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

[Mister Mets]

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #10-11: Fill-in work by James Asmos, Tom Peyer and company that shows the flexibility of the series with other creative voices. Not on the level of Spencer and Lieber, but fun.
B

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #1-20: Very quick read, but generally charming take on the Spider-Man story through someone else's eyes.
B

[oldschool]

Read Giant-Size Spider-Man #3 last night via Marvel Unlimited App; this came out way back in 1974 and, boy, does it read like a 1970's comic! Cheesy as per the era with lots of exposition but ultimately charming and satisfying; it's a pretty obscure comic and the only time I ever read a story featuring Doc Savage whom Spidey doesn't quite team up yet they do combine to take down the villain/threat. Written by a very young Gerry Conway, this came out during a time when he was writing a lot of Spidey comics and showcases the good and bad of his style; definitely worth a read!

[Darkseid Is]

I'm reading through the omnibus. Just finished the first annual and the first appearance of Kraven. Amazing Spider-man #15 might be my favorite so far and Kraven is definitely my favorite Spidey villain.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

Amazing Spider-Man 149
The thread discussing Peter's virginity inspired me to read this issue to check if it's true that the issue ends with Peter and MJ making love, looks like that is true.
And this issue also reveals that in a few issues prior we actually see the first adventures of Ben Reilly against the -yet to be transformed to a giant spider and die- first Tarantula.

Read Giant-Size Spider-Man #3 last night via Marvel Unlimited App; this came out way back in 1974 and, boy, does it read like a 1970's comic! Cheesy as per the era with lots of exposition but ultimately charming and satisfying; it's a pretty obscure comic and the only time I ever read a story featuring Doc Savage whom Spidey doesn't quite team up yet they do combine to take down the villain/threat. Written by a very young Gerry Conway, this came out during a time when he was writing a lot of Spidey comics and showcases the good and bad of his style; definitely worth a read!

So no chance of Spidey confusing the doctor for Molten Man? I saw the cover and it led me to believe that could happen.

[NelsonMagus]

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up: Friendly Fire TP
In spite of the trade's title, this is a collection of the final issues of Avenging Spider-Man by the way. That series had a great promising start thanks to Zeb Wells. After his departure, Yost managed to do some great work, but the horribly out-of-place promotional plug for the 2012 Avengers movie in "The Chameleon Sanction" gave a disappointing end to the book.

The Superior Spider-Man Annual fares a little better, featuring SpOck using torture as a means to an end. Ever since Massacre was killed, things at the SSM main title have been boring, and this shocking development really shook things up like it hadn't been for a while.

Secret War (2004) HC
Such a compelling premise that felt timely after the events of 9/11. But of course, as with many great premises in comic books, the plot was rushed and didn't go anywhere fruitful. The controversial subject of assassinating a terrorist should have had a greater impact, not just on the readers, but the characters participating in said assassination - ESPECIALLY SPIDER-MAN, the one guy who doesn't kill. Hate how this event was never mentioned again in any Spider-books.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up: Versus TP
"Sibling Rivalry" is basically a shameless plug for the Scarlet Spider title. There's very little to no development for SpOck here. Very disappointed at Yost for plugging his other book.

The "Infinity" tie-in is a little better, but still a mediocre and forgettable tale that's another promo-plug, this time for the Infinity event. This one is more disappointing for me, because it at least had an interesting premise tackling the subject of technophobia and how technology had divided us... but it turned out to be just a shameless plot-device, the theme never really explored.

Basically, just don't waste your money and skip this first volume of the Inferior Team-Up title.

Superior Spider-Man Vol. 1: Complete Collection TP
Ho boy. Where do I even start with this travesty?

Look, Superior Spider-Man had a good premise going for it. Spider-Man's greatest foe taking over his body and tries to be a hero seeking redemption... except he didn't. Slott spent over 10-12 issues of the title making SpOck gloat about how superior he was over Peter Parker. There's no "redemption," only a series of edgy display how SpOck could take down villains much more "effectively" than Peter ever could. Taking down Massacre was great and I approve, but everything after that just felt repetitive and humdrum, including setting up the new status quo for SpOck through these new Goblin plot-threads that I honestly didn't give a f*** about after the absolutely repulsive #9.

I'm not going into this too much. I'll do a full-length review of SSM after I finish the entire nightmare, which is thankfully coming to an end for me very soon (currently at #25).

The Amazing Spider-Man #700.1-700.2
Perfect. It was a cliched story, but it couldn't have been released in a more perfect time. I'll go into this in more details when I finished the trade.

[Mister Mets]

Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #35: A fill-in issue by Tony Isabella and Lee Elias that follows-up on Mindworm, one of the least of the Spider-Man villains from the first 150 issues of ASM. There are some shortcomings and it gets into some cliched nightmare territory, but I like the revelations about the villain's past and the final conversation, which is an atypical confrontation between hero and villain that gets to Spider-Man's generosity.
B-

Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #36-37: The Spider-Man debut of Swarm might highlight the absurd amount of superhero stories centered around ESU (it comes just after a fight with the Lizard, and sets up a plot involving the powers of one of Peter's fellow TA's) but it makes for a high-stakes set-piece against an okay villain that makes use of Spider-Man's intellect, and poses some challenges for Peter (the limited page count hinders that a bit.)
B

And rereading recent Slott Spider-Man...

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 4 #12-15: This Spider-Man/ Iron Man team-up is based on one of the least endearing attributes of Spider-Man, albeit one that is unambiguously part of his character: his willingness to pick fights with fellow superheroes. Regent's role here is a step down from Renew Your Vows. There's a self-awareness to how badly Peter's acting, but that doesn't make it that much better. It is a story that pulls off a few things (highlights the differences between Peter and Tony at a time when the Spider-Man books are criticized for being too much like Iron Man, brings MJ back to the title after her increased role in iron Man, showcases Miles Morales, leads to an epiphany for Peter.)
B-

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 4 #16-18: I'll count these Clone Conspiracy lead-ins as one story since they're grouped together in a TPB. It's an excellent set-up to the event showing high stakes for Peter (an employee's life is in danger after an accident, a family member is sick) and some big surprises (the New Electro, a supporting character put in a compromising position) while also setting up a big role for Otto.
A

[Mister Mets]

Marvel Team Up #15: Solid Ghost Rider team-up that introduces a villain with staying power (The Orb) and has a decent challenge for both heroes. Elevated by the use of New York locations (a Wein/ Andru specialty) and Spider-Man's realization that the truth is creepier than he thought.
B+

Marvel Team Up #16-17: A two-parter that introduces an okay new villain, and has a satisfying dynamic between Spider-Man and Reed Richards at a low point (after the Fantastic Four have split up.)
B

Continuing the Slott reread...

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 4 #19: Excellent prelude to Clone Conspiracy, as everything goes bad for Peter Parker. Includes one of the best rescue sequences in the Spider-Man comics.
A

Clone Conspiracy #1-5: The event is beautifully illustrated by Jim Cheung, has some unexpected twists, and plays off stories and themes of Slott's run. Sometimes a bit busy and over the top.
B+

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 4 #20-24: Decent mostly standalone issues that deal with different perspectives of the Clone Conspiracy.
B+

Clone Conspiracy Omega: Solid epilogues, and set-ups to new adventures.
B+

Silk #14-17: The Silk tie-ins show her life at a confusing time, and take advantage of Clone Conspiracy to complicate her relationship with her ghost boyfriend, while finally tying up some loose ends on Mattie Franklin's death and its effect on Jonah.
B

[NelsonMagus]

Not much activity this week. Been preoccupied with my Superior Spider-Man review that I've been too lazy to write because I don't really like reviewing stuff I didn't really enjoy. Oh well. Let's see what I've read this week:

Superior Spider-Man Vol. 3 Finally, it comes to an end. And you know what? Were it not for #9, this whole entire one-off storyline wouldn't have been so frustrating to get through. That's why I had to rewrite my review a couple of times because my personal feelings about #9 kept getting in the way of acknowledging the narrative quality that do exist in this story. In hindsight, it's a fun story, just not a very mentally engaging one due to the mischaracterization of Peter and MJ, a mediocre second act (#11-20) where SpOck just do generic supervillain stuff, an utter lack of exploration of SpOck's motivation to be a hero outside of Yost and Gage's writing, and your trademark Dan Slott rushed ending we've already seen countless times in his entire run. In his defense, many comic book writers tend to rush out stories for the sake of meeting deadlines, even though that's no excuse for bad writing.

Anyway, will go into more details in my actual review, if I ever get around to finishing it.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up Vol. 2: Superior Six This was a fun one. SpOck using mind-control supervillains. The single entertainment value I've always found in Superior stories was shock value, and seeing him doing something as unethical as mind-control (and in Superior Annual #1, full-blown torture) was the only interesting thing I've ever seen after the surprise element dialed down past #9. More importantly, actual character motivation for why SpOck wants to be a hero! Sun Girl, an effective parallel to SpOck's brand of heroism! Finally, meaningful character development! Good job, Yost.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Peter Parker, The One and Only I've already wrote a review for this one. It's an appropriate series of .1 issues that came at the right time - reminding people the essence of Peter Parker and why he's the true hero of our story. "Frost" and "What Would Spider-Man Do?" were great; the rest, not so much.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business A fun globe-trotting adventure. Nothing very groundbreaking, but it doesn't have to be because it's fun. I don't care that Peter's identity reveal never amounted to anything in the end because the suspense of seeing Kingpin learning his identity again (a problem we've seen the consequence of in Civil War) was thrilling. I don't care that Peter's sister sub-plot was cleanly swept away with a stupid plot-device, because it wasn't really "swept away" to begin with, and there's a tease that she's still Peter's sister. It's a fun spy thriller that even felt James Bondesque during the casino scene, and that's enough for me. The appearance of Kingpin, one of my favorite Spider-Man villains of all time (yes, I said Spider-Man, not Daredevil), is just another reason why I like this story. He's true to his nature here, scheming behind the scenes before making the big reveal at the end. A perfect characterization of this cunning antagonist.

One thing that does bug me is that Kingpin could have triggered the booby trap (the Sleeper) without Peter, so that particular sub-plot makes no lick of sense.

[Mister Mets]

True Believers Antman and Wasp...On The Trail of the Amazing Spider-Man: $1 for a color reprint of a relatively obscure Stan Lee written Spider-Man appearance? The fight scenes are pretty decent, and it does give a different perspective of the wallcrawler.
B

Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #53: A Tinkerer story that builds on his legend as a supplier for supervillains, and is elevated by a twist involving his sidekick. The focus on toys gives an excuse for some colorful action sequences, and a compelling opening as Spidey has to rescue a hallucinating woman while out of costume.
B+

Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #54: Decent one-off about Spider-Man accidentally ruining an investigation, and trying to clean it up. Rather generic, but elevated by some small clever moments, which highlights Stern's strength as a writer.
B

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 #25-28: Slightly unfocused showdown between Spider-Man and Norman Osborn. Impressive ASM debut for Immonen, and some decent problems for Peter as he has to take hits for Parker Industries in order to do the right thing.
B

[Mike]

Rereading Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man issues #17 and #18
Peter_Parker,_The_Spectacular_Spider-Man_Vol_1_17.jpg Peter_Parker,_The_Spectacular_Spider-Man_Vol_1_18.jpg
As part of the Champions Classic: The Complete Collection
These two issues wrapped up the sad end of The Champions, one of my favorite series.
Think I'll dig out some more earlier issues of PP and give them a read again.

[Arsenal]

Reading the original Amazing Spiderman run now, believe I just finished #89 last night.

[JGC]

Just re-read ASM #’s 119-120: Spidey battles the Hulk in Montreal (a biased story for me since I live in Montreal). This story is even referenced in Spencer’s ASM #1 when Spidey says “things went badly for me in Canada” - re: his superhero license.

Love it!

[The Negative Zone]

Read the second trade of the current Spectacular book. Man I love this comic! It's like a event comic but exclusively centered around Spider-Man. I mean that in a good way! Really feels like the book is important to Spider-Man and not just a extra book. Some of my favorite bit of dialogue was Johnny Story and Jonah learning that they know Spidey's secret ID.

[oldschool]

Just re-read ASM #’s 119-120: Spidey battles the Hulk in Montreal (a biased story for me since I live in Montreal). This story is even referenced in Spencer’s ASM #1 when Spidey says “things went badly for me in Canada” - re: his superhero license.

Love it!

Always liked these 2 issues! It was around the time I started reading Spidey as a young kid and the Hulk fight left an impression on me---I also loved how Peter got JJJ to pay for the trip with the promise of getting pix of "the Hulk turning Spidey into red and blue toothpaste" lol. I think part of the reason these issues are rarely referenced is what happened right after Pete arrived back home....

[Mister Mets]

As part of my reread of the end of Slott's run, I also read Secret Empire, which had some good moments, but was kind of a mess.

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 #29-31:
It does a decent job of tying up some loose ends for Peter, moving the downfall of Parker Industries arc forward, and tying into Secret Empire, while also featuring a big rematch between Spider-Man and one of his greatest foes.
B+

Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 #32:
I think this Norman Osborn spotlight is one of Slott's best stories, and among his most overrated. It reveals some interesting stuff about the character, as well as a potential alternate direction while tying in nicely to weird corners of Spider-Man history (the 60s cartoon had a supernatural take on the Goblin.) Bonus for Greenwood's creepy art.
A+(It might just be Slott's best Spider-Man work since Renew Your Vows)

Amazing Spider-Man #789-791:
Decent series of one-off adventures united by an emotional arc for Peter as he has way too much fun as Spider-Man while his private life goes to hell.
B

Amazing Spider-Man #792-793/ Venom / Venom Inc. Alpha & Omega:
This is mainly six issues of action, with Spider-Man, Black Cat, Flash Thompson and Eddie Brock against a symbiote army, but its fun, and kinda necessary given what's coming. It is meaningful to see how Flash Thompson has transformed. And a giant symbiote Lee Pace provides closure for his arc.
B

Generations: Miles Morales Spider-Man & Peter Parker Spider-Man
It's a decent one-off elevated by nice art from Ramon Perez illustrating the Spider-Man cast and Miles Morales in a Ditko style. There are some moments for the characters that are meaningful, although all the alternate universe team-ups of late have robbed this arc of its power.
B+