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
Never said he was bad it's just the movies really blow the comics outta the water by cutting out the fluff and in Millar's case uneeded cruelty.
Like Civil War was all about Tony vs Steve's ideals it didn't need Aunt May getting shot because Tony convinced Peter unmasking for PR was a good idea.
But Joe Quesada needed the catalyst for OMD so it was inevitable.
"Wait, was the whole of MC 2 (almost) all De Falco? That definitely seems like they massively undercapitalized on its potential"
Yep. In addition to Spider-Girl, De Falco also wrote A-Next, J2, Fantastic Five, the Buzz, Darkdevil, and American Dream, with Wild Thing written by Larry Hama. And Frenz did the art for quite a few of them.
Sure, there's something to be said for a cohesive voice. I just feel like it's a shame that voice was a dude who was already 48 when it started. A white dude, at that - MC 2 was an exceptionally white setting, frankly. May's best friend was Black, and there was the Ladyhawks. J2 was Asian-American. But that's about it, in terms of diversity.
I guess it does get credit for introducing the idea of Black Cat being bi, though I don't think she showed up very often.
So yeah, I think the MC 2 was a massive missed opportunity overall, with a lot of that coming down to no one else getting to play in that sandbox.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.As someone who's also read Miller's Ultimates, I can say it only holds up cause of the art.
Like the 2 books are otherwise Bryan Hitch's magnum opus, the art there is a level of detail that is unreal even amid Hitch's other works.
Like if you remove all the dialogue and some specific scenes (Hank assaulting Janet) the book would be perfect.
Edited by slimcoder on Jun 11th 2023 at 8:05:47 AM
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."Millar can do pacing, and a decent plot, but he rarely resists the temptation to go for shock value, Rule of Cool or a cheap shot. That's been true ever since his days on 2000 AD, before he started working for Image and Marvel.
Even other 2000 AD creators swiped at him for following in Morrison and Ennis's footsteps a little too closely. There are exceptions, and still great moments in his original Ultimates run and in Wolverine (Old Man Logan, for example). But a lot of it has aged badly, and sometimes there's more style (or possibly just showmanship) that actual substance / depth.
Very curious to see how Hickman's new Ultimate work compares, especially in how he handles Miles. Hickman's also got his weaknesses - to me, it feels like he moulds characters into whatever a Big Idea plot needs, without really stopping to give them much in the way of emotional moments. But he does very good Big Idea plots, so usually gets away with it.
Edited by Mrph1 on Jun 11th 2023 at 4:42:08 PM
Also I was planning to make a page for the 1986 event life in the mad dog ward
?
It ran in three different spiderman titles though. So how would you guys suggest making it and linking it?
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."ComicBook.Spider Man Life In The Mad Dog Ward ?
There is a Marvel cleanup and maintenance
thread for troping the comics, which is usually pretty quiet, but probably a good place for any conversation about new pages.
Marvel have settled with the estates of the artists who attempted to reclaim the copyright on several heroes in the library
. The only hold out remains the Ditko estate
But Joe Quesada needed the catalyst for OMD so it was inevitable.
It also had nothing to do with Millar. May getting shot happened after Civil War, not during it.
I remember they tried to hype it up with Back In Black, when Spidey was wearing the back suit, and we didn't know why until a few months later.
On a related note, one of the big problems with Civil War was the writers couldn't decide on basic things. Like the super-prison 42; in "Spider-Man," the prison is a state-of-the-art facility where the inmates are treated as humanly as possible — but Spidey's horrified when Iron Man flat-out tells him that it's not temporary, the prisoners are there for life if they don't register, and he should get with the program already.
...Except in the actual "Civil War" crossover, Iron Man insists that the prison really is a temporary solution until they come up with something better. And of course there's Speeball's mini-series, where 42 is suddenly a miserable hell-hole located in a dimension that sucks away your very will to live.
Edited by Dracoblade on Jun 12th 2023 at 1:35:03 AM
![]()
Given how hard Peter's getting crapped on (*death glares at Zeb Wells, Dan Slott, and Nick Lowe*), I almost wonder if the Ditko estate netting the copyright to Spider-Man wouldn't be the worst thing that ever happened.
Actually, what if the Ditko estate getting particularly close to winning the copyright winds up being the sorely-needed wake-up call to get Peter not crapped on so much?
Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Jun 12th 2023 at 9:50:48 AM
Ah. Sorry, I guess the Wells run has shredded my patience and optimism so thinly that I'm ready to grasp at any feasible straws.
...Why is it so hard for faceless corporations to just pay a little more money to creators. It's not like they'll suddenly lose the ability to generate money in general, right?
Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Jun 12th 2023 at 9:56:48 AM
Oh, that's not going to happen for at least half a century. Stan Lee just recently passed away, after all.
And don't forget, the way copyright works means that only early Spider-Man will be public domain; Marvel will still have "their" present-day Spidey, and if they're anything like the Doyle Estate, will come after anyone whose version they deem too close to theirs.
Edited by Dracoblade on Jun 12th 2023 at 9:55:02 AM
Amazing Spider-Man#27 spoiler recap is on the 'net and boy does there seem to be tonal whiplash as we move away from ASM#26 This new arc seems to be a comedy
No Peter/Felicia break-up just yet, she just tells Peter to call it a night early after her attempt to cheer him up with a Shocker heist fails. Otto's love-struck tentacles follows a depressed Peter around and tucks him into bed for the night. Otto locates his tentacles and is angry with them, he interrogates them back at his lab. Norman and Peter talk Kamala's death and Kafka's recent murder at Norman's hand. Kafka meanwhile returns from the dead due to a chemical in her bloodstream. Otto's broken tentacles visit Jameson and begs for his help

Yeah, Mark Millar's writing of the Ultimates did not appeal to me, and uhhhh the Ultimate X-Men stuff I read was pretty weak.
Heck, I only tried to give their comics a shot because of Ultimate Spider-Man.
"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"