What Spider-Man Comics have you been reading lately!? Version 3.0

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I am mainly referring to issue # 29 when Peter misses his chance to say goodbye to MJ before her flight. We've seen a similar situation in JMS' run and we know they ultimately found a way to make their relationship work. I also find all the talk about whether they will ever be a stable couple or not to be redundant. It is the equivalent of Tom King tackling the "Can Batman ever truly be happy?" question just 10 years after Morrison's run.

If Marvel is ok with Peter and MJ being together as long as they're not married (which I still don't get...they take issue with them signing a legal contract but not with them practically functioning as a married couple? Also doesn't that make Mephisto look dumb? You could argue Peter and MJ played him by taking advantage of a legal human-made loophole...but I digress), why not continue their dynamic from pre-OMD instead of recycling the same ideas? It's also not like marriage is the end-all-be-all of love anymore, it's common for a couple in their mid-20s-early 30s to be close but not be officially married.

I think that's a valid take.

I like Spencer's run more than you do, and I see Spencer being self-reflexive about it, but I understand how that seems redundant.

OMD ultimately made the entire continuity after it nihilistic and pointless. Marvel's never gonna find a love interest that audiences will accept over Mary Jane, and they will never get audiences to settle for anything less than having the marriage back. So it's just a bunch of pointless spinning of wheels that you see with Slott and also Spencer to some extent.

A common criticism I hear of 616 Spider-Man is that he never learns from his mistakes. See, I think that is slightly inaccurate. I think the problem is he always learns from the same mistakes.

Ouch.

You are right. But ouch.

[Kaitou D. Kid]

I think that's a valid take.

I like Spencer's run more than you do, and I see Spencer being self-reflexive about it, but I understand how that seems redundant.

More specifically, I find it 'meh' after the first 10-or-so issues. 'Back to Basics' and the Thieves Guild story arc were solid. Issues 33-36 were also very good.

[Chubistian]

I read again the finale of Slott's run, Go Down Swinging plus #801, and my opinion remains the same. It's an enjoyable story, with some great action and character moments, and some problems here and there, but a nice way of saying goodbye to the title Slott wrote for a decade. ASM #801 is a lovely one and done inspired by The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man and it puts a smile on my face every time I read it

[yada]

I just read the 5 trades that collect the Clone Saga (the pre-SpiderReilly parts) and it was a mixed journey, like 55% bad and 45% good, i really enjoyed the beginning and some parts of the middle, but man most of the climax was awfull and really hard to finish, thought i still find some moments enjoyable.

How long did it take you to read this and are you reading the 6 ben reilly trades that follow this? Personally this is one period i have not read yet and i own all the trades digitally but its im my backlog

[TheCape]

How long did it take you to read this and are you reading the 6 ben reilly trades that follow this? Personally this is one period i have not read yet and i own all the trades digitally but its im my backlog

I wasn't consistent reading, but i guest it was around four to five weeks, it was really hard to get througth some parts. Amd yes i'm planning on reading Ben Reilly trades next.

[Chubistian]

This last couple of days I dedicated my free time to re-read some ASM issues: 275, 276, and from 278 to 281 plus 283 to 289. The stories from 275 to 281 are pretty solid, some great drama with Peter and MJ, and Flash tangled in a love triangle with Betty and Ned Leeds, that gets worse once he's framed as the Hobgoblin. And the action was no short of fun. Ron Frenz and Rick Leonardi do an amazing job and even the filler issue by Jo Duffy, Peter David and Mike Harris is a compelling addition to the plot. Then, came Gangwar and everything went down the toilet. I think Gangwar is a nice failure. There are some interesting ideas (not fully developed) and genuine good moments, but the plot is convoluted, the double crossings which the story is full of don't make a lot of sense and the change from Tom Defalco to Christopher Priest is jarring. I know the behind the scenes and that the relationship between both was dreadful, but they tell two completely different stories and Priest didn't even try to unify his ideas with Defalco's. Then, Peter David is left to deal with the unmasking of the Hobgoblin and I appreciate the try, but the answer to the mystery doesn't work at all, at least not with the reasons he gave as to why Ned Leeds chose to become his evil alter ego. I'm glad that later on, Roger Stern fixed it, even when the solution wasn't the greatest as presented, it was satisfactory. Also, it's fun to see how David hyped the Foreigner, a villain that didn't have a lasting impact in retrospective (though it's nice that Nick Spencer decided to bring him back). I don't comprehend why give the mantle of the Hobgoblin to Jason Macendale. Even in the same issue the Kingpin mocks him. Visually, Gangwar is a so-so experience, nothing to be remembered for in that front. I don't know if it was the first job of Erik Larsen in the series or with the character, but he doesn't stand out, but it's the only reason I can think of in favor of the art (and I'm not even sure about it)

[Shadowcat]

For international Spider-Man’s day, I decided to go read one of my favorite eras. I just finished Web 66, Amazing 334, New Warriors vol. 1 1, cover dated July 1990. The beginning of the return of the Sinister Six, and the New Warriors just launched.

[Scott Taylor]

I've been re-reading Life Story. Still brilliant. While I was at it, also Spectacular Spider-Man 310, which is maybe the best tribute I've seen to Spider-Man's heart and soul in forever. Just really captured the basic human nature of Peter Parker.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I've been re-reading Life Story. Still brilliant. While I was at it, also Spectacular Spider-Man 310, which is maybe the best tribute I've seen to Spider-Man's heart and soul in forever. Just really captured the basic human nature of Peter Parker.

Zdarsky really does bring the room together, doesn't he?

[Batman Begins 2005]

I've been re-reading Life Story. Still brilliant. While I was at it, also Spectacular Spider-Man 310, which is maybe the best tribute I've seen to Spider-Man's heart and soul in forever. Just really captured the basic human nature of Peter Parker.

I love Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310. A perfect issue everyone should read. Deservedly won Chip Zdarsky an Eisner Award.

[Shadowcat]

Chip, if given the chance, could be the DeMatteis of this generation for Spider-Man.

[Shadowcat]

What caused David Michelinie to leave Amazing?

[TheCape]

What caused David Michelinie to leave Amazing?

I always assumed that he was burn out, before Slott he probably had the longest run on Amazing Spider-Man and that clearly was taking a tool on him.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

What caused David Michelinie to leave Amazing?

According to him, it was a combination of burnout, artistic disputes, and editorial disagreements. Michelinie worked a long time at ASM and obviously after a time juices start to dry up. That was also coupled with editorial arguments and disagreements with Danny Fingeroth. Fingeroth is not an entirely bad editor but he's also someone who has some set ideas that go against what the author wanted. Michelinie started his run with Jim Salicrup, the best editor on Spider-Man by a country mile and more. Then he left and Fingeroth came later on.

Michelinie had the following issues with Fingeroth:
-- Against his wishes, Fingeroth allowed Venom to start featuring outside of ASM and allowed other writers to put their spin on it, which Michelinie didn't want to happen for the duration of his run on ASM (after his run, he had no issues). Michelinie felt that Venom's main characteristics got diluted and watered down by other writers.
-- Fingeroth also agreed and allowed Venom to become a solo title which again Michelinie didn't want, leading to Venom being an anti-hero. To maintain some control, Michelinie agreed to write the original series and it was during this time that he created Carnage to be the full-time villain that Venom was no longer allowed to be.
-- Fingeroth foisted on him the "Robotparents" story. That was a story that Fingeroth thought would be cool as a concept and he imposed that on him, and Michelinie didn't care for or understand that entire concept and it was this that made him finally step away.

Another issue is that Michelinie's pitches for big ambitious storylines were rejected. Michelinie came up with a story where Peter gets unmasked in public and outed as Spider-Man. This was to be a yearlong status-quo shift and change. Michelinie planned for the identity to become secret by using the same trick he used in his OGN Emperor Doom i.e. strap Purple Man to a power amplifier and use that to brainwash the world into forgetting Peter's secret. This would have led to the US government giving Peter and his family protection in exchange for him becoming a US sponsored operative and Peter gets uncomfortable with that. Yep, we could have had CIVIL WAR in the 90s by a writer who knew what he was doing.*

Another issue for Michelinie was disputes with Erik Larsen, at least that's what he said or hinted in interviews. Obviously Larsen would give another side to that story. Apparently Michelinie felt, rightly or wrongly, that Larsen was undermining his scripts. He had some hiccups with Mark Bagley at first but they got along better eventually.



* I think the connection between CIVIL WAR and Michelinie's rejected pitch isn't a coincidence. Tom Brevoort was in office at Marvel at the time, not as senior as he would become later on. It was Brevoort who suggested to Mark Millar to unmask Spider-Man in Civil War, which wasn't a plot that Millar had in mind at first. So that might be case of reusing vetoed ideas.

[Shadowcat]

Ahhh. Reusing plot ideas. Something Harras would do with Claremont’s rejected plots throughout the 90’s.