tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post6301863860842670993..comments2024-03-26T20:11:01.933-04:00Comments on NOT BLOG X: SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #241 - December 1996G. Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12279461069684403792noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-82713616701970824732013-06-24T15:18:17.571-04:002013-06-24T15:18:17.571-04:00I'm one of the weird ones who likes this era q...I'm one of the weird ones who likes this era quite a bit. I have very fond memories of these two or so years, particularly the DeZago/Wieringo <i>Sensational</i> and (yes...) the Mackie/Romita <i>Spider-Man</i> (I agree with the assessment that Mackie's <i>Spider-Man</i> was light-years better than his X-stuff -- though he was certainly elevated somewhat by Romita).<br /><br />It wasn't till the Byrne relaunch that my interest in Spider-Man started to wane. I had been a Mackie apologist for a long time, enjoying most of his Spider-Man material dating all the way back to <i>Web</i>, but the relaunch was too much even for me (though I continued to collect and read for too many years afterward, well into the awful JMS era).<br /><br />The particular items I recall really enjoying from this period were:<br />-the return of the classic supporting cast,<br />-the addtion of the Stacy family (still irritated they just up and disappeared years ago),<br />-the more light-hearted stories coming out of the relatively dark Clone Saga,<br />-the status quo of Peter and Mary Jane living in Aunt May's house with meddling Aunt Anna,<br />-the artwork of Romita Jr (this is, to me, the best he ever was in his career, before or after).<br /><br />I bought all the big trades Marvel recently released of the Clone Saga and the Ben Reilly era, and I would gladly shell out cash to do the same for a series covering these couple years.<br /><br />I look forward to your upcoming reviews -- and I'm very happy to hear <i>Hobgoblin Lives!</i> is in the pipeline! As a child of the 80's, I absolutely devoured that mini when it came out, and I still love to re-read it to this day. Really wish they could've found a way to bring Stern in as a regular Spider-writer around this time.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-3383704490440359072013-06-23T12:08:36.711-04:002013-06-23T12:08:36.711-04:00Usually I can't stand photo referencing, but L...Usually I can't stand photo referencing, but Luke Ross became such a better artist after he started tracing. It's like some weird anti-land or hitch. Andrew Brownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-10905097560550811972013-06-20T21:50:25.712-04:002013-06-20T21:50:25.712-04:00"I never read Chapter One. What was so contro..."I never read Chapter One. What was so controversial about it? And the Byrne re-launch?"<br /><br />If you search Google Groups from 1998-1999, you'll get a very good idea. Essentially, this was Marvel's first attempt to make Peter Parker seem younger, and to wallow in flagrant '60s nostalgia. So, for example, Flash Thompson is back to acting like a bully again for no reason, while Peter is desperate for money to pay for Aunt May's pills, etc. <br />Aside from being a terrible idea in the first place, Howard Mackie's execution of it in the current day books accounts for some of his worst work ever. Truly awful stuff.G. Kendallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12279461069684403792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-61373575511788854462013-06-18T03:14:26.533-04:002013-06-18T03:14:26.533-04:00I never read Chapter One. What was so controversia...I never read Chapter One. What was so controversial about it? And the Byrne re-launch?wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-7190981719435012782013-06-17T23:20:10.426-04:002013-06-17T23:20:10.426-04:00Spectacular Spider Man was easily my favourite Spi...Spectacular Spider Man was easily my favourite Spidey book from this period.<br />Both of DeMatteis' run on Spectacular rank highly on my list of favourite Spider Man eras.<br />I was done with all the Spider Man books after DeMatteis left Spectacular.<br />Jenkins' run on Spider Man made me a fan again, but I mainly lost total interest in Spider-books after Jenkins.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-19495604962748706382013-06-17T22:10:08.863-04:002013-06-17T22:10:08.863-04:00@ Jeff
I've heard from a lot of other people,...@ Jeff<br /><br />I've heard from a lot of other people, and I am of a similar opinion, that Mackie's Spider-man is actually pretty decent, especially for the time. I can see where some people would prefer DeMatteis's writing on Spectacular (and I do), but Mackie's writing isn't far behind his plus I much prefer JR Jr's pencils from this era over ROss's (although I also kind of like Ross's pencils too).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-88454207243262909932013-06-17T20:50:34.472-04:002013-06-17T20:50:34.472-04:00I reread most of these issues not long ago. There...I reread most of these issues not long ago. There a few issues from the era that I actually don't have yet, but I think they're mostly from 1998, so I won't be needing them for a while. The major challenge is trying to figure out a way to reconcile the chronologyproject.com order with the order I'd like to review the issues.<br />And "Hobgoblin Lives" is coming, but not in the immediate future.G. Kendallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12279461069684403792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-63578207720843454922013-06-17T16:06:58.980-04:002013-06-17T16:06:58.980-04:00This period has some pretty good stuff (and is way...This period has some pretty good stuff (and is way better than the Clone Saga era). Oddly, I think the Mackie/Romita Jr. run was my favorite of these, although the set ups are much better than the payoffs (big surprise with Mackie...) <br /><br />I dropped Spidey shortly before the Clone Saga, picked it up again for this and then immediately dropped it again for the Byrne reboot. Paul Jenkins basically saved my Spider-Man fandom at that point.<br /><br />I think Spectacular probably had the strongest plotting of the 4 comics, but Luke Ross's art really turned me off at the time.<br /><br />Are you going to cover Hobgoblin Lives? That one is awesome, but it's also Roger Stern and Ron Frenz so it's more of a throwback to the 80s era than anything else. It's also crazy continuity heavy.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14447265712189987074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-12931734991664707512013-06-17T15:18:54.801-04:002013-06-17T15:18:54.801-04:00I’ve decided to expand my Sensational reviews to i...<i>I’ve decided to expand my Sensational reviews to include the rest of the Spider-canon until we get to the 1998 relaunch.</i><br /><br />Have you gone ahead and re-read those books already (vetting them, so to speak), or will you be discovering/re-discovering them as you go along? Just curious about your process when it comes to something like this, where you maybe haven't read every issue you're going to review previously. <br /><br />In any event, I'm excited to see your reviews expand! Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2734283773701136760.post-66060702929895079152013-06-17T11:57:18.875-04:002013-06-17T11:57:18.875-04:00I'm delighted to see that you're expanding...<br />I'm delighted to see that you're expanding the Spider-Man reviews a little to give us some post-Revelations commentary.<br /><br />To be honest this was the era that truly lost me as a completist. Around the same time as X-Men too. I realise both books were coming out of big saga, Clones and Onslaught but it just felt like we'd gone through a lot only to end up somewhere less satisfying. I know it's the nature of the beast but I got burnt out on Marvel around this time.<br /><br />Also the Chameleon story where he learns Peters identity felt really off to me despite being a big DeMatteis I just wasn't feeling it.<br />And was the re-design of Kafka an editorial mandate?thinkingcoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06211971152903300193noreply@blogger.com