Getting back into Spider-Man

[pressdarlings]

So I've been posting a lot lately re: recommendations. I've been getting back into comics (though I always read Batman). Want to get back on to Spider-Man. A buddy tells me that right now it's Spider-Man's Renaissance.

I want to get back to reading Spidey and so I'm wondering what's a good place to start and what is essential to read in order to catch up (I'm sure there's a few threads about this already).

But...

Same buddy told me to just grab the Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1: Coming Home trade and go from there. Says he loves all of Straczynski's run.

So what do you guys recommend? I'd prefer to grab trades, btw. Was thinking of grabbing Vols 1-10. And then the Civil War tie-ins. Then someone else told me to forget all that and just start on Brand New Day.

[ShaggyB]

So I've been posting a lot lately re: recommendations. I've been getting back into comics (though I always read Batman). Want to get back on to Spider-Man. A buddy tells me that right now it's Spider-Man's Renaissance.

I want to get back to reading Spidey and so I'm wondering what's a good place to start and what is essential to read in order to catch up (I'm sure there's a few threads about this already).

But...

Same buddy told me to just grab the Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1: Coming Home trade and go from there. Says he loves all of Straczynski's run.

So what do you guys recommend? I'd prefer to grab trades, btw. Was thinking of grabbing Vols 1-10. And then the Civil War tie-ins. Then someone else told me to forget all that and just start on Brand New Day.

id start with ASM #600 and move up from there.... if you truely do want to read it all.. go with his suggestion

if you want quicker get 627 and yesterdays release.

[whiteshark]

Yep,Spider-Man comics have been undergoing a Renaissance over the last two years.That`s what i call a right info.

I recommend starting reading at least with ASM#611,which is where the Gauntlet starts.A great event in the Spidey comics with just great story arcs.
And even with the most recent issues have the first page explaining the most important developments in recent stories so is easy to start with a current story as Amazing Spider-Man#627.

[pressdarlings]

Is Straczynski's run pretty decent overall?

And why is 600 a good start?

If there's some great stories before that I surely don't wanna miss 'em!

[EuphemismForSex]

Is Straczynski's run pretty decent overall?

And why is 600 a good start?

If there's some great stories before that I surely don't wanna miss 'em!

It's a giant issue where May get's married and MJ comes back.

I'd start with OMD/BND, to get a feel of the new "World of Spider-Man". (And why it's new.)

[pressdarlings]

It's a giant issue where May get's married and MJ comes back.

I'd start with OMD/BND, to get a feel of the new "World of Spider-Man". (And why it's new.)

Cool. Hope the stories are consistent after that.

[remoteman]

Is Straczynski's run pretty decent overall?

And why is 600 a good start?

If there's some great stories before that I surely don't wanna miss 'em!

Straczynski's run was generally solid, with the general consensus being that it was one of the better modern Spider-Man runs. I personally enjoyed his earlier stories with John Romita Jr but felt it petered out slightly before he left, and then collapsed into inconsistency when later artists came onboard. There are still good stories there, they are just harder to find. That said, starting with Coming Home is probably a good idea.

I thought that the first few story-arcs of Brand New Day were pretty great as well, with 'Peter Parker Paparazzi' impressing me most, although its overall reception was very mixed.

[Earmites]

Cool. Hope the stories are consistent after that.

Yeah they pretty much are. You kinda need to read OMD/BND to get the jist of whats going on...But it doesn't get REALLY good until around issues 555-557 the Chris Bachalo run. I would read those few issues after OMD/BND. They were the first issues since OMD that felt like the good ole days with Spidey. I actually laughed out loud and couldn't wait to turn the pages.

564 was really uniquely done and good.
568-573 the New Ways to Die arc was the first time since OMD to really start to be great. Classic arc imo.

592 on will catch you up from there. You will see JJJ being mayor etc.

[PabloD]

If you want to get into current continuity, the problem with starting with the first issue of the new direction (which was #546) is that there are a lot of issues (almost 100) to sift through before you catch up to what's going on in the book right now. That's because it comes out three times a month, so three years of stories come up at over 100 issues.

If you want to get into the current stuff but don't want to be too far behind, I'd say start with #612, which was the beginning of The Gauntlet, the meta-story that's currently running on the book. #600 would have been a good place to start too, but the problem is #601-611 were by and large not very good comics. Still, #600 stood alone pretty well, and it was a pretty good Spider-Man story (and at 104 pages of new material for $5, it gave you some real bang for your buck) so if you want you can get that and then hop to #612.

[Combustible Pumpkins]

You said you'd like to get the trades, but if you were to start with singles, I'd make the same suggestion as Pablo, start with the Gauntlet. That's a lot of Spidey reading already. Or simply go back to a couple weeks ago (ASM 627), 'Something Can Stop The Juggernaunt' and take it from there. Believe me with ASM coming out three times a month you'll get your Spidey fix.

As far as JMS goes, he's a lot slower read, imo. The Spidey adventures in the new direction are much more entertaining, but a lot of fans are complaining about Peter behaving out of character. So if you want slower drama, read JMS's Spidey, if you want more action read the newer stuff. There are some good Spidey adventures in JMS's time like his very first arc, or when he was told how the plot should move, as in Civil War.

Hope that helps.

[pressdarlings]

Hope that helps.

Definitely helps. But I don't mind catching up, really. Gives me something to read! Just as long as the stories are good I'm there.

[Aziz Abbasi]

Start with the current issues
Read ASM #600
Go back to V1 of BND, and head forward
Then jump backwards to v1 of Straczynski's work
Enjoy them all

[pressdarlings]

Start with the current issues
Read ASM #600
Go back to V1 of BND, and head forward
Then jump backwards to v1 of Straczynski's work
Enjoy them all

Alright, alright. I'm actually starting on Straczynski's run. Skipping his last few trades. And then going from there.

[PabloD]

Alright, alright. I'm actually starting on Straczynski's run. Skipping his last few trades. And then going from there.

If you're going to do it that way I'd advise, in all seriousness, to skip everything after Amazing Spider-Man #508, which was his last issue with John Romita, Jr. After JRJr. left Straczynski's work on the title took something of a nosedive in quality (well, actually, I'd argue it started after #500, but at least #501-508 had JRJr. art to pick up the slack).

[Farmernudie]

Is Straczynski's run pretty decent overall?

And why is 600 a good start?

If there's some great stories before that I surely don't wanna miss 'em!

Yes, JMS's run is awesome, for the most part, and really the best place to start, as your friend suggested, and i would suggest starting with the JMS trades also.

[pressdarlings]

If you're going to do it that way I'd advise, in all seriousness, to skip everything after Amazing Spider-Man #508, which was his last issue with John Romita, Jr. After JRJr. left Straczynski's work on the title took something of a nosedive in quality (well, actually, I'd argue it started after #500, but at least #501-508 had JRJr. art to pick up the slack).

Without spoiling anything, why is it the popular consensus that his run just takes a major stage-dive and there's no on there to catch it? Why's it so bad? What stories are those? New Avengers? The Other? Back in Black?

[PabloD]

Without spoiling anything, why is it the popular consensus that his run just takes a major stage-dive and there's no on there to catch it? Why's it so bad? What stories are those? New Avengers? The Other? Back in Black?

It's a bit hard to describe. On the whole, the stories just lost a certain "spark", so to speak, and that's when they didn't have some outright terrible concepts at their core (e.g., Sins Past, The Other). Generally, they just felt kind of generic and uninteresting, as well as a little drawn out (as you'll see, most of them are about 5-7 parts long, while JMS, I think, usually works best in 1-3 issue stories).

The way it breaks down after #508 is:

-Sins Past (#509-514), which I'm sure you're aware of.
-Skin Deep (#515-518), involving a generic Molten Man knock-off villain.
-New Avengers (#519-524), dealing with Peter's recruitment into the team.
-The Other (#525-528), actually part of a 12-part crossover with Sensational Spider-Man and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
-The Road to Civil War (#529-531), a Civil War prelude.
-Civil War (#532-538), a tie-in to the crossover.
-Back in Black (#539-543), dealing with the repercussions of the previous arc.
-One More Day (#544-545), a 4-part crossover with Sensational Spider-Man and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Kickstarts the new status quo.

The best of these stories were, I would say, decent at most. Okay reads, but rather forgettable in the grand scheme of things. The worst were really bad, usually because they had terrible premises at their core. JMS' technical proficiency is generally present, but it's not enough to bring any of them above the "decent" level.

[pressdarlings]

Interesting...thanks!

I have heard praise for the two Spidey Civil War story tie-ins, though.

[PabloD]

I'd actually say those were among the best stories of the post-JRJr. era, in that JMS did some pretty good work with what he had to work with. There is a sore spot in his depiction of Iron Man (I swear, after Civil War started JMS became incapable of writing an evenhanded portrayal of the character), but for the most part that stuff was good.

[Mulbard]

I wouldn't go as far back as JMS if you ask me. I've only read bits of it (namely (Coming Home, CW prelude and Back in Black) and I sure enjoyed it, but it's really really quite irrelevant with regards to "catching up". This is especially considering the huge amount of stories since BND, which would take up enough time and money on their own.

[pressdarlings]

If you're going to do it that way I'd advise, in all seriousness, to skip everything after Amazing Spider-Man #508, which was his last issue with John Romita, Jr. After JRJr. left Straczynski's work on the title took something of a nosedive in quality (well, actually, I'd argue it started after #500, but at least #501-508 had JRJr. art to pick up the slack).

Cool. I picked up the two Spiderman JSM Ultimate Collections. And I guess I'll stop there since they end at about issue 500 and pick up the story with Brand New Day?

From what I gather the first trade collection is pretty good and then the two after are duds. Then Kraven's First Hunt is disposable and it gets amazing (pun intended) with New Ways To Die.

[Mister Mets]

Cool. I picked up the two JSM Collections. And I guess I'll stop there and pick up the story with Brand New Day?

The third JMS Ultimate Collection may also be worth picking up.

If features the conclusion of his first mega-arc, the infamous Sins Past storyline (which has become a part of continuity) and Skin Deep (which has been referenced in the post-BND stories.)

[pressdarlings]

The third JMS Ultimate Collection may also be worth picking up.



Hmmm..I expected this to be avoided.

[ShaggyB]

Haha. Everyone's opinion is pulling me this way and that way. I hear Sins Past is utter trash and best to be avoided!

just go in expecting it to be bad... its not terrible if you know whats going to be happening... Its just bad if you read it when it came out and werent expecting the massive character destruction of gwen stacy

[Mister Mets]

Haha. Everyone's opinion is pulling me this way and that way. I hear Sins Past is utter trash and best to be avoided!

Reviews have been very mixed. However, it's in continuity and it'll be discussed often.

[inane geek]

Just go Ultimate......or pick up some classic trades like Kravens Last Hunt.
Reigns pretty amusing though and the Gauntlets been good especially the Rhino issue

[pressdarlings]

Skin Deep (which has been referenced in the post-BND stories.)

Who? The Molten Man knock-off?