Comics Best Decade for Spidey Comics?

[Hobgoblin]

So which decade produced the best Spider-Man stories?

I'm going to say the 1980's, because it introduced some great new villains, saw the growth of the supporting cast as characters and had no clone sagas or Spider-Mobiles.

 

[SpideyInATree]

Overall I'm going to say the 80's. As Hobgoblin pointed out there were a lot of great stories and new characters introduced into the fold. I am voting 80's overall but personally and in my heart of hearts my favorite decade would be the 90's. It's when I started reading Spidey regularly and the Clone Saga sucked me in and, being in the minority, loved that Clone Saga. So, I have a soft spot for the 90's.

 

[DACrowe]

Most certainly the 1960s. I mean, that was literally the decade of the golden age. Sure the stories may be more childish than stuff that came later, but they were also joyful and had such energy that no one has been able to retake it. As much as any character from that era (save perhaps cinema's James Bond), Spidey is a product of that time and many of his great stories were from that time. Almost all his A-list villains come from that era and it was the time of Gwen or MJ, Harry and Peter in college, Captain Stacy, MJ's retro flip, MJ's shorthand not being retro, Flash going to Vietnam, authority figures vs. the smartass and skeptical youth (Doc Ock, Vulture, Norman Osborn, even the Lizard a little bit), Lee/Ditko, Lee/Romita(!), etc.

There is a reason why most animated shows and the Raimi movies pulled heavily form those comics. They were Spidey in his prime. The golden era. Something Marvel tried (and failed) to recreate with BND, so now they're aiming for later periods.

After that, I'd agree the 1980s were had a lot of great stories. They took characters created in the '60s and '70s (MJ, Black Cat, Hobgoblin, Harry Osborn, The Kingpin, Flash Thompson, etc.) and gave them a lot more depth. They became more their own full fledged characters instead of ancillaries of Peter Parker. MJ became Peter's confidant, and eventually his wife, Peter left school, Peter had some rather, shall we say more "adult" or mature relationships (such as his growing weariness of Harry, eventually marriage, his....odd relationship with Betty Brant/Ned's wife, etc.) plus it had the gang wars, the mystery of the Hobgoblin, the Black Suit, the Black Cat Affair(s), Kraven's Last Hunt and Venom.

Pretty good era that maybe the new Spidey film franchise can pull from. The '90s started well but ended badly (IMO). Not because of the Clone Saga, but everything a year or two out from that that was meant to "clean it up" (bringing Aunt May back from the dead, having Peter forget he had a daughter, "killing" off MJ, etc.). Kind of like how I thought the last decade started strong with Jenkins's run, the early JMS/JRjr run, Mark Millar's run, etc....Then it all came to a screeching halt with Sins Past and was downhill from there out for at least five years with The Other, Civil War, Back In Black, One More Day and Brand New Day.

Anyway, the '60s and then the '80s get my votes.

 

[Hobgoblin]

This is of course a difficult question to answer. No decade is perfect. There was a lot about the 00's that I liked. I thought that JMS churned out a lot of good, solid issues that got into Peter's head and made him interesting again. Of course, the 00's started with the reboot and ended with OMD/BND. Certainly nothing to brag about there.

The early 90's had a lot of shallow action driven stories. I think Web of and Spider-Man were the worst offenders in that regard. I didnt like that you had to buy issues from another title to understand something in the title that you were following. The endless cross overs were awful. As for the Clone Saga...jeez, I dunno. There was a lot I liked and a lot that I didnt. The saving grace for the 90's was J DeMatties, I think. His psychology based stories are still some of my favorites.

The 60's are what I think of as guilty pleasure comics, especially the early 60's. Yes, I love the origin stories as much as everyone else, but let's face it. The dialog and plots were corny. Still, I admire that Lee and company dealt with social issues in ASM in the late 60's. Read some of the Randy Robertson stories, the early Prowler and the Sam Bullit stories. I dont know if those kinds of stories could be written today. They're arent PC.

Then there is the 70's. Sure, some of the social commentary of the 60's are still there and that's a good thing. But somehow, I never liked the 70's and wasnt too happy when Quesada said that was his favorite era, before BND took effect. The villains were lame (the Grizzly, the Tarantula, etc) and I dont care for the art. It just seems ugly.

My two cents.

 

[DACrowe]

The '60s comics were corny and the only title from that era that I can even get through a single issue of is The Amazing Spider-Man. The reason is that Sam cut through the camp and made a character who was both campy, but empathetic/salt of the earth type. Lee and co. were able to make a character who reflected his times in the real world and made the camp aspects fun. For example, the reason so many fans loved Spectacular Spider-Man (the show) was that it recreated that '60s vibes of a bunch of teenagers sitting around a coffee shop and having multiple romantic couplings with each other in between the fist fights. The villains were also a bit tongue-in-cheek but they weren't campy. That's the closest I've seen anyone (including Raimi) come to recreating that era.

I do agree on JM DeMatties writing a series of great psychological stories about Peter, Harry, MJ and Norman. And with the first three, it was all about adults coping with losing their innocence of that youth depicted in those original comics. I also agree that the '70s were pretty bland after Gwen died/Peter MJ bonded.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

The 80s, as Hobgoblin said
I'll add the 60s for the many things it did other than creating the character
I adore the 2k's since the early days of JMS and PJ on comics, love every Spidey comic released since then a great deal, except the second half of that story

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

1990's. Now I know it's not really the best decade for Spidey, but it's the one that means the most for me because it's when I started reading (with 'The Child Within' in 1991). I loved the Harry as Green Goblin stories, the Venom and Carnage stories, yes the Peter's parents stories and yes the Kaine and Ben Reilly stories.

If I grew up in the 80's or 00's my opinion would probably be different. But sentiment means a lot to me and the 90's stories are my classics.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Definitely the 60's with the 70's at a very close second and 80's at a close 3rd. However, I really do love the 70's and 80's era of the comics. Each of those decades had a very unique style to them. Great writers from the 80's such as Roger Stern, David Michelinie, Tom Defalco, etc. half of the 90's stuff is awesome as well. especially the art. But yeah, the 60's is my favorite with the 70's coming in at a VERY VERY close second and the 80's at a close 3rd.

 

[DACrowe]

1990's. Now I know it's not really the best decade for Spidey, but it's the one that means the most for me because it's when I started reading (with 'The Child Within' in 1991). I loved the Harry as Green Goblin stories, the Venom and Carnage stories, yes the Peter's parents stories and yes the Kaine and Ben Reilly stories.

If I grew up in the 80's or 00's my opinion would probably be different. But sentiment means a lot to me and the 90's stories are my classics.

I too get nostalgic for the '90s comics the same way. The problem is, so many of them I just don't want to read again. I actually am far more fond of the Clone Saga and the Venom/Carnage stuff than the relaunch that came at the end of the decade that brought Aunt May back, erased baby May and "killed" MJ. Even though I was growing up with those, I now realize that is when the character went downhill (despite a brief reprieve by early JMS, Jenkins and Millar). That makes the Clone Saga look great. But the TPB and back issues of earlier periods define the character more to me. It's like TAS got me interested in Spidey, but I prefer his comic counterpart for obvious reasons.

Still, I know what you're talking about.

 

[Themanofbat]

I grew up with 70's Spider-Man... Ross Andru drew the best Spider-Man ever... and the stories/villains (some of them are corny) were fun...

Just my two cents...

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

I wouldn't add the 2000's into the best decade even though the work done by JMS and JRJR on ASM was fantastic, if you ask me.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

As anyone knows, I love the Clone Saga and Ben Reilly. Unfortunately, that only comprised a small part of the good of the 90s. So, overall, I'd have to say it's a tie between the 70s and 80s for me. Many good stories came out under Conway's tenure, and then as was said the 80s took all those and added depth and dimension to the characters.

As for the 60s, they get fairly over-hyped simply because they were first. Yeah, everything takes from the 60s because when you start something new you need to start at the beginning, and that's all. While the ideas were sound, the stories there don't hold up well AT ALL compared to the other decades. You can go back and read a 1975 comic today and, aside from the occasional topical reference, it's still enjoyably fine. Whenever I try to read a comic from the 60s or older, I find myself glossing over it because of the painful and contrived dialogue. The 40s are a little more tolerable to read, but their storytelling was just so flat and stiff. Again, an unfortunate consequence of being among the first.

 

[DACrowe]

Oh comics from the golden age (30s-50s) are unreadable to me. Most '60s comics are as well.

Spidey works, because he is a product of the '60s. The fun interaction between Peter and his supporting cast, especially Gwen and MJ, was perfect. To this day comic book writers still try to recreate it (MJ vs. Black Cat in the '80s came close, but not quite. The stuff in BND was a sad excuse of recreating that). Peter and Harry as roommates, Flash going to Vietnam and coming back traumatized were great stories. And it is where all the classic villains not named Venom come from. Somehow it just worked. Besides ASM 121-122 and a few stories like ASM 150, the '70s from what I've seen in TPB were just not clicking (IMO). And I'm not someone who started with the '60s. I grew up with the '90s comics but can easily say the '60s and '80s were better eras for the character.

Again though, we can all agree on the '80s. So, maybe they are the best.

 

[Venom75]

Just speaking for myself I'd have to say the 80's. The Mcfarlene era,the symbiote and the birth of Venom.

 

[SpideyInATree]

1990's. Now I know it's not really the best decade for Spidey, but it's the one that means the most for me because it's when I started reading (with 'The Child Within' in 1991). I loved the Harry as Green Goblin stories, the Venom and Carnage stories, yes the Peter's parents stories and yes the Kaine and Ben Reilly stories.

If I grew up in the 80's or 00's my opinion would probably be different. But sentiment means a lot to me and the 90's stories are my classics.

Yeah there was that Pursuit arc and I have a soft spot for Maximum Carnage as well. We had a nice stretch of awesome art by Mark Bagley on the ASM title. Bagley is my definitive Spider-Man artist

 

[Themanofbat]

So, overall, I'd have to say it's a tie between the 70s and 80s for me. Many good stories came out under Conway's tenure, and then as was said the 80s took all those and added depth and dimension to the characters.

You can go back and read a 1975 comic today and, aside from the occasional topical reference, it's still enjoyably fine.

That's pretty much why the 70's got my vote... and it appears that I am the only one...

For the record, I loved the 80's as well, mostly the early part of the decade when Roger Stern wrote some of the best Spider-Man stuff ever, only to be followed by some awesome DeFalco work... but once it became apparant that the HobGoblin mystery was lasting way too long, it really weakened the decade for me...

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

The Hobgoblin mystery suffered from editorial interference like many other good Spidey tales. I wonder what would happen if we got at least ONE Spidey epic that began and ended the way it was always intended.

 

[Themanofbat]

The Hobgoblin mystery suffered from editorial interference like many other good Spidey tales.

Oh, I know that NOW... but it wasn't as obvious back then because we didn't have the internet and other such info coming forth from creators/companies.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

The web does offer a nice transparency, doesn't it?

 

[shinlyle]

Okay, I voted for the 60s.

Simply put, Spidey and his key supporting cast, rogue's gallery, and the prime creators worked on him there. It is legend. Lee, Ditko, Romita. Perfection.

If I had to rank the next one, it would be the 80s. Stern, Frenz, Romita Jr, McFarlane's arrival, etc. Also, we got the creation of the last long-standing members of Spideys Rogue's gallery: Hobgoblin and Venom.

00s and the 70s would be next at a tie for third.. 70s wins out over 00s because of Ross Andru, Keith Pollard, and Gerry Conway, while the 00s would almost trump that, except for One More Day, Unmasking, etc.

90s comes in last for me. I started reading comics during the 90s, and aside from great artists like Larsen, McFarlane, etc, and a few good stories in there by Michelinie and JM Dematties, we all know what the 90s is known as: The Decade that gave us both the Clone Saga and the reboot. No one I've ever met likes both of those. No one. Both produced horrible things. Ben Reilly wasn't that bad, but Spidercide, the little hobbit-clone, Jackal's return, and Scarlet Spider's horrid costume are lingering nails in that coffin. Add to that John Byrne's atrocious touch to Chapter One, and you hav ethe most forgettable decade ever.

 

[spider-reilly]

I had to vote for the 90's even though the 80's was superior in terms of story. I just remember the excitement about Spidey and comics in general. I'll never forget waiting on the McFarlane Adjective-less Spider-man book. Plus, yeah I loved the clone saga.

 

[Billy the Poet]

As previously was noted, the 60s had it all in terms of the establishment of Peter Parker/Spider-man. It had the origin, most prominent characters, a whole gallery of spectcular villains, interesting stories and both existentional and controversial themes. The late 60s improved in storytelling and dialogues, which was the major problem of the earlier issues and the reason why I barely could read some of them. I remember downloading all issues and managing the first ones (from 63 to 68) by viewing action scenes and paying more attention to the dialogues in those related Peter's personal life and concerns.

Sadly, the following decade didn't live up to my expectations and, aside from amazingly tragic Gwen Stacy's death story (#120-121) and first appearance of Black Cat in the second half, didn't really have anything to impress me with. Moreover, it only turned things worse, contributing to the later development of the awful Clone Saga, which I always disliked.

The 80s were the second advent of Spider-man as a character, forcusing more on his and others' development (especially Peter's and MJ's). It was heavily driven by characters' arcs and also introduced the symbiote and later Venom. I also enjoyed some stuff in the Spectacular Spider-man and Stern/JRJr's works.

The last decade of the previous century marked the financial success of Spider-man comics reach record sales. Todd McFlane's drawing had a lot of impact on my vision of Spider-man. I was very engaged in a more serious and gritty style as well as a much more mature Peter Parker, now as one of the most professional experts in crime fighting. Kraven's Last Hunt was a great story, to add. However, the were numerous weak points about the later half of the decade, as well as Carnage (I was a bit disappointed), MJ's cease, May's return and, of course, Clone Sage's revival.

The 2000s launched a re-origin of Spider-man as a contemporary teenager in the Ultimate comics series, which were loved by me in the beginning and actually became the first actual Spider-man comics I ever read. Nevertheless, I lost my interest after the issue #40 and still don't regret it, reading about the way the story developed. Peter Parker: Spider-man, on the other hand, did improve in my opinion, but not until its cancellation. The Amazing Spider-man title was probably one of the least liked by me after Strazynski and Quesada took over it. I tried to continue for the sake of Romita's drawing and Peter becoming a teacher and undergoing hard times with the divorce. But I eventually gave up. One thing though is the interesting approach taken in the limited title Spider-man: Blue, which did again demonstrate that there's some door for Peter and MJ to grow.

As of today, Spider-man comics are far from what I want them to have. I still have hope the situation will improve over some time, even though it's been long enough since I really enjoyed a story from the comics.

 

[Vid Electricz]

1960's. Specifically, Ditko's run. There are people who argue that Spider-Man, as a character became completely worthless after Ditko's departure. I wouldn't go quite that far, but his run was the BEST.

The Ditko Spider-Man work was highly auto-biographical. He put a lot of work into that character to make it what it was. Lee gets all the credit of course, 'cause he's the loud-mouthed company masthead. But Ditko was ultimately responsible for shaping the character into something that we've come to love and that will continue to endure no matter how many desperate, hack writers get their sloppy fingerprints all over him.

 

[Hobgoblin]

1960's. Specifically, Ditko's run. There are people who argue that Spider-Man, as a character became completely worthless after Ditko's departure. I wouldn't go quite that far, but his run was the BEST.

The Ditko Spider-Man work was highly auto-biographical. He put a lot of work into that character to make it what it was. Lee gets all the credit of course, 'cause he's the loud-mouthed company masthead. But Ditko was ultimately responsible for shaping the character into something that we've come to love and that will continue to endure no matter how many desperate, hack writers get their sloppy fingerprints all over him.

Mr Ditko, is that you?

 

[C. Pumpkins]

I voted 80's, the 60's very close, almost 1st, but as others have stated a lot of the storytelling is dated from that era. (Yet some stories are timeless) Not a huge fan of Conway's writing style either although I do love Andru's art, so scratch the 70's for the most part (although I love me some Wolfman, so hmmm... too late, already voted). Stern is still probably my favorite Spidey writer to date and Mantlo was top-notch too, so yeah... 80's.

Kinda shocked that the 90's has so many votes right now. Oh well, each to their own, I guess.