Not if they've seen it. You see/read something and you have every right to complain about it because by doing so, you have an informed opinion. If they haven't seen it, then yea, they should be called out. If you just don't read the book, you have very little idea what's going on and thus cannot have an informed opinion on the characterization of him now.

I understand that OMD made you drop the book. That's completely fine. Willingham's new take on the JSA made me drop that. That's the nature of the business. But to prolong an argument on how terrible a character was portrayed from a story 2 years ago doesn't make sense in how they are using him now.

Take the Gauntlet story. I thought the first issue with Elecrro was awful. So much so that I ended up putting ASM on the back of my read pile and issues kept piling up because I wanted to read other stuff first. But once i did read it, the story quickly picked up. Electro finished strong. Rhino vs Rhino was a GREAT stand alone issue that recently continued. Sandman was bad. Vulture was again, very good. And the backstory with Aunt May going postal was fun, Carlee blowing off Peter for blowing her off is a nice twist, and Black Cat in a relationship with Spidey is awesome and something we would not see with MJ in the picture. Oh, but she is and knows the truth? Nice story to play on.

But then we have:
"I hate what they are doing to spidey. Since OMD, the character has been all wrong."
"So you aren't liking the Gauntlet?"
"Oh, I haven't read the book since OMD."

That doesn't fly. And I know you better. You aren't the guy to go into an argument uninformed.

I'm completely with you on that you loved ASM but dropped it for simply not liking it anymore. Again, completely fine, you keep tabs, that's fine. But how long did you keep reading after OMD and is that the basis you keep going back to? Or do you make informed opinions on everything going on in the book? There's a difference in "I don't like that Peter isn't married so I don't read it" as opposed to "I don't like Peter being unmarried because the thing with him living with Michelle while having a semi-relationship with Black Cat as Spidey and with Carlee as Peter is really untrue to the development of the character "

 

The biggest problem I have is the revolving writers, I can understand the artists, but it needs a distinctive voice. I start getting into a decent story by someone like roger stern, and he's gone after two issues and I hate the next writer. It also makes much of the stories discombobulated. Also they are retreading many old stories and plots. There is just too much poor writing overshadowing the few good issues. And yes I skim through the issues each week, then put them back on the shelf, so I'm up to date with May's hubby, peter's lame relationships, and the gantlet. Pick a writer have them stay on for a few years and develop things, and stop with the stupid editorial mandates, their ruining the books.

 

I stopped caring about Spider-Man after they killed of Ben Reilly.

 

im with you man, i stuck with it too, and tho for some reason with spidey books im easily entertained. The Electro story is worth the series and the Rhino fight is DEFINATELY worth the read IMO. theres an ad in almost every Marvel comic now tho that seems to hint at something abt MJ being his wife again. I dunno so much about where the second side of all these stories is going tho with Madame web being used against him

 

Well, it's simple really. I didn't like OMD and thought that it was rather insulting to kill the marriage in such a lazy fashion. Even for a comic book, that was half-assing it, and for no reason that grew organically from the storytelling, but rather a pure editorial mandate from Quesada.

So I won't buy the book again, ever, until they "fix that". I'm hardly alone.

This is how you express displeasure to a comic publisher. Do not buy the book, write in telling them exactly why.

As for following it, that's what wikis are for. I can find plot summaries for any and everything mainstream with no problems. I even idly leafed a copy in the store today when I went to pick up my pull list, the Morbius/Martine issue.

So, dating Felicia huh? Feels she's manipulative? Only likes him as Spidey? We didn't run that through its course years ago, huh? Not tempting me to go back.

- Coeloptera

 

As I said before, OMD was the final straw for me. I didn't like the direction Marvel Editorial had been taking the story even before OMD happened, with story arcs like "Sins Past" and "The Other" for example. While the marriage being undone was certainly a factor for why I finally dropped the title, it definitely wasn't the only one. It really was a combination of things. And yes, part of why I keep tabs on the story is so I can maintain an informed opinion about it, while the other part is simply to see if they "fix" the story to the point I feel like I can buy it again. Although, I doubt that'll happen as long as Quesada is in charge.

Also, honestly, I don't think that matters if fans haven't read anything relating to ASM since OMD, or how long ago it was, or how good the current story might be. It doesn't make fans any less informed or valid when this Spider-Man just isn't the same as he was before OMD, and it's not just because of his marriage being undone. Even you have to admit, they did some drastic changes at the end of OMD. Clearly, not everyone likes what has become of Spider-Man as a result of OMD, and it's perfectly within their rights to voice that.

 

OMD was the last straw for many fans

 

Same here


I don't care about comics these days. I like any thing before 1995. Those were the good days.

I wonder what happened to Marvel making those black and white compilations of the older comics (Essentials)?

 

That I can see. I usually don't look at the writer until the end of the issue just so I don't go in with a preconceived notion of how the book will be. I think Slott and Waid have a better grasp on the character than Van Lente but surprisingly Waid limped out of the gate with Electro and VL had some surprisingly decent issues.

I however, would not be against a single writer but it would be impossible because of the weekly schedule and art mandates.

Actually a friend of mine pointed out that it could be a story telling about what happened to Peter on his way to get married and not actually anything to do with marrying them again

 

Honestly, I take more of an issue with the decision to scrap the other titles and turn them into Amazing. It's a brilliant way to pull in every reader of Amazing that doesn't read the other Spidey books, but it was also preying on the collector mentality of comic collectors.

 

That's really rich coming from you.

 

The thing is, I don’t think that One More Day\Brand New Day really falls into the category of a “bad story”. It’s way beyond that.
To me, a bad story in comics is something that has an idea or concept that didn’t fly, a poor conclusion, or a story that generally just doesn’t fit with the character or team.
But when the bad story is over, it’s over. Done. A bad story is temporally localized.

Why OMD is above and beyond the typical bad story is that it wipes out an entire era of a character’s life.
Whether you liked the stories or not, everything that happened to Spider-man is gone.
Everyone who knew Spider-man now has this fog cast over them as well.
If I’m not really certain what Spider-man was doing during this time period –well what was Iron Man doing in this issue where he adventured with Spider-man, or Wolverine in that one?
What was the entire world doing when Spider-man publicly unmasked?
These issues are way beyond “stupid ideas “ like his being able to stick things to his back.
They cast everything I know about the character in doubt.
It’s like what if DC did a Crisis on Infinite Earths but they only revamped Batman.
And the thing is, when has Mephisto’s interactions with anyone ever worked out?
I have a sense that whatever is happening now is likely to be reshaped or outright deleted.
If Mephisto never comes to collect than he is acting out of character.

I am glad there are good new stories, and I really hope that new readers are able to pick them up and go.
I’m glad some long time readers can take the new stories for what they are.
I’m not judging anyone for continuing to enjoy the book.

But for me, Marvel has fractured the character.
Whatever is going on in Peter Parker’s life now is a direct result of someone else’s will.
Everything that he worked for, anything that happened to him whether good or bad is now null.
His world was shaped by Mary Jane and a demon.
Spider-man is no longer captain of his destiny, he’s a victim.
It doesn’t matter if he is aware of it or not.

 

eh i take OMD with a grain of salt, i mean its not like Aunt May has ever died and then turned out it was a clone and then she came back. Or like, Peter turned out to be a clone and the guy we thought was a clone then was spiderman til he died and Peter came back. And then what happen to all those "Other" powers he had? talking to bugs? night vision? Eh its spidey, crap happens itll change to something better than worse then worse than that again like the weather here. 80s one day then snow the next  .

 

Oh really. Do explain, for the benefit of those of us (including me, based on your posting history) who think you're just trolling.
Oh wait, let me guess. You're referring to my mentioning of the movie forum and my attitude towards Spiderman comics, right?
Bullshit.
I put my money where my mouth is. I stopped buying and I stopped reading. I haven't read a single issue since OMD fucked everything up.
I am also not complaining about an alternate timeline; I'm talking about the original one. As for Ultimates, I'm talking about an established timeline that was suddenly buttfucked out of all shape and recognition. The TF Movie timeline, on the other hand, didn't even exist before the movie.

So please, do explain how my comments towards the screwing up of an original timeline and the screwing up of an already established timeline have anything at all to do with the movie timeline. I can't wait to read what laughable excuse for a reason you have for trolling me.

 

He is just trolling. The guy hasn't made a single worthwhile post in his entire history of being here. That takes guts, dedication and a will of iron. You can hate the man but you have to respect him.























 

 

Y'know, that's a very good point...! Kudos, Lars! Kudos!    

 

I want to know why Marvel just doesn't do a Spider-Man forever series where they show what would have happened if they stayed married. It would appease some fans, and so on. I mean they have Ultimate, Marvel Adventures, and Spider-girl. Heck they even just redid the clone saga. If the series did bad, they could cancel it, but I think they are afraid it would do well and Joe Q would be forced to change back the status quo.

 

That ain't a half bad idea. However, they will eventually fix it. Otherwise they wouldn't have introduced MJ back so soon as well as have her know what really happened. It's just a matter of time.

 

I've been trolling Draven for, like, forever.
And he never notices me...

Everyone's spoken up on the various stroylines -how was the Clone Saga redux?

 

I'm a little late getting to this thread, but just wanted to throw in my opinion.

I actually love the current format that ASM is right now. I love getting 3 books a month, I love getting a fresh new perspective (writer) every storyline, and I love the overall arc of what is going on in Pete's life. Before OMD, ASM wasn't really one of my favs, I just read it because I like Spidey in general. Now, it's one of the first books I read every week.

Oh, and I also wanted to point out that last week's Rhino vs. Rhino issue was one of the best single issues I've read of any comic this year.