Whose your Favorite Spider-Man Writer?

[Micro]

Pretty straight forward poll. Whose your favorite Spider-Man writer in Modern Age Marvel. For those who aren't familiar with all the writer's work I will try to list what they are most well known for.

David Michelinie - Wrote Spider-Man in the late 80's and early 90's. He is known for introducing Venom, Carnage, The Return Of The Sinister Six, Cosmic Powered Spider-Man, and Maximum Carnage. He also has the second longest run to date on Amazing Spider-Man(Stan Lee has the longest).

J. M. Dematteis - Started writing Spider-Man in 1991. He tried to take things in a more grim, and psychological direction. He is the writer behind, Kraven's Last hunt, and the death of Harry Osborn. In his later years he helped introduce Ben Reilly(The Scarlet Spider), Kain, Judas Traveller, the return of the Jackal, and the Death of Aunt May.

Tom DeFalco - Probably best known for his role in the Clone Saga.(I think it is important to note that DeFalco only planned the Saga to last 3 months, however editoral control changed his plans and wanted to draw it out for over two years.) During his runs he dealt with the Black Costume Symboite story line, Ben Reilly as Spider-Man, and the Mary Jane pregency. He introduced the idea of Peter Parker having a daughter, and believed that both Peter Parker and Ben Reilly could both exist in the Marvel Universe. He has since gone on the write over 100 issues of Spider-Girl.

Paul Jenkins - Took over as writer on Peter Parker: Spider-Man in 2000. He was known for his characterization of the characters, and reintroducing Randy Robertson, Flash Thompson, and Liz Osborn as supporting cast members. He also introduced Organic Webbing as a perminate power in the 616 spider-man universe.

Mark Millar - Known for his year long run on Marvel Knights Spider-man. In his run he reintroduces many classic villians, the Sinister 12 and reinvented Venom.

Peter David - He is probably best known for "The Death of Jean DeWolff" and his focus on Spider-Man's supporting cast. He also is known for his work on Spider-Man 2099 which he wrote for four years. He has just recently returned to start a new series titled "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man".

J. Michael Straczynski - The current writer on Amazing Spider-Man. Best known for taking Spider-Man in a new direction. Introduced mystical aspect to Spider-Man's past and powers, Morlun, Spider-Man living in Stark Tower and working for Tony, Peter Parker as a science teacher, New Spider powers, and the Iron Spidey costume. He is also known for his well recieved characterization of Aunt May.

If there are anyother writers who you feel should be added, please post which ones, and why.

[Sean Whitmore]

Dude, you forgot Gerry Conway! :D He had a fantastic run on both Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man in the 90s, where he brought us Tombstone, Hobgoblin inhabited by a demon, Harry Osborn as the heroic Green Goblin, and a reformed Molten Man, to name but a few.

With Conway out (boo! ;)), David Michelinie would get my vote. He was the writer when I first started reading, and I loved pretty much the entirety of his run, from Venom to the "Assassin Nation Plot" to the cosmic powers to "Carnage" (the first story).

As for a some significant modern writers you missed, there's also Howard Mackie, Terry Kavanaugh, and Todd Dezago, based on the lengths of their runs, if nothing else. There must be more, but I can't think of any offhand.


SEAN

[Dark Soul # 7]

Stan Lee of course.
Shame on you for not having "The Man" on the list. Shame!

[Micro]

Stan Lee of course.
Shame on you for not having "The Man" on the list. Shame!

I didn't think Stan Lee wrote anything Spider-man related recently. I was mainly focusing on 90's-modern. Plus I think most people would agree Stan Lee is the greatest Spider-Man writer of all time.

[Violently Apathetic]

The lack of Roger Stern makes me cry (okay, so he's not modern). Ah well, it makes it easier for me to vote for J. M. Dematteis. Following him are Peter David and oddly enough, DeFalco.

[Micro]

Dude, you forgot Gerry Conway! :D He had a fantastic run on both Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man in the 90s, where he brought us Tombstone, Hobgoblin inhabited by a demon, Harry Osborn as the heroic Green Goblin, and a reformed Molten Man, to name but a few.

With Conway out (boo! ;)), David Michelinie would get my vote. He was the writer when I first started reading, and I loved pretty much the entirety of his run, from Venom to the "Assassin Nation Plot" to the cosmic powers to "Carnage" (the first story).

As for a some significant modern writers you missed, there's also Howard Mackie, Terry Kavanaugh, and Todd Dezago, based on the lengths of their runs, if nothing else. There must be more, but I can't think of any offhand.


SEAN

Ah, you are right about Gerry Conway I had forgot he did work in the 90's. I had thought of Howard Mackie and Terry Kavanaugh, but I didn't think their runs were well received by fans. Todd Dezago is one I missed as well, however I don't recall what books he wrote(90's clone saga stuff maybe?) or how long his run was.

[Sean Whitmore]

I had thought of Howard Mackie and Terry Kavanaugh, but I didn't think their runs were well received by fans.


True enough. :)

As for Dezago, he was writing Spectacular Spider-Man when Ben Reilly was the star, and he took over Sensational Spider-Man after the book switched back to Peter. He was most well-known, I think, for bringing back a lot of Spidey's humor during a time when the books were, overall, quite glum.

Dan Jurgens is another one, now that I think of it. Sensational was created for him, basically, and he had the most to do with setting up Ben Reilly's status quo and supporting cast.


SEAN

[Babylon23]

Funnily enough, some of my favourite Spidey writers are on this list, but it's not their 90's work that I love. JM Dematteis wrote Kraven's Last Hunt, my alltime favourite Spidey story, in 87. Peter David wrote the Death of Jean Dewolfe around the same time. Tom Defalco did some excellent Spidey stories with Ron Frenz in the late 80's, especially Gang War.

As for the 90's-onward, I haven't really been much of a fan. Most of the Spidey books I've read were those pencilled by John Romita Jr, and that was predominantly for the artwork. Of the writers listed, I'd probably have to go with Dematteis.

Of course, my absolute favourite Spidey writer is Roger Stern. Although he didn't do a lot of Spidey work in the 90's, he did write the Hobgoblin Lives miniseries in 97, which I loved.

[Sean Whitmore]

Funnily enough, some of my favourite Spidey writers are on this list, but it's not their 90's work that I love. JM Dematteis wrote Kraven's Last Hunt, my alltime favourite Spidey story, in 87. Peter David wrote the Death of Jean Dewolfe around the same time. Tom Defalco did some excellent Spidey stories with Ron Frenz in the late 80's, especially Gang War.


Yeah, if the thread was about 70s/80s writers, there would definitely be a shift in the power players. :) Stern likely would've cleaned up, but Defalco did same damn fine work in those days.


SEAN

[Gilda Dent]

Stan Lee. The Lee/Ditko run on Spider-Man should be used as a primer for how to write comics.

Gilda

[Dark Soul # 7]

I didn't think Stan Lee wrote anything Spider-man related recently. I was mainly focusing on 90's-modern. Plus I think most people would agree Stan Lee is the greatest Spider-Man writer of all time.Oops, my bad.
But in my defence he has written some pretty good Spider-man stories during the 90's.
But if we are looking for a more modern writer I'd have to go with Michelinie, Millar or Jenkins. Can't decide which one.

[Micro]

Yeah, if the thread was about 70s/80s writers, there would definitely be a shift in the power players. :) Stern likely would've cleaned up, but Defalco did same damn fine work in those days.


SEAN


Ya, now that I think about maybe I should have opened it up from 70's-modern. Stern probably has one of the top 4 greatest Spider-Man runs in the characters history.

[Babylon23]

Ya, now that I think about maybe I should have opened it up from 70's-modern. Stern probably has one of the top 4 greatest Spider-Man runs in the characters history.

Definitely. Lee, Conway, and Stern all deserve respect for their work on Spidey.

[Venom]

Definitely David Michelinie; he brought Venom & Carnage to comics. Mark Millar is second;his 12 issue run is one of the best Spider-Man stories of all time; he was the only writer at the time to bring back all the classic villians and use them in a different way.

[Mister Mets]

I'm really surprised that Bendis isn't mentioned, given his 100+ issues of Ultimate Spider-Man, and the various spin-offs. He may not be the best Spider-Man writer in the last decade, but he's probably the most high-profile.

Paul Jenkins also should have been nominated. He may have written some clunkers, but his standalone stuff was usually incredible, in addition to his Fusion epic, and the two part Robot Master storyline.

Not sure when the modern era begins, but JM Dematteis is third to Lee & Stern on my list of the greatest Spider-Man writers. Kraven's Last Hunt is his masterpiece, but his Harry Osborn epic was also pretty damn good, and he's had some assorted classics including the six part Chameleon epic which opened his second Spectacular Spider-Man run, the Death of Aunt May (even if it's over-rated), and the surprisingly good Spider-Man/ Batman crossover.

Incidentally, the thread title shoudl read "Who is your favorite Modern Spider-Man Writer?"

[Sean Whitmore]

Paul Jenkins also should have been nominated. He may have written some clunkers, but his standalone stuff was usually incredible, in addition to his Fusion epic, and the two part Robot Master storyline.


Paul should be commended for being the first to make Spider-Man funny again in, like, years. He was a ray of light during the otherwise "makes you wanna slit your wrists" reboot years.

That said, his entire second run (on Spectacular) was bafflingly bad.


SEAN

[Norrin Radd]

Tom DeFalco is underrated as far as Spider-Man is concerned. He had a positive effect on the Spider-Man mythos-clone saga notwithstanding.

[Chinchalinchin]

That said, his entire second run (on Spectacular) was bafflingly bad.


Did we read that same run? Other than Disassembled and Sins Remembered (which he didn't write), his Spectacular was sensational. It was a continuation of his Peter Parker Spider-Man run which was equally as incredible.

I truly believe Paul Jenkins is one of the only modern writers to fully understand Spider-Man's motives. Pick anyone of his standalone issues. They embody everything that makes Spider-Man great: A tragic protagonist constantly getting shut down at every turn and spat on every chance by someone else, but still able to see the brighter side of life thanks to his indelible sense of humor and fierce determination inherited from his late Uncle Ben and Aunt May.

Paul Jenkins' run on both books always teetered on the edge of utter tragedy and preposterous, jovial humor. Just read his Return of the Goblin trade back to back with his one shot issue about the gang of mimes on a crime spree through the streets of New York. And who could forget Kevin, the moldy peice of cheese?

The conversation at the end of the A Death In The Family arc between Peter and Norman always makes me laugh and get choked up at the same time.

Like the dude in that one Woody Allen movie said, "Comedy equals tragedy plus time." And really, every single Spider-Man writer should read and study that quote. Peter's life isn't supposed to be a shitfest like some of the writers on the list wrote it. It's supposed to a melancholic comedy punctuated by at times by sincere tragedy. And to me, it seemed like Paul Jenkins really understood this.

And man, I am rambling here so I'm going to stop and leave it to you to guess who I voted for.

[Sean Whitmore]

I loved all of those stories you cited (the mimes, "Death", "Return of GG"), but they were all from Peter Parker, which I agree was fantastic. I also loved Fusion, the Uncle Ben moments, and his other one-offs.

But I just felt that Spectacular, at its best, wasn't very funny or interesting. And at it's worst, it was downright awful. The kickoff storyline with Venom was almost offensively bad. The Queen Bee/Giant spider stories were all horrible. I wasn't a fan of his interpretation of the Lizard. And the poker game was kinda just...eh...okay.


SEAN

[Chinchalinchin]

But I just felt that Spectacular, at its best, wasn't very funny or interesting. And at it's worst, it was downright awful. The kickoff storyline with Venom was almost offensively bad. The Queen Bee/Giant spider stories were all horrible. I wasn't a fan of his interpretation of the Lizard. And the poker game was kinda just...eh...okay.


I guess it's just difference in taste, then.

I, for one, thought The Hunger was good. Mediocore at worst. The second story line, with the revamped Doctor Octopus look, was awesome. I enjoyed it. The Queen Bee/Giant spider was Disassembled, which as I said, did suck. So I agree with you there. I thought the final issue, The Final Curtain, was excellently done. Great end to a great run.

Good stuff. But, hey, if you didn't like it, you didn't like. Still doesn't change the fact that I think Paul Jenkins is the best Spider-Man writer around.

Except maybe Dan Slott. But he hasn't been given an ample chance yet.

[Alan2099]

Let's not forget Kirkman. His Spider-man apperances in Marvel Team-up have been top notch.

[BeastieRunner]

Uh Stan Lee then Mark Millar. So I voted, "other".

[Beacon]

I consider there to be three definitive Spidey writers (Jenkins and some others are close but not quite there). Only one of those is listed on this poll. One of the two omitted created the character. This poll is seriously messed up.

[Sean Whitmore]

I consider there to be three definitive Spidey writers (Jenkins and some others are close but not quite there). Only one of those is listed on this poll. One of the two omitted created the character. This poll is seriously messed up.


Poll's for modern Spidey writers, though. If it were for every Spidey writer ever, Stan would doubtless clean up. ;)


SEAN

[BeastieRunner]

Oh now it says modern . . . no Todd McFarlane?

I kid. :p

[Sean Whitmore]

Oh now it says modern . . . no Todd McFarlane?

I kid. :p


What, you didn't like "DOOM, DOOM, DOOM"? :D


SEAN

[Dustin]

I said "other" because Stan Lee wasn't on the list.

[BeastieRunner]

What, you didn't like "DOOM, DOOM, DOOM"? :D


SEAN

I actually did like Torment. But yeah, Todd tends to write things too repetively.