Ok, I had an idea for a new weekly topic. Some giants of the industry have left this mortal coil in recent years. A lot of great story tellers are gone. Now we're all on this site for various reasons, but one thing I think we all have in common, the one thing that connected all of us even before the Marvel Legends and the DC Universe Classics, were the comics themselves.

Yesterday I bought a Spidey t-shirt that featured a cover from Kraven's Last Hunt, and it got me thinking, is that my all-time favorite Spidey story? I'm not sure yet, but it's pretty high up on that list. So I thought maybe we could start a weekly thread, or threads, where I'll bring up a character or team, then everyone can talk about a favorite issue or arc. Like today, we'll start with Spider-Man for no particular reason than the shirt I bought. I don't want people to just respond as soon as the topic is posted, maybe reflect on it for a day or two, we'll start on a Monday or so, and then by mid-week maybe we can get responses. Unless you strongly feel that Straczynski's "The Sins Past" is the greatest Spidey story ever and you can't wait to share that. Of course, no one in their right mind that has ever read a story beside that one should think that, but there's an example. Maybe it's a Silver Age story, maybe it was something from the 90's (lol), or maybe it was an arc from last year. The great thing is most major characters have 30+ years of stories to pick and choose from , so there will hopefully be varying favorites.

Thoughts?

And I forgot to add, don't just tell us what your favorite is, but give some reasons. For me when Kraven's Last Hunt came out I was 9, and it was a lot darker than most comics I'd experienced. I mean, sure mutants died in Uncanny X-Men, the Red Skull "died" in Captain America 300, but this was the first time for me where it seemed like the villain won, and then for Kraven to just "give up the hunt" after winning, the ending notwithstanding, that was powerful stuff for a 9 year old to consume. And the art was great, too.

It's probably nostalgia to some degree, but I think 80's comics had the perfect amount of reading per issue. Older books from the 60's and 70's had a lot of words, and took a while to read. Books nowadays are so short, and the art so much more prevalent, that you can read a lot of books in a couple minutes. I think the books of this era had the right pacing to them, not too brief, and not too long winder. Plus Kraven's Last Hunt had some awesome covers. And black costume Spidey!

I agree on your views on 80s comics.

As for Spiderman stories . . . i guess i haven't read enough. I've read the first 50 original issues like 20 years ago but it's kind of dense, great stuff esp for the era. But nothing really stuck with me well. My spiderman reading was mainly the early 90s just before Carnage showed up. From that era all i remember is him teaming up with characters like moon knight, the new warriors, etc. I recall the Mcfarlane title. But i guess the biggest thing was Venom and just processing how the suit knew where he lived and who he was and the spider sense didnt work against it so that all made Venom seem really dangerous. That and he clashed with the Sinister Six and Aunt May's bf died from a heart attack around then . . . hmm i could reread that, havent read it since middle school.

RIP Nathan Lubensky

If we get a few more responses I'll pick another character on Monday.

If the thread dies, it dies.

Spiderman - Master Planner Saga







Best Story Ever ...

Great topic! I'll put in my thoughts. It's hard for me because for Spidey, it's a cross between the Maximum Carnage story arc and the Lifetheft story arc. They're both 90s, LOL, and I realize the storytelling at that time wasn't the strongest. I'll go with Lifetheft. I was around 10 years old when that happened and Amazing Spider-man #386 was a random comic my grandma got for me at a convenient store spinner rack. It could actually be the last spinner rack book I ever got so it holds a sentimental part in my heart. I had to trade this kid I knew who was two grades below me for his copy of #387 and I think I acquired issue #388 through trading a friend or my grandma caved in and got it for me even though it was a doubly expensive double sized foil cover book. My memory is hazy on the last one. In any event, it featured Marc Bagley on pencils who I actually thought at least in terms of technical proficiency was leagues ahead of McFarlane and anyone else who was working on Amazing Spidey at the time. I stress I'm talking about Amazing since Sal Buscema's iconic run on Spectacular Spider-man is in a league of it's own, IMO. For me, the story while crazy was easily digestible for a kid my age. I was emotionally connected to Peter's experience and the shock and pain he underwent when he discovered the dark secret that his parents were hiding from him.



I have to have my two honorable mentions, though. First, of course, Maximum Carnage. The arc was iconic for me and while I wasn't able to get every single issue as they came out on the spinner racks, I sure as heck tried. Spider-man Issue #35, Part 4 of 14 was actually the first issue that I picked up. There was no internet and I had no idea Maximum Carnage was even a cross-over event that was happening. There was something thrilling about those times.



Lastly, Spectacular Spider-man #185 featuring artwork from the legendary Sal Buscema was just a really fun light-hearted heartwarming story about Spider-man dropping in on the retired villain Leapfrog's house after a run in with his son, the Fabulous Frog-Man. They end up going up against the White Rabbit and the Walrus. It was super fun and a hilarious read that I read over and over again.

Ah, when was the last time Frogman appeared in Spidey comic? Or any comic? I still remember this one...



I just got back into comics right after Maximun Carnage after a couple years away (we moved to the suburbs and all the kids were into baseball cards instead...). I think I got back in when Pete's "parents" returned after being away maybe 5 years.

I don't really have much connection to Spider-Man, but I enjoyed him embarrassing the X-Men in Secret War.




I actually kinda like old school Wolverine, but this is what you get for relying on dorks like Nightcrawler and Colossus.

I miss the days when you didn't need cliff notes to know what the hell was going on in the X section of the MU. Seems like every other month someone turns bad, someone turns good, someone travels through time, someone dies, there's an all-new all-new X-Men book. It's really exhausting. Magneto is the Big Show of comics.