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

[Scott Taylor]

Lately I re-read a lot of Zdarksy's material on PPTSSM and Life Story. It strikes just the right balance of humor and drama, for me.

[Shadowcat]

I’m currently reading (literally in my hand) Black Cat #2, and I’m up to #26 on Spencer’s Amazing, and 8 of Taylor’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #8. I can give my thoughts tomorrow after I finish this issue and get some sleep.

[Jekyll]

Lately I re-read a lot of Zdarksy's material on PPTSSM and Life Story. It strikes just the right balance of humor and drama, for me.

As much as I love Zdarsky, his PPTSSM just wasn't for me.

[Snoop Dogg]

Upon my consumption of the The Amazing Spider-Man Full Circle, I have come to the conclusion that it is Nick Spencer's greatest single issue about the character. Despite the creative endeavors of several talented collaborators, it is Spencer's portion of the piece that grounds the absurdity of the events in Spider-Man's life and world. And, as indicated by both the cadence of Peter's narration in the final chapter and the sample of letters provided to the reader at the end of the comic, I believe that it is Spencer who was the key player in the construction of an effective, concise, and understandable conclusion to the tale that is not only satisfying, but truly makes the entire affair a Peter Parker story that would suffer if he were to be replaced with another.

Of course, credit must also be given to the other creators, particularly Mark Bagley, who's history and level of familiarity with the property greatly assists the Final Chapter in tying events together and centering them around Spider-Man. And were it not for the other writers and artists and their bizarre contributions, the stark contrast upon which I base my praise would not exist. Furthermore, every party involved bears responsibility for the comfortable and pleasant flow of the rather hefty and diverse issue. It must be read in one sitting, no more. While its existence may be viewed as unnecessary, the work is a creative and editorial feat.

[Matt Parker]

I recently finished Gerry Conway's Amazing run and decided to re read Paul Jenkins' run on PPSM and Spec. I haven't read this stuff since I started collecting in early high school, which was about 8 years ago, but I remember it being one of my favorite runs on the character.

I'll also admit to double posting this, since I added it to the Paul Jenkins thread, but since I have been reading a lot of my Spider-Man again lately (I recently graduated from college and have now moved to the area where I'll be working and have unpacked my Spidey collection from storage for the first time in several years), I figured it wouldn't hurt to post it here too.

Below are my thoughts on the stories I've re read so far.

Webspinners 10-12: This is a really interesting story, even if I'm not the biggest fan of it. The Chameleon isn't given much of an explanation for being so depressed all of a sudden, and I think he's disposed of too quickly. That said, Peter's dream is wonderfully sad and intense. Not the best story and fairly rough around the edges, but it shows that Paul has major promise.

PPSM 20: One of the best single issues of any Spider-Man I've ever read. Jenkins is second to none in fleshing out Peter's relationship to Ben, and this story nails the balance between intense darkness and a silver lining. This should be in every discussion of best Spider-Man stories ever and it's a crime that it's forgotten.

PPSM 21: Not quite as good as the above, but an excellent story nonetheless. These slice of life type stories are something that appeal to me immensely and I think this issue pulls it off well. I love the mimes, I love Peter dancing with May, and I love the idea that Peter's attempt at standup comedy falls so flat, which is even funnier when considering that Jenkins might be second only to Bendis in terms of the writer who writes the funniest Spider-Man quips.

PPSM 22: A very solid sort of death for Sandman. It's genuinely heartbreaking and the characterization of Sandman (a villain I've never been particularly fond of) is something I wish he always had. The best part of this issue is Peter dancing naked to Bohemian Rhapsody though.

PPSM 26: Another trope that I love is getting the perspective of the main superhero through the eyes of a regular person. This issue presents several "interviews" with various people, including cops and scientists, about Spider-Man and it is done so well. Nothing groundbreaking here, but this is a really cool issue and a favorite of mine from this run.

PPSM 27-28: A pretty interesting moral quandary for Peter Parker that really delves into his no kill rule. I enjoyed the way Jenkins handles Peter's turmoil about whether or not killing Robot Master is acceptable even if it will save thousands of lives, but I found the resolution to be anticlimactic and to reek slightly of BS. I agree with Peter's "take a third option" resolution, but it happened so quick and without much fanfare or difficulty. A solid story but not one of the best from the run.

PPSM 30-32: This is an other underrated classic that should be in the discussion of excellent Spider-Man stories from the 21st century. Fusion is an awesome character. His powerset is so cool and his battles with Spider-Man are beautifully rendered by Mark Buckingham. Plus, I love how real he feels. We can empathize with. the grief he's feeling, but he takes it too far and uses it to justify horrible atrocities. I also love how far Jenkins lets this story go. Fusion murders 300 people. That's heavy stuff for a Spider-Man book, and I like that he lets the weight of that make Peter question himself. Maybe I'm being hyperbolic because of how blown away I was reading this today, but I think this could be a contender for a place on my top 20 personal favorite Spider-Man stories.

So, so far Jenkins is proving his keep as a wonderful Spider-Man scribe. I hope to keep posting my thoughts on the rest of his stories as I read through them.

[batnbreakfast]

Having finally read Kraven's Last Hunt I'd like some perspective on it. Didn't wow me. Nice Art, solid writing and maybe without retconning a certain moment I might have liked it more.

[Chubistian]

I finished Miles Morales Spider-Man: Straight Out Of Brooklyn. I think this is the first story with Miles as a protagonist that I've read. I was unfamiliar with writer Saladin Ahmed, who did a good job, and I already knew the work of penciller Javier Garrón, who brought some interesting compositions and a great flow to the story. I had a neat time with this comic, and I really appreciate that Marvel gave it for free. It's great that new generations are receiving stories that bring back the feeling of the old Ditko-Lee ASM run with modern twists. Ms Marvel: No Normal is another great example, also courtesy of Marvel free iniciative.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Having finally read Kraven's Last Hunt I'd like some perspective on it. Didn't wow me. Nice Art, solid writing and maybe without retconning a certain moment I might have liked it more.

Not sure what you mean about "retconning a certain moment", you have to be specific.

For me, KLH is a masterpiece, one of the best Spider-Man stories ever. But if it didn't wow you that's okay too.

[scilover]

I recently just started reading comic books again, mainly spider-man! The other day I just read Kraven’s Last Hunt and wow! It was very dark. I didn’t expect from a spider-man comic.

[Jekyll]

Not sure what you mean about "retconning a certain moment", you have to be specific.

For me, KLH is a masterpiece, one of the best Spider-Man stories ever. But if it didn't wow you that's okay too.

I recently just started reading comic books again, mainly spider-man! The other day I just read Kraven’s Last Hunt and wow! It was very dark. I didn’t expect from a spider-man comic.

I have it in the epic collection format and I've heard nothing but good things, but I just can't bring myself to read it. Kraven has never been one of my favorite Spider villians. I'll get around to it.

However, picked up a large PPSM lot in a dollar bin. So I recently read #98 & #100, I enjoy seeing Spider-Man take on the Kingpin, but the Felecia stuff was fairly cringe worthy. Next I will be reading Web Of Spider-Man 1 since we have some further developments with the alien suite.

[Chubistian]

Finally the fifth Epic Collection of ASM arrived to my home (I bought it from Bookdepository a couple months ago. I knew it would take that long, but it was cheaper that ordering from Amazon, so it was worth it).

The first story is Annual #5, the epic that explains what happened to Peter's parents. As a superhero comicbook, it's pretty solid, though towards the end it becomes rough, as if Stan Lee and Larry Lieber had to rush to the final battle and resort to a just way too convenient narrative choice to have Peter find the truth and evidence he was seeking.

Larry Lieber did a great job and in line with what Romita Sr was doing in the regular series. I think this may have been Lee's biggest mistake in his long years as a writer in ASM. Making Peter Parker's parents spies (well, Richard was the spy here. His wife just accompanied her husband) doesn't work in the world of the character and though it is not an awful concept, further writers and editors did make it even worse

I have also been reading the next four or five issues in the volume, and they have been really cool so far. I'm digging the Clay Tablet storyline, with which I was familiar thank to Spider-Man TAS and the current issues by Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley in ASM

[yada]

I have it in the epic collection format and I've heard nothing but good things, but I just can't bring myself to read it. Kraven has never been one of my favorite Spider villians. I'll get around to it.

However, picked up a large PPSM lot in a dollar bin. So I recently read #98 & #100, I enjoy seeing Spider-Man take on the Kingpin, but the Felecia stuff was fairly cringe worthy. Next I will be reading Web Of Spider-Man 1 since we have some further developments with the alien suite.

Kravens last hunt is unlike any other previous kraven story. In early appearances kraven comes off as an unsuccessful goofball whos not much of a threat. Kravens last hunt finally shows what a cunning hunter kraven really is and comes off well.

I was familiar with kraven before reading it but he wasnt a favorite leading me to be skeptical of the story, then i read it ��

[Spiderfang]

Last time I was re-reading the Clone Saga, soon I will be reading from Venom to Maximum Carnage, Clone Saga and the post clone saga years.

[yada]

Last time I was re-reading the Clone Saga, soon I will be reading from Venom to Maximum Carnage, Clone Saga and the post clone saga years.

Thats what i need to read as well. The only asm i am yet to read is from about 315-volume 22.

[Chubistian]

I finished the fifth Epic Collection of ASM. I loved the petrified tablet saga, it was unusual for a story to last so long back then. It also was much more decompressed compared to other stories in the series from the 60s. The rest of the comics collected in the book were great too, with the two-part debut of The Prowler, the return of the Chamaleon, a rematch with Electro and The Scheemer mystery (which I enjoyed though I knew beforehand the twist about concerning the new villain). The only bland story was the origin of The Kangaroo, one of the few times a dull bad guy appeared in the magazine in its early years, but it was saved thank to a sideplot involving aunt May that, though standard for most of it, had an interesting conclusion