GH: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #241

The last regular issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that I bought new was this one, #241. And I know what some of you are thinking already: you dropped ASM in the middle of the Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. run (a run that’s generally considered a high water mark, the best the series had been since the departure of Stan Lee and John Romita.) To which I can only reply, “Yes, I did.” Let’s see if we can’t look at it and figure out why.

BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #159

The first issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that I read was this one, which was purchased for my younger brother Ken. I’d encountered the character prior to this–I watched the 1967 cartoon in reruns regularly, and enjoyed his appearances on The Electric Company, another show i was obsessed with. I’d also bought SUPERMAN VS. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN when it came out, and was given a copy of a random issue of MARVEL TALES by my uncle. But none of that made me connect with the wall-crawler. Frankly, the way he was depicted in that era made him feel way too hip and put-together as compared to myself. I found him alienating as a personality, rather than any sort of wish-fulfillment figure.

BHOC: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #179

The first regular issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that I bought was this one, #179. It wasn’t the greatest story ever, but I was haunted by the previous month’s cover that showed Spidey captured by the Green Goblin while Aunt May was on her deathbed, and so I took the plunge. It wasn’t until reading the second AMAZING SPIDER-MAN POCKET BOOK which collected a bunch of the early Stan Lee and Steve Ditko issues that I really connected with the character in an emotional way. Regardless, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN became a regular purchase starting with #179, and I didn’t miss an issue up through #241 (though I almost missed #226, eventually finding a copy after #227 had already seen print.)

One of the things that I liked about the Marvel comics of this era, and one of the conceits that I absolutely bought into, was their serialized nature. I liked the notion that each subsequent issue told the next chapter in the title character’s ongoing life story. And sure, I made provisions for characters who’d appear in multiple places. After all, it was apparent that regardless of what he might be doing in PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN or MARVEL TEAM-UP, the web-slinger’s “home series” was AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and that was where his life was going to move forward. But all of that changed when Tom DeFalco took over as the editor of the Spider-Man titles.

Tom came in at a tumultuous time, just as Denny O’Neil’s lackluster run on AMAZING was wrapping up. Denny seemed like a good fit for the wall-crawler on paper, but in practice, his stories were not very satisfying. Having inherited three books featuring his headliner, Tom immediately went to work improving the coordination and continuity between them. In general, this would typically be seen as a good thing, but to me, it created confusion. Suddenly, events taking place in Bill Mantlo’s PETER PARKER were having an impact on my reading of ASM. Even though I was buying both books, this made it feel as though I had to work harder to follow everything that was going on.

I also, frankly, didn’t love a bunch of the developments specifically. In particular, I never warmed to the idea that Peter Parker would become romantically entangled with the Black Cat. In part, this is because she had been played as pretty well batshit crazy in her earliest appearances. It felt entirely too much like a Batman/Catwoman riff, and I wasn’t on board for it. Which made things even more difficult as Mantlo’s development of that relationship started to spill over into ASM. Also, the impending return of Mary Jane Watson as foreshadowed in the pages above did nothing for me. I’d never warmed to MJ as a reader, finding her shallow and often shrill, and maybe just a little bit scary. She was to Peter Parker what Peter had been to me back in those early days, somebody who was much more plugged into the mainstream and comfortable in their own skin. I was happy when Marv Wolfman wrote her out of the series during his tenure. So we were now looking at a romantic triangle in which I didn’t really care for either of the potential girlfriends.

Closer to home, I’d been thoroughly bored during most of the Will O’ The Wisp/Roxxon/Tarantula storyline that had run through issues #234-237. That said, I was definitely intrigued by the introduction of the Hobgoblin in the next two issues. And this two-parter, in which Stern gave the Vulture a backstory and some pathos, was well done as well. But somehow, I just wasn’t into it all anymore. The harsh inking of Frank Giacoia over penciler John Romita Jr. on this issue likely didn’t help, though Giacoia was an excellent inker whose work I typically enjoyed. So when it came time to evaluate what comics I might be able to cut, I had to admit that AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was on the chopping block. I can remember staring at the cover of the next issue, #242, which featured the Mad Thinker and his classic android and being intrigued, but not enough to check it out.

I kept vague tabs on what was going on in the series–like a bunch of fans of the day, I was horrified by the idea that Spider-Man’s costume was going to be changed in SECRET WARS, and I despised the black costume for years afterwards, mostly just on principle. I also remember being underwhelmed and perturbed by the eventual reveal of the Hobgoblin’s identity (after too many fake-outs) and wondering how something that began so promisingly could have gone off the rails so badly along the way.

The issue that brought me back to AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was this one, #298. And this was entirely due to the work of artist Todd McFarlane. I had noticed Todd when he was penciling INFINITY INC. over at DC and really liked his design-oriented page layouts, even though his work was being absolutely buried under Tony DeZuniga’s harsh, heavy finishes. When Todd started working on INCREDIBLE HULK, that compelled me to give that book another chance as well, so it was natural that I’d follow him here. Ironically, I almost missed the next issue, #299, as its cover was so similar in color to this one that I skipped it, thinking it was the issue I’d already bought and read. A good lesson for all prospective comic book editors: make each subsequent cover a different color!