Comics Retro Spidey Fan Getting Back Into The Action...

[Hal06]

Hi you probably get this all the time but ive liked spiderman in the past and recently read a comic and really liked it. Basically im a newbie when it comes to comics, like i dont know why there is 3 core types of spiderman comics and then ultimate spiderman.

Can you explain the different comics of spiderman? The differences between them? and what you think is the best one!?

Also i want to purchase 5 spiderman comics very soon to get me back in! Which 5 would you recommend has a fountain of spidey knowledge, great artwork and is a great read!?

Thanks alot guys and its nice to join the forum.

 

[JackBauer]

I'll tell you one thing: you couldn't have picked a worst time to get back into Spider-man. if you like old school Spidey you should pick up Invincible.

 

[Hal06]

Why is it such a bad time to get into spiderman??? And what is invincible lol i know nothing treat me as a comic book alien! What is happenin at the moment then in all of the spidey comics?

 

[JackBauer]

right now, they're f***in with the character in any way they can. they messed with his origins (which is now mystical rather than cientific), they basically turned Gwen Stacy (Peter's first love) into a **** by revealing she had twins with Norman Osborn, they turned Peter into Tony Stark's b!tch, they had him reveal his identity publicly... it's just a whole giant mess.

as for Invincible, it's a comic written by Robert Kirkman, about a teenager superhero. it feels a lot like classic 60's Spidey, but still very fresh. I definitely recommend you pick up the volume 1 TPB.

 

[Citizen_Kaine]

Hi you probably get this all the time but ive liked spiderman in the past and recently read a comic and really liked it. Basically im a newbie when it comes to comics, like i dont know why there is 3 core types of spiderman comics and then ultimate spiderman.

Can you explain the different comics of spiderman? The differences between them? and what you think is the best one!?

Also i want to purchase 5 spiderman comics very soon to get me back in! Which 5 would you recommend has a fountain of spidey knowledge, great artwork and is a great read!?

Thanks alot guys and its nice to join the forum.

Welcome to the 'Hype! dude

There was a similar post earlier, so I'm gonna steal my earlier reply and tweak it slightly to match your questions

ASM, is pretty easy to jump on right now, Its currently connected with a large company crossover called Civil War, however if you don't feel like reading the main storyline, just pick up 529 onwards and it should be
pretty easy to understand.

ASM is the main Spidey book set in the original Marvel timeline with more than 40 years of history behind it. It has interaction with the other mainstream Marvel books, and as well is partially connected (events wise) to its sister titles, Sensational Spider-Man, and Freindly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Sensational Spider-Man was formally titled Marvel Knights Spider-Man, however has changed its name since issue 23 to Sensational, to reflect the large changes in the book storywise and art wise. This book is more action centered with lots of fighting and much more about Spider-Man, than Peter Parker. The books first arc, "Feral" was excellent, bringing back many classic Spider rogues with a good mystery, and lots of violence, and it seems the next arc starring the Cameleon is going to continue the books tradition. If you like reading about Spider-Man and his enemies alot more than reading about Peter Parker, this is the book for you. Personally I believe this is the best written mainstream Spidey book out there right now.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man I can't really comment on, as I have as don't currently read it. The book has a larger focus on Peter and his family, and his civillian identity, and his job as a teacher. Appeals to a much younger audience however, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Ultimate Spider-Man is excellent right now, there are currently 15 volumes of Ultimate, and to answer your question the difference between ASM and Ultimate is that the latter is set in an alternate universe. Essentially the premise is Peter Parker got his powers in this century, and generally follows the Spider-Man timeline, there are some minor, and drastic differences to the way things happen in Ultimate than they do it Amazing. The Ultimate Universe has become almost as important as the mainstream Marvel Universe, thanks to its quality storylines, writers and characters. Like the mainstream Marvel Universe, Ultimate Spider-Man has interaction with other Ultimate books and characters. As well in the Ultimate Universe, Peter ages about one year for every hundred issues, and while many familiar faces are seen in Ultimate, there are some changes that may suprise you if you choose to read it

As for 5 issues? I could give you what you need in five trade paperbacks but issues arent really going to cut it

However some important moments/storylines to the Spider-mytho's, you should check out online or in various reprintings

• The Birth of Spider-Man (Amazing Fantasy 15)
• The Green Goblin Unmasked (Amazing Spider-Man 39-40)
• The Death of Gwen Stacy (Amazing Spider-Man 121-122)
• Clone Genesis/Clone Saga (Find out about the conterversy, and why this board is split regarding it)
• The Spider-Marriage (Amazing Spider-man 290-292, Annual 21)
• Kraven's Last Hunt
• The Ending of Civil War 2 (If you haven't been spoiled by the press or these boards already, see for yourself arguably the most conterversial moment in Spider-Man history)

If I'm missing anything important feel free to add guy's


Check out www.spiderfan.org if you want some more info dude

 

[Hal06]

So which spiderman comic do you prefer? i like the artwork in ultimate spiderman the best! but im thinking i will buy a comic from each type of comic and then decide which one i like the most...Gwen had twins with norman osborn lol!!! I didnt even know gwen was his first love i thought MJ was.

My spiderman knowledge is shameless but im working on it

 

[JackBauer]

if I had to choose one right now, it would DEFINITELY be Ultimate Spider-Man. it's the easiest to follow, since it's only one book and doesn't have as much history as the original Spidey.

 

[Elijya]

I'll tell you one thing: you couldn't have picked a worst time to get back into Spider-man. if you like old school Spidey you should pick up Invincible.

Jack is right on. If you like oldschool Spider-Man, pick up Invincible. There's more info about it here:
http://superherohype.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9099416&postcount=2

The way comics are now adays, it's a good idea to go back aways and read things from not so long ago instead of just grabbing something off the stands. This is because very few comics these days are "done in one", the stories are usually spread over several issues and you may find yourself picking up in the middle of a story rather than the start.

There are TWO Spider-Man stories I would recommend to any fan without a second thought.

The first is Spider-Man: Blue. It was a miniseries by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale that's just about Peter reflecting back on his relationship with Gwen Stacy. It's a very touching story about Peter's first love and his younger life.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...2997/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4012417-2077444?ie=UTF8

The other is Spider-Man/Human Torch, a five issue miniseries by Dan Slott and Ty Templeton that shows the two heroes friendship over the years, with each issue coming from a different era in their pasts. This is just old school spidey fun with lots of jokes and old fashioned stories. If you're a :retro" fan, this is right up your alley.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...3020/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4012417-2077444?ie=UTF8

you would NOT be disappointed with either of those two books (although the first is a romance and may not have quite as much action, dunno what kind of stories you like in general)

 

[Elijya]

if you must get an ongoing, ultimate is probably the way to go. A new issue came out this week that was part two of a two part story with Morbius. It was ok, not great, but good. Try to get both issues so you get the full story

but really, my recommendations are Invincible or Spider-Man/Human Torch

 

[Kool-Aid]

Guy/gal comes here looking for Spidey comics and everyone tells him/her to buy Invincible.lol

 

[Doc Destruction]

Well, it's not our fault the state of affairs of the Spidey books is so damn bad right now.

By the way, I recommend the entire run of Spider-Girl. It's based on the now ignored Baby May stories of the clone saga, set in the near future with the daughter of Peter and MJ. It's a really great book with the feel of what a Spidey book SHOULD have.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Damn straight. If you love old school Spidey, you'll love Spider-Girl.

 

[Themanofbat]

So which spiderman comic do you prefer? i like the artwork in ultimate spiderman the best! but im thinking i will buy a comic from each type of comic and then decide which one i like the most...Gwen had twins with norman osborn lol!!! I didnt even know gwen was his first love i thought MJ was.

My spiderman knowledge is shameless but im working on it

Welcome to the Hype.

Peter's first love was JJJ's secretary, Betty Brant... just so ya know.

 

[Kool-Aid]

Hi you probably get this all the time but ive liked spiderman in the past and recently read a comic and really liked it.

Was it a recent issue of Amazing Spider-Man? If it was I'd recommend getting #30(really #452)-500 . It was the now writer of Amazing Spider-Mans first 19 issues and they were awesome.

 

[MyPokerShirt]

People are recommending spider-girl and Invincible?? the poor guy just wants to know about spider-man and spider-girls being cancelled. Plus invincible is much more violent and more cosmic than spider-man. its silver age style fun, but the original similarities between the characters don't really stand. oh and 1) dont complicate matters and 2) dont turn him off of spider-man!

ok, if you want to get into spider-man it can't be done in 5 comics. Try buying some essential spider-man. theyre relatively cheap, print loads of classics in black and white.

Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-man is real good simple fun. Just make sure you start any comic from the beginning of the current story arc, as to not be confused. The current one started in FNSM 8 and number 9 is now out.

Amazing Spider-man has always been the bread and butter, the main stuff of spider-man's world.

Sensational, right now, is a good one for people that want to see stories with all different villains from spider-man's rogue gallery and by a writer that know his history and where spider-man's currently at.

ultimate spider-man was the reinvention of spider-man and is different from all his other books, putting twists on old stories and adding some new. i would have recommended this series to a newbie but i dunno... its not spider-man "proper" and doesnt give a real insight into peter parkers history.

 

[Citizen_Kaine]

People are recommending spider-girl and Invincible?? the poor guy just wants to know about spider-man and spider-girls being cancelled. Plus invincible is much more violent and more cosmic than spider-man. its silver age style fun, but the original similarities between the characters don't really stand. oh and 1) dont complicate matters and 2) dont turn him off of spider-man!

Well, reccommending Spider-girl, I can see, given that it's an excellent title (With a obvious possiibility of a reboot in the fall), and that it does have a direct relation to the actual Spider-Man books

 

[Dangerous]

Just buy the three main core titles and then you will be able to follow basic continuity. ASM, FNSM & SSM.

ASM is obviously the flagship but has basically consisted of poorly written and badly conceived arcs for the last 3 years of print that have only served to severely damage everything from the Spider-man mythos to the integrity of the character.
So beware read w/ caution.
Personally I finished wasting my money on this crap a few months ago.

FNSM is kinda weird kooky stories written by Peter David who is no longer as great at writing Spidey as he used to be, but hey- the art is nice.

SSM is the wild card and basically the best book right now. Best art, and features classic rogues from yesteryear and is more support cast based.
Which is a good thing. Sensational also does not (thus far) let itself get too bogged down w/ what ever crap is happening in ASM at the time.

 

[Hal06]

So there is 4 comics i could buy and judge for myself which is the best...Im goin to SSM, USM, FMSM and ASM. Are they all monthly? And if i bought them all today or subscribed like 3 comics of each title would i be totally confused or would i be ok...It depends whats goin down atm and i dont have a clue

 

[Dangerous]

Yeah, buy all four if you like (personaly I would not bother w/ USM) then decide after a few months which you wanna keep/drop.
And yeah they all come out monthly.

 

[James"007"Bond]

Hi you probably get this all the time but ive liked spiderman in the past and recently read a comic and really liked it. Basically im a newbie when it comes to comics, like i dont know why there is 3 core types of spiderman comics and then ultimate spiderman.

Can you explain the different comics of spiderman? The differences between them? and what you think is the best one!?

Also i want to purchase 5 spiderman comics very soon to get me back in! Which 5 would you recommend has a fountain of spidey knowledge, great artwork and is a great read!?

Thanks alot guys and its nice to join the forum.

Try and get hold of back issues or the issues on cd rom, you'll appreciate spider-man a lot more and understand that some of the changes we've got now are complete BS. But I suggest you pick up these current titles, sensational, ultimate and friendly neighbourhood.

 

[SpideyInATree]

A new fan like this needs to get himself some trade paper backs.

If you want to get into Ultimate Spider-Man you should go to your local comic book store, or local book store, and pick up the Ultimate Spider-Man hardcover, Volume 1. You'll get like the first two story arcs right there in one book and it'll help you decide on whether or not you'll enjoy the series.

The Amazing Spider-Man also has trade paper backs. It packs in certain story arcs into one book.

Most everybody else has given you some good info. Though you asked for some Spider-Man stories, not Invincible, haha.

The best thing to do is to pick up Ultimate Spider-Man, which is separate from the other books, pick up Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man, and Sensational Spider-Man...and then judge what you like yourself.

The majority of posters on the boards here are very upset with the current status of Spider-Man, as you can tell by some posts here already. But don't let their opinions on his state push you away from enjoying the regular universe Spider-Man. It's possible, seeing that your a very new Spider-Man fan, that you'll enjoy what is going on right now.

Most fans who dislike the current state of Spider-Man are traditional fans who enjoyed the early Stan Lee run.

If the new state of Spider-Man doesn't tickle your fancy I'd highly suggest the Essential Spider-Man trades. Volume 1 begins with Amazing Fantasty # 15, the origin, and stretches to Amazing Spider-Man # 20, and there are 7 volumes which reach up to I believe Amazing Spider-Man # 140-something. However, the Essential volumes are printed in black and white, and not too popular with some readers. But if you want color, the Marvel Masterworks are good to pick up though you don't get as many issues in on book.

Or you could pick up the Amazing Spider-Man CD-ROM which collects Amazing Spider-Man # 1 through # 500, though you'd have to read them on your computer...you're still getting an entire library of Spider-Man for like 40 bucks...can't really complain there.

But, welcome to the world of Spider-Man and I hope that whatever you purchase impacts you much like Spider-Man has impacted many here. And maybe this will be the beginning of a new Spider-Man fan...good luck.

 

[Hal06]

what are trade paper backs? and what exactly is a story arc?? sorry if they are stupid questions (which i assume they are)...i want to know where i could buy past comics so i can buy the last 2 or 3 of each comic type and then subscrube to the next 3 and make a really good decision on what to read. Ive been tryin to ask some questions on the superman section but getting no luck there!? does anyone know the different types of superman comics? Or even better a very knowledgable comic site where i can look up a load of stuff and that sells back issues

 

[SpideyInATree]

what are trade paper backs? and what exactly is a story arc?? sorry if they are stupid questions (which i assume they are)...i want to know where i could buy past comics so i can buy the last 2 or 3 of each comic type and then subscrube to the next 3 and make a really good decision on what to read. Ive been tryin to ask some questions on the superman section but getting no luck there!? does anyone know the different types of superman comics? Or even better a very knowledgable comic site where i can look up a load of stuff and that sells back issues

Wow, you really are a new comic book reader!!!

It's enough some people are stuffing their opinon of Spider-Man down your throat but you don't even know what a trade paper back is.

A trade paper back is just a collection of the comic books put into one book so that you have a full story instead of reading it comic by comic. They've become recently popular as some people don't like waiting between issues and just want the full story at once.

And a story arc is basically a certain plot that the creators are putting the characters through. You'll pick it up as you become a new reader.

And the different Superman comics. Well, there is Action Comics and Superman. Then there is All Star Superman which is just a place for high profile creators to tell Superman stories without being held back by the past stories of the character.

And if you need a good back issue place there is:

www.milehighcomics.com - They have a good back issue selection but pretty pricey.

If you're looking for more recent back issues, like maybe the past 4 or 5 months of Spidey comics. Go to www.midtowncomics.com - They have some recent back issues and they are a very reputable place to buy from and ship your stuff pretty quickly too.

Also, if you want to find more info on Spider-Man with your own opinions...

Go to www.spiderfan.org

Basically it's just a big giant information site on Spider-Man. You can browse through all the different reviews of all the Spider-Man titles and learn about the characters through the profiles provided. If Spider-fan doesn't tickle your fancy. There is another very informative Spider-Man fan site out there.

www.samruby.com

It's basically the same thing as Spider-Fan, but I feel that Spider-Fan is a little easier to navigate and also gives some better, and more accurate, information.

I really feel for you. It's tough sometimes to get a brand new person into the world of comic books. But once you find a niche or a character that you like, or a writer/artist...you'll have no problem breaking yourself in. And I'm sure you'll be coming back here "complaining" like the rest of us, heh.

 

[Elijya]

The trend over the past ten years - during which comics have matured ALOT, and stories are being done much more effectively (IMO) - has created a pattern where it is extremely rare to find comics that tell a complete story in a single issue. Stories are now told across several issues, usually six.

A "story arc" refers to one of these. You may remmeber every comic had a title to it, what the story was called, but like most people you probably didn't pay too much attention to what individual stories were titled. Nowadays every story is "part 1 of 6", so you do start to pay attention to the story titles. For instance, there was a Spider-Man story arc last year entitled "Sins Past" that ran through Amazing Spider-Man #509-514. People HATED the story, and so when talking about it, we refer to it as "Sins Past", because that's the name of the story arc, and it's the easiest way to refer to it.

A Trade Paperback, usually abreviated as just "Trade" or "TPB" is a collected edition of the monthly comics, usually the six issues that make up a story arc (although there are also variations like "best of" collections that may collect a variety of comics)

This is very usful for catching up with comics since there've been ALOT of great stories in the past ten years, and instead of paying big money to get the original comics, and maybe going through the hassle of having to TRACK DOWN the comics, you can buy the collected edition almost anywhere, it's readily available.

 

[Hal06]

Which place online has the most amount of trade paper backs to choose and buy from...So if it is a collection of 6 comics and is one story arc then is that 6 months worth of spiderman because spiderman comes out monthly right...Can you get trade paper backs for every type of spiderman comic...Read teh synopsis of the civil war and wasnt too impressed with the twist with spiderman makes him too vulnerable in my eyes...saying that a similiar thing happened in spiderman 2 when he was stopping the train and was unmasked to about 10 people.