Spider-Man General Discussion

This thread's for the Spider-Man comics and spin-offs, whether they're decades old or brand new.

• Apart from the main Marvel Universe titles, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man "What If?" stories, crossovers, guest appearances in other books, Alternate Universe tales and things like Marvel's manga adaptations are all on-topic here.
• Spider-Man 'family' books are on-topic (as are their own crossovers, guest appearances etc.) - e.g. Spider-Man 2099, Miles Morales, Spider-Woman, Silk, Spider-Gwen, Venom, Carnage, Black Cat, Red Goblin and Spider-Verse.
• Characters and comics that originated in Spider-Man but are no longer directly connected to the spider-franchise (e.g. Punisher, Silver Sable) are not on-topic, unless you're discussing historical connections and crossovers. If in doubt, check before you write a long post. If this isn't the right place, there's a more general Marvel Comics thread which covers them.

Technically, Marvel's Infinity Comics (and their predecessors, Infinite Comics) are webcomics, not comic books, but it's fine to talk about their Spider-Man stories here.

Discussions that are only about Spider-Man adaptations in other media (films, video games etc.) are off-topic, but discussing the differences between the adaptations and the original comics is fine - as long as spoilers for the adaptations are tagged.

Please follow the spoiler policy rules - tag spoilers for the latest issues, for any previews or content leaks, and for off-topic comics. When including spoiler tags, try to write so that tropers can make an informed decision before viewing them (e.g. which series and issue will they spoil?).

Edited by MacronNotes on Jul 10th 2023 at 10:58:13 AM

Actually, it's Spider-Man. There's a hyphen.

Anyway, how is Amazing these days? Are they Writing for the Trade or are the issues pretty self-contained? "The Gauntlet" sounded pretty good (too bad I missed it).

Weird in a Can (updated M-F)

Gauntlet was okay some good issue some bad, the rhino story was exceptional. And spidys really picked up since big time started. I wouldn't say it's writen for the trade most storys are about 3/4 issues long

‎''I know exactly what I'm doing! I just don't know what the consequences will be."

Well, I did read a bit of the Juggernaut part of the Gauntlet, since it was a sequel to Roger Stern's original 1982 Juggernaut story, which is one of my favorite Spidey tales. It was good.

Weird in a Can (updated M-F)

The latest format change a few months ago (to fortnightly but extra-sized stories) really helped a lot : each issue feels like it packs twice as much story as a normal Marvel comic.

What is The Gauntlet supposed to be about, anyway?

Spider-Man fighting (most of) his classic villains in a row, making him more and more tired. It was originally hinted all those villains would be recruited by the Kraven family for the "Grim Hunt" storyline, but it didn't pan out that way (it was more of a prelude for "Origin of the Species", really).

Mostly, it was an excuse to reintroduce all those villains that had been mostly ignored since the start of Brand New Day. And since we got a nice little Sandman story, a very good Rhino story, a fun Mysterio story and a very disturbing Lizard story, it was mostly worth it.

Does anyone know a good point to start in Spider-Man? I was a huge fan of the 90's series when I was a kid and I just watched the recent The Spectacular Spiderman series (Which was surprisingly good). However, my problem with comics has always been finding a good gateway, since I feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of books and issues in the comics section of the local stores.

edited 3rd Feb '11 8:28:54 AM by Scardoll

Fight. Struggle. Endure. Suffer. LIVE.

Well, they did a "jumping-on point" a few months ago with Amazing Spider-Man #648, so if you start from there you should be reasonably up to speed.

If you're interested in more details about the current status quo (how the supporting cast got to the point they are now), you should read the various "Brand New Day" tales. A warning : it's 101 issues published over 3 years (#546-647), ie about 20 trade-paperbacks.

Note that this tells adventures of Spider-Man as an adult. If you're more interested in following him in a high-school setting, you should look towards Ultimate Spider-Man (25-ish trade-paperbacks so far), which is a fun alternate take.

edited 3rd Feb '11 11:39:52 AM by Jhiday

Also, if you want to check out some classic Spidey, pick up the Essential Spider-Man TP Bs (they're in black in white, though) or the Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Man collections (full color). The Lee/Ditko stories are some of my favorites and hold up remarkably well. If you want a general overview of Spidey history and lore, try the Spider-Man Ultimate Guide, it's pretty extensive and informative.

I'll turn your neocortex into a flowerpot!

Thanks, I'll check up on #648 and either the Essential Spidey books (I recall seeing those ones at my local library)!

Fight. Struggle. Endure. Suffer. LIVE.

I second the recommendation of Essential Spider-Man. The Lee/Ditko run is my favorite run in all of comics. And Ditko's art looks better in B&W.

Weird in a Can (updated M-F)

I'd start with the old ones, they were good for old comics. For someone who looks at most crossovers as unnecessary To Fight An Unbeatable Foe and With Foes Like These are among my favorite super hero comics. The Marvel Knights Run is a place to go when you've had your fill with the Pre 90s.

Most of the 90s were horrible, though Identity Crisis is one of my favorites. Mainly for Dusk. Venom was also pretty interesting before they tried to make them a "hero". I didn't really mind the changes in Spider-man's powers during the 2000s, but I'd recommend skipping over the Ironman and Avengers stuff until the "Civil War" concludes. Some of the post Civil War stuff was okay. They actually wrote a pretty convincing way to restore Spider-man's secret identity. Which made One More Day pointless. I haven't touched any Spider-man title newer than 'One More Day''.

Modified Ura-nage, Torture Rack

I kind of enjoyed Venom's anti-hero stint for black comedy's sake. It didn't work so well when they started trying to take him seriously.

Also, if you like Mary Jane... the best thing you can do to get into current Spidey is to not do it. This has been a Public Service Announcement for the Benefit of your Sanity as a Comic Geek.

I've been reading the Marvel Masterworks collections recently. I'd read a few of the earlier Ditko stories, but never all of them. So I'm glad these exist! I'm collecting the paperback editions mainly because I love the cover art. The hardcovers feature art from actual covers of issues in the book, but the paperbacks feature (better) redrawn versions, which I think is sweet. It's worth being roughly 5 books behind the hardcovers.

Anyway, Spider-Man's my third favorite super hero ever, so yay!

Rawr!

I just realized that 85% of the reason why I read the New Avengers is because of Spier-man. I mean he just makes those comics. Need someone to play of off Cage's less talkative snark? There's a Spidey for that. Need to make comparisons to Jessica Drew? There's a Spidey for that. Need someone to complain about Tony's absurd richness? There's a Spidey for that. Need someone to ave snark-to-snark combat with Spidey? There's a Hawkeye Ronin Clint for that.

edited 27th Feb '11 9:39:04 AM by MousaThe14

The Blog The Art

Well humor makes everything better and no superhero does comedy quite like Spider-man.

All of time and space, anywhere and everywhere, any star that ever was. Where do you want to start?

It's something that's been difficult for me to admit for a few years now, but I think I've had an epiphany, so I'm just gonna up and say it. I still love Spider-Man.

Now comes the hard part...how do I get back into Spider-Man? I know better than to start reading right now. The less said about recent events, the better. I looked up the Marvel Masterworks paperbacks on Amazon last night, and was surprised at how cheap they are (I remember paying upwards of 20 bucks for a Fantastic Four MM in a store). I only saw five volumes, however. While I love the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko stories as much as anyone else, I think Spidey really hit his stride in the late 70s. Does the MM series extend that far, or will I have to buy volumes of Essentials?

I've got two guns pointed west and a broken compass.

Personally, I'd just jump in with the start of Big Time.

Looking it up, it does seem promising...I'll have to think about it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention though.

I've got two guns pointed west and a broken compass.

No worries friend. I personally find it to be an wonderful story, it does have one tiny flaw though.

Despite spoiling too much, Dan Slott seems to be determined to have EVERY SINGLE VILLAIN be an evil version of Spider-Man or Peter Parker.

Anybody ever read Spider-man 2099? I just started reading it and it's pretty good so far.

edited 12th Mar '11 3:43:33 PM by NULLcHiLD27

That's why we have Venom—and, consequently, that's why I've never liked him as a good guy.  ^*

^{Except when I was younger, but that was then and it wasn't as cool to like bad guys more than good guys then}

And now we have two good Venoms, it seems, though the black ops Venom does look kinda cool.

I've looked into Spider-Man 2099 a little, but I never thought much of it. Didn't connect with the characters in the same way.

edited 12th Mar '11 4:07:02 PM by Seamus

I've got two guns pointed west and a broken compass.

I've read a few issues here and there, and I really enjoy it. I especially enjoy how Peter David made Miguel O'Hara the opposite of Peter Parker in a lot of ways. I'm also a big fan of the humor and the cast. Good stuff. I'm considering picking up the TPB.

Weird in a Can (updated M-F)