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

[oldschool]

I'm pretty much agreed, with the caveat that Mantlo's PPTSSM actually rose to the level of Stern's ASM with the Ock/Owl Gang War and the fallout.

To paraphrase Toby Keith, Mantlo's PPTSSM ain't as good as Stern's ASM was, but it's as good (once) as it ever was.

Of course, it goes without saying that the JMD/Buscema run took things to an entirely different level and would have competed with ASM at its best (which it wasn't).

I never really read the Claremont MTU. I actually came in on the tail end of the series, when they were transitioning toward WOS. I do remember the finale was killer (Spidey and the X-Men vs. Juggernaut and Black Tom). The Wonder-Man issue had a pretty cool subplot about a guy trying to steal Spider-Man's webbing to make better bulletproof jackets for police officers, not realizing it deteriorated in an hour.

Damn, it is almost too close to call between Mantlo's PP:SSM run and Stern's ASM run but I ultimately give the nod to Stern. Almost unfair that Mantlo's brilliant PP:SSM run had to coexist in the same space as Stern during that era but, hey, now I guess we know how George Harrison must have felt as a songwriter in the same band as Lennon and McCartney!

PS---I highly recommend reading Claremont/Byrne's MTU run; it's one of the great "under-the-radar" runs in Spidey-dom. Sure, there are some corny '70's tropes to be found throughout but not any more so than one would find in other titles during the same era.

[Ozymandias]

It's my opinion---one that I am sure others share---- and so I shall. Though, even if others didn't share it, I would still say it. It's my viewpoint that, after a great first year or so, the quality of JMS' ASM started to sink pretty steadily around 2003 (when the Jenkins-penned SSM launched) and pretty much plummeted a year or so later; during that time I found Jenkins' SSM to be the much more enjoyable read, though it wasn't quite as good as the Jenkins/Bucky run earlier on PP:SM it was still better than what JMS was churning out at the time.

That would be volume two, I have only read a selection of those, recommended by Thomas, and didn't see much of an improvement, over his run on volume one. In fact, the only work from Jenkins I remember fondly, is Dogs of War. I usually like the British writers, just not all of them. Even though the only noticeable story from that period is "The Book Of Ezekiel", I was still able to read what JMS offered, something I can't say about Jenkins' Spider-man.

[frizb]

As a big Conway fan I'm enjoying the Conway/Buscema run quite a bit. Buscema does the best angry face ever!

[Ozymandias]

I'm pretty much agreed, with the caveat that Mantlo's PPTSSM actually rose to the level of Stern's ASM with the Ock/Owl Gang War and the fallout.
I do remember the finale was killer (Spidey and the X-Men vs. Juggernaut and Black Tom). The Wonder-Man issue had a pretty cool subplot about a guy trying to steal Spider-Man's webbing to make better bulletproof jackets for police officers, not realizing it deteriorated in an hour.

Actually, the best Mantlo issues for me, are the ones immediately before and after the Ock/Owl war (with Ed Hannigan and Ron Frenz), plus the ones with Miller and Giffen, from a few years earlier and later (respectively). I liked Milgrom as a writer, and he's probably the best inker I can name, but he was a dismal penciler.

LaRocque, there's my favorite bad artist. He had a shinny Layton-esque style I really dug, but he couldn't draw for his life. As for Michelinie, can't say I'm a fan of his Spider-Man work, the detail you mention was cool, but he failed to build an interesting story around it.

[Ozymandias]

As a big Conway fan I'm enjoying the Conway/Buscema run quite a bit. Buscema does the best angry face ever!

That's because he's by far, the artist with the most experience, drawing open mouths. He just has to had some teeth and he's good to go.

[oldschool]

Decided to dig out some of old "Webspinners" comics tonite as it's a lousy rainy one here in NY. Always felt this was a good series that was a) never quite as good as Tangled Web and that b) never did get to fulfill it's full potential. But, having said that, it was rarely a bad series and had some very good stories throughout it's run though you have to hunt them down.

With that in mind, there is a superb Sandman story that ran in Webspinners #7-9 by Joe Kelly that is really worth checking out. It is one of the 2 or 3 best stories that ran in Webspinners and I highly recommend it!

[Mister Mets]

I liked Webspinners, too.

I think the main problem in comparison to Tangled Web is that it didn't have much of an identity. It was a generic anthology.

But over half the stories were really good. The Dematteis Mysterio arc is right up there with his Electro story. The Joe Kelly prom story was fantastic. Jenkins aced the tryout. The Defalco/ Frenz two-parter was as good as their Amazing Spider-Man.

The Vulture story was okay, but there's a reason the writer/ artist remains obscure. Giving Mackie two issues to do a Spider-Man Unlimited (the short-lived cartoon) tie-in was a bad idea. And the Silver Surfer story wasn't that interesting to Spider-Man fans.

[oldschool]

I liked Webspinners, too.

I think the main problem in comparison to Tangled Web is that it didn't have much of an identity. It was a generic anthology.

But over half the stories were really good. The Dematteis Mysterio arc is right up there with his Electro story. The Joe Kelly prom story was fantastic. Jenkins aced the tryout. The Defalco/ Frenz two-parter was as good as their Amazing Spider-Man.


The Vulture story was okay, but there's a reason the writer/ artist remains obscure. Giving Mackie two issues to do a Spider-Man Unlimited (the short-lived cartoon) tie-in was a bad idea. And the Silver Surfer story wasn't that interesting to Spider-Man fans.

Well, "Tangled Web" did the anthology format with rotating creators more successfully a year or so after Webspinners called it a day and, by and large, had better results. Still, both short-lived series have some good and even great stories worth seeking out ("Flowers for Rhino" and "Severence Package", both from Tangled Web, are the most renowned stories from either series….and rightfully so as they are both excellent). Which gives me an idea---it won't ever happen but it would be great if Marvel were to publish a "best-of" TPB that compiled the best stories from both series. There are enough worthy stories in each to publish one really good edition.

[Mister Mets]

Finishing Peter David's 1980s work....

Web of Spider-Man #40-43: The Cult of Love. There are some interesting moral questions about how far Peter and his friends should go to save Betty from a cult, though the villains don't justify a four parter.
B-

Web of Spider-Man #44/ Incredible Hulk #349: A Vegas story with generic bad guys gets much more interesting when Spidey gets in the way of the amoral Joe Fixit Hulk.
B

There were some single issue stories right before by other writers.

Web of Spider-Man #37: Maybe Owsley's second-best Spider-Man story. MJ is caught in a mystery involving a serial killer who targets models, and a dope who wants to fake an attack in order to impress a girl.
B+

Web of Spider-Man #38: The Jason Macendale Hobgoblin returns, and no one pretends he's an A-lister. But it's also the story in which Spidey gets drunk and we meet the landlady's husband.
B+

Web of Spider-Man #39: Decent spotlight on Nate Lubensky, even if it is deck-cleaning. An obscure story that matters (May and Nate reconcile, Nate realizes there's more to Peter than he thought.)
B+

And I read some recent comics.

Spider-Woman #5-8: This might actually be the best Spider-Man universe comic of 2015 (Main competition so far is Spiral and Renew Your Vows). Great art by Rodriguez, as Jessica Jones meshes well with the Hawkeye/ Superior Foes style. The mystery has satiafying payoff, and it's fun to see Jessica's efforts at being a low-key street level superhero.
A

Spider-Woman #9-10:
Okay follow-up. The crew is fun, and the menace is weird.
B

Spider-Island #1-5:
The main story is a fun resistance tale that stays interesting with a few good twists (The plan against the Spider-Queen, the discovery that this universe's version of the greatest character in comics is alive.) The Mayday Parker back-up story combines familiar tropes competently told with her personal crisis.
B+

[Metamorphosis]

I got a new tablet, so I dumped the entirety of the ASM DVD-ROM onto it. I'm jumping around on it reading up on some issues that I've never read.

ASM #153 - "The Longest Hundred Yards" one-shot by Wein / Andru. I had always heard on here how good this story is. I think saying that it shows how dangerous being a civilian in Spider-Man's world can be is a bit of misrepresentation, as it was the character Bolton's own choice to get mixed up with the bad guys of the issue. I laughed out loud at how corny Spidey's John Wayne impression was at the end (spoilers for a nearly 40 year old story):



This was a fairly average issue for me. 2.5 / 5

ASM #237 - "High and Mighty!"

A Stilt Man story plotted by Stern and written by Mantlo. Your basic villain-wants-to-power-himself-up-after-suffering-too-many-defeats-at-the-hands-of-Marvel heroes story. Exceedingly average for the time, on the verge of being boring and uninspired. The next issue was the first Hobgoblin appearance. The letters page this issue has a preview of #238's cover, where Hobgoblin is ripping the Spidey costume to shreds. Hobby's own costume here is colored purple instead of orange. Curious, but there seemed to have been a lot of demand for the return of the Green Goblin at this time. 1.5 / 5.

Any tips on where I should jump to next? There are many issues in the Conway / Wein / Wolfman / O'Neil eras in particular that I've never read. Looking for good one-and-dones or two-parters preferably.

[frizb]

Web#38- pretty funny with Mr Muggins pervin' around the party. I had no idea who it was till the Mrs busted him.

[Saiga]

Yeah, I was surprised to see ASM #153 listed as a really good Spider-man story. The whole thing was just too corny for me.

[frizb]

Never cared for #153. Compared to Conways run on ASM, which had just ended, Len Wein's run was pretty bland.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

Amazing Spider-Man 66-67 - The Madness of Mysterio
I remembered Peter's quick healing was made up during Len Wein's run, but I see it here in issue 66.

Any tips on where I should jump to next? There are many issues in the Conway / Wein / Wolfman / O'Neil eras in particular that I've never read. Looking for good one-and-dones or two-parters preferably.

Amazing Spider-Man 127-128.

[frizb]

Just finished reading everything from 1989. Lots of memorable stuff. Conway is writing both Web and Spectacular so continuity is pretty tight. We had Pete and MJ get evicted from Bedford Towers because of J. Caesar's crazy MJ crush. They moved back to Aunt May's house where MJ's bulemic/anrexic cousin was also staying. Finally, Harry let's them move upstairs from him/Liz in Soho. ASM had a brief Venom story, but was mostly dominated by the 6 part 'Assassin Nation Plot'. I think it could have been great, but turned out just ok. My fav stuff was from Web and SSM with the Goblin battle, Chameleon/Lobo/Kingpin gang war. JJJ gets kidnapped and replaced by the Chameleon. Had a great back story on Jonah. Then my fav story was the Tombstone/Joe plot where Joe goes to jail. The year ends with Puma buying out Jonah and Spidey goes cosmic! I'd give the year an A- as a whole. On to 1990!

Almost forgot the part where Conway explains that the Gwen and Carrion clones weren't actually clones, but people he infected with some sort of DNA virus.