As others have mentioned, a couple of the stories on there aren't particularly underrated at all.
Maybe Next Year definitely belongs on the list, and in truth you can take your pick from most of the one shot issues that Paul Jenkins wrote at the time - they are consistently excellent.
It feels like a bit of a cop out including the Brand New Day era as a whole. I do agree that it included some really underrated story arcs. My choice would have been Peter Parker Paparazzi.
I have no idea how 'Worldwide' made it onto the list. It is average at best and considering the way it changed both Peter Parker and Spider-Man's character it was actually a really forgettable arc.
There are a few arcs from the 90s that I would have liked to have seen on there. Media Blizzard (from the early Ben as Spider-Man era) was nothing earth shattering, but did a really good job of developing Ben's supporting cast alongside a fairly original and interesting scheme from a classic villain (with an underrated new look). Citizen Osborn by J.M DeMatteis is a really creepy and understand tale that underlines why Norman Osborn is such an effective Spider-Man villain.
I think someone else mentioned Webspinners and I would agree that there are some excellent stories in the early part of the series. The Mysterio story that kicked off the series was a thoughtful, introspective and original take on the character with unique art (that has clearly put a lot of people off the story), while the Sandman story mentioned earlier is a classic slice of old school web-slinging action. Jenkins' Chameleon arc is great too, but I feel like that is quite highly rated.
Last edited by JTait; 05-30-2019 at 01:27 AM.
I get the impression that Christopher Yost's works are underrated. Really liked his Scarlet Spider-Man series with Kaine Parker and nobody does it better with the Superior Spider-Man.
Puzzling to see Death of Jean DeWolff there. Worldwide sucks as did the previous volume of TASM before it.
Ultimate Clone Saga for me. Felt like a great climax to a lot of threads Bendis had been setting up for a while.
Untold Tales of Spider-Man '96, where Spider-Man goes on a date with Invisible Girl.
That was a great one!
Agreed. The criteria was poorly defined. It's like doing an "underrated Star Trek stories" list and including a full season as one entry.
That one was brilliant. I also loved Mark Waid and Marcos Martin's "Unscheduled Stop".
Last edited by Lee; 05-30-2019 at 03:19 PM.
"One Small Break" with the introduction of Fusion is probably my favorite Jenkins/ Buckingham story.
The TPB might actually be the most underrated Spider-Man collection since it also has his Robot Master two-parter, and the Uncle Ben spotlight.
It's actually an argument for Death of Jean Dewolff being underrated as a story.
Sincerely,
Thomas Mets