What Older Spidey Comics Are You Reading Right Now?

[Venomsaurus]

While talking about the current run the other day, I brought up how it's made me go back and appreciate older Spider-man comics. Really reminding me why I love Spidey, especially Spidey and MJ being together in these classic stories. I finally read the wedding story and loved it, it's now got to be one of my top 10 favorite Spidey stories of all time it's so perfect. Capturing everything I love about Pete, MJ and their whole dynamic. Not to mention gorgeous early Romita Jr. art. It was a real treat to get to read that story finally and see why it's so popular and beloved all these years later.

After that, I read through the recent reprinted Spider-man vs. Venom omnibus. I've read a lot of the stories in this collection in other books over the years, but it still had a lot of comics I'd never read (Mostly the weird places Venom showed up when he wasn't fighting Spidey) like the trial of Venom which was a lot of fun.

It's a tough call, but I think Dave Michelinie may just be my all time favorite Spider-man writer. He just gets that perfect balance of super heroics and real life drama that makes this series so enduring. Not to mention the amazing talent he got to work with. McFarlane, Larsen, Bagley, some of the most definitive Spider-man artists of their time and still to this day. These stories are just stuffed with talent and it's nice having them all in one big book.

One thing revisiting the early Venom comics, I always forget just how big a goofball OG Venom was. His very first time confronting Spider-man, he introduces himself with a freakin' Mister Rogers joke. That's Venom right there. Killing you with the dumbest joke he can possibly think of. I love it. Dylan needs to inherit his dad's awful sense of humor.

Re-reading Maximum Carnage for the first time in forever was really nice. I enjoyed it a lot more than I remember. It's always been a fun kind of big bombastic crossover, but I found it had something interesting to say I never considered on my first read years back. It really feels like the Spidey storytellers taking a stand against the then huge wave of anti-heroes who killed the bad guys. Spidey almost sinking to that level a couple of times during the story, before always rebounding to his morals and not letting his anger and pain get to the best of him. It's a really great defining Peter Parker moment that also has more MJ greatness, especially when she tells Richard to shut the hell up.

So yeah, this thread, just share what previous Spidey comics you're reading right now, and your thoughts on them. Trying to focus on something a little more positive right now and remember why I love Spider-man so much.

In just a bit after posting this, I'll be starting the Nick Spencer Spider-man Omnibus and I'm super excited to read that and share my thoughts later, so I'll update y'all then, and can't wait to hear what everyone's been reading.

[Astroman]

I've been rereading RYV, The Wedding Album, Nick Spencer's run, and to go waaaaayyy back, the first 100 issues that Stan Lee wrote.

[CaptainUniverse]

So far? The Wedding Album, Kraven's Last Hunt, Soul of the Hunter, Spider-Man: The Cosmic Adventures, Spider-Man/Batman, The Clone Saga, Tom DeFalco's post-Clone Saga run on ASM, Spider-Girl (Adjectiveless, Amazing and Spectacular), Spider-Man: The Real Clone Saga (2009), JMS' ASM run (Up to #500), RYV, Dark Ages and Nick Spencer's run on ASM. Lots of Peter/MJ, some Captain Universe, Symbiotes, Clones and definitely Mayday and Annie. You know...the good stuff. Do Ben Reilly: Spider-Man and Spider-Man: The Lost Hunt count? You know what, it falls under Clone Saga so I am just going to say "yes, yes it does".

[MaydayStan]

-Alien Costume Saga
-Spider-Girl / Amazing Spider-Girl / Spectacular Spider-Girl
-Renew Your Vows
-Wedding Album
-Kraven’s Last Hunt

Finished “Lost Hunt” a bit ago and might reread it again too

[exile001]

I buy all the Epic Collections as they're released, so that's the majority of my Spidey reading these days.

I also just bought the TPB of JMD's excellent Ben Reilly: Spider-man, so I'll give that another read soon. I look forward to figuring out where to place it between my Ben Reilly Saga Epic TPBs.

[Johnny]

Kraven's Last Hunt is "the" Spidey comics I tend to keep coming back to. It's not something that should be read very often since obviously the themes are quite heavy, but it's really the one I think has captivated me the most and that says a lot given how many great Spidey comics are out there. It always comes to mind when I think of quality storytelling in general, not just Spider-Man comics. Soul of The Hunter was a worthy sequel too.

As far as ongoing series, can't go wrong with Ultimate Spider-Man. I'm thinking of going back to that very soon as well.

Paul Jenkins and Humberto Ramos' Spectacular Spider-Man will always have sentimental value to me since it was one of the first Spidey comics I can remember reading. And in many ways I think it still stands out, some of the darker tone of the initial arcs being presented with Ramos' cartoony art felt really unique to me at the time and still holds up well imo.

Honorary mention: this isn't really older since it came out like 3 years ago but I sort of gained a new appreciation for the Spider-Man: Bloodline series by JJ Abrams and his son, with art by Sara Pichelli. Not really a strong story that relies on many usual cliches but after rereading it recently I think it came off better than I remember when it first came out. When Benny sees MJ's box of letters to Peter with his costume inside nearly got this jaded fan bowling.