Hey!
I'm going to write a column on Spider-Man for the February issue, which is the web-spinner's 60th anniversary, I intend to say that the John Romita Sr. era is my favorite, and say why. If anyone else has something to say, SAY IT!
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Since I agree with the assertion that a reader's Golden Age of comics is when s/he was around 10 years old, my favorite Spidey era had to be the Roger Stern Hobgoblin period. The twists and turns of that saga blew my pre-adolescent mind. I though the storytelling was fantastic and I couldn't wait month to month to see what each new development brought me. I have been lukewarm on the character for most of the last 20-25 years or so, but I bring out those back issues from time to time. The way the storyline ended did not live up to my expectations, but I loved it as it happened.
That is very cool, Rich, and exactly why I asked the question. What else can you tell me?
It's hard to vote against Ditko and how his vision helped set the foundation in place, but for sustained excellence on a title, it's hard to pick against Romita's run. The fact that his Spidey is the one that's usually merchandised indicates that lots of people agree.
I have to say that Romita took over on the best issue possible, with a lot of dramatic turns to work with. And I seriously doubt that MJ would've been quite the jackpot she turned out to be on the final page without Romita.
BTW, you better get cracking. That column is due next week!
-- MSA
I look forward to reading your article Cap! Spidey is my favorite superhero ever. My favorite era would be the mid 90s right up to the clone era. I'm a big Mark Bagely fan and he was the main artist during this time. I'm currently piecemealing the entire run of Amazing Spider-man together. I just scored a copy of AMS #100 for the nice price of $15, and it's in decent shape!
As a fan of The Silver Age, I heard so much about the "Master Planner" arc and especially issue #33. I finally tracked it down (well, in Masterworks form) and read it. Quite often, these "epic" stories which are over-hyped don't live up to the legend. But that sequence with Peter under the machinery might be the best spread of pages I've ever read.
Roger Stern's run in Amazing & Spectacular is a classic run in and of itself, which, of course, includes the 2-part Juggernaut story! I'll never tire of reading those!
A few years ago, we had a "best comic runs" thread. One of my noms was for the Lee-Ditko-Romita Sr. run of Amazing and this is what I wrote at that time:
"By the early 60s, Stan Lee was pretty much sick of comic books. He had been working in the industry since he was a teen and the monster and romance books held little meaning to a man entering middle age. Then, in 1961, he wrote the comic he wanted to write figuring that if it didn't work, he was leaving comics anyway. Well, Fantastic Four was a hit and Stan and Jack Kirby began to create their own universe to play in. I think Stan stayed in, mainly, because for the first time ever he was getting feedback. And these weren't just letters from kids, students from places like Yale were stopping in the Marvel offices, wanting to talk to Stan...readers of Rolling Stone were talking about Marvel...Stan was feeling like what he was writing actually mattered to thinking people.
While FF is the darling of the comics intelligentsia, especially big time Kirby fans, its family of characters still trail behind Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-Man, in the hearts of most folks. I think the genius of the character, from the minds of Stan and Steve Ditko, was that many of the known tropes of superhero comics were used, but were tilted in a way never fully explored before. Clark Kent lost his parents and was raised by an older, loving couple - check. Bruce Wayne's parents were killed by a street thug - check. An accident with radiation gave a person incredible powers (FF, Hulk) - check. Peter Parker had all of these...so what made him special? He didn't start out with goodness in his heart or a sense of justice...he had to learn it the hard way. That pushed Spidey closer to all of us. Because of the fantastic origin story of Spider-Man, Peter could never completely put himself above the petty crime, the greed, or the selfishness he fights against. Batman looks at a criminal and sees the person who took his parents. Superman can't understand man's inhumanity to man. But Pete knows, in his heart of hearts, that, while he didn't kill his beloved uncle, he certainly played an important part in the events that led to his murder. Peter Parker had to live with his aunt after those events...had to watch her mourn...and it had to twist his stomach. But...and this is important...Peter didn't let this make him sullen. He made a life-change and it launched him into action. To start out so tragically, but become so upbeat, a force for hope and goodness...that's what we love about the character and his adventures. And it certainly helped that 1) Stan, Steve, and John surrounded Peter with a fantastic cast of supporting characters (the best in mainstream comics) and 2) Stan wrote some great, laugh-out loud dialog accompanied by Ditko's strangely beautiful art and Romita's window into the New York of the 60s and 70s.
While Superman and Batman may still be the most iconic superheroes in the world, Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-Man, is the most human and, ultimately, the greatest creation of 20th century comic books."
I didn't start reading Spiderman comics until Amazing #180, so I have to lean towards Marv Wolfman, Roger Stern, and Peter David as writers, as well as Keith Pollard as artist. I was even there for the starts of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spiderman and Web of Spiderman. The Spidey Marvel Team-Ups with Red Sonja and The Not Ready For Prime Time Players are forever etched in my memory.
But as Rich pointed out, any reader's "Golden" Age is usually when they first discover the title or shortly there after.
I had a pretty good run back then with the character, as well enjoying the back issues and reprints I came across along the way.
But I started souring on Marvels in the 1990s. Call it corporate greed, mismanagement, whatever. But in time the House of Ideas started going condo and I no longer felt welcomed.
What untangled me from the Spider's web is bringing back Ben Reilly. Being blissfully unaware of the original Spider-Clone saga, the fact that Marvel was suddenly trying to convince me that the Peter I had been with all this time was a fake...
And this was before the stupid mess of Civil War and One More/Brand New Day, which I have thankfully missed.
Characters do need to grow and change, or at least present the illusion of doing so, but all that was definitely steps in the wrong direction as far as I'm concerned.
I still keep up with the Spider-news, (J. Jonah Jameson as NYC's mayor????) but the only thing featuring Spiderman I'm currently reading is the daily newspaper comic strip. And I almost dropped that until Peter's brief foray there back into current Marvel continuity turned out to be a bad dream sequence.
I'm glad to see all of the love for Roger Stern's run on Spider-Man.
As time has passed I have come to appreciate Ditko's run, but as a young comic reader it was Romita's arrival on the scene that made me a regular reader of Amazing Spider-Man. Romita brought a bright, open look to the character and his world which was quite different from Ditko's more brooding approach. It might seem like sacrilege, but as someone who was reading DC comics almost exclusively at the time, Romita brought a DC-like look to Spider-Man that made him much more appealing to me than the previous rendition.
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