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Matt, that’s a tough trade! I’m sure you’re wife would have loved those McFarlane Spidey issues far more than the Magic Cards…
Up next for the reviews is what was going on in WoS and SS during this time, which should bring us close to my other favorite Spider-villian in the last 25 years, Tombstone.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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'Boot, this is awesome, thanks for sharing! I love stuff like this. I'm really curious as to who DeFalco meant the Hobgoblin to be.
I'm glad that Stern was able to finally finish it off (he created Hobbie and wrote the first half of his appearances), though I wonder if too much had happened in the past twenty years to make it so Stern never got to do what he wanted. For instance, Lance Bannon was killed in one of the dumbest Spidey stories of the 90's, in possible the worst death of a supporting cast member (and that's saying something for Spidey!). I've always been under the impression that DeFalco and Frenz were on the same page as Stern and Romita Jr. though.
I do know that David was stuck in a tight spot in going with Ned Leeds. Who would have DeFalco put in? In Gang War, Lance is shown side by side with the Hobgoblin, eliminating him...all that was really left *was* Kingsley, and even that is not a solid connection.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: 'Boot, this is awesome, thanks for sharing! I love stuff like this. I'm really curious as to who DeFalco meant the Hobgoblin to be.
I do know that David was stuck in a tight spot in going with Ned Leeds. Who would have DeFalco put in? In Gang War, Lance is shown side by side with the Hobgoblin, eliminating him...all that was really left *was* Kingsley, and even that is not a solid connection.
---Stern wanted it to be Kingsley all along and would probably have played up this mystery a bit more. (Read it in 'Boot's PAD link).
(Still didn't see DeFalco reveal who he had in mind though. Maybe I'm missing it?) -------- EDIT: (I'll add to my own posts, so I don't have 5 gazillion posts on the Hobgoblin )
You know, the more I think about it (and sadly, I’ve thought about it quite a lot ), the more I’m glad the Hobgoblin lived.
First, Jack O’Lantern always kind of seemed crappy to me. Even before Hobbie kicked his ass, I thought he was a sacred rate villain—which is why he never compared as Hobgoblin II. I’m glad that Jack couldn’t just pay someone off to kill him.
Second, the Foreigner, while pretty cool, just wasn’t cool enough for me to have the kind of power to kill my favorite super-villains. I like the idea that Hobgoblin outsmarted them both, and then laid low for years, letting them assume he’d died. And even if Foreigner ever found out that he failed, it’s not like he’d come gunning for the Hobgoblin, especially now that Macendale is dead.
Over the years, you can argue that Spidey has had exactly (4) MAJOR villains: the Green Goblin, who should never have returned, Venom, who has been completely overexposed to the point where they’ve totally changed him, Doctor Octopus, whose own 40 years of overexposure have led to a ton of terrible Doc Ock stories and Hobgoblin—whose mystique was slightly destroyed by the crappy Hobgoblin II and by the way he died.
Now, I’d personally make it a point to make all (4) of them pretty damn scary and intimidating again, and they’ve laid a foundation now for Hobgoblin—they just need to capitalize on it, or please God just leave him alone. I’d also make Norman Osbourne died again and never return (him being alive = no longer the mystique of the great Spidey foe who killed Gwen and denied Peter his revenge), and focus on making Doc Ock and Venom like that too.
[ February 16, 2005, 12:26 PM: Message edited by: Cobalt Kid ]
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Tom D: Ned was only a red herring. I actually intended the Hobgoblin to be Richard Fisk, the Kingpin's son. (I was also going to reveal that Roderick Kingsley was the Rose.) The aforementioned editor went in his own direction.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
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Willikers, 'Boot! I'm at work and stuff, and it's hard searching through posts
Richard Fisk as Hobbie and Kingsley as the Rose? It actually makes a little more sense...(interesting that eventually it's turned out to be the exact switch in current continuity). You know, I never thought of doing it that way before. I think I might have liked it.
It also would make the scene in #249, when the Kingpin saves Spidey's life b/c he thinks Hobgoblin is getting too big for his britches more dramatic in hindsight.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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1. All of the current Spidey series in the last three months have left me cold. Not sure if this is bad writing or if I still feel hurt over what JMS did to Gwen's history.
[Edit- this does not include Ultimate Spider-Man, which I still enjoy.]
2. I think I'll pick these reviews up again soon . To be honest, this period is probably one I remember the least, but I'll rely on Matlock, Drake and others to remind me of what I missed.
3. Upon reviewing the last few posts, I totally missed something, posted by Drake. I too remember the Solo story and thought it was pretty cool. It made me wonder if McFarlane considered ever doing a Solo series, or if that was a character he had created when he was growing up. Solo certainly is a strait up 90's/Image type character, but just because he fits the era doesn't mean he isn't fun. With characters like Punisher and Silver Sable outgrowing Spidey in the 90's, new hero/villains were needed for stories like this, it appears.
[ June 06, 2005, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: Cobalt Kid ]
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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I'm not buying the current Spidey series, but I will be picking up Ultimate Spidey for the "Warriors" arc with Ultimate Moon Knight, Shang-Chi and Iron Fist!
Spidey's also in "New Avengers" which I'm picking up. Bendis certainly does write good Spider-Man banter.
Oh, and thanks guys for catching me up to date on the Hobgoblin stuff as well as the behind the scenes struggles. Very interesting.
[ June 06, 2005, 10:05 PM: Message edited by: DrakeB3004 ]
From: New York, NY | Registered: Jul 2003
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Tombstone, Gang Wars, Villains, Subplots & Married Life – SSM #131-164, WoSM #34-67
Coinciding with McFarlane on ASM, the other two Spidey titles went through their own era which IMO was equally as enjoyable. Great stories and a more traditional style of Spider-Man stories, with villains, gang wars and a focus on the supporting cast make this an equally memorable time period.
While McFarlane’s art was a show-stealer, the other two titles were more story-oriented. Sal Buscema’s long run on SSM went into effect, and I look at his art with a great fondness. This was not always so—I used to loathe it. But as I’ve reread the run a dozen times, I’ve started to enjoy it. WoSM, while not as good as SSM, also had some great storylines too.
That’s not to say this era was without its crappy stories. After all, this was the late 1980’s/early 1990’s, and crappy stories were everywhere, in every corner of the MU and DCU. At one point, Gerry Conway, who Spider-Man fans lamenting fifteen years earlier had the ‘kiss of death’ even returned for a brief run on WoSM. (One fan even wrote a classic letter: “Conway? Nooooooooooo! Give me Ock, give me Kingpin, hell give me Norman Osbourne…just not Conway!”).
Kraven’s Last Hunt – I meant to make mention of this earlier, but I’ll do so now. Right after MJ and Peter’s marriage, “Kraven’s Last Hunt” ran through all three Spider-Man titles, and I still think to this day its one of the best Spider-Man stories ever told. Kraven, here, is the most serious and strongest character wise he’d ever been in his history. Spidey’s fear, helplessness and confusion is so dramatic that it still sticks out in my mind today. A nothing character like Vermin suddenly became fascinating, and even MJ had some really great scenes. This was a very dark tale, possibly the darkest ever in Spidey’s history at that point…but a very good one. Some very dramatic imagery too by Mike Zeck (wish he did more comics), and an excellent psychological story by J.M. Dematteis in the style that he has mastered. My father told me that long ago, comic book review magazines didn’t like this story and critics buried it for its grittiness—which is too bad, because I think all in all it’s a pretty kick-ass story. As someone who prefers the Silver Age villains, I’d hate to see any of them die…but it works so well here that it’s the perfect end to this story, and shows a strong respect to Kraven that had not been shown to him in two decades.
Second Sin-Eater Story (SSM #133-136) – Peter David returned for a second Sin-Eater story that featured the first Sin-Eater (who had killed Jean Dewolf and been horribly beaten by Spider-Man) and a second mysterious Sin-Eater, as well as Electro (who was welcome here). Though not as good as the first, this second story-arc is another good one IMO, and shows the kind of stories that Peter David excelled at in the 1990’s (and still does), with a very thorough look at the guilt Spider-Man felt about hurting the first Sin-Eater so bad, as well as the guilt he felt over Jean DeWolf’s death, when he had no control over it. There is even a bit of closure at the end in relation to what I deemed ‘Spidey’s Agony’ three pages ago.
Hobgoblin II – the Hobgoblin, my favorite Spider-Man villain, was now dead, and a new Hobgoblin had take his place (the old Jack O’Lantern). Finally, in WoSM #38, we see him fight Spidey…and what a let-down. Right away, the Hobgoblin is handled poorly and the mystique he once held is all but gone, as this new Hobgoblin is a shadow of the original. I’m unsure if it was intentional, or if the writer just didn’t care, but Hobgoblin II was handled as a second-rate villain of yesteryear, despite being one of the newest additions to Spidey’s rogues gallery. This trend would not go away for the rest of Hobgoblin II’s appearances and it appeared the glory days of Stern and Romita Jr., and even DeFalco and Frenz, were long-gone. It would take nearly two and a half decades later to bring the menace of the Hobgoblin back to what it once was.
Cult of Love, Betty all crazy, Looter returns… - Like I said, WoSM had some pretty weak story lines. Notably, Betty Brant went effectively crazy after Ned’s demise and was effectively written out of the series. Joining the large majority of all of Peter’s friends, Betty would not be seen for some time, and continue the trend of stripping away Peter’s supporting cast.
Tombstone – In WoSM and then SSM, a new villain appeared, who in my opinion, was the best new villain of this whole era. Tombstone, when first appearing, was menacing, cunning and downright scary. His impact on this era is apparent when viewing the covers—suddenly, Tombstone was all over the covers. He appeared in virtually every issue, becoming a recurring antagonist, whether fighting Spidey directly or being immersed in the crime scene of NYC. Additionally, he had a very interesting subplot with Joe Robertson that pitted him at odds with the beloved friend of Spidey. This gave Robbie a chance to shine for the first time in ages and we got to see new sides to him, as well as his wife and Randy (his son). Although some might say that Robbie was depicted as cowardly at times, I think that this presented us the opportunity to see Robbie vulnerable for the first time, and then eventually overcome that vulnerability and show the strength of character that had defined him in the late Silver Age. I like Tombstone and the sudden role he played in the series. Later, he’d be treated (like all Spider-Man’s enemies at one point or another) as an idiot, but that’s not an accurate portrayal and shows poor research on later writer’s parts. Tombstone is obviously a sociopath, but a very cunning and frightening one. And damn, he looks cool.
The NYC Underworld – After a brief period of not seeing the Underworld since the demise of the Hobgoblin and the Gang War, WosM and SSM eventually returned to it for our viewing. Like in most things, WoSM didn’t have the same depth of story that SSM did, but we still saw some interesting characters. Hammerhead reemerged as an important player, being scene as a powerful crime boss and recurring enemy of Spidey—rather than someone for ‘ol Webhead to tussle with, as he had been in the 70’s. We also saw more and more of the Arranger, the to lieutenant of the Kingpin that had introduced as a throwaway character to battle Spidey, while Frank Miller and the Daredevil writers focused on Kingpin in Daredevil’s comic. As this continued to happen and we saw less and less of the Kingping in Spidey, the Arranger came to the forefront as a very interesting character.
Tombstone/Punisher/Persuader – With the above background set as the NYC criminal world, and Tombstone now a part of Spidey’s life, a 4-parter ran through SSM which featured all of the above, as well as the Persuader, a mutant drawn in to help the mob, and the Punisher, who always makes for good crime drama in a Spider-Man story. The ending killing of the Persuader is surprising, but effective (in showing the difference between the Punisher and Spidey), and this story shows that things were progressing with the subplot of the organized criminal world. Here, we are introduced to the Lobo Brothers, who will become a recurring duo of enemies for Spider-Man, as well as the established mobsters in NYC. With the Arranger and Hammerhead on opposing sides, the Lobo Brothers now make a third element in the equation. Maintaining the ‘super-powered organized crime antagonism’ that the Rose and Hobgoblin had restored to the Spider-Man titles, this makes for further interesting drama.
Other Villains – Boomerang has a good battle with Spider-Man, actually marking his first appearance in a Spidey title. Although around since the Silver Age issues of Tales to Astonish, he never actually fought the Web-slinger until now, despite commonly being thought of as a Spider-Man villain today. Earlier, we also saw the first appearance of a second Tarantula although he would not last long (killed in his next appearance in ASM). The Vulture also had a brief story IIRC.
Inferno Crossover – I spoke of the Green Goblin/Hobgoblin battle in my review of McFarlane’s ASM, but the crossover also hit the other two Spidey titles. Although not visually as pleasing as the Todd M’s work, we did get to see Spidey’s supporting cast in action, and see the Bugle staff battling demons. JJJ cheers them on telling them they’re New Yorkers and to fight harder, back to back with Spidey—oh, how things had changed. Not that I mind, since Jonah had become likeable long ago. He now maintained a quiet antagonist role, and more of a gruff supporter of the supporting cast, especially Robbie (who had his Tombstone issues).
Aunt May, MJ, etc. – Besides the Bugle staff, MJ and Aunt May remained stalwart members of the supporting cast, as they had for some time now, and remained heavily in Peter’s life. After all, he was a married man now, and we got to see what married life was like for Spidey. These earliest years actually make it seem great, and its nice to see Peter happy—unknowingly, the fans would not grow bored of this for awhile. MJ is supportive too, and rarely fights the Spider-Man aspect of Peter’s inclinations. Gone were the days of ditzy, jerk MJ and here were the days of supportive, smart and helpful MJ. Aunt May’s boyfriend Nathan Lubiensky (I know I spelled that wrong ) was also recurring, and we occasionally were treated to Flash, who remained single, and Harry & Liz (with Normie). It was always welcome to see them, but the dynamic wasn’t as potent as the old days. With Harry and Liz married and MJ and Peter, it was…well…weird to see them all so happy and grown up. It was satisfying though, but it meant we’d see them less. With Betty written out of the series, as so many others were, this was about all that was left of Peter’s non-Bugle friends. Occassionaly they’d introduce others, but they’d be gone as quick as they came. Not being in college seemed to hinder the spread of where Pete would venture off too, with his scientific studies all but discarded and his focus on the Bugle, Spidey and MJ’s life.
The Bugle – Along with JJJ and Joe Robertson, we also saw some of the Bugle staff more. Gloria Grant reemerged as a central character for the first time in a long time, which was welcome. Lance Bannon was seen quite a bit less with the Hobgoblin Saga all wrapped up, but we occasionally got a glimpse of him (and usually to take a job away from Pete). One welcome addition was the DD supporting character Ben Urich, who at about this time became a supporting character to a good portion of the MU. He was relatively recurring in these two titles and maintained the same characterization he had in Daredevil. Another un-welcome addition to the cast was Nick Kurtzenberg, a nemesis photographer for Peter *and* Lance. Unlike Lance however, Nick was a complete jerk, and an annoying one to Peter and the fans as well (I can’t think of a single person who would like this character). For some time, he would continue to pop up (mainly in WoSM).
‘What about Carrion?’ – I saw this cover the other day and smiled. And about this time, the Spider-Man editors decided to return to a very, very complicated plot, and bring back, of all people, the Gwen clone in one of the annuals. This led to a hokey explanation by the High Evolutionary about the Jackal, cloning and the Gwen clone, all of which had been left in the past looooong ago. Years later, this would of course cause much confusion in the Clone Saga. They then decided to address the other outstanding continuity glitch (caused by the Annual)—what about Carrion? Thought before to be the living clone of Professor Miles Warren!!!, we now learn that Carrion is more like a virus…and thus meet Carrion II! This isn’t the worst thing ever, since Carrion is very striking visually, but it kind of undercuts the great story that occurred years earlier in early issues of PPTSM, where Carrion is presented as a very genuine threat to Spider-Man. The Carrion Saga had been a continuation of the Jackal Saga, which essentially was a continuation of the Green Goblin Saga. Decades long returns to past MAJOR plots had produced some great stories, but now the first big monkey wrench was thrown into the continuity machine.
Web of Spider-Man #50 – Sandman! Puma! Rocket Racer! Prowler! Will O’Wisp! Silver Sable! I enjoy this issue because it features a bunch of my favorite characters—namely all of Spidey’s enemies that had ever gone good (except Black Cat I guess, and Sable had never been bad). I have a special place in my heart for Rocket Racer, Puma and especially the Prowler, and I like the Sandman as both good and bad. Will O’Wisp is good too, but I admit I only like him b/c I’m so immersed in Spidey’s history.
MJ’s niece – another subplot at this time was the introduction of MJ’s niece (cousin?), who is a teenager, annoying, and seems to be causing tension between Peter and MJ. A subplot scene countless other times in various things, I found her relatively annoying. She eventually turns out to have bulimia. This always left me slightly conflicted: A) they handled it pretty well, but B) wow, this wreaks of a Punky Brewster/after school special that was particularly prominent in our culture during this era. Which, as a child of that era, was very annoying.
The Lobo Brothers War Part I – The Lobo Brothers continue to be a recurring nemesis (and thus, their enemies Hammerhead and the Arranger do), which makes for great drama. Even more, one of them suddenly develops a relationship with…Gloria Grant?! Gloria, who may have been the *only* person in Peter’s life that didn’t really cross into Spidey’s, is now yet another friend of Peter’s with an intense relationship with a super-villain/crime boss? You have to wonder if they’ll ever do a story where they all sit down and compare notes (actually that’d be cool – ‘the shadows of Norman Osborne and Spider-Man are ever present among us…’). On the plus side, at least we see more Gloria. Even more, we get to see Hammerhead in all his glory smash Spidey with his, er, hammer-head!
Robbie goes to Jail/Return of Tombstone – Following the revelations of a bad decision he made when he was a lot younger, Robbie reveals he did not speak up upon witnessing a murder (the right thing to do), and gets sent right to prison. Its heartbreaking to see Robbie go to prison (and slightly unrealistic, with mean big judge and all). Once there, who is on his cell-block? Tombstone! *This* makes for good drama, and the 11 year old Cobie was literally fraught with fear for poor Robbie, stuck in that jail with his arch-nemesis! Another prisoner befriends Robbie (a big guy named Bruiser—and I can not and never will ever associate my childhood reading of Spider-Man with my adult-hood viewing of ‘Oz’, so the mere mention of something awful here is too much for me to bear), and helps him against Tombstone. Unfortunately for Robbie, Tombstone kills him!
Chameleon Impersonating JJJ – Running in WoSM while the Tombstone Saga ran in SSM, the Chameleon begins to impersonate JJJ, much to Jonah and his wife Marla’s chagrin! An interesting subplot that allows us to focus on Marla Jameson, who we hadn’t seen much in awhile, although overall, isn’t the greatest attack the Chameleon has ever pulled. It also has Spidey working side by side with Jonah once again, proving that the dynamic between those two characters is one of the most unique and one of the most entertaining in all of comics history.
Spidey & Joe R vs. Tombstone! – the focus on Tombstone is as present as ever, as Spidey actually goes to the jail to help Robbie against Tombstone (the liberties the writers took even then, in the not so distant past are just plain great). After getting the crap get kicked out of him, and stopping a prison riot for another time, Tombstone and Robbie break free! Tombstone’s relationship with Robbie has taken on a bizarre twist at this point, where Tombstone is actually looking out for him—and actually seems to like him. However, he still will probably want to kill him. Following this, they end up among…inbred Deliverance types with some giant guy named Banjo? No problem—more Spidey versus Tombstone, Robbie showing his backbone, they beat Tombstone, but Tombstone is lost! Following this long-running storyline, Robbie has conquered his fear of Tombstone, and is commuted out jail (or something), and he returns to his traditional role at the Bugle. Meanwhile, Tombstone is now free too, and reemerges in the big gang war that’s been brewing these past few months. The story between the two, of course, is not over yet, but its been a wild ride so far (and a good one—despite Bruiser and Banjo ).
The Finale of the Lobo Brothers Saga – another story comes to a close as the Lobo Brothers are beaten once and for all by Spidey, as Gloria fires a gun into the fray—but she wasn’t aiming at Spidey! After falling in love with one of them, she tragically shoots the man she loves, killing him. The other Lobo Brother runs away (not seen to this day), leaving Gloria reeling.
Acts of Vengeance and Cosmic Spidey – Although I sometimes write tongue in cheek, I for the most part enjoy all the above stories. These, however, had a certain amount of overt goofiness, as Spidey becomes Captain Universe throughout Acts of Vengeance. Even as a young lad, I could see that ‘Acts’ was relatively cheesy, although it made for some good action.
Puma/Daily Bugle – the Puma returns, still popular among Spidey fans, including this reader. He becomes immersed in a Daily Bugle subplot, where he actually buys the Daily Bugle and controls it for a time, making life easier on Spider-Man. Eventually he sells it back to JJJ (for $1), after making Joe Robertson the Publisher. While a part of the cast, he interacts with MJ and the rest, as ell as helps out Spidey during some fights (including ‘Acts’).
He also pitches in against the demonized Hobgoblin after Hammerhead hires him to kill Joe R, although that fight is stopped by Tombstone (no one kills Robbie but me). The way all of these plots weave into one another shows excellent pacing of the overall progression of the comic IMO.
Demon-Hobgoblin and Carrion team-up!! - A fun villain team-up story reminiscent of the Spidey stories of old. What I remember most about this story (other than thinking ‘OK, so we got demon-Hobbie who is nothing like the original and non-clone virus Carrion, who is nothing like the original’) is that despite any bad things, it was a fun story of two bad guys teaming up against Spidey.
Return of the Molten Man – The Molten Man gets out of prison, and apparently is actually going strait! Although this was done with the Sandman earlier, it actually fits the Molten Man’s long career, as he had been tragic for decades since he started to be on fire all the time. Now back to how he originally was, Mark Raxton becomes very likeable as a former thug trying to be an honest citizen, despite being covered in pure, er, molt. He’s also Liz Allen’s step-brother, which makes for good drama with Harry and Liz (always good to see them). If anything, I prefer the Molten Man be the villain of Spidey’s that actually went strait and stayed that way (Sandman could go either way for me, and Prowler and Rocket Racer were never *really* villains).
Spidey versus all the baddies from Acts of Vengeance, with no Captain Universe powers! – a very fun, fun issue with non-stop action. Stories like this should happen every once and awhile for Spidey to show him cutting loose and doing what he does best.
Molten Man, Spidey and Green Goblin II team-up! – With Molten Man out of prison, Harry Osborne joins his brother-in-law and Spidey (can’t remember if it was against Tombstone or others)…as the Green Goblin! It’s here that Spidey realizes he needs to shut Harry being the Goblin down, as no good can come of it (and indeed, none did). After all, Harry is supposed to not be able to remember his time as Green Goblin II, so at this point, his memories probably begin to stir. Harry remains a good guy throughout this issue, but I can’t help but loathe knowing what will happen to him—after all, Harry is one of the few people to have been his friend for so long that’s still alive. The visual, however, of seeing Molten Man an Green Goblin helping Spidey, is very pleasing on the eyes.
As you might be able to tell, despite my joking, I very much love the above stories. Tombstone was a great villain, and this was a great era for subplots, gang wars and villains battling it out with Spidey. While Todd McFarlane was blowing people’s minds away in ASM, these titles maintained some great stories. There’s not really any true turning point for this era, but I’ll cut it off here to limit the length of this massive post. At about this time, Larsen took over ASM and McFarlane got his own 4th Spidey title, and these two just rolled along…
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Current Spidey titles: 'The Other' - garbage. Long, boring, not much happening. Spidey as Tony Stark's follower, New Avengers everywhere, MJ and Aunt May complaining and not doing anything, no supporting cast, no subplots, no villains.
ASM - still find JMS's run very annoying.
Marvel Knights Spidey - liked Millar's run, thought Hudland was 'ok', not overly eager for current issues.
FNSM - have high hopes for PAD, but at this time bored with the Other, so we'll see.
Spidey, as written by Bendis in New Avengers - fun, enjoyable Spidey, the one that I love. Don't really like him on the roster of a Super-team though.
USM - the best current Spider-Man book, despite any flaws. Above all, FUN. Really enjoying the Kitty Pryde relationship and I love how MJ is. The stories seem a bit drawn out lately, but that's OK. I can critique this book b/c I actually love it--the others have left me so high and dry that I have no desire to give them the time of day enough to critique them.
Current Spider-costume I know its not permanent, but *groan*.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Current Spidey Round-Up The Black Costume is back! When I was a wee lad, I hated the black costume, because my father was a traditionalist who lived through it in the 80's and despised it. I've come to appreciate it though, and I don't mind a return to it, since I know that w/o a doubt we'll return to the classic red and blue, which I feel is one of the best super-hero costumes of all time.
Amazing Spider-Man - I have to say I've come to loathe JMS' Spidey in a way I rarely do in comics. Virtually unreadable to me.
Sensational Spider-Man - this continues to feel like a comic I'd reccomend to a 12-13 eyar old, and that is not a bad thing. I think its action-packed with stylistic in-your-face art, and there are lots of villains. Even the supporting cast in this comic is basically the Black Cat and Puma (both of whom I really like). However, if you're looking for the Citizen Kane of Spider-Man comics, this isn't for you. But if you're looking for some Spider-Man action, this is good.
Peter Parker, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man - Like I figured would happen, PAD has really picked up steam as a writer and this book has come into its own. While at first kind of slow, I think PAD has done a good job at making this a good Spider-Man comic, but more importantly, an excellent Peter Parker comic, which anyone with half a brain knows is what you need for a good Spider-Man story. Having Betty, Flash, Debra Whitman and a new character in the mysterious school nurse is a brillant return to filling Spidey's life with supporting characters. The recent Mysterio and Vulture arcs was great and the return of the Sandman is also good. I like PAD using Spidey's classic foes but not in the usual cliche.
Of course, the continual problem of Peter being stuck in the 'Pete, MJ and Aunt May sticking together' phase remains a centrical problem in that it pretty much as gotten beyond boring at this point. Something needed to be done, and apparently, with Aunt May in a coma, something might be. I've said it a thousand times and I stick to it: Aunt May should never have been ressurected (you either Norman Osbourn). And I actually do agree with Joe Q, Pete and MJ's marriage has indeed become a problem. Making Pete's identity known to the public did not help, it made it more unlike Spider-Man. I guess we'll have to see what happens, since I don't doubt Spider-Man will be around in 10 years, long after all of the current writers and editors have moved on, and I'm stuck here with all that's left of the comics fanbase reading
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Cool I did not know this thread existed until today lol... I've just started reading spidey again and yeah I agree. FNSM is by far the better title. In retrospect while I was excited back when JMS started writing Amazing (what can I say I was a fan of Babylon 5), I do think that may have been partially resposible for me droping the title with #44, true I dropped comics periond back then, but the title wasn't doing much to keep me on either.... anyway, it looks like he will be done soon so things should be looking up.
-------------------- Currently getting caught up on my Legion history by reading the Post-Zero Hour Legion.
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), the more I’m glad the Hobgoblin lived.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
