Graphic Novel Reading Group discussion

I didn't read all of it but I quite enjoyed the early part of his run. Particularly the issues he did with John Romita Jr. I enjoyed the introduction of Morlun and took the spider-totem angle with a grain of salt. As it crept towards the ridiculous Gwen Stacey/Norman Osborn storyline and One More Day I was ready to leave the title again.

I read it all and enjoyed most of it. As Steve says, the earliest stuff and the Morlun was the best. JMS still maintains that One More Day was Quesada's storyline, so I'll let that slide. Sins Past was a bit ridiculous. However, two weeks storylines is about 7 week issues in an impressive five-year run. Plus he had classic Marvel artists like Deodato and Romita helping out. It is probably one of my favorite modern runs of Spidey. It leans more on the drama and a little less on the humor, but the quips are still there.

Yeah, if you really like Civil War, those issues of ASM are pretty important and fun to read.

(Reportedly, Millar and JMS had a bit of a fight over when Spidey would reveal his identity. JMS wanted it in ASM. Millar wanted it in Civil War. The high-profile mini-series won. :) Oh, comics.)

Good stuff, Phillip.
Love the behind the scenes stuff.
Dave

I enjoyed early in the run. But it just takes a lot to hold my interest for long on a Spidey title. Just not a fave character of mine.

Things I enjoyed from early on: the Morlun story, I kinda liked the spider totem thing (I know others disagree), the 9-11 issue was well handled, and wasn't JMS the one who finely had Peter admit to Aunt May he was Spider-man?

But what do I know? I liked Ben Reilly.

I liked the Aunt May reveal. It's kind of foolish to think that someone who knows a person so well; how they move, walk and talk, could be in the dark about a secrer identity for so long. I know Aunt May isn't a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter but at some point she's bound to say, "Hey Spider-Man and Peter are kinda similar". I guess I have a problem with Spidey not being able to evolve as a character without phasing core characters out of the book. It's funny that Pete always lamented the fact that he was a loner, but in fact under JMS, he had quite a support system with May and MJ. I guess that's all been taken care of now that he's part of the Avengers.