COMIC-GAF Presents a Graphic Guide to Spider-Man Comics

Great thread.

I never really got into ASM but I adored Ultimate, for the first 40 issue or so (the end of the Venom arc, specifically). After that, it got so cross-over-y for me with multiple other Marvel characters that don't interest me and I kinda lost interest.

I'm giving Superior Spider-Man a shot, but should I return to Ultimate and give it its chance? The first 40 issues were phenomenal and if it offered something with the same quality in its later issues then I'm all in.
 
I mean the Series that is set during Highschool :D


Also, are there any collection with stories from Kraven Jr. times as a big name Spider-Man villain? Very interested in that, I noticed that I never read a story involving him
 
Great thread.

I never really got into ASM but I adored Ultimate, for the first 40 issue or so (the end of the Venom arc, specifically). After that, it got so cross-over-y for me with multiple other Marvel characters that don't interest me and I kinda lost interest.

I'm giving Superior Spider-Man a shot, but should I return to Ultimate and give it its chance? The first 40 issues were phenomenal and if it offered something with the same quality in its later issues then I'm all in.

If you adored USM, I would continue with that.
 
So I've started USM from the beginning, and it's even better than what I remember! It's by far my favorite take on the Spider-man mythos, and I love how it has a natural sense of story progression, something I feel is missing in most Super Hero comics where there's a need to maintain a status quo. That was a main reason I loved the new Ms. Marvel, which I feel is the closest thing to USM.

I reached issue 32 (start of the venom arc) and I have some thoughts.

  • I love their take on Aunt May. She can get annoying sometimes, but for the first time, she feels like a real parent, which I respect.
  • Their take on Doc Ock is even better! His arc here with phenomenal and I truly felt bad for him, his long monologs were really good and highlighted how unstable, yet sympathetic he is. Even if he was kinda terrible even before the accident.
  • While the A-plot of the imposter spider arc was not terribly interesting, I loved for how it focused on Peter and the people around him. Him getting shot/seriously injured for the first time was a heavy event that they succeeded in giving the weight it deserves. Thier take on Gwen Stacy here is very different than normal but I love her, and it's really heartbreaking what's happening for her.
  • Peter and MJ's relationship is amazing, and that gave their break-up scene tons of weight. She tells him that he's gonna die was powerful, especially
    knowing where this is going.

All in all, it's a really fun ride so far, but that was expected since I always loved those issues. I'm interested in seeing if my perspective will change on the later ones, maybe I was just burnt out at the time.
 
I think Ultimate Spider-Man was a great and consistant AAA book without a bad arc until after the Clone Saga, but sadly fell completly off the cliff after that.
 
Let me get this straight, if i want to follow the main line Peter Parker continuity i should read the following?

From Brand New Day to 700
Superior Spiderman 1-31
New Amazing Spider-man 1-ongoing?
 
Perhaps not the thread for it, though I can't really think of a more suitable one: are Silk and the new Spider-Man 2099 recommended? I read the first volume of Spider-Gwen and, although I loved the art, the comic as a whole left me a little underwhelmed.
Pre-Secret Wars Silk (2015) is fantastic. After Secret Wars, which had her second #1, I didn't find it very good. I stuck with it for the first 5 or 6 issues. Felt like a lot of wheel-spinning. The artist change didn't help either.

I have the same opinion for Spider-Gwen (minus the artist change bit).
 
Spoilery question for Ultimate Spider-Man

I only read bits and pieces of Miles Ultimate run and just remembered that it was revealed Ultimate universe Parker was still alive. Was that ever revisited?
 
Spoilery question for Ultimate Spider-Man

I only read bits and pieces of Miles Ultimate run and just remembered that it was revealed Ultimate universe Parker was still alive. Was that ever revisited?

The universe died like 12 issues later and he and MJ weren't brought over to 616 like Ganke, Bombshell etc.
 
The universe died like 12 issues later and he and MJ weren't brought over to 616 like Ganke, Bombshell etc.

Damn, I knew about that and it never sat right with me.
After making a big deal of showing he's still alive, they killed him right back. I was hoping that after the event died down they would show him in the new universe. Such a weird send off for a major character
 
Yeah, this certainly got a bit worse.

  • The Venom arc was rushed. I don't have a problem with the new symbiote origin, but everything ended so quickly and lacked weight. I also didn't like how they went all "
    Eddie was kind of a dick anyway, don't feel bad
    " at the end. The scene with Nick Fury was amazing tho.
  • The Gwen drama with "
    SPIDER-MAN KILLED MY DAD
    " was dumb, forced, and unconvincing. The character lacks writing consistency but I think I can give her a pass on the merit of everything that happened to her since her introduction.
  • What I can't give a pass though is the way
    she was killed off
    . Plain terrible and a rush-job. The Carnage arc overall is the first terrible arc in this book.
  • That's said, I've enjoyed everything that had to do with MJ, her family drama and relationship with Peter captured that awkward teenage years feeling in a fun way. I feel like this book writes the Peter Parker part better than the Spider Man part most of the time.
  • I also enjoyed the one-off issues a lot. The one with Aunt May with her shrink was amazing and gave a new perspective on the character. The one about Agent Carter and Sandman was great, too.

Overall, I'm still enjoying bingeing this book a lot. I enjoy the sense of story progression it has and its take on classic characters are always interesting to see.
 
Just read Spider Men 1, really enjoyed it, got issue 1 of Spider Men II arriving this week.

Now I'm reading this but I need some context, is it the normal marvel universe or the Ultimate universe?

jun160955.jpg


Peter Parker seems to be alive and well which is the main reason for my confusion
I'm pretty out of the loop, rely on collecting TPB's, but having fun catching up and finally reading some Miles stuff.

Edit: Also Superior Spiderman Vol 1 is £2.49 on Comixology at the moment, will be picking that up thanks to this thread.
 
Let me put in a plug for Marvel Unlimited. Great, affordable way to catch up on so much great stuff.

I really need to get around to reading Ultimate. Avoided it for years because I absolutely despise decompression in comics as a month to month reader (or even a trade reader when you can read an entire trade in 20 minutes). But decompression doesn't bother me as much when you reach omnibus sizes or can just read a digital run of 100+ issues.
 
I got Marvel Unlimited for 1 month free with the SDCC promo and have started USM from start. Already 50 issues in, in little over a week. Love it, I remember reading it back in the day when I collected comics till issue 42 or so. Still have them sittings somewhere in the house.

But Marvel Unlimited is amazing. I hope to catch up on JMS run of ASM which I remember loving and then move on to Brand New Day.

Thanks for putting this info together.
 
Ultimate Spider-Man is the best thing ever, it's a shame the Miles run has been unable to reach the same heights-- mainly because of constant editorial meddling and forced cross-overs and changes to the status quo.
Agreed. Ultimate Spider-Man got me back into comics. I REALLY wish marvel would at least do things ultimate style and have cross overs not fuck with a main series run. What they did with the ultimate universe was fantastic and what they do now is completely fucking confusing.

Also, I LOVED the origin of venom. The one in the normal universe is lame as shit. The origin of venom I ultimate is absolutely fascinating and my favorite issue in that entire series is the one where all the action is happening over Peter's dad talking about how no matter how bad it is he still gets to come home to Peter. Fucking heart wrenching shit.
 
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