Comics JMS and The Good He's Done

[Kevin]

This is NOT about "sins past". This is NOT about "skin deep". And this is NOT about "the other". When i come to the spidey forum, i see a lot of hate and most of the time it's focused on Joey Q and/or JMS. For once i'd like to focus on the good that JMS has done because i've read most of his run, and the three stories i've mentioned are the ONLY things, in my opinion, that i see wrong. (well, not sins past, i liked it).

JMS HAS done some good things, little as they may be, they were good. i'll name one. Peter Parker = Teacher. to me, this was a growth in Peter's character. he wasn't really new to it, he's done it before. this shows that peter parker can help people WITHOUT spider-man. i want to know if anyone can come up with ONE good thing JMS has done that they liked. only one. it doesn't have to be a story arc, it could just be the way he wrote peter brushing his teeth, it doesn't matter. i know he's done good things, but with some fans, all they care about is the bad.

 

[The Joker]

I liked his Doc Ock Vs Carlyle story.

Though I'm still wondering how Ock was a free man to be legally employed by a major technology company after all the nasty s*** he's done. He should be serving a thousand years hard time in the Vault.

Despite that little flaw, it was a good story. And I liked the little nod to continuity when May and Ock recognised eachother.

Can't get enough of continuity being acknowledged in these stories

 

[Captivated]

Mary Jane and Peter. I like the way he writes their relationship.

And after the way Bendis was writing Spidey in New Avengers, I REALLY appreciated how Peter was portrayed (smart, funny, and totally heroic) in the Hydra arc.

In fact... I'm going to go over to the Favorite Peter MJ moments thread and will be posting pics of some highlights.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I thought the discussion Peter had with Aunt May when she discovered his secret life was very well done. It was actually right up there with ASM #400.
That, and I also enjoyed the Hydra arc.

 

[CConn]

I haven't read all of his run yet, but I have to say, I love the idea of Peter as a school teacher. It just seems to fit the character so well. After all's said and done, I think that's the best - and maybe only - successful change to the character he's made in his tenure. Shame they explore it so rarely.

 

[MyPokerShirt]

there was a page where pete sed his lottery numbers came up... but he forgot to put them on

i hated it at the time, but its a page full of examples of parker luck, which is good stuff.

 

[Kraven]

I like how he writes the Peter/MJ relationship, and his story about Aunt May discovering his identity. Recently, I thoroughly enjoyed the Hydra arc he wrote.

 

[Cyclops]

Early on, he wrote Spider-Man as a fun character to read again. I loved that. Plus, it was clear that this whole "totem" thing was all misdirection on Ezekiel's part. Morlun and the others were after Spider-Man because Ezekiel put them on his trail and that was that.

Plus Aunt May has never been as interesting a character as when JMS has written her. He writes her like an actual person, not just a nuisance that Peter has to worry about every now and again.

 

[MaskedManJRK]

Like everyone else mentioned, him being a schoolteacher was a great edition to the character.

And I kinda liked the Totem stuff--a sort-of ongoing possibility that was ingriging enough to keep you interested. They did f**k up with it being definate in The Other, though.

 

[Doc_OCK_4MUGEN]

Pete/MJ
Pete/Aunt May
Parker Luck...
Pete's humor...

But unfortunatley the bad outweighs the good...

 

[Kevin]

"But unfortunatley the bad outweighs the good..." and it is my opinion that, sadly, there are MORE GOOD things than bad, but fans will be fans...

 

[shinlyle]

Well, let's do the pros and cons, shall we:

Pros:

-Peter as a school teacher
-Peter and MJ as an actual married couple
-Hydra Arc
-First Morlun Arc

Cons:

-Sins Past
-Skin Deep
-The Other
-Peter Parker: The Invincible Iron Man's Sidekick
-Ignorance of Continuity and past stories

JMS went from a phenomenol Spidey writer, to a mediocre one. I honestly think the totem crap-fest should have ended after "The Book of Ezekiel", which, while anti-climactic, was the perfect ending for it all.

The current direction of ASM, and the other Spidey-titles as well, is just something I don't care for.

Usually, I'd be flaming this topic and raising hell, but I'm really too indifferent to all this crap to care anymore.

 

[MyPokerShirt]

how nice of you not to be an ass. we all thank you.

 

[Gregatron]

Good: Nothing.

Bad: Everything.


Extra! Extra! Hollywood "rock-star" writer rides wave of hype, hailed as savior, only to plunge Spider-Man into sewer!

 

[spider greg]

Good: Nothing.

Bad: Everything.

That pretty much sums it up for me.

 

[DACrowe]

The good he did was early on. He salvaged the Aunt May character into something good again. He made MJ interesting again and gave her her own personality that was more than *****y and brought her and Spidey back together (something that was DESPERATELY needed) and washed away most of Mackie's crap and making Pete a teacher was a great touch. As was facing Aunt May having to know again and the Ezkiel character is one of the best new characters in Spider-Man in a LONG TIME.

However like Jenkins (who started strong by writing the best Green Goblin storyline since The Last Stand and nailing Doc Ock, Venom and Peter Parker and his normal day life as the world....but ended with terrible things like ruining Curt Conners and the Lizard, not to mention adding on to Sin's Past) he has run out of ideas and has written several storylines that are as bad as Mackie but far more everlasting (you can't really go back from that terrible Sin's Past storyline and The Other is pretty hard to wash away as well).

Oh well though.

 

[Kevin]

Well, let's do the pros and cons, shall we:

Pros:

-Peter as a school teacher
-Peter and MJ as an actual married couple
-Hydra Arc
-First Morlun Arc

Cons:

-Sins Past- well, i liked it.
-Skin Deep - this was crap.
-The Other- didn't like it.
-Peter Parker: The Invincible Iron Man's Sidekick - i don't view it as that.
-Ignorance of Continuity and past stories - to each his own.

JMS went from a phenomenol Spidey writer, to a mediocre one. I honestly think the totem crap-fest should have ended after "The Book of Ezekiel", which, while anti-climactic, was the perfect ending for it all.

The current direction of ASM, and the other Spidey-titles as well, is just something I don't care for.

Usually, I'd be flaming this topic and raising hell, but I'm really too indifferent to all this crap to care anymore.

good thing this is only opinions. like i said before, those things you mentioned are only a less then half of his run. and you may not like where AMS is going, but i do. i like different, and that what JMS has given us. Hell, if mj died, i'd be pissed. but i'd like to see where it was going. i guess i can handle more than you.

 

[Kevin]

Good: Nothing.

Bad: Everything.


Extra! Extra! Hollywood "rock-star" writer rides wave of hype, hailed as savior, only to plunge Spider-Man into sewer!

so you're telling my you can't find ONE good thing? ... whatever...

 

[Happenstance]

good thing this is only opinions. like i said before, those things you mentioned are only a less then half of his run. and you may not like where AMS is going, but i do. i like different, and that what JMS has given us. Hell, if mj died, i'd be pissed. but i'd like to see where it was going. i guess i can handle more than you.

What a pathetic comment

 

[Kevin]

What a pathetic comment

i did NOT mean it as it sounded, but i wont change it either. i'm not trying to say he's less because he can come back to this thread and say "you can handle more bad stories than me? i guess you can" so please don't make me sound like something i'm not because if i wanted to say something like that to someone i would. but i didn't because even thought most of us don agree with eachother, i still respect them. they love spider-man just as much or even more than i do, but we are all not the same

 

[SpideyInATree]

Considering it was JMS that got me excited the be a Spider-Man reader again, it's definitely a good thing.

I dropped the Spider-Man titles back in the late 90's after they "resurrected" Aunt May. It was too much for me and not only did I drop Spider-Man titles but I completely dropped out of comic books altogether for about 4 to 5 years.

The first Spidey movie came out and I was interested to see what the comics were like. I remember picking up the issue with Doc Ock and the spaz who stole Ock's arms technology. And that Romita Jr. was artist. I decided to jump back on board.

JMS did something that many writers haven't been able to do since the Clone Saga. And that's introduce new and interesting rogues to the Spider-world instead of Spider-Man fighting some second stringer for the one millionth time. Morlun. Shathra. Digger. Ezekiel. You rarely saw rehashed villains and everything was fresh. The totem aspect is something that really captured me into the comics. Was it fate that Peter became Spider-Man or was it purely what it was...an accident. And at the end of The Book of Ezekiel, it basically left it up to the reader. Fantastic ending, in my opinion.

Also the little things JMS did. The Doctor Doom issue was really fun. How he had Peter take all the money he got and put it into a library named after Gwen Stacy. The issues with Loki, and how he still owes Spidey one. He stayed true to Peter and Mary Jane and made their marriage a BIT interesting. Instead of the borefest it always was. Aunt May was written very well, though everytime I see the character I wince sometimes knowing she should be DEAD!

Sins Past confused the hell out of me. The original idea was that it would be Peter's children, which would have made a LITTLE more sense. Still wouldn't have worked in continuity, in my view...but whatever. I think JMS jumped the shark BIG TIME, and obviously, with this story arc. He should have quickly left the book after that if he knew what was good for him.

Skin Deep I wasn't too much of a fan of. Mostly because you had these realistic-like pencils of Deodato and then you had the flashbacks done by Mark Brooks and it...did...not...mesh...at...ALL! And the villain was like Molten Man on crack anyway. But at least he STILL tried something new.

The Hydra, New Avengers, arc was fantastic. It had that flair that the beginning of his run had and into the Book of Ezekiel.

The Other...well, JMS did a fine job of crapping all over his own story, heh. The totem arc was fine the way it was left, but he had to add more to it and make it dumb. This is EASILY forgettable. But it wasn't ALL JMS. Reginald Hudlin's part was horrid, and Pat Lee's artwork was just about as horrid as the writing. The only thing JMS did was crap on himself here.

And the unmasking build up was pretty good. And, so far, post unmasking, JMS has been handling things rather well, with that flair that he had when he started on the title. Honestly, I think what JMS needs back is John F'N Romita Jr. Because once John left JMS fell off his horse.

But JMS did do a lot of great things. The number one was getting me back into Spider-Man comics, and comic books in general. DC should be thanking him because if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be reading as many DC titles...I wouldn't even be reading comics at all. And I wouldn't even be posting here. I'd be a non-comic book reader still if it weren't for JMS.

 

[Dangerous]

This is NOT about "sins past". This is NOT about "skin deep". And this is NOT about "the other". When i come to the spidey forum, i see a lot of hate and most of the time it's focused on Joey Q and/or JMS. For once i'd like to focus on the good that JMS has done because i've read most of his run, and the three stories i've mentioned are the ONLY things, in my opinion, that i see wrong. (well, not sins past, i liked it).

JMS HAS done some good things, little as they may be, they were good. i'll name one. Peter Parker = Teacher. to me, this was a growth in Peter's character. he wasn't really new to it, he's done it before. this shows that peter parker can help people WITHOUT spider-man. i want to know if anyone can come up with ONE good thing JMS has done that they liked. only one. it doesn't have to be a story arc, it could just be the way he wrote peter brushing his teeth, it doesn't matter. i know he's done good things, but with some fans, all they care about is the bad.

A couple years back we used to discuss the good he had done, or promising directions ASM was heading (mainly building up the supporting cast into real people that mattered), however I think its fair to say his best days are long gone w/ Spider-man and he has now outstayed his welcome w/ the character.

A man is only as good as his last book, and JMS has sucked ass for a few years now, getting the character wrong in the worst ways, so all the hate is fine by me.
I don just care about the bad, I want spidey to be great again but Straz has severely screwed up status quo.
Whatever good he did, is now irrelevant.

 

[Kevin]

ur opinion of course right?

 

[Secret_Riddle]

the only thing he did that i disagree with is peter unmasking (and probably sins past...) but other then that hes a good writer. and the peter unmasking probably wasnt just his decision.

 

[Dangerous]

ur opinion of course right?

Of course, but that’s all anything here is- someone’s opinion.
It's worth noting tho, that a lot of my sentiments are also popular opinion.