If you are anything like me, you have been dazzled and amazed by the recent set footage of the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the newest cinematic adventure starring everyone’s favorite wall crawler. These photos have me and web-heads around the world feeling like kids again! Spidey has had no shortage of classic tales over the course of his over 60 years in pop culture. Everybody knows the essentials: Amazing Fantasy #15, The Master Planner Saga, The Death of Gwen Stacy, Kraven’s Last Hunt, but Spider-Man has been in thousands of books! Here are some of the more underappreciated Spider-Man stories to make you fall in love with the wallcrawler all over again.
Paul Jenkins Peter Parker Spider-Man
The early 2000s were a great time for Spider-Man. After a seemingly never-ending slump in the 90s, Amazing was revitalized by a stellar run from J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr. That wasn’t the only Spider book to keep your eye on however. Spider-Man’s Tangled Web was an anthology series with a revolving door of creators and has its fair share of hidden gems (which you may just see later in this list). However, perhaps the most underappreciated run from this time would be Paul Jenkins time on Peter Parker: Spider-Man. Most of the run is illustrated by Mark Buckingham, with the latter part of the run featuring some early work from the now legendary Spidey illustrator Humberto Ramos. Many of the stories in the run are on-and-done, zooming into Spider-Man’s supporting cast, or a neglected aspect of Peter’s life. Issue #33 is a heartfelt look at Peter and his Uncle Ben’s love of the New York Mets. Issue #50 is a touching testament to May and Peter’s love for one another and the sense of humor they share. The crown jewel of the run, however, has to be the four part “A Death in The Family” storyline that features a cinematic showdown between Spidey and Green Goblin after Norman nearly kills Flash Thompson.
Be sure to check the back issues at your nearest Graham Crackers, because these stories haven’t been collected in trade in many years.
Chip Zdarsky’s Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man
Chip Zdarsky, the irreverent Canadian Writer/Artist, has come a long way since Sex Criminals and Howard the Duck. He’s written critically acclaimed runs like Daredevil, and made waves with his creator owned work like Public Domain and Newburn. The less we say about his Batman the better. Perhaps his mostly highly regarded work is Spider-Man: Life Story, a retelling of Spider-Man’s history aging him in real time, starting in the sixties and into the modern day. It is an excellent story, and proved to fans that this guy GETS Spider-Man. You’d already know that however, if you read his criminally underrated resurrection of Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-man. This run began in the controversial “Worldwide” era of Amazing, where Peter Parker inherited a multibillion dollar global enterprise courtesy of Doctor Octopus (it’s complicated). Zdarsky’s run promised a smaller focus and a return to the street-level while Dan Slott’s Amazing had peter globetrotting and driving mechanical spiders. Zdarsky’s signature wit is on full display, and each issue is sure to get some chuckles out of you. As fans of Mr. Zdarsky know, though, he can create strong emotional moments just as well as comedic ones. Issue #6 features an entire issue long conversation between Spider-Man and J Jonah Jameson that results in a status quo shift that’s still in place to this day. The “Amazing Fantasy” arc sends Spidey and Jonah back in time to the Ditko era, leading to some fun interactions between the present and past characters as well as some touching insight into how each of them has grown since the early sixties. Issues #307 and #308 (the title moved to legacy numbering after issue #7) showcase Sandman in a conceptually fascinating treatment he’s never received before. The best issue is saved for last with Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310. This one-shot was written and drawn by Zdarsky and will tear your heart in pieces.
This run was collected in trade paperback and in an omnibus. Neither are still in print, but your local shop may just have them! And as always you can pick through the back issues to see what’s there.
I told you it would be back! Say what you want about former EIC Joe Quesada, and there is a lot you might say when it comes to Spider-Man, but he brought a ton of great talent from the wide world of comics into the Marvel Universe. Tangled Web gave us Spider-Man stories from the likes of Jim Mahfood, Ted McKeever, Kaare Andrews, and DARWIN COOKE! My personal favorite story of the bunch is titled “Flowers for Rhino”. Written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Duncan Fegredo, the story adapts the classic novel “Flowers for Algernon”, with Rhino swapped for the titular character. He becomes the test subject for an experimental drug that increases his intelligence. He goes from oaf to pompous brainiac, all the while courting Stella, the daughter of his Russian criminal employer. Rhino may have an impenetrable hide, but he’s just a tender loverboy underneath it all.
Look for issues #5, #6 and the rest in the back issues.
M. Dematteis and Sal Buscema’s Spectacular Spider-Man
Back again with another run of Spectacular, this time in the early 90s. There is a strong argument to be made that Kraven’s Last Hunt is the greatest Spider-Man story ever made. It’s still hanging on to the Top 50 Graham Crackers Comics bestsellers list. After penning that story, Dematteis was handed the reigns of Spectacular Spider-Man alongside the great Sal Buscema. The through-line of the run focuses on Harry Osborn’s Green Goblin and the torment he puts Peter and his loved ones through. The book reads like a character drama, harkening back to the soapy melodrama of the Stan Lee era, but with a seriousness that is more in line with Dematteis’s previous work. This isn’t just a showcase of JMD’s poetic words, however, as Buscema shines on this run. Lesser writers wouldn’t have the confidence to let silence fill the page and allow their artist to do their thing. Buscema was a longstanding industry veteran at the time, having worked at Marvel alongside his equally legendary brother John since the late 60s. Often overshadowed by his brother, Sal’s work here is evolved and mature, with storytelling that rivals any of the best Spider-man artists. Harry’s Goblin may be the focus, but the run is peppered with appearances from many of Spidey’s other sinister foes like Vulture, Rhino, and Scorpion.
Despite hardcore Spider-Man fans championing for this run; in forums and subreddits, it has little mainstream recognition. The entire run is being collected for the first time in the US in omnibus format. On sale at Graham Cracker Comics THIS WEEK!
These are just some of Spider-Man’s best stories that may have flown under your radar! Hopefully they can tide you over for another year while you wait for the wall crawler’s next big screen outing. Happy hunting!