Forgotten Creators

[JTait]

I thought it would be interesting to devote a new thread to those creators who, in your eyes, have added something noteworthy to Spider-Man's world, but are rarely discussed for it.

My first choice would be Dan Jurgens. His run as writer and artist on Sensational Spider-Man (has anyone else ever both written and drawn a core Spider-Man title) was brief (seven issues long) but memorable and consistent. After the drudgery of the early Clone Saga Jurgens bought a freshness and sense of fun to Ben Reilly's adventures as Spider-Man. The intrigue around love interest Jessica Carradine was well crafted and I thought that he used villains well. His revamp of Mysterio stands as one of the character's finest appearances in my eyes. According to the Life of Reilly, he left because he was frustrated at not having the chance to write 'the real' Peter Parker. On this evidence, I think it's a real shame that he never got the chance at a longer run on the character.

I would also go for Steve Skroce. Again, his run was pretty brief, and if I remember correctly was dogged by scheduling conflicts. He was also paired with Tom Defalco, in arguably his least fertile creative period as a Spider-Man writer. That said, his pencils were a fantastic fit for Spider-Man. His kinetic, lithe style was a breathe of fresh air and brought great energy to what was, I feel, an extremely underrated Electro arc in particular. He also designed a cool looking new Spider-Man costume that, as far as I'm aware, only ever appeared in a single issue.

Discuss!

[Metamorphosis]

Agreed on Jurgens--his short run was the best thing about the 90's Clone Saga, easily. Too bad he didn't get to work on Peter Parker like he wanted. I'd have liked to have seen more Jurgens on Spidey, love how he drew Ben's costume.

In answer to your question, McFarlane both wrote and drew a "core" Spidey title. There are probably others.

I would put Bill Mantlo up for this thread. He's one of the best writers of Spider-Man of the post-Conway era, churning out classic arcs like the first Carrion story and the Owl / Octopus War. But he doesn't get a lot of attention for his Spider-Man work.

[JTait]

In answer to your question, McFarlane both wrote and drew a "core" Spidey title. There are probably others.

Thanks, that totally slipped my mind.

[Metamorphosis]

I would put Fred Van Lente in here as well. For my money, he was the best writer of the BND era. He got a ton of flak over the Chameleon / Michelle rape debacle, but stories like "Red Headed Stranger", "Marked" and "Keemia's Castle" were some of the best Spider-Man tales of the last 10 years. FVL really needs to do more Spidey.

[Cmbmool]

I would put Fred Van Lente in here as well. For my money, he was the best writer of the BND era. He got a ton of flak over the Chameleon / Michelle rape debacle, but stories like "Red Headed Stranger", "Marked" and "Keemia's Castle" were some of the best Spider-Man tales of the last 10 years. FVL really needs to do more Spidey.

I second on Fred Van Lente as like Dan Slott and Christos gage, he RESPECTED the Spider-man fans and the mythos of the hero.

[Mauled]

I forget the name of the writer but whoever created the Black Suit deserves a mention. He/she changed one of the most famous comic book Heroes whole look and not only got the fans to love it but also create out of it, one of the most famous Spidey storylines off all time, that takes some doing.

[oldschool]

I would put Fred Van Lente in here as well. For my money, he was the best writer of the BND era. He got a ton of flak over the Chameleon / Michelle rape debacle, but stories like "Red Headed Stranger", "Marked" and "Keemia's Castle" were some of the best Spider-Man tales of the last 10 years. FVL really needs to do more Spidey.

GREAT call on Fred Van Lente; he wrote some really great Spidey stories and I would love to read more of his Spidey stuff. This is another reason why I would love there to be another satellite title such as "Spectacular" again instead of the truckload of alternate Spider-Men and women we currently have. I mean, some of those are great but I really think another ongoing title with a name like Mark Waid or Fred Van Lente would be great as well.

[Mister Mets]

Marv Wolfman's contribtuion is underrated, even though he was the fourth regular writer to tackle Amazing Spider-Man. The ten issues leading up to ASM 200 are excellent. Amazing Spider-Man #191-192 featured the unlikely team-up of Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson, combined with a dying villain seeking revenge, a story beat that transformed one of the B-listers from the Lee/ Ditko run into a man with nothing to lose.

The Burglar saga from Amazing Spider-Man #193-200 had Spider-Man pushed to the limit in the greatest series of challenges the hero had faced, with Wolfman and Keith Polland depicting defeats and triumphs for the wall-crawler. Each chapter was consequential. It featured the first appearance of the Black Cat, the the Kingpin mulling retirement (before he went on to become more of a Daredevil foe), the apparent death of Aunt May, the return of Mysterio after 100+ issues, as well as the rematch between Peter Parker and the man who killed Uncle Ben. It was The Gauntlet (and maybe Spider-Man Blue) decades earlier.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

I would put Fred Van Lente in here as well. For my money, he was the best writer of the BND era. He got a ton of flak over the Chameleon / Michelle rape debacle, but stories like "Red Headed Stranger", "Marked" and "Keemia's Castle" were some of the best Spider-Man tales of the last 10 years. FVL really needs to do more Spidey.

I believe that FVL is responsible for Abby-L first Gwen clone simultaneously created with Kaine killing Joyce Delany second Gwen clone simultaneously created with Ben.
I liked Joyce Delaney

[Miles To Go]

"Red Headed Stranger" is trash.

[Cmbmool]

Agreed on Jurgens--his short run was the best thing about the 90's Clone Saga, easily. Too bad he didn't get to work on Peter Parker like he wanted. I'd have liked to have seen more Jurgens on Spidey, love how he drew Ben's costume.

In answer to your question, McFarlane both wrote and drew a "core" Spidey title. There are probably others.

I would put Bill Mantlo up for this thread. He's one of the best writers of Spider-Man of the post-Conway era, churning out classic arcs like the first Carrion story and the Owl / Octopus War. But he doesn't get a lot of attention for his Spider-Man work.

Didn't Bill Mantlo also created Cloak and Dagger, and so shouldn't that count for something ?

Also, second on wanted to see Dan Jurgens to write Peter Parker.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

Roberto Aguirre Sacassa is not talked about often, glad you mentioned him Cheese.
And Jim Mooney is another forgotten name, he did a lot of good stuff for all 3 Spidey titles during the 70s and the 80s. Artists like Al Milgrom, Keith Pollard, Greg Laroque, and even Herb Trimpe took inspiration from his style for their Spider-Man art.

I would put Bill Mantlo up for this thread. He's one of the best writers of Spider-Man of the post-Conway era, churning out classic arcs like the first Carrion story and the Owl / Octopus War. But he doesn't get a lot of attention for his Spider-Man work.

This post is awesome.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

I would put Bill Mantlo up for this thread. He's one of the best writers of Spider-Man of the post-Conway era, churning out classic arcs like the first Carrion story and the Owl / Octopus War. But he doesn't get a lot of attention for his Spider-Man work.

I'll always be grateful to Bill Mantlo for giving the readers of marvel comics Cloak and Dagger!

[Ozymandias]

has anyone else ever both written and drawn a core Spider-Man title

The first one to do it was Al Milgrom.

My candidate would also be Bill Mantlo.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Dan Jurgens.
His run as writer and artist on Sensational Spider-Man (has anyone else ever both written and drawn a core Spider-Man title) was brief (seven issues long) but memorable and consistent. After the drudgery of the early Clone Saga Jurgens bought a freshness and sense of fun to Ben Reilly's adventures as Spider-Man. The intrigue around love interest Jessica Carradine was well crafted and I thought that he used villains well. His revamp of Mysterio stands as one of the character's finest appearances in my eyes. According to the Life of Reilly, he left because he was frustrated at not having the chance to write 'the real' Peter Parker. On this evidence, I think it's a real shame that he never got the chance at a longer run on the character.

Yes, I liked his brief run as well. It has been 2 decades already. I wonder if he still has an interest in writing 'the real' Peter Parker nowadays? Might be nice if he did