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Spider-Man
Crushing Comics S01E13 – X-Men/Steve Rogers, Spider-Man/Human Torch, Astonishing X-Men, & Storm in World’s Apart (plus, Moon Knight!)
I haul a massive brick off the shelf today, but before I open it I go off on a long tangent about one of my favorite characters – Moon Knight! Then, it’s time to dig into the books – but, just half of them, since it was a seven-book stack!
Want to start from the beginning? Here’s the complete Season 1 playlist of Crushing Comics.
Episode 13 features X-Men/Steve Rogers: Escape from the Negative Zone (Amazon), Spider-Man and the Human Torch (Amazon), Astonishing X-Men: Northstar (Amazon/ Astonishing X-Men Guide), and Storm in X-Men: Worlds Apart (Amazon) – plus an introductory discussion of Moon Knight (visit the guide!).
Crushing Comics, S01E05 – Collected Editions Unboxing (September Haul)
On today’s episode of Crushing Comics I unveiled the first international comics haul of new comics collected editions that’s arrived since I’ve been here in New Zealand! I don’t know how I made it this long without a fresh supply of books (and hopefully not any spiders).
Here’s what I unboxed in alphabetical order, along with their accompanying guides (if applicable):
- Daredevil Epic Collection: Heart of Darkness (Guide)
- Defenders Epic Collection: Ashes to Ashes (Guide)
- Graveyard Book Graphic Novel (Single Edition)
- Locke & Key: Heaven and Earth (not Small World, as I say in the video.)
- Marvel Masterworks: Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 2 (Guide)
- Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One Vol. 2 (Guide)
- S.H.I.E.L.D.: Hydra Reborn
- Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin (Guide)
Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita, Jr. – The #39 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017
J. Michael Straczynski – commonly known to fans as JMS – is a famed author across multiple mediums. After cutting his teeth on a number of early-80s children’s cartoons, he broke out in 1993 with syndicated sci-fi hit Bablyon 5 – an epic and nuanced take on similar subject-matter to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also made his entrance into the comics world in the 90s with his creator-owned book Rising Stars.
As you can imagine, fans were excited for him to take over Amazing Spider-Man in 2001 after a few years’ dip in quality of the Spidey flagship – especially as accompanied by classic Marvel artist John Romita, Jr.
Be careful what you wish for…
Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita, Jr. is the #39 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot. Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes and visit The Guide to Spider-Man to read this run today.
Past Ranking: This book ranked #30 in 2014 and just missed the survey in 2016, coming in somewhere between #51-56
Probable Contents: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #30-58 and 500-508 (though it could stretch as far as #518)
JMS’s run on Spider-Man accounts for 87 issues as gathered in his five-volume Ultimate Collection set, which means we’d be looking at either two hefty 40+ issue volumes or three slimmer 30-ish issue volumes to cover it.
I’m speculating on the former, which would leave a second volume to collect Amazing Spider-Man #509-545, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2005) #1-4 & 24, Marvel Knights Spider-Man (2004) #19-22, The Sensational Spider-Man (2006) #41, and Spider-Man: The Other (2005) Sketchbook, and Spider-Man: One More Day Sketchbook (2007).
Creators: J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita, Jr. handle the entirety of the run through #508 with few interlopers; #508 is the end of Romita’s run.
Can you read it right now? Yes! This run has been collected in several formats, including oversized hardcover. Head to The Guide to Spider-Man for details. It’s also available in full on Marvel Unlimited.
The Details:
Spider-Man was on a major high when J. Michael Straczinski took the reigns of his flagship comic in June 2001, but not for the reasons you might think.
Amazing Spider-Man was one of the last Silver Age comics that Marvel relaunched in the late 90s, leaving only Uncanny X-Men to continue its original numbering into the new millennium. Amazing and its sister titles started with a flash with John Byrne co-scripting and pencilling, but faded afterwards during what was a massive overall fade for the comic industry a the time.
Doesn’t sound like a high, right? Well, the high was from Ultimate Spider-Man, the mega-hit launched by Brian Bendis at the end of 2000 that recast a teen Peter Parker into the modern day. [Read more…] about Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita, Jr. – The #39 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017
Superior Spider-Man – The #43 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017
At the end of 2017 Dan Slott will have been writing Peter Parker as Spider-Man for ten years, but his most-memorable Spider-Man story will probably go down as Superior Spider-Man – the one where he wrote Spider-Man not as Peter Parker … or, maybe more accurately, Peter Parker not as himself.
Superior Spider-Man is the #43 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot. Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes. And, check out the Definitive Guide to Spider-Man to track down every single issue.
Past Ranking: A 2017 debut!
Probable Contents: Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #698-700, Superior Spider-Man (2013) #1-31, & Annual 1-2.
I could see Marvel also including Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #1-6, which adds a bit of resolution to the relatively abrupt ending of this run and butts up nicely to Spider-Verse on the other side.
It could also include some (but probably not all) of Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 & 16-22 and Superior Spider-Man Team-Up (2013) #1-12 & Special, All-New X-Men (2013) Special, and Indestructible Hulk (2013) Special.
(Note that Superior Spider-Man #32-33 were published later as part of Spider-Verse.)
Creators: Written by Dan Slott with Christos Gage with pencils by the rotating team of Giuseppe Camuncoli, Ryan Stegman, and Humberto Ramos (along with one-offs from Marcos Martin, Javier Rodriguez, Phil Briones, and Will Sliney).
Inks by the pencillers along with John Dell III, Victor Olazaba, Cam Smith, Terry Pallot, John Livesay, and Álvaro López. Colors by Edgar Delgado and Antonio Fabela.
Can you read it right now? Yes! This run is perfectly covered in paperbacks and oversized hardcovers as described in the Guide to Spider-Man and is entirely available on Marvel Unlimited.
The Details:
Superior Spider-Man is a spider-story that anyone can appreciate, and truly one of the best Spider-Man runs of all time despite not quite starring Spider-Man.
To explain the why and how of that will involve some major spoilers. [Read more…] about Superior Spider-Man – The #43 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017