What is your verdict on Gerry Conway's 1980s/1990s Spider-Man work?

[Mister Mets]

Last week, I asked what you guys thought about Gerry Conway's 1970s run of Amazing Spider-Man.

I'm curious if there's a consensus on his 1980s return, when he took on two Spider-Man satellites at the same time, writing Spectacular Spider-Man #137-173, Annuals #8-10, as well as Web of Spider-Man #35-36, 47-48, 50-69, Annuals #5-6.

To explain the potential scores, as it's possible for one man's B to be another man's C...
An A+ is the highest score. It's meant to be pretty rare, an indication that this run is up there with the best of the medium (Frank Miller's Daredevil, Byrne/ Claremont X-Men, Neil Gaiman's Sandman, etc.)
An A is impressive, but not quite on that level. It would be among the best for the character.
A B indicates that the run is good but not great. The majority of the material is still worth rereading. In terms of quality, it's largely a success.
A C is pedestrian. It's neither good nor bad, and most of the material is probably not worth rereading.
A D is poor. It's a flat out failure. Most of the material isn't worth reading in the first place.
An F is worse.

To refresh your memories, there are summaries of many of the stories available at spiderfan.
http://www.spiderfan.org/credits/gerry_conway.html

[exile001]

Honestly can't remember anything from it, so that probably tells you something. I'm not going to vote on this one as I don't want to be unjust.

[Metamorphosis]

It was a good run, a lot more emphasis on the supporting cast than what was going on in ASM at the time.

Tombstone was a good addition to the villains roster, and the Web Of issue where Chameleon was holding JJJ captive was tremendous.

[Mister Mets]

I'm torn between a B and a C.

There were some good stories, but there wasn't anything truly great and some of the stories were a chore to read.

For anyone with poor memories, it included the Tombstone saga, the Lobo Brothers gang war and big chunks of Cosmic Spider-Man/ Inferno.

[oldschool]

A "B" from me, thought I would have voted a C+/B- if that option were available. I loved his take on Tarantula and his Tombstone stories (particularly the backstory with Robbie RObertson) and his Chameleon story is one of the best featuring that villain. But his Lobo Bros story arc went on waaayyy too long and some of his other stories just felt plodding; truthfully, this was a case where it was evident that the Spidey editors only allowed the top-tier villains and characters to be used prominently in ASM and it showed. Certainly worth revisiting if one were to pick and choose among the storylines but nowhere near as essential as his 1970's ASM run. Also, and I know I am in the minority here on this point, Sal Buscema's art never wowed me.

[David Walton]

I'd probably give it a solid "A." He might have written the greatest Chameleon and JJJ story up to that point in one swift stroke. The Robbie Robertson/ Tombstone arc kept me on the edge of my seat, and the Lobo Brothers stuff was wild fun. Also, the Malcolm McBride/ Carrion arc capped off the original Clone Saga beautifully. Everyone should do themselves a favor and read or re-read PPTSSM 149.

When reading Conway's stuff, you have to keep in mind they didn't plot stories out then like they do now. Comics were still 'disposable' entertainment, meant to be read and rarely remembered. Their job wasn't to be forever enshrined as a monument to greatness on your bookshelf, but for every issue to make you forget the last and long for the next. Going by that standard, this was Conway at the top of his game.

[Carmen_Rider]

I read somewhere that Stan Lee said he almost wanted Gerry Conway killed for having Gwen Stacy killed. Looks like Stan wasn't expecting that one.

[Turlast]

Does anyone think there's a chance Conways Spectacular/Web stories will ever be collected?

I have yet to read it, but would like to.

[oldschool]

Does anyone think there's a chance Conways Spectacular/Web stories will ever be collected?

I have yet to read it, but would like to.

Wish they would; I actually would like to see the whole of the original PP:SSM and Web runs available digitally while we're at it.

[Turlast]

That's one of the reasons why I was disappointed to see the Essential line discontinued. It would've been right around that point in Spectacular/Web by now. Oh, well.

[Darthfury78]

Did Gerry Conway ever wrote stories that featured the Black Cat during his second Spider-Man run?

[Darthfury78]

That's one of the reasons why I was disappointed to see the Essential line discontinued. It would've been right around that point in Spectacular/Web by now. Oh, well.

Sometimes it's better just to get the original issues as the Essential line are often edited from the original dialog run.

[exile001]

Sometimes it's better just to get the original issues as the Essential line are often edited from the original dialog run.

Really, I didn't know that. What sort of thing has been changed? Presumably, any antiquated/offensive phrasing for a start.

[oldschool]

Really, I didn't know that. What sort of thing has been changed? Presumably, any antiquated/offensive phrasing for a start.

Yeah, I didn't know that either. I have the Essentials line for the first 100 issues of MTU and never noticed anything like that; and, trust me, there was plenty of dated 1970's phrasing in them.

[David Walton]

Wish they would; I actually would like to see the whole of the original PP:SSM and Web runs available digitally while we're at it.

Honestly, the lack of Spidey satellite titles in Marvel's digital catalogue is disappointing to say the least. The only stuff that's really out there right now is from crossovers (KLH and Maximum Carnage). And still no Ock/Owl Gangwar!