Wanted: A good Spidey read...

[Captivated]

The stories seem few, far between... and lately, more irritating than satisfying... I need a fix. I'm getting desperate. I know many of you all - discriminating connoisseurs of Spider-man literature that you are - will have some good suggestions.

I LOVE long, good novels... and this comic book thing is relatively new for me (discovered after the SM movies came out). Spider-man... what a great character. Intriguing stories, drama, humor, characterization... and as an artist myself, I get into the art. It's been good so far, because there has been LOTS to read. But I seem to be caught up.

I've read all the Essentials, and more on CD. I've read Spider-man Blue and Parallel Lives. I'm current from the beginning of JMS's run on ASM, Jenkin's on SSM, MKSM and all of last year's mini-series. I read Kevin Smith's SM/BC, and Slot's great read with SM and the Human Torch. I have all of USM. I have several of Spider-man Unlimited, and Secret War. I've read the novel, Down These Mean Streets and commentary Spider-man Confidential.

I don't really want to invest in a bunch of old single issues, inless there are classic storylines... I have all of ASM, but know there are probably other good stories, in other titles.

This is how desperate I was to have something Spidey to read, that did not involve stingers and spider-gods... I actually looked into Fan Fiction. It was an idea that just popped into my head last Friday. I found out there is tons out there... and I realized that I could waste A LOT of time looking for the good stories in a sea of duds. So I googled it and found some stories that came highly recommended. I was delighted to find that all three were enjoyable reads. I mean, REALLY enjoyable. Especially, A Face on a Train.

I have the ones I read listed below. Anyone else know of any others... I mean, GOOD - could be published if not for the copyrighted character - fan fiction?

I would really appreciate suggestions!

******

Just a Face on a Train
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2093771/1/
Months after an unmasked Spiderman saves a train of people from Doc Ock, one of the saved recognizes a face in her diner. A beautiful fic that proves that original character doesn't equal Mary Sue, but can equal a sweet, wonderfully portrayed narrator. Put a star by this one.

Origin Story
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2339400/1/
Short, silly, hilarious. Sometimes a superhero has wardrobe problems, and it's up to an expert to fix things....

Learning Curve
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1939182/1/
A fun adventure with dead-on Peter characterization, taking place shortly after the first movie. The dialogue is excellent, the writing clean and fast-paced. It was a page-turner.

[stillanerd]

I was wondering if you have a copy of The Ultimate Spider-Man Anthology. No, not the one by Brain Michael Bendis, I mean this one:



It contains 13 different prose stories written by those who have worked on the comic book, along with some illustrations by his various artists. One of the stories is actually a novella that reimagines of Spider-Man's origin and it written by Peter David and good 'ol Stan Lee himself that's actually faithful to the original story, plus ties Doctor Octopus into as well (and yes, this is were John Byrne got his inspiration for Chapter One). However, the best of the bunch is another story by Peter David called "Five Minutes" which I have no doubt you'll positively love. There's no major villains, no pointless drag-out fights for no apparent reason--just a private glimpse into the lives of Peter and Mary Jane that will reaffirm your belief that these two belong together (as if you really need convincing ). Your best bet is Amazon.com. Hope this helps.

[Captivated]

Originally Posted by stillanerd

I was wondering if you have a copy of The Ultimate Spider-Man Anthology. No, not the one by Brain Michael Bendis, I mean this one:



It contains 13 different prose stories written by those who have worked on the comic book, along with some illustrations by his various artists. One of the stories is actually a novella that reimagines of Spider-Man's origin and it written by Peter David and good 'ol Stan Lee himself that's actually faithful to the original story, plus ties Doctor Octopus into as well (and yes, this is were John Byrne got his inspiration for Chapter One). However, the best of the bunch is another story by Peter David called "Five Minutes" which I have no doubt you'll positively love. There's no major villains, no pointless drag-out fights for no apparent reason--just a private glimpse into the lives of Peter and Mary Jane that will reaffirm your belief that these two belong together (as if you really need convincing ). Your best bet is Amazon.com. Hope this helps.

Ooooo, I had not heard of that book! That is just the kind of thing I was hoping to discover. I'll look for it. Thanks!

[WOLVERINE25TH]

I'd also recommend Spider-Man/X-Men: Times Arrow trilogy. That was a great read.

[Captivated]

Originally Posted by stillanerd

I was wondering if you have a copy of The Ultimate Spider-Man Anthology. No, not the one by Brain Michael Bendis, I mean this one:



It contains 13 different prose stories written by those who have worked on the comic book, along with some illustrations by his various artists. One of the stories is actually a novella that reimagines of Spider-Man's origin and it written by Peter David and good 'ol Stan Lee himself that's actually faithful to the original story, plus ties Doctor Octopus into as well (and yes, this is were John Byrne got his inspiration for Chapter One). However, the best of the bunch is another story by Peter David called "Five Minutes" which I have no doubt you'll positively love. There's no major villains, no pointless drag-out fights for no apparent reason--just a private glimpse into the lives of Peter and Mary Jane that will reaffirm your belief that these two belong together (as if you really need convincing ). Your best bet is Amazon.com. Hope this helps.

I did order this book and started reading it this a.m. I read the Peter David stories first... and you were right, the story "Five Minutes" was riveting! Wow, what a find. Great insight into Mary Jane and Peter... I think I even shed a tear or two.

I had to stop to do some yardwork (lovely springish day here in the Texas hill country), but my boyfriend works tonight, so it's gonna be me and Spidey (so to speak) as I look forward to finishing the rest of the stories.

Anybody else have any suggestions? Please read my first post, if you are wondering "about what." Thanks.

[stillanerd]

Originally Posted by Captivated

I did order this book and started reading it this a.m. I read the Peter David stories first... and you were right, the story "Five Minutes" was riveting! Wow, what a find. Great insight into Mary Jane and Peter... I think I even shed a tear or two.

I had to stop to do some yardwork (lovely springish day here in the Texas hill country), but my boyfriend works tonight, so it's gonna be me and Spidey (so to speak) as I look forward to finishing the rest of the stories.

Anybody else have any suggestions? Please read my first post, if you are wondering "about what." Thanks.

You're welcome.

[Captivated]

Has anyone read these books:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157...Fencoding=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/042...Fencoding=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157...Fencoding=UTF8

[Dangerous]

You have all ASM?
Not all of em,..all 529 issues?!! after a few years of collecting, damn.

Errr.. oh yeah- Do you have Wizard special edition best of Spider-man Vol1 & 2?- get that essential reading.

[Marcdachamp]

Originally Posted by WOLVERINE25TH

I'd also recommend Spider-Man/X-Men: Times Arrow trilogy. That was a great read.

Agreed.

Have you read Spider-Girl? If not, there's a ton of issues for you to pick up, and I'd highly recommend it.

[rnewbz]

Goblin Moon is a good read, i enjoyed it

Also, you might try the venom factor

[Norman Osborn]

Originally Posted by Dangerous

You have all ASM?
Not all of em,..all 529 issues?!! after a few years of collecting, damn.

Errr.. oh yeah- Do you have Wizard special edition best of Spider-man Vol1 & 2?- get that essential reading.

I believe she has the first four decades of ASM on disc as do I....

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASI...275401-8826751

[Symbiotica]

Originally Posted by Captivated

The stories seem few, far between... and lately, more irritating than satisfying... I need a fix. I'm getting desperate. I know many of you all - discriminating connoisseurs of Spider-man literature that you are - will have some good suggestions.

This is how desperate I was to have something Spidey to read, that did not involve stingers and spider-gods... I actually looked into Fan Fiction. It was an idea that just popped into my head last Friday. I found out there is tons out there... and I realized that I could waste A LOT of time looking for the good stories in a sea of duds.

My God, if you were looking for fan-fiction you WERE desperate. IMO 99% of fanfics are good only for the hearty laughs of both humor/outrage they provoke.

If you like novels, then you have simply GOT TO FIND these two by Adam Troy Casto: Revenge of the Sinister Six and Secret of the Sinister Six. I can all but guarantee you will love them. Castro really knows what he's doing, and his characterisation of everyone, hero and villain, is perfect.

These are the best Spidey novels I have ever read. I recommend them a lot, but that's how good they are compared to everything else.

An excellent TPB in general you don't see mentioned much is Tangled Web #10. Two of the three stories in it are ones you will never forget; one sad, one laugh-out-loud funny.

"Carnage in New York" totally sucks, and I did not care much for "Goblin Moon" either. Neither villain seems to be the one we're familiar with from the comics.

[Rez]

For novels, my personal favourite was VALLEY OF THE LIZARD. It's fairly unconventional for a Spiderman story; not going to say that you'd love it, but I would at least give it a look. Features the Lizard as a villian, as well as a mysterious woman, and some cryptozological wonders in it. A little less than a third of the book is a messy journal written by Curt Connors. It's not fast paced like many of the other Spiderman novels, but I personally like it that way. Rather than trying to imitate the medium of the comics by making it a "comic in a book" form, it takes the mythology of Spiderman and translates it in a story that works best as a novel, using the format to it's advantage.


As for comics, my single favourite arc is Kraven's Last Hunt. You've no doubt heard of this, so I doubt it needs elaboration.
As an ongoing, Spider-Girl is worth it.

And the last thing I'd like to mention... The Clone Saga. You've no doubt heard a lot of crap about it, and may be hesitant to search out many of the comics.
But if you are looking for a good read, check out The Life Of Reilly online. It's a novel legnth history of the saga with behind the scenes interviews and comments with those involved. It gives you the unbiased look at the story in comics for more than 2 years, along with opinions on it both good and bad. Well worth it, and who knows- you might just wind up loving the Clone Saga.

[Dangerous]

Originally Posted by WhatIfTales

I believe she has the first four decades of ASM on disc as do I....

Gotcha, but thats not really having all of ASM is it.
Its just having CD-Rom scans of them.

[Captivated]

Originally Posted by WhatIfTales

I believe she has the first four decades of ASM on disc as do I....

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASI...275401-8826751

Exactly, on disc. I have all the Essentials, Masterworks thru Vol 4 and the books from JMS' run.

[Captivated]

Originally Posted by Rez

For novels, my personal favourite was VALLEY OF THE LIZARD. It's fairly unconventional for a Spiderman story; not going to say that you'd love it, but I would at least give it a look. Features the Lizard as a villian, as well as a mysterious woman, and some cryptozological wonders in it. A little less than a third of the book is a messy journal written by Curt Connors. It's not fast paced like many of the other Spiderman novels, but I personally like it that way. Rather than trying to imitate the medium of the comics by making it a "comic in a book" form, it takes the mythology of Spiderman and translates it in a story that works best as a novel, using the format to it's advantage.


As for comics, my single favourite arc is Kraven's Last Hunt. You've no doubt heard of this, so I doubt it needs elaboration.
As an ongoing, Spider-Girl is worth it.

And the last thing I'd like to mention... The Clone Saga. You've no doubt heard a lot of crap about it, and may be hesitant to search out many of the comics.
But if you are looking for a good read, check out The Life Of Reilly online. It's a novel legnth history of the saga with behind the scenes interviews and comments with those involved. It gives you the unbiased look at the story in comics for more than 2 years, along with opinions on it both good and bad. Well worth it, and who knows- you might just wind up loving the Clone Saga.

I have been looking for Kraven's Last Hunt, and plan on getting it. I'll add Valley of the Lizard to the list too.

I think I know that history of the Clone Saga you refer to... I started reading it, but got side tracked and forgot about it. It was really interesting. Thanks for the info.

[Captivated]

Originally Posted by Symbiotica

My God, if you were looking for fan-fiction you WERE desperate. IMO 99% of fanfics are good only for the hearty laughs of both humor/outrage they provoke.

If you like novels, then you have simply GOT TO FIND these two by Adam Troy Casto: Revenge of the Sinister Six and Secret of the Sinister Six. I can all but guarantee you will love them. Castro really knows what he's doing, and his characterisation of everyone, hero and villain, is perfect.

These are the best Spidey novels I have ever read. I recommend them a lot, but that's how good they are compared to everything else.

An excellent TPB in general you don't see mentioned much is Tangled Web #10. Two of the three stories in it are ones you will never forget; one sad, one laugh-out-loud funny.

"Carnage in New York" totally sucks, and I did not care much for "Goblin Moon" either. Neither villain seems to be the one we're familiar with from the comics.

LOL... yes I've started (and stopped) reading some truly, embarrassingly BAD fan fiction! But, I have also found a couple of enjoyable reads.

But it sounds like with all these great suggestions, I can put wading through THAT quagmire aside. Now to track down these books down...

[AmaznSpider-Fan]

Originally Posted by Captivated

I have been looking for Kraven's Last Hunt, and plan on getting it. I'll add Valley of the Lizard to the list too.

I think I know that history of the Clone Saga you refer to... I started reading it, but got side tracked and forgot about it. It was really interesting. Thanks for the info.

Kraven's Last Hunt is one of my favorite Spidey stories. It's a bit darker than usual Spidey stories, but it's very much justified. Pick this arc up ASAP!

Are we the only crazy people up? LOL I'm at work and keep getting interrupted so I can't sleep, what's your excuse? :P

[Captivated]

Originally Posted by Symbiotica

If you like novels, then you have simply GOT TO FIND these two by Adam Troy Casto: Revenge of the Sinister Six and Secret of the Sinister Six. I can all but guarantee you will love them. Castro really knows what he's doing, and his characterisation of everyone, hero and villain, is perfect.

I found the ones by Castro you mentioned on Amazon (cheap - yeah). But I also found this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078...Fencoding=UTF8

Any good? You would think they could come up with original titles...

As for Kraven's Last Hunt, I found two different covers... Is this it?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068...283155&s=books

or

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087...lance&n=283155

[AmaznSpider-Fan]

Not sure how good it is, but seemed to have gotten good reviews, and it reads like a novel:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books


EDIT: Both of those are Kraven's hunt, one is a HC, and the other is a TBP.

[Kraven]

The Death of Gwen Stacy. That's all I got's to say. (Even tho you've probably already got it.)

[Captivated]

Originally Posted by AmaznSpider-Fan

Kraven's Last Hunt is one of my favorite Spidey stories. It's a bit darker than usual Spidey stories, but it's very much justified. Pick this arc up ASAP!

Are we the only crazy people up? LOL I'm at work and keep getting interrupted so I can't sleep, what's your excuse? :P

At work?! Night shift? I'm just a night owl that sometimes looses track of time when I get into a project.

I've been hunting down and ordering books over on Amazon. Love that web site. I've found most of what was suggested here, but Kraven's Last Hunt is pricey... will keep looking.

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by Captivated

I found the ones by Castro you mentioned on Amazon (cheap - yeah). But I also found this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078...Fencoding=UTF8

Any good? You would think they could come up with original titles...

Revenge of the Sinister Six is a great read IMO.Many of the Marvel heros are involved in this one,as the Six really threaten the planet.

And as Symbiotica said,get Castro's novels.I have them myself too.I can't say enough good things about them.Truly one of the finest Spider-Man stories I've ever had the privelege of reading.

[3dman27]

Originally Posted by Symbiotica

My God, if you were looking for fan-fiction you WERE desperate. IMO 99% of fanfics are good only for the hearty laughs of both humor/outrage they provoke.

If you like novels, then you have simply GOT TO FIND these two by Adam Troy Casto: Revenge of the Sinister Six and Secret of the Sinister Six. I can all but guarantee you will love them. Castro really knows what he's doing, and his characterisation of everyone, hero and villain, is perfect.

These are the best Spidey novels I have ever read. I recommend them a lot, but that's how good they are compared to everything else.

you forgot about gathering of the sinester six and i completely agree about thesinister six trilogy

[Captivated]

Originally Posted by 3dman27

you forgot about gathering of the sinister six and i completely agree about thesinister six trilogy

Well, with so many votes, I had to order it!

But let me get this straight... there is The Secret... The Revenge... AND The Gathering of the Sinister Six, that are all related?

Thanks all!