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]

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.

[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.

[oldschool]

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.

I also am a huge fan of ASM #191-200 but want to make 2 points:

1) I don't think Marv is a "forgotten creator" because he is usually credited with the creation of Black Cat and the highly-praised ASM #200. As for "underrated", well:

2) As good as #190-#200 were, ASM #182-190 were pretty weak with Marv coming out of the gate with 2 pretty forgettable arcs (Rocket Racer and White Dragon) before pausing to tell the tale of Peter's college graduation and finally being cleared of charges in Gwen's death. He then had an ok Electro/Capt America story before authoring a good Jigsaw tale and then got rolling with the Man-Wolf/JJJ tale that really kicked off his best run. So---we are really only talking about a 10-issue run (as you pointed out) of greatness. So, while I agree it is a fantastic 10-issue arc, it's hard to say it's "underrated"---I suppose it's more of an "incomplete" grade. I wish Marv had a chance to do more on the title; a 30-issue or so run would have told more of a complete story.

[Mister Mets]

I also am a huge fan of ASM #191-200 but want to make 2 points:

1) I don't think Marv is a "forgotten creator" because he is usually credited with the creation of Black Cat and the highly-praised ASM #200. As for "underrated", well:

2) As good as #190-#200 were, ASM #182-190 were pretty weak with Marv coming out of the gate with 2 pretty forgettable arcs (Rocket Racer and White Dragon) before pausing to tell the tale of Peter's college graduation and finally being cleared of charges in Gwen's death. He then had an ok Electro/Capt America story before authoring a good Jigsaw tale and then got rolling with the Man-Wolf/JJJ tale that really kicked off his best run. So---we are really only talking about a 10-issue run (as you pointed out) of greatness. So, while I agree it is a fantastic 10-issue arc, it's hard to say it's "underrated"---I suppose it's more of an "incomplete" grade. I wish Marv had a chance to do more on the title; a 30-issue or so run would have told more of a complete story.

It seems to me to be the Spider-Man equivalent of the Englehart/ Rogers Batman saga "Strange Apparitions." I think it's on that level in terms of quality and impact, but it's kinda neglected with Spidey fans.

[oldschool]

It seems to me to be on the level of the Englehart/ Rogers Batman saga "Strange Apparitions." I think it's on that level in terms of quality and impact, but it's kinda neglected with Spidey fans.

A very fair analogy.

[Metamorphosis]

It seems to me to be the Spider-Man equivalent of the Englehart/ Rogers Batman saga "Strange Apparitions." I think it's on that level in terms of quality and impact, but it's kinda neglected with Spidey fans.

Not sure how under appreciated the Englehart / Rogers run is--I often see them pop up on top Batman creator polls, and a plot from that run was wholesale translated to the B:TAS episode "The Laughing Fish".

I think Wolfman's Spider-Man gets lost in the general mediocrity of the post-Conway, Wein / Wolfman / O'Neil eras. Though ASM #193-200 is a sublime stretch of issues.

[Pav]

Marvel forgot that they wanted me to do some Spidey writing.

-Pav, who is totally not making that up at all...

[Mister Mets]

Not sure how under appreciated the Englehart / Rogers run is--I often see them pop up on top Batman creator polls, and a plot from that run was wholesale translated to the B:TAS episode "The Laughing Fish".

I think Wolfman's Spider-Man gets lost in the general mediocrity of the post-Conway, Wein / Wolfman / O'Neil eras. Though ASM #193-200 is a sublime stretch of issues.

Strange Apparations has a well-deserved reputation. My point was that the Burglar saga is somewhat neglected by fans, especially in cimparison.