Throwdown!! Dematteis/ Sal Buscema's SSM VS JMS/ Romita Jr's ASM

[Mister Mets]

I was thinking of doing a throwdown between "The Child Within" and "Coming Home" as these were consequential six issue arcs, which began two of the most acclaimed creative Spider-Man runs of the last twenty-one years.

But then I realized that it might be more valuable to just compare the two omnibus-length runs. "Coming Home" was probably going to get more praise than "The Child Within" just as "Best Enemies" would have probably gotten more votes than "The Book of Ezekiel."

Which creative team would you guys say was better?
JM Dematteis and Sal Buscema (Spectacular Spider-Man #178-203) or J Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr (Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 #30-58, 500-508)?

[David Walton]

DeMatteis/Buscema. Genius on every level.

[RyanParkerMan]

Love the JMD run. I've been rereading that run inbetween Spider-Island issues. I'm not a huge Buscema guy though. I don't hate him or anything near that but his stuff doesn't really "jump off the page". Because of this, I'm going with the JMS/Romita run. Many of you know i'm a big JMS guy but only giving it to that run because in my opinion, that was JrJr's best stuff in his entire career! The pages, with Scott Hanna inking (it was Hanna right?) were just gorgeous. And JMS didn't hurt either.

It's tough to choose. Good throwdown Mets! JMD is one of my all time fav Spidey scribes.

[oldschool]

DeMatteis/Buscema. Genius on every level.

Same. There were parts of the JMS/JRJR run that I liked very much ( the first year or so was very strong) but, on the whole, it was not much fun at all. That era on Spectacular, othh, was just flat-out perfect.

[whiteshark]

I voted in the JM Dematteis and Sal Buscema on Spectacular Spider-Man #178-203.

Will elaborate my opinion in that in another post.

[CloneSaga]

JMS&JRJR. Those guys gave me some of the best Spider-Man experiences ever! (But I appreciate JMD &Sal B too)

[Schmed]

This was a close one for me, but JrJr's art just put it over the top for me.

[RyanParkerMan]

This was a close one for me, but JrJr's art just put it over the top for me.

Yeah same here. I think i actually like JMD's stories better than JMSeses but JrJr was just so good on that run.

[Kevin Nichols]

Good throwdown, Mets. I absolutely can't pick. Both phenomenal runs. Amazing writers. Stylized, unique artists. Several groundbreaking stories in each run. I really can't say one was better than the other.

[Karl Cook]

DeMatteis/Buscema. Genius on every level.

That's where my vote went.

[oldschool]

That's where my vote went.

Same here....the only negative for that run was, for me, Sal Buscema was not a dynamic artist; for me, he was certainly more than serviceable but when I think of my all-time favorite artist he would not be in my Top 10. I suppose I think of him in the above average category but just not in the "great" category. Still, their run gets the nod from me over JMS/JRJR's run.

[David Walton]

Same here....the only negative for that run was, for me, Sal Buscema was not a dynamic artist; for me, he was certainly more than serviceable but when I think of my all-time favorite artist he would not be in my Top 10. I suppose I think of him in the above average category but just not in the "great" category. Still, their run gets the nod from me over JMS/JRJR's run.

I think Buscema is consistently good, but when he teamed with JMD, it took his work to the next level. It's as good as any other superhero work out there, IMO. He did such great work with facial expressions and rage, and the cover to SSM 200 is one of my favorites.

[McFarlane's Green Hulk]

Buscema's art shined thru the "Child Within" storyline. And issue #190 with the Rhino...good stuff.
The drama that JMD put in those stories too...

[oldschool]

I think Buscema is consistently good, but when he teamed with JMD, it took his work to the next level. It's as good as any other superhero work out there, IMO. He did such great work with facial expressions and rage, and the cover to SSM 200 is one of my favorites.

Oh yeah, that cover is awesome! I guess I just thought that he rarely elevated the stories for me to the degree that guys like Marcos Martin or even Ross Andru did (wildly different styles but 2 of my faves!).

To be fair, though, I also think he was on that title way too long and I tired a bit of his style.----but, as you say, his run with JMD was probably his best work which is why I gave their run the nod over JMS/JRJR.

[David Walton]

Oh yeah, that cover is awesome! I guess I just thought that he rarely elevated the stories for me to the degree that guys like Marcos Martin or even Ross Andru did (wildly different styles but 2 of my faves!).

I'd agree that before The Child Within, Sal put out a lot of consistent but not mind blowing work. But he's always been one of the best storytellers out there. He has a mindset for moving the story forward that others occassionally lack.

To be fair, though, I also think he was on that title way too long and I tired a bit of his style.----but, as you say, his run with JMD was probably his best work which is why I gave their run the nod over JMS/JRJR.

There's something about the JMD/Buscema chemistry that took them both to the top of their game. To this day, JMD says it's his favorite mainstream superhero work he's ever done. He had planned to use dialogue with Harry's death scene, but he was so blown away by Sal's art that he left the page silent.