Looking for some Spiderman advice

[Spiderwam]

When i was younger i always loved Spider-man, use to live off of the saturday morning cartoon, but after a while it died out, pushed back into the depths of my mind. Now, after seeing, and loving, the 3 Spider-man films my love for the colourful web head has returned with even more passion than before.

I'm hoping that some of you would be able to take a bit of time to help ease me into the world of comics, particularly the Spider-man comics. :confused:

Now that I'm revisiting some of my past loves i'm finding that alot of superhero comics are actually quite dark, obviously something i wasn't exposed to when i was younger, although seeing this side has only fueled me onward. I recently bought and read Alan Moore's Watchmen, I loved the fact that the novel was obviously aimed at adults. Now I'm not really expecting that level of sophistication from a Spider-man comic (Although then again you may suprise me with what i'll find from these comics), but anything along the same lines atmosphere wise would be nice.

OK, just going to set out a few things I'm wondering:

- Am i going to be majorly confused by the story line? Eg, By missing decades of Spidey comics will they be talking about events i havent got a clue about?

- Are there any Spider-man graphic novels? Or are they all just one continous story line delivered in the smaller comic book style? I loved the fact that Watchmen was just a single story in it's own right, by picking up and reading a novel like that they could never reference or talk about events that had happened 2 series earlier.

- Any recommendations? A good starting point would be brilliant, bareing in mind i'm coming into this basically cold, I've read quite alot online but not really enough to just dive in anywhere.

- I've heard about Ultimate Spider-man, correct me if i'm wrong but it sounds like a line of comics designed to help people like me get into the universe by starting the character over without any of the confusiong back plot. Now, I've read online about various Spidey storylines; characters dying, some in quite horrific ways, Spider-man getting his eye ripped out, and villains appearing to be much more twisted than shown on those old cartoons. My biggest concern about the Ultimate Spider-man series is that Peter Parkers a teenager in the comic is he not? So with him only being a teenager, do you lose alot of the more chilling aspects of the story in exchange for a more child friendly 'saturday morning cartoon' storyline?

- And finally as just a side note, Why are there so many varieties or Spider-man comics out there? Whats the difference between The Amazing Spider-man, The Spectacular Spider-man etc... Why create different lines of comic books for the same character? Do they have seperate back stories? Or is it just for the sake of it? :P


Any help would be much appreciated, taking this first step into the world of comic books is quite confusing and i just want to make sure i enter into it the right way. I dont really want to be picking up a Spider-man comic and only understanding a third of it at best simply because i dont know the back plot.

Thanks in Advance,
Spiderwam

[Sijo]

-You're not likely to be confused because there was a recent retcon and even the famous Peter-and-Mary Jane marriage never happened. It's just like 20 years ago! But the stories are still good.

-There have been lots of Spidey graphic novels, both original material and collection of stories from the monthly comics.

-You can start with "Brand New Day!" the storyline that started after the retcon I mentioned above. Do NOT confuse this "One More Day" the retcon itself, which may be the single most hated Spider-Man story ever.

- Ultimate comics are indeed very dark. I cannot recommend them to you.

- Why are there multiple Spidey comics? Because he sells! :) In any case, the more recent series tell the same ongoing plotlines, unlike earlier series.

[Chaos_Alfa]

I think Ultimate Spiderman is the best Spiderman comic out right now. The stories rang from light harted to dark and it doesn't have the Saturday morning cartoon stories you fear. It has just relaunched so It's easy to jump on right now.

[Mister Mets]

When i was younger i always loved Spider-man, use to live off of the saturday morning cartoon, but after a while it died out, pushed back into the depths of my mind. Now, after seeing, and loving, the 3 Spider-man films my love for the colourful web head has returned with even more passion than before.

I'm hoping that some of you would be able to take a bit of time to help ease me into the world of comics, particularly the Spider-man comics. :confused:

Now that I'm revisiting some of my past loves i'm finding that alot of superhero comics are actually quite dark, obviously something i wasn't exposed to when i was younger, although seeing this side has only fueled me onward. I recently bought and read Alan Moore's Watchmen, I loved the fact that the novel was obviously aimed at adults. Now I'm not really expecting that level of sophistication from a Spider-man comic (Although then again you may suprise me with what i'll find from these comics), but anything along the same lines atmosphere wise would be nice.

OK, just going to set out a few things I'm wondering:

- Am i going to be majorly confused by the story line? Eg, By missing decades of Spidey comics will they be talking about events i havent got a clue about? Probably not. The comics are pretty accessible right now.

You'll usually understand what's going on.


- Are there any Spider-man graphic novels? Or are they all just one continous story line delivered in the smaller comic book style? I loved the fact that Watchmen was just a single story in it's own right, by picking up and reading a novel like that they could never reference or talk about events that had happened 2 series earlier.There are some mostly self-contained Graphic Novels.

Torment. Kraven's Last Hunt. Death of the Stacys. I recommend all three.

But most of it is a continuous story, though it is a currently accessible one.


- Any recommendations? A good starting point would be brilliant, bareing in mind i'm coming into this basically cold, I've read quite alot online but not really enough to just dive in anywhere.

Your stores should still have copies of Amazing Spider-Man #600. That should give you an impression about whether or not you'll enjoy the series.


- I've heard about Ultimate Spider-man, correct me if i'm wrong but it sounds like a line of comics designed to help people like me get into the universe by starting the character over without any of the confusiong back plot. Now, I've read online about various Spidey storylines; characters dying, some in quite horrific ways, Spider-man getting his eye ripped out, and villains appearing to be much more twisted than shown on those old cartoons. My biggest concern about the Ultimate Spider-man series is that Peter Parkers a teenager in the comic is he not? So with him only being a teenager, do you lose alot of the more chilling aspects of the story in exchange for a more child friendly 'saturday morning cartoon' storyline? The Ultimate books aren't tame. They want to keep the teen readers.


- And finally as just a side note, Why are there so many varieties or Spider-man comics out there? Whats the difference between The Amazing Spider-man, The Spectacular Spider-man etc... Why create different lines of comic books for the same character? Do they have seperate back stories? Or is it just for the sake of it? :P

I answer that one in the FAQ.


Amazing Spider-Man is the flagship Spider-Man title, set in the 616 or Classic Marvel Universe. It is currently produced three times a month. Previously Marvel had a habit of releasing Amazing Spider-Man once a month, and also including further adventures of the character in satellite titles, such as Spider-Man, Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, Marvel Team Up, Sensational Spider-Man, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and a few others.

Amazing Spider-Man Family is now a monthly anthology title (soon to essentially be rebooted as Web of Spider-Man. Issues usually include stories from the 616 Universe. Another feature is the Spectacular Spider-Girl, continuing the adventures of Spider-Man's alternate future daughter Mayday Parker (her future is commonly referred to as the MC2 universe.) She previously had her own book (Spider-Girl, later relaunched as The Amazing Spider-Girl) but it was canceled after 130 issues. The MC2 universe includes various mini-series and short lived spin-offs. It started as the 105th issue of the cancelled anthology series What If?

Ultimate Spider-Man (soon to be relaunched as Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man) follows the adventures of a teenage Peter Parker within the Ultimate universe.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane is set in its own universe, and features stories in the perspective of high school student Mary Jane Watson.

Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is a self-contained title, with typically standalone adventures of Spider-Man appropriate for readers of all ages.

As for why, who knows? I think writers sometimes enjoy being able to do something outside of the restrictions of the regular Marvel Universe.

[SamBot]

The first comic book I started collecting was Ultimate Spider-Man, for the same reason you have. I never got into Amazing Spider-Man, and didn't have time to go back and read 500 issues of back story. While Ultimate Spider-Man is aimed for teenagers, like the rest of the Ultimate line, USM doesn't dumb down the comic like the kid-friendly cartoons on TV. Peter actually gets shot in one issue and ends up collapsing in a heap in an alley. Also, Venom (and Carnage) litterally suck the lives out of people, reducing them to nothing but skin and bones. Another idea if you can't get into the Ultimate line, is to buy the Essential Spider-Man books. They're 400 or 500 pages of the original ASM comics. I read two or three of those in high school and it was very helpful in getting caught up in that world. But I would recommend USM. It's an amazing series and puts a new, 21st century, spin on the classic Spidey tales.