harlan Ellison’s “Soldier”.)

The further Marvel has strayed from Verpoorten & Co.’s ideas, the worse they’ve been.

[RD!]

I agree that JMD is ‘unsung’ because even though he is often listed amongst the best, he often falls short behind Stern when his contributions should place him as the second (or even first) amongst his peers.

However, I think Paul Jenkins and Zeb Wells are two very talented writers not awarded nearly enough credit. Brian Reed also wrote a great Spider-Man and it’s a shame he never got a book of his own

[RD!]

I removed the poll.

"Who is the most unrecognized Spider-Man creator?" could be a poll, although that's a bit of a Catch 22. If everyone acknowledges someone is underappreciated, is he?

Yes, because 14 odd people on a website acknowledging someone’s efforts is different to legions of fans, or the writers body of work getting republished so they can earn more from it — assuming writers and artists make money off trades and hardcovers

[Mister Mets]

Chris Claremont did some really good work with the character. His Marvel Team-Up issues with John Byrne are getting more and more acknowledgement, but he also did great work with Frank Miller (a Fantastic Four team-up introducing the mutant Karma), Sal Buscema (a spy thriller with Nick Fury, Shang-Chi and Black Widow which had a bit of a love story) and Michael Golden (the first two issues of Marvel Fanfare.)

John Byrne might also be overlooked by people who disliked his work in the 90s relaunch.

Paul Jenkins is also getting a bit overlooked, which is a bit odd to see happening for someone who was well-regarded when the comics came out. I think the Fusion three-parter should be a regular on "Best Of" lists but that's just not happening.

[comicscollector]

Bill Mantlo.
He wrote great Spider-Man stories in Spectacular Spider-Man (the Carrion Storyline,the Doctor Octopus/Owl storyline) and yet he does not get mentioned many times.

Marv Wolfman.Because he created Black Cat.

[Mister Mets]

Bill Mantlo.
He wrote great Spider-Man stories in Spectacular Spider-Man (the Carrion Storyline,the Doctor Octopus/Owl storyline) and yet he does not get mentioned many times.

Marv Wolfman.Because he created Black Cat.

One of Mantlo's problems is that his work was quite uneven. However, the Octopus/ Owl war was pretty damn good.

Wolfman definitely deserves more credit. The stretch of issues from about #190 (with the dying Spencer Smythe) until Issue 200 with the end of the Burglar saga is one of the best in the series' history. In addition to the first appearance of the Black Cat, we've got the return of Mysterio after a decade away, the final showdown with the Kingpin before he retires from crime, and a strong arc with Spider-Man struggling to get any kind of win.

When Batman has a stretch that important, it's labeled one of the best comics ever (see how often "Strange Apparitions" pops up in Best Of lists.) With Spider-Man, it's no big deal.

[Mister Mets]

Bill Mantlo.
He wrote great Spider-Man stories in Spectacular Spider-Man (the Carrion Storyline,the Doctor Octopus/Owl storyline) and yet he does not get mentioned many times.

Marv Wolfman.Because he created Black Cat.

One of Mantlo's problems is that his work was quite uneven. However, the Octopus/ Owl war was pretty damn good.

Wolfman definitely deserves more credit. The stretch of issues from about #190 (with the dying Spencer Smythe) until Issue 200 with the end of the Burglar saga is one of the best in the series' history. In addition to the first appearance of the Black Cat, we've got the return of Mysterio after a decade away, the final showdown with the Kingpin before he retires from crime, and a strong arc with Spider-Man struggling to get any kind of win.

When Batman has a stretch that important, it's labeled one of the best comics ever (see how often "Strange Apparitions" pops up in Best Of lists.) With Spider-Man, it's no big deal.

[JGC]

One of Mantlo's problems is that his work was quite uneven. However, the Octopus/ Owl war was pretty damn good.

Wolfman definitely deserves more credit. The stretch of issues from about #190 (with the dying Spencer Smythe) until Issue 200 with the end of the Burglar saga is one of the best in the series' history. In addition to the first appearance of the Black Cat, we've got the return of Mysterio after a decade away, the final showdown with the Kingpin before he retires from crime, and a strong arc with Spider-Man struggling to get any kind of win.

When Batman has a stretch that important, it's labeled one of the best comics ever (see how often "Strange Apparitions" pops up in Best Of lists.) With Spider-Man, it's no big deal.

Well said. Wolfman is a top 5 Spidey writer for me.

[Batman Begins 2005]

Christopher Yost.

Yost wrote the Scarlet Spider series with Kaine, Avenging Spider-Man and Superior Spider-Man Team-Up, he's the best writer of SpOck and also did the New Avengers.

[Rob London]

Ed Hannigan isn't an artist whose name gets mentioned a lot, but he did some phenomenal work on Spectacular Spider-Man with Bill Mantlo in the early '80s.