Are the Spider-Man Writers/ Artists Good Enough?

[Mister Mets]

I believe that Spider-Man is the best comic book character ever (better than Batman, Superman, Uncle Scrooge, you name it) and should have the best creative teams. So I'm disappointed that other characters seem to have better creators at the moment.

Superman has Donner/ Johns/ Kubert on Action, Busiek/ Pacheco on Superman, Morrison/ Quitely on All-Star, and Cooke/Sale for the first arc of Confidential. Batman has Miller/ Lee on All-Star, Dini/ Williams on Detective, and Morrison/ Kubert on Batman. And I shouldn't neglect Kreuger/ Ross's Justice, or Metzer/ Benes's Justice League of America.

The current Spider-Man creators have their fans, and they do deliver solid dependable work, but I want something better when we're talking about the best character in comics. I want Spider-Man stories that rank amongst the character's best, and I want the next arc to be even better. And I think there are creators capable of that.

My big questions.
Are the current Spider-Man Writers/ Artists Good enough?
If not, what creators would you want to see do the Spider-Man books?

[Sam T.]

Didn't someone already have a post about this???:confused:

[Mister Mets]

Didn't someone already have a post about this???:confused:

I don't think so, although I have started some threads on creators you'd like to see on Spider-Man books. I sldo started pretty much the same thread on the Bendis boards.
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?t=77361

As for my ideal creative teams.
Amazing Spider-Man
Writer) Mark Millar
Artist) Todd Mcfarlane
This would be the dream team for an year's worth of stories on the character's flagship title. This tale would establish the new status quo for years to come.
Possible follow Up teams) Whedon/ Hitch. BKV/ Finch. Brubaker/ Cheung.
I would give JMS 6-12 issues to tie up loose ends, and go out with a bang, but I think it's time for some new blood on the title. He's been doing solid work, but I want to see this book be as good as it ever was under Lee/ Ditko, Lee/ Romita, and Stern/ Romita Jr.

Astonishing Spider-Man
Writer) Jeph Loeb
Artist) J Scott Campbell
I have no idea what book they'll do next, but it would make sense for Marvel to try to create an "Astonishing" franchise to compete with DC's All-Star books. And the success of one book would boost the success of the other.
Follow-up team) Whedon/ Hitch

Spectacular Spider-Man
Writer) Dan Slott
Artist) John Romita Jr
Every issue is a complete Spider-Man story in 22 or so pages. Slott's done that really well before in She-Hulk #4, and Spider-Man/ Human Torch, and Romita Jr is simply one of the best Spider-Man artists ever. A book where he has something cool, and new to draw every issue could just make him the best ever. If Slott's ever late, I wouldn't mind a few fill-in issues by Paul Jenkins (who excelled at standalone Spider-Man stories.)

Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four
Writer) Peter David
Artist) Mike Wieringo
The first Spider-Man spinoff was meant to be a Spider-Man/ Human Torch book, so its not unprecedented. This book would carry a little bit more freedom (one arc could be Spider-Man & Mister Fantastic, the next could be Spider-Man & the entire team, etc.) Wieringo's done Spider-Man & the Fantastic Four well, and I just see Peter David doing some of the best work of his career on a book like this.

I don't think I'd touch Spidergirl, or Marvel Age (or is it Adventures?) After the Clone Saga, I'd cancel Ultimate Spider-Man, and release it in Trade Paperback format 2-3 times an year. This was Bendis doesn't have to provide a cliffhanger every 22 pages, and each tale will seem like an event.

[Sean Whitmore]

The thing about Spider-Man is, he never had an all-star creative team...by which I mean he's never had creators who were stars AT the time. But rather, the Spidey books have been a starting ground for many creators who have since become huge.

Marc Silvestri, Peter David, Christopher Priest, Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Mark Bagley, Mike Wieringo, and Brian Bendis were all doing Spider-Man stories before they were considered "big". Hell, some of them before fans even started thinking in such terms.

I dont think JM Demattis was a huge name before "Last Hunt". Even Steve Ditko was doing Spidey when pretty much every other Marvel comic was drawn by Kirby. As for John Romita, I have no clue...was Spidey his first super hero gig?

So see, Spidey doesn't need names, Spidey makes names. :D


SEAN

[Moshikal]

The thing about Spider-Man is, he never had an all-star creative team...by which I mean he's never had creators who were stars AT the time. But rather, the Spidey books have been a starting ground for many creators who have since become huge.

Marc Silvestri, Peter David, Christopher Priest, Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Mark Bagley, Mike Wieringo, and Brian Bendis were all doing Spider-Man stories before they were considered "big". Hell, some of them before fans even started thinking in such terms.

I dont think JM Demattis was a huge name before "Last Hunt". Even Steve Ditko was doing Spidey when pretty much every other Marvel comic was drawn by Kirby. As for John Romita, I have no clue...was Spidey his first super hero gig?

So see, Spidey doesn't need names, Spidey makes names. :D


SEAN

Silvestri and Priest did Spider-man? I didn't know that...

[Sean Whitmore]

Silvestri and Priest did Spider-man? I didn't know that...


Silvestri did Web of waaaay back, right before he moved over to X-Men. And Priest was still James Owsley when he was on the Spidey books, first as editor and then writer.


SEAN

[Dark Soul # 7]

I think that the teams are pretty good but they're not really top-notch. My dream-teams would be the following.

Amazing Spider-man
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Mark Bagley
I agree that JMS can get 6-12 issues to wrap things up and then he can leave. Kirkman seems to have a great understanding of who Spider-man is and what he is capable of. He is great at creating long as well as short story-arcs and he's a master and handling sub-plots for the supporting cast. Bagley is just a brilliant artist and his work on the title years ago was always superb. Together these two could get the title back to it's normal classic Spidey-greatness.

Spectacular Spider-man
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Tom Grummet
This would be the more light-hearted Spider-man book in the same sence as Slott's Thing and She-hulk were/is light-hearted. I also think that Grummet's art style would fit quite perfectly with Slott's story-telling. And they both fit the type of Spider-man stories a book like this would need.

Web of Spider-man
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artist: rotating
This book would be different from the other two in the way all stories are top two issues long. The stories would vary in dramatic tone and would either have Spider-man in the background or it would be a story about what he does between the big stories in the other two books.

[Venom]

Here's what writers and artists I think would be perfect for certain Spider-Man titles.

Amazing Spider-Man
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Mark Bagley
Mark Millar hit the nail on the head with his 12 issue run on Marvel Knights Spider-Man. He should always use the classic villains and also use villains that haven't been seen in years like Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is doing on Sensational. I also think Millar has it in him to create a few new villains too. Mark Bagely would be the perfect artist to finish this pair up. He's the greatest Amazing Spider-Man artist and the best Spider-Man artist of all time. I'd like JMS to tie up all loose ends and sub-plots before he hands the title over so we can start afresh. Millar and Bagley would definitely create a titanic Spider-Man saga. They should stay on for exactly 30 issues, so that's 2 and a half years of great Spidey storytelling. In time these two great people could be known as "The Two Marks".

Astonishing Spider-Man
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: J. Scott Campbell
This would be a perfect title to start an Astonishing franchise as Cyberman said. I'd like Loeb to do lot's of single issues so that he can use all of Spidey's classic foes for Campbell to draw. Every issue would be like the Stan Lee days, a different villain appearing every issue. Venom, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Vulture, Lizard, Doc Ock, Electro, Mysterio, Scorpion, Shocker, Rhino and Sandman. If it's a successful run which it will be I hope they do another year and decide whether to do a few more issues after that. When Loeb and Campbell finish their run I'd want the title to end so that no other team takes over. I mean this title was pretty much solely created for these two.

Spectacular Spider-Man
Writer: Peter David
Artist: John Romita Jr.
This title would be nothing but pure comedy gold. Spidey always at his most humorous. Peter David can write one hell of a funny Spider-Man. And who better to accompany Mr. David then jazzy John Romita Jr. Every issue would just have Spidey worrying about the little things in his complicated life but also looking on the bright side at the same time. He'll encounter a lot of corny new Z-list villains and just make fun of them. And after a year or two just have Dan Slott and Mike Wieringo take over. What a title that would be.

[Mister Mets]

The thing about Spider-Man is, he never had an all-star creative team...by which I mean he's never had creators who were stars AT the time. But rather, the Spidey books have been a starting ground for many creators who have since become huge.

Marc Silvestri, Peter David, Christopher Priest, Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Mark Bagley, Mike Wieringo, and Brian Bendis were all doing Spider-Man stories before they were considered "big". Hell, some of them before fans even started thinking in such terms.

I dont think JM Demattis was a huge name before "Last Hunt". Even Steve Ditko was doing Spidey when pretty much every other Marvel comic was drawn by Kirby. As for John Romita, I have no clue...was Spidey his first super hero gig?

So see, Spidey doesn't need names, Spidey makes names. :D

SEAN

John Romita Sr was well known for his romance work before he came to Marvel (it's one reason his Peter Parker was more handsome, and went from girl problems to choosing between MJ & Gwen.) His first superhero work was Daredevil, although it was mostly a test run for his Spider-Man run (which is why Spider-Man appeared in Daredevil #16-17.)

Before Todd Mcfarlane drew Spider-Man, he did some excellent work on the Incredible Hulk, although Spider-Man made him the industry's most popular artist.

I don't think Spider-Man made the careers of Priest, or Silvestri, given how little attention their Spider-Man runs have had (although Spider-Man VS Wolverine remains a Top Ten favorite.)

You also neglect Gerry Conway, who started writing Spider-Man at the age of Nineteen (although with a few exceptions, he was a step down from Lee.)

The reason Spider-Man "makes" creators is that a great run on this licence will make people pay attention to a new writer/ artist. I don't think this should prevent big creators from working on the character, and there is precedent for that. Gil Kane, JMS, Mark Millar, Len Wein, Roger Stern, David Micheline, Ross Andru, and Marv Wolfman were already big names in the industry before their turns on Spider-Man.

All I'm looking for is the best possible Spider-Man creators, be they big or small. Who do you think would do the best job?

[Mister Mets]

Here's what writers and artists I think would be perfect for certain Spider-Man titles.

Amazing Spider-Man
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Mark Bagley
Mark Millar hit the nail on the head with his 12 issue run on Marvel Knights Spider-Man. He should always use the classic villains and also use villains that haven't been seen in years like Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is doing on Sensational. I also think Millar has it in him to create a few new villains too. Mark Bagely would be the perfect artist to finish this pair up. He's the greatest Amazing Spider-Man artist and the best Spider-Man artist of all time. I'd like JMS to tie up all loose ends and sub-plots before he hands the title over so we can start afresh. Millar and Bagley would definitely create a titanic Spider-Man saga. They should stay on for exactly 30 issues, so that's 2 and a half years of great Spidey storytelling. In time these two great people could be known as "The Two Marks".

Astonishing Spider-Man
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: J. Scott Campbell
This would be a perfect title to start an Astonishing franchise as Cyberman said. I'd like Loeb to do lot's of single issues so that he can use all of Spidey's classic foes for Campbell to draw. Every issue would be like the Stan Lee days, a different villain appearing every issue. Venom, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Vulture, Lizard, Doc Ock, Electro, Mysterio, Scorpion, Shocker, Rhino and Sandman. If it's a successful run which it will be I hope they do another year and decide whether to do a few more issues after that. When Loeb and Campbell finish their run I'd want the title to end so that no other team takes over. I mean this title was pretty much solely created for these two.

Spectacular Spider-Man
Writer: Peter David
Artist: John Romita Jr.
This title would be nothing but pure comedy gold. Spidey always at his most humorous. Peter David can write one hell of a funny Spider-Man. And who better to accompany Mr. David then jazzy John Romita Jr. Every issue would just have Spidey worrying about the little things in his complicated life but also looking on the bright side at the same time. He'll encounter a lot of corny new Z-list villains and just make fun of them. And after a year or two just have Dan Slott and Mike Wieringo take over. What a title that would be.

Despite wanting to do a 70 issue run of Superman and having 18 issues worth of plots for the Justice League of America, Millar has of late preferred shorter runs on comic books (Chosen, Wanted, The Unfunnies, The Ultimate Fantastic Four, Wolverine, Spider-Man) so I doubt you'd get him for more than 12 issues. They'd be a great 12 issues though. I also don't want to take Bagley off the excellent, and useful Ultimate Spider-Man.

I just don't see Peter David as the best match for John Romita Jr, and I don't see the point to a title focusing on Z-list villains.

I think that the teams are pretty good but they're not really top-notch. My dream-teams would be the following.

Amazing Spider-man
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Mark Bagley
I agree that JMS can get 6-12 issues to wrap things up and then he can leave. Kirkman seems to have a great understanding of who Spider-man is and what he is capable of. He is great at creating long as well as short story-arcs and he's a master and handling sub-plots for the supporting cast. Bagley is just a brilliant artist and his work on the title years ago was always superb. Together these two could get the title back to it's normal classic Spidey-greatness.

Spectacular Spider-man
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Tom Grummet
This would be the more light-hearted Spider-man book in the same sence as Slott's Thing and She-hulk were/is light-hearted. I also think that Grummet's art style would fit quite perfectly with Slott's story-telling. And they both fit the type of Spider-man stories a book like this would need.

Web of Spider-man
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artist: rotating
This book would be different from the other two in the way all stories are top two issues long. The stories would vary in dramatic tone and would either have Spider-man in the background or it would be a story about what he does between the big stories in the other two books.

Since Jenkins's best-regarded work is usually his Spider-Man one parters, I'm curious as to why you want to put him on a book with two-parters. I do like the idea of the varying dramatic tone, and focus in between the big stories.

[Ryan Day]

Marc Silvestri, Peter David, Christopher Priest, Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Mark Bagley, Mike Wieringo, and Brian Bendis were all doing Spider-Man stories before they were considered "big".

McFarlane used Amazing Spider-Man to climb to fame, but by the time he started Spider-Man #1, he was huge. (I think it's still one of the best selling books of all time)

[Mister Mets]

If the JMS/ Queseda mini series includes some kind of reset of Spider-Man's status quo, I wouldn't be surprised if the books get relaunched at #1. If that's done, they may end up with some new/ old creators, especially if Peter & MJ are somehow no longer married, something which has bothered the likes of Stern, Brubaker, and Busiek.

[Golon9977]

Silvestri did Web of waaaay back, right before he moved over to X-Men. And Priest was still James Owsley when he was on the Spidey books, first as editor and then writer.


SEAN
I remember Silvestri's Web of. His artwork has improved a lot.

[Dark Soul # 7]

Since Jenkins's best-regarded work is usually his Spider-Man one parters, I'm curious as to why you want to put him on a book with two-parters. I do like the idea of the varying dramatic tone, and focus in between the big stories.The stories doesn't have to be two parters. I meant that a story is no longer than two parts but there will mostly be one parters.

And Jenkins can write good stories that are longer than one issue. His Fusion story in Peter Parker: Spider-man was brilliant.

[Mister Mets]

The stories doesn't have to be two parters. I meant that a story is no longer than two parts but there will mostly be one parters.

And Jenkins can write good stories that are longer than one issue. His Fusion story in Peter Parker: Spider-man was brilliant.

My bad. I thought you wanted to put Jenkins on a book with mostly two-parters (ie- Nextwave, John Byrne's Doom Patrol), which I found an odd choice. His Fusion story is probably his best work ever, and the Robot Master two-parter is a close second, but Jenkins still has a reputation for writing great one part stories (his first two issues of Peter Parker, the cops issues, the Heroes issue, the Vulture/ blizzard issue, and his single issues of Spectacular Spider-Man.) I've read in interviews that he doesn't have much more to say about Spider-Man, so I'd keep him around for occassional one-shot stories in another title.

[Dark Soul # 7]

My bad. I thought you wanted to put Jenkins on a book with mostly two-parters (ie- Nextwave, John Byrne's Doom Patrol), which I found an odd choice. His Fusion story is probably his best work ever, and the Robot Master two-parter is a close second, but Jenkins still has a reputation for writing great one part stories (his first two issues of Peter Parker, the cops issues, the Heroes issue, the Vulture/ blizzard issue, and his single issues of Spectacular Spider-Man.) I've read in interviews that he doesn't have much more to say about Spider-Man, so I'd keep him around for occassional one-shot stories in another title.Did not know that. Too bad, he's really one of the great modern Spidey writers.

Then maybe Tony Bedard or Ron Zimmerman could take the place as a writer.