Originally Posted by
Cheesedique
In terms of sheer writing chops, plotting and characterization, Stern's run is one of the best. I think Michelinie / McFarlane is only better in terms of sheer spectacle and for the use of nearly all the major Spider-man rogues.
Either way, you simply have to read the Stern run.
I think I posted already either in this thread or another--the most recent comics I've been reading were PAD's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man trades. This series was fantastic, really. Proof that PAD can write a good to great Spider-man story probably 9 times out of 10, no matter what the status quo at the time is. The Mysterio taking over Peter's school story after the identity reveal is probably the height of this run. The Vulture story was pretty damn good. Even the "Jumping the Tracks" time travel stuff came off better on a second read. I've read through to the end of Back In Black and the end of this series, but I need to pick up that final trade (pretty sure it was collected along with JMS' Back In Black issues). Anyway, just great stuff all around, with some fine art by Wieringo and Nauck and others. The Iron Spider costume was kinda badass.