Amazing Spider-Man #1 preview

[Chris0013]

What other main title has been consistently bad for 15 years?

The X-Men.

Exactly. X-Men have been going down hill for a while with their 'every human is a genocidal racist who wants all mutants dead' crap.

[duke togo]

Seems like most online reaction is negative, but hopefully the negative reaction doesn't generate more sales. We spent years getting MJ and Peter close again, only for the rug to be swept under our feet again.

I will say the art was great, and really enjoyed the Tombstone plot. I think I would have enjoyed the comic if the entire issue was about Tombstone and Peter didn't even show up this time around.

[Lukmendes]

Even since Hickman? I heard good things.

Hickman's run makes the X-Men look like a cult.

I think the concepts and sci-fi shit it introduced are pretty awesome, but characterizations are questionable at least.

And then he left and the main X-Men comic rather dull in general instead of just hit or miss, yeah...

Seems like most online reaction is negative, but hopefully the negative reaction doesn't generate more sales. We spent years getting MJ and Peter close again, only for the rug to be swept under our feet again.

I will say the art was great, and really enjoyed the Tombstone plot. I think I would have enjoyed the comic if the entire issue was about Tombstone and Peter didn't even show up this time around.

Yeah I pointed out something similar too, it's pretty fucking depressing that a Spider-Man comic could be so much better without Spidey.

[Zeitgeist]

First and foremost Peter is a human, and the vast majority of people grow and develop in life, find a significant other, have kids etc. This version Marvel has been stuck on since 2007 is not relatable.

Peter Parker stopped becoming about youth the moment Uncle Ben died and he had to become the bread winner and get a job to support Aunt May. Spider-Man is not about youth because people are not about youth. Being about youth forever is not relatable to anyone in life.

Yet in most most iterations across film, animation, AUs, he's more often than not reset as a teenager.
It's just the nature of mainstream superhero comic book characters - as long as their aims as a business is to cater to as many generations of readers as possible with new readers and future generations foremost, you'll never see the apple cart upset too greatly. And I get it, cause why would I want my children to inherit a 65 year old grandpa Peter Parker and subject them to all of the inevitable prune juice jokes? Doesn't seem fair on them.

[Kanos]

Yet in most most iterations across film, animation, AUs, he's more often than not reset as a teenager.
It's just the nature of mainstream superhero comic book characters - as long as their aims as a business is to cater to as many generations of readers as possible with new readers and future generations foremost, you'll never see the apple cart upset too greatly. And I get it, cause why would I want my children to inherit a 65 year old grandpa Peter Parker and subject them to all of the inevitable prune juice jokes? Doesn't seem fair on them.

The problem is that the other characters mature and Peter doesn't. Harry and Liz have grown up. Ned and Betty have grown up. Miguel has grown up. Even Normie Osborne is at least 7-8 years old. Miles is going to college. Everyone grows up. Your children will still read about 65 year old grandpa Peter, only this Peter will be a lonely, childless old man.

edit: In the adaptation, Peter is a teenager because that's his canon. This is how Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created it. This is respect for the school era. But they also made him older when they sent him to college. That's why I love Spider-Man, he's evolving. School, college, adulthood. It is interesting. But it's not interesting when evolution stops.

[Matt Rat]

I always felt that the story by itself isn't that good too, but got overrated because it happened right before OMD.

The story is a timeless examination of just how far Peter and MJ are willing to go for one another, how they never give up on one another, and makes it quite clear MJ only ever intends to share herself with Peter and not to take marriage for granted. It's a celebration of love and qualifies among the many jumping off points for the franchise in general, and was nominated for an Eisner. Something Spider-Man has rarely accomplished since.

You're very much in the minority.

[Vortex85]

Yet in most most iterations across film, animation, AUs, he's more often than not reset as a teenager.
It's just the nature of mainstream superhero comic book characters - as long as their aims as a business is to cater to as many generations of readers as possible with new readers and future generations foremost, you'll never see the apple cart upset too greatly. And I get it, cause why would I want my children to inherit a 65 year old grandpa Peter Parker and subject them to all of the inevitable prune juice jokes? Doesn't seem fair on them.

When I say grow up, I don't mean literally aging him into old age. I'm talking about the philosophy of what accomplishments the character is allowed to make and retain in life. Seeing Peter reset to 0 over and over again is depressing and not relatable as a human being. Pre-OMD Peter was the same age he is now, but he felt grown up because he was allowed to make and retain accomplishments people associate with grownups and he wasn't constantly made to be irresponsible at things associated with adulthood, like the inability to keep and retain a job or maintain a relationship. The marriage was a great way to give the character the feeling of accomplishment as a character while still setting him back in life in every other way, without it feeling like total misery porn and pitying the character instead of wanting to be like him.

[Kaitou D. Kid]

Yet in most most iterations across film, animation, AUs, he's more often than not reset as a teenager.
It's just the nature of mainstream superhero comic book characters - as long as their aims as a business is to cater to as many generations of readers as possible with new readers and future generations foremost, you'll never see the apple cart upset too greatly. And I get it, cause why would I want my children to inherit a 65 year old grandpa Peter Parker and subject them to all of the inevitable prune juice jokes? Doesn't seem fair on them.

Almost no one wants to see Peter as a 65-year old grandpa. Batman and Superman are older than Peter and even those guys will never be 65-year old grandpas.

It's a strawman that fans want to age Peter up to old age, and not only to a certain adult age (thirties-ish).

Plus, like someone else said, it's about growth as a person, not about your actual age.

[xpyred]

Just to add my two cents; when I say I want Peter to "age" I mean to mature a bit more. As far as realism go, I'm 37 years old and from the Rego Park/Forest Hills area and about 85% of the people I went to school with went to college and got married during or immediately after and had kids before the age of 28. Peter aging to at least 35 wouldn't bother me. To think that Peter is in his mid to late 20's and has the same lame excuse about not having a job or a studio apartment isn't believable anymore.

[Matt Rat]

So Chi-Town, the guy Lowe referenced in the afterword letter, gave his review on the Crawlspace and it's a 'D' from him. He's also heard a good number of people are considering dropping the comic

He won't be reviewing ASM#2, instead leaving that to his friend Dark Mark, who admitted to liking this particular issue, but Mark is also convinced Peter and MJ will make it out the other end stronger than ever, so he might be a bit fairer to the next edition.

[Zeitgeist]

When I say grow up, I don't mean literally aging him into old age. I'm talking about the philosophy of what accomplishments the character is allowed to make and retain in life. Seeing Peter reset to 0 over and over again is depressing and not relatable as a human being. Pre-OMD Peter was the same age he is now, but he felt grown up because he was allowed to make and retain accomplishments people associate with grownups and he wasn't constantly made to be irresponsible at things associated with adulthood, like the inability to keep and retain a job or maintain a relationship. The marriage was a great way to give the character the feeling of accomplishment as a character while still setting him back in life in every other way, without it feeling like total misery porn and pitying the character instead of wanting to be like him.

It's a strawman that fans want to age Peter up to old age, and not only to a certain adult age (thirties-ish).

Plus, like someone else said, it's about growth as a person, not about your actual age.

Gang the old age was a joke because whatever number you draw the line at, be it 30, 35, etc, it's besides the point. The point is that there seems to be a subset of older readers who grew up with Peter Parker and wanted the character to continue to age with them or at least stay relatable to them. Understandable, but the issue with this is that time moves on and eventually there's newer generations of readers to be catered to. Sure, the dramatic retreads can feel a bit artificial, but maybe another reason why a character (re)learning lessons about holding down relationships and jobs doesn't feel relatable is because those stories are aimed at a younger reader who does relate to those issues.

I don't feel this is a bad thing though! I've had my time with the character echoing my personal young adult life and am fine with reading him as a perpetual 20 something while I age onwards. All teens and young adults deserve a Peter - not a Miles, or Gwen (though they can have them too) - that reflects where they are at that stage in life IMO, one that addresses those growing pains of adolescence crashing into responsibility, relationships and consequences, and I don't feel "read the old stuff" cuts it because as timeless as some tales are, they also deserve a contemporary lens reflecting their own society. Even if the cyclical nature of comics can feel a bit mechanical or cynical, I'm fine to pay it forward.

[Vortex85]

Gang the old age was a joke because whatever number you draw the line at, be it 30, 35, etc, it's besides the point. The point is that there seems to be a subset of older readers who grew up with Peter Parker and wanted the character to continue to age with them or at least stay relatable to them. Understandable, but the issue with this is that time moves on and eventually there's newer generations of readers to be catered to. Sure, the dramatic retreads can feel a bit artificial, but maybe another reason why a character (re)learning lessons about holding down relationships and jobs doesn't feel relatable is because those stories are aimed at a younger reader who does relate to those issues.

I don't feel this is a bad thing though! I've had my time with the character echoing my personal young adult life and am fine with reading him as a perpetual 20 something while I age onwards. All teens and young adults deserve a Peter - not a Miles, or Gwen (though they can have them too) - that reflects where they are at that stage in life IMO, one that addresses those growing pains of adolescence crashing into responsibility, relationships and consequences, and I don't feel "read the old stuff" cuts it because as timeless as some tales are, they also deserve a contemporary lens reflecting their own society. Even if the cyclical nature of comics can feel a bit mechanical or cynical, I'm fine to pay it forward.

You say that as if Peter wasn't a married man to teens and young adults during the late 80s, 90s, and 00s. That was my Peter growing up as a teenager and saying teens don't deserve THAT Peter makes it sound like you devalue the greatness of the Spider-Man I grew up with. THERE IS NOTHING INFERIOR ABOUT THE SPIDER-MAN I READ IN THE COMICS GROWING UP. I loved that version as a teen and young adult and it's simply a false assumption to assume he isn't right for future teens and young adults to read.

The point is that there seems to be a subset of older readers who grew up with Peter Parker and wanted the character to continue to age with them or at least stay relatable to them.

False, it's the opposite. There seems to be an subset of older readers (people like Quesada and Brevoort) who did not want the characters to change or grow at all from the way they read them despite the fact that they did for decades of new readers who fell in love with an older, more mature, married version of the character. So they erased that version to put him back the way he was when they grew up claiming that was the only way readers could relate to the character, which is absurd and false.

[Matt Rat]

Gang the old age was a joke because whatever number you draw the line at, be it 30, 35, etc, it's besides the point. The point is that there seems to be a subset of older readers who grew up with Peter Parker and wanted the character to continue to age with them or at least stay relatable to them. Understandable, but the issue with this is that time moves on and eventually there's newer generations of readers to be catered to.

No 'newer generations' are reading big two comics except us. They're all into Manga.

[Vortex85]

No 'newer generations' are reading big two comics except us. They're all into Manga.

Why would they? Had I picked up my comic and saw Peter was the way he is today I would figure its a waste of time to get into him if nothing ever changes and he keeps going back to the same miserable state of having nothing.

The only reason he seemed cool to me was he was a character who actually started as a teen and grew up and got married. I was interested to see his story.

[The_Sneezing_Stormtrooper]

Gang the old age was a joke because whatever number you draw the line at, be it 30, 35, etc, it's besides the point. The point is that there seems to be a subset of older readers who grew up with Peter Parker and wanted the character to continue to age with them or at least stay relatable to them. Understandable, but the issue with this is that time moves on and eventually there's newer generations of readers to be catered to. Sure, the dramatic retreads can feel a bit artificial, but maybe another reason why a character (re)learning lessons about holding down relationships and jobs doesn't feel relatable is because those stories are aimed at a younger reader who does relate to those issues.

I don't feel this is a bad thing though! I've had my time with the character echoing my personal young adult life and am fine with reading him as a perpetual 20 something while I age onwards. All teens and young adults deserve a Peter - not a Miles, or Gwen (though they can have them too) - that reflects where they are at that stage in life IMO, one that addresses those growing pains of adolescence crashing into responsibility, relationships and consequences, and I don't feel "read the old stuff" cuts it because as timeless as some tales are, they also deserve a contemporary lens reflecting their own society. Even if the cyclical nature of comics can feel a bit mechanical or cynical, I'm fine to pay it forward.

That's entirely not true. I was 16 when OMD happened and precisely the demographic that they were trying to attract with that move and it could not have turned me off any more if they tried. There also seems to be a lack of awareness that aging up Peter in comics isn't depriving anyone of a younger version because most fans have that version through TV shows and movies and are likely to be introduced through those mediums first anyway. This isn't the 1970s where Spiderman's main source or exposure is on the newspaper racks. All they've done is take away what sets the comic version apart and if anything force the comic version to become more obsolete by not offering anything different. Why even bother reading the comics at all these days?

The aging boomers who run Marvel have no idea what young people want in their comics, what they find relatable, or why they continue to gravitate more and more towards manga even though the movie side continues to thrive. It's actually kind of pathetic that they haven't figured it out at this point.

Anyway, checked out the first issue to give it a shot as I usually do with a new run and I won't be back for more anytime soon. Too bad as I have a ton of nostalgia for JRjr on ASM.