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

[Kaitou D. Kid]

Currently reading Chip Zdarksy's Spider-Man run. It is arguably the best run on 616 Spider-Man since the OMD reboot. Couple of notes:

-Zdarky "gets" Spider-Man and character-wise this Peter is closer to his Pre-OMD level of competence.

-Zdarksy gets High School Spider-Man and connects the angry Lee-Ditko Spider-Man to the contemporary Spider-Man very well.

-Great take in The Tinkerer. Arguably one of the best Tinkerer stories and elevates him to be an entire MU threat.

-Great use of Spider-Man and Norman Osborn's integration within the larger MU. I would like to see more of this.

-I still don't buy Peter unmasking himself to Jameson, but I totally buy the Jameson of Nick Spencer's run now even if it isn't my cup of tea. Travelling to an alternate universe and seeing a world where Spider-Man quits and Norman Osborn takes over seems like a drastic enough event to change his mind. It was essentially Jameson's 'cave moment' like Tony Stark's.

-Still not a fan of Peter having a big-time spy sister (doesn't feel everyman-esque), but this was the best use of Teresa and she is a good character on her own.

-Liked whatever brief interactions Spider-Man had with Riri. To my knowledge this is the first serious (and best) example of Spider-Man coming off as a genuine role model to the new teen superheroes. The similarities between Teenage Spider-Man and the current new teenage characters is usually either not brought up or is played up too corny. Props to Zdarsky for tapping into new ground.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Currently reading Chip Zdarksy's Spider-Man run. It is arguably the best run on 616 Spider-Man since the OMD reboot. Couple of notes:

-Zdarky "gets" Spider-Man and character-wise this Peter is closer to his Pre-OMD level of competence.

-Zdarksy gets High School Spider-Man and connects the angry Lee-Ditko Spider-Man to the contemporary Spider-Man very well.

-Great take in The Tinkerer. Arguably one of the best Tinkerer stories and elevates him to be an entire MU threat.

-Great use of Spider-Man and Norman Osborn's integration within the larger MU. I would like to see more of this.

-I still don't buy Peter unmasking himself to Jameson, but I totally buy the Jameson of Nick Spencer's run now even if it isn't my cup of tea. Travelling to an alternate universe and seeing a world where Spider-Man quits and Norman Osborn takes over seems like a drastic enough event to change his mind. It was essentially Jameson's 'cave moment' like Tony Stark's.

-Still not a fan of Peter having a big-time spy sister (doesn't feel everyman-esque), but this was the best use of Teresa and she is a good character on her own.

-Liked whatever brief interactions Spider-Man had with Riri. To my knowledge this is the first serious (and best) example of Spider-Man coming off as a genuine role model to the new teen superheroes. The similarities between Teenage Spider-Man and the current new teenage characters is usually either not brought up or is played up too corny. Props to Zdarsky for tapping into new ground.

You should check out Life Story if you haven't. It's actually a sequel of sorts to the alternate-universe story he did in Spectacular.

I loved the issue where Jameson and Spider-Man have an interview at his home -- "My Dinner with Jonah". I have always been more fond and kind towards Jonah than other posters here or elsewhere.

To me Zdarsky's move of putting Jameson in the audience of Spider-Man's live TV gig before Ben's death is one of those, can't-believe-nobody-did-that-because-it-fits moves. It's not a stretch for Jameson to be in the audience of a prominent TV show, and obviously seeing Spider-Man in a period where he was unquestionably an attention-seeking selfish a--hole elegantly sums up his overall role in the story...the embodiment of Spider-Man's guilty conscience, who knowingly and unknowingly reminds Spider-Man of the person he was when he got powers on a silver platter and who ensures that Spider-Man can never take anything for granted and is always held to account.

[Kaitou D. Kid]

You should check out Life Story if you haven't. It's actually a sequel of sorts to the alternate-universe story he did in Spectacular.

I loved the issue where Jameson and Spider-Man have an interview at his home -- "My Dinner with Jonah". I have always been more fond and kind towards Jonah than other posters here or elsewhere.

To me Zdarsky's move of putting Jameson in the audience of Spider-Man's live TV gig before Ben's death is one of those, can't-believe-nobody-did-that-because-it-fits moves. It's not a stretch for Jameson to be in the audience of a prominent TV show, and obviously seeing Spider-Man in a period where he was unquestionably an attention-seeking selfish a--hole elegantly sums up his overall role in the story...the embodiment of Spider-Man's guilty conscience, who knowingly and unknowingly reminds Spider-Man of the person he was when he got powers on a silver platter and who ensures that Spider-Man can never take anything for granted and is always held to account.

The unmasking part aside (which I don't know what to think of), the interview with Jameson is one of the best issues in his series. Fully agreed on Jameson being there for Spidey's TV gig to be a brilliant move. Also Jameson's first impression that Spider-Man wants just wants attention probably made it easier for him to rationalize the sensationalist tactics he would use against him for years. Zdarsky made some connections here that I feel add to Jameson without altering or contradicting what we already know of Jameson (although I didn't buy the Annual as much - Jameson hiring Peter to "help him out"? The Lee-Ditko thought bubbles explicitly state he saw Peter as a dumb kid that he can underpay/rip off/take advantage of. lol )

I actually had mixed feelings on Life Story. I mean, there was nothing 'bad' about it - there's some great moments and it's overall an amazing exercise in compressing six decades into six issues - it's just that when I heard "Spider-Man Life Story" and "miniseries", I imagined something more personal and lighthearted (kinda like the montage from Up). Instead it was closer to the montage from Watchmen in scale and tone. It's "What if Peter Parker was real and the Marvel Universe aged in real time?". Nothing wrong with that per se, but it comes off too depressing and sorrowful. I don't think Life Story's Peter is any more sorrowful or lived a more intense life than most versions of Peter, it's just that it can come off that way due to the limited room we have and all the talk of war. Also ironically, I felt like I missed out on most of Peter's life story while reading it - like he got lost in the plot in certain places and didn't feel like I was in his head as much as I wanted to be. The fast pacing and plot-driven nature of the book overall prevented us from seeing Peter enjoy a lot of the "little moments" in life, particularly with MJ and his kids. At least the first time - on a second reading I was able to keep up with Peter more, but I still think it has problems in the "little moments" department.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

The unmasking part aside (which I don't know what to think of), the interview with Jameson is one of the best issues in his series. Fully agreed on Jameson being there for Spidey's TV gig to be a brilliant move. Also Jameson's first impression that Spider-Man wants just wants attention probably made it easier for him to rationalize the sensationalist tactics he would use against him for years. Zdarsky made some connections here that I feel add to Jameson without altering or contradicting what we already know of Jameson (although I didn't buy the Annual as much - Jameson hiring Peter to "help him out"? The Lee-Ditko thought bubbles explicitly state he saw Peter as a dumb kid that he can underpay/rip off/take advantage of. lol )

I actually had mixed feelings on Life Story. I mean, there was nothing 'bad' about it - there's some great moments and it's overall an amazing exercise in compressing six decades into six issues - it's just that when I heard "Spider-Man Life Story" and "miniseries", I imagined something more personal and lighthearted (kinda like the montage from Up). Instead it was closer to the montage from Watchmen in scale and tone. It's "What if Peter Parker was real and the Marvel Universe aged in real time?". Nothing wrong with that per se, but it comes off too depressing and sorrowful. I don't think Life Story's Peter is any more sorrowful or lived a more intense life than most versions of Peter, it's just that it can come off that way due to the limited room we have and all the talk of war. Also ironically, I felt like I missed out on most of Peter's life story while reading it - like he got lost in the plot in certain places and didn't feel like I was in his head as much as I wanted to be. The fast pacing and plot-driven nature of the book overall prevented us from seeing Peter enjoy a lot of the "little moments" in life, particularly with MJ and his kids. At least the first time - on a second reading I was able to keep up with Peter more, but I still think it has problems in the "little moments" department.

Great insight and observation.

Life Story oscillates between highs and lows, so it can be a whiplash. It probably could have used more issues than the 6 Brevoort was allowing Zdarsky.

The cool thing for me is the subtle moments, the poetry, where a few lines carries a lot of meaning. I am thinking of Issue 4, where after Norman dies of old age, Peter says, "Norman, you couldn't appreciate that despite everything you had a son who loved you". And you just immediately understood the whole point Zdarksy was going. In his 50s, Peter Parker is becoming like Norman...a guy so driven by work that he's driving away his family, approaching the same age Norman was when he started out as the Goblin. And it gets at the insight that Raimi's Spider-Man 1 had about the Peter-Norman rivalry and other writers like Jenkins suggested as well namely that Norman is an example of who Peter as an older man.

But all things, to me LIFE STORY is for Spider-Man what Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow is to Superman, or what TDKR is to Batman. It's the best version of the "last Superhero story" we have for Peter as of now.

[Kaitou D. Kid]

Great insight and observation.

Life Story oscillates between highs and lows, so it can be a whiplash. It probably could have used more issues than the 6 Brevoort was allowing Zdarsky.

The cool thing for me is the subtle moments, the poetry, where a few lines carries a lot of meaning. I am thinking of Issue 4, where after Norman dies of old age, Peter says, "Norman, you couldn't appreciate that despite everything you had a son who loved you". And you just immediately understood the whole point Zdarksy was going. In his 50s, Peter Parker is becoming like Norman...a guy so driven by work that he's driving away his family, approaching the same age Norman was when he started out as the Goblin. And it gets at the insight that Raimi's Spider-Man 1 had about the Peter-Norman rivalry and other writers like Jenkins suggested as well namely that Norman is an example of who Peter as an older man.

But all things, to me LIFE STORY is for Spider-Man what Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow is to Superman, or what TDKR is to Batman. It's the best version of the "last Superhero story" we have for Peter as of now.

Well said! The Peter from Issue 4 did remind me of Paul Jenkins' Peter who genuinely feels sorry for Norman. It was particularly when Peter says "Norman, I hope you find peace."

Just curious, but did you think the aging in Life Story was believable? I felt like Peter aged too fast and it kinda took me out of it on a first reading. It's not as noticeable on a second reading but I still question if the ageing was believable or 'realistic', per se. I mean, to break it down a bit:

-At 30 he was too old for new music - Really? Most people at your average club aren't that much younger than 30. Also I know people in their late 20s/early 30s that go clubbing and listen to relatively new music. That seems like something a 35+ Peter would say.

-By his mid 30's he was slowing down and needed the symbiote - So are we going by comic book logic or real-life logic? Mid 30's is nothing by the former standard to need the symbiote (Batman is mid 30's...616 Norman is in his 50's and keeps up with Spider-Man). I guess it's more likely in real-life if you suffer injury, but it still seems pretty young (athletes retire usually in their mid-30's to be remembered at their peak, not necessarily because they can't keep doing it a few more years).

-By his 40's his doctor advised him not to lift more than a car - I mean, I read up on this briefly but you can keep your strength into your 40s and 50s if you train - see Jeff Cavaliere from Athlean-X.

-By his 50's he was calling himself an old man - eh, that's still middle-aged. Most people haven't even retired by then.

-By his 60's/70's he needed heavy body armor - hmm really? Sylvester and Arnold look like they're in their 50's and still do a lot of their stunts (at least in their 60's they did).

I don't know if Zdarsky was trying to draw attention to Peter growing older or if he was just trying to be realistic, but I thought it came off exaggerated and a little on the nose.



I don't know if Spider-Man has a Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow or TDKR equivalent, though. Part of it is due to Marvel historically focusing more on ongoing runs while DC used to be more associated with stand-alones. I think for me the closest for me is The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man. It's similar to WHTTMOT and All-Star Superman in the sense it's a stand-alone "feel good" story that encaptures what's great about the character. I like Blue a lot too but I think that's a bit different in what it's trying to do (it's more an homage to the Lee-Romita era than a character piece on Spider-Man).

[Darthfury78]

Hickman writes for plot and T'Challa was just another cog in the machine for telling the story of Reed and Doom. He had the aura of a heavy hitter but often fell short where it really counted. His Shuri on the other hand was excellent, even if it was basically Hudlin's T'Challa with breasts lol.

But there's no denying his T'Challa got decent feats and commanded respect so I'd hesitantly welcome Hickman taking on Black Panther, especially since sales would be great and it'd have relevance to the wider MU.

But I highly doubt he's interested in doing a solo completely centered around Black Panther and that once he's done with X-Men he'll migrate over to DC.

Jon Hickman should migrate over to The Spider-Office...

[Scott Taylor]

Life Story originally was supposed to concern the entire Marvel Universe rather than just focusing on Spider-Man. So I think elements of that original story are present, hence why it sometimes feels that Spider-Man is just a cog in the machine. But to me it fits, Spider-Man has always seen himself as not being very important.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Just curious, but did you think the aging in Life Story was believable?

Under the circumstances, a snapshot of a decade in a single issue, yeah. I mean obviously if Zdarsky had more issues he could have dealt with it in a more subtle manner.

-At 30 he was too old for new music - Really? Most people at your average club aren't that much younger than 30. Also I know people in their late 20s/early 30s that go clubbing and listen to relatively new music. That seems like something a 35+ Peter would say.

Bear in mind that in the '70s, new music was Disco and a lot of people who liked '60s rock or grew up on that, didn't catch on to disco (look up disco demolition). So I thought that was fine. And in any case, Peter Parker is a square. Even in 616, he's not always the hippest guy in the room (look up "To Have and to Hold" and that sequence where he and MJ exchange mixtapes in flashback, it's written by Matt Fraction who happens to be a close friend and frequent collaborator of Zdarsky's) and considering his high school years were a living hell I can't imagine him being the guy who's always with it.

By his mid 30's he was slowing down and needed the symbiote - So are we going by comic book logic or real-life logic?

A bit of both...sportsmen in real life tend to plateau by their 30s after all. And those are the most physically active professionals outside the military. Zdarsky was using it to explain why Peter would start stocking up gadgets and special suits. Does it make total sense from world-building, no, but I get the emotional logic...Peter's in mid-life crisis mode in Issue 3 and Issue 4, and people overreact in that period.

I don't know if Zdarsky was trying to draw attention to Peter growing older or if he was just trying to be realistic, but I thought it came off exaggerated and a little on the nose.

Perhaps. As I said he had 6 issues and had to do a snapshot so he needed to rely on some shorthand to indicate to the audience. That might come off as too on-the-nose.

[Laufeyson]

Spider-Man Life Story for the twelfth time because of how good the book is and the early Brand New Day for nostalgia.

[spideyguy211]

I thought I replied to this thread earlier, but I can't find my post so forgive me if this is redundant.

To answer the OP's question, I'm reading ASM #1-100.

I have to find a copy of #82 before I get there, though. That's the only one I'm missing.
Now don't get too excited. 70 of the 100 are Marvel Tales reprints.

[PCN24454]

In honor of Chadwick Boseman's portrayal of Black Panther, I present Spidey (2016) #7!
Spidey_Vol_1_7.jpg

[Revolutionary_Jack]

In honor of Chadwick Boseman's portrayal of Black Panther, I present Spidey (2016) #7!
Spidey_Vol_1_7.jpg

Good choice.

RIP.

[Agent Z]

I recently read The Death of Jean DeWolff for the first time.

[Shadowcat]

I recently read The Death of Jean DeWolff for the first time.

Thoughts? It’s one of my favourites from the Copper Age of comics.

[Batman Begins 2005]

I also decided to read the classic "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man" truly a great story and a heartbreaking ending (i actually tear up a bit at the end).

I went to a comic con this year and was surprised to find the original issue it came in, TASM #248. It's in my top five Spider-Man stories so snapped it up. Such a great and moving story.