PeterDavid.net

Looking forward to it

Well, I don't think of a kid's book, but that title makes me want to bust a groove to that classic 60's theme song.

Which, being Irish, is a rather horrifying sight.

Is there a danger that some people may think it's a kid's book?

Shouldn't be a problem unless you rename it something like Peter Porker The Amazing Spider-Ham.

Why shouldn't it be a kids' book? I mean, a book that can be enjoyed by kids and adults. That's how it was when I first started reading Spider-Man. I dropped the character when he started being written in a way I wouldn't give my own kids.

--your pal, Hoy

I agree with Hoy. "Sense of fun" does seem to go with "all ages," doesn't it?

way to be told how it is in the offices of the matrvel Demi-gods...JK...cant wait to get my hands on then new title!

While I think the title of this upcoming book should reflect a tone of fun, I think the term "friendly neighborhood", while classic, is really dated. Heck, I've read Spider-man for years and embrace most everything about the character's history, and even I'm sort of turned off by the title. "Friendly" and "neighborhood" give me images of Mr. Rogers - a cool guy in his own right, but someone I'd never want associated with Spider-man.

I don't mind the title, but I do wonder why Marvel don't just continue to use "Spectacular" or "Peter Parker".

How closely will this be tied into the other Spidey books? Will we be seeing plots going from Amazing into MK into Friendly... just like the 90's?

Hooray! I'm happy it'll be called Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. It's neat to see a new title with an actual new title! It's also really classic. Back when Spidey referred to himself as "your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" were the days of greatness. I'm hoping for fast-paced stories, two- and three-parters (and one-shots) that are all part of a bigger ongoing tapestry, the way Stan himself and later Conway (and David ;)) wrote them. Really excited about this, because ASM is simply unreadable and I could absolutely not care less about MKSM.

Not real happy with the title, But I Love that you're writing Spidey again!!! BID-I asked this before, but I don't think I got an answer. Did you ever write the second HAUNTED series ("Grey Matters")? I just recently read the original and thought it was great. I can't believe I missed it when it first came out.

Since it has one of my favorite writers and one of my favorite artists working on it, I would be buying this book no matter WHAT the heck it was called!

Thanks to all at Marvel who resisted the temptation to pander to the marketplace by calling it "The Incredibly Savage Spider-Man" or "Spider-Man's Identity Crisis At The House Of M"!

Given the (hopefully) more fun outlook of the book, I hoping there won't be a future issue where it's revealed that in the past "Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane" got a little TOO friendly with "Friendly Neighborhood Green Goblin"!

Ok, since "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" does remind me also of Mr. Rogers, the first cover should have Spidey sitting on the bench in his sweater changing shoes.

Michael J Norton

(Disclaimer: I got out of buying comics regularly years ago when it didn't fit into my budget any more, and was never a big Spidey reader. That being said...)

I personally love the title. It brings to mind the wisecracking, mugger smacking, helps old ladies across the street Spider-Man, as opposed to broods about his wife, out of his depth but gets sucked into cosmic crap Spider-Man.

The main group I imagine getting truly upset about the title are teenagers who are afraid that it'll damage their street cred (geek cred?) if they buy a book with a title that isn't "cool" enough. (Apologies to what few adults might actually have a legitimate beef with the title, though I can't imagine what said beef might be.)

To my knowledge, Spidey's always referred to himself as the "Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." I'm surprised it took THIS long for it to become a title.

-Rex Hondo-

Is there any way you could convince them to add "Your" to the beginning of the title? I think if you had the "Your Friendly Neighborhood..." in smaller letters and then "SPIDER-MAN" in big, bold letters, it'd look better that way.

For goodness sake, make it a 'kids' book.'

Have lost count of how many times parents have come in to the store asking for Spider-man books for the kids.

How old is your child, we ask.

7 (or 8, or 9), comes the reply.

And then they refuse to buy current fare because of excess violence, guns, language, etc. (totally understandable).

Don't deny the future audience, embrace it.

Heck, they've even used the line in the movies.

But I will admit, when there were rumors that the title would change, I was kind of hoping WEB OF SPIDER-MAN might roll around again. It's been awhile since that one was used, and I think it's the only one of the classic three titles that hasn't been used multiple times, where AMAZING and SPECTACULAR/PETER PARKER have all been revived at least once..

Great to hear that this project is coming along. I'll certainly be buying.

Spider-Man is my favorite comic book character. My first comic was an issue of the Amazing Spider-Man, and I was hooked, because I saw so much of myself in Peter Parker.

Now, there are those who say that Peter Parker is currently not very identifiable. That kids and teens won't identify with a twenty-something who is married to a model and who teaches high school. I strongly disagree. I started reading when Spider-Man was married, and I liked the fact that Peter seemed normal. I imagined myself wanting to get married some day, so I was drawn to the idea that there's a hero who has a 9 to 5 job and a wife. I'm not crazy about the idea that Mary Jane should remain a supermodel...that's a little bit hard to identify with. JMS wrote a great issue of ASM less than a year ago, where Aunt May tells MJ that she hasn't really acted yet, she's merely taken movies that require her to scream and experience distress. So MJ has become a struggling off-Broadway actress, and that's a better fit. I believe it's a natural extension of the MJ that Stan Lee wrote.

I mean, is it any harder to identify with a hero who moonlights as a doctor (Thor)? Or a hero who practices law (Daredevil)? Or a reporter at a major metropolitan newspaper (Superman)? Or a billionaire (Batman)?

It's precisely because Peter is married with a regular job that he's an everyman. The answer that the critics of the marriage would provide is that being married and teaching schools doesn't appeal to kids. Again, I disagree.

I firmly believe in the adage that there are no bad characters, merely bad writers. If the marriage is written well, there's no problem. But it hasn't been over the last ten years. (JMS is handling it well, I believe, as did Paul Jenkins, and there have been others who have done good things with it.) I'm not saying that there shouldn't be conflict in the marriage, because all marriages have conflict. I'm merely saying such conflict should be written well.

I think PAD will do a great job on Spidey. I'm personally thrilled. I love the fact that this is an ongoing. Here's hoping that PAD will continue on Incredible Hulk as well. I haven't read the most recent issue yet, so don't spoil me, but the first four parts of Tempus Fugit were outstanding.

I agree with Matt's comment. I'd love to see "Your" added to the beginning of this title.
The cover to the first issue could even be a close in on one of Spidey's notes webbed to a criminal as Spidey swings away.

Bobby

Personally, I can't wait. PADs Spider-Man has always been tops on my list.

The only news that compares is his upcoming Kolchak: The Night Stalker work.

IIRC, Kurt Busiek (and/or maybe Tom, can't recall) wanted to call the Untold Tales of Spider-Man book .99 book "F N S-M" but the idea was vetoed.

So, it's interesting that it's being used now.

GREAT news!!! I really like the title,
" Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman ". It should be a cool book! You can definitly count me in for issue #1 and I'll try to collect it after that too. Spiderman is my favorite character in comics and Peter David is one of my favorite writers in comics! Its about time Peter David got his own Spiderman book, IMO. He's got the right sense of humor and writing style for Spidey! I can't wait to read the book!!

DF2506
" Now if only I could check out his Hulk. *sigh* OH well. I'll prob have to wait till a trade comes out for it! I'll definitly try to check it out then! "

Wow another Spidey book. Surely any Spidey book is a kid's book regardless of the title? Surely this character is even more done-to-death than Wolverine.

Nothing could sound more "kids' book" than "Spidey Super Stories." So, as long as Easy Reader doesn't appear anywhere on the cover of FNSM, everyone should be happy. ;)

TPE

I think that it is not so much the married and a teacher thing that makes him so unidentifiable but instead of a guy who accidently got spider-powers on accident trying to muddle through, we have a character who got was chosen by some mystical spider totem(or some other equally stupid sounding explanation) and is an active member of the Avengers, and whose life is wonderful. There is no need to hide his secret. The current writers have written themselves so much into a current with this, that they have to corrupt long dead characters to come up with stories.

Too many years of poor writing. Too many years of trying to write for that 'mature' audience that is usually anything but 'mature.'

we have a character who got was chosen by some mystical spider totem

Should be:

we have a character who was chosen by some mystical spider totem

And,

The current writers have written themselves so much into a current with this

should be:

The current writers have written themselves so much into a corner with this

I for one, would love to have a Spider Man book I could read with my 8 year old. The Marvel Adventures books are just awful.

Peter, I wish you could write an interesting Spider man title that could be enjoyed by all.

Waiting to be educated. :-)

After easing back into comics after a lengthy stay out of them I am still trying to come to grips at the absense of my favorite creators and the over saturation of the same talent (their talent notwithstanding).

And even though Spidey has never been my favorite (I hate spiders, first of all, and as a kid I could never forgive him for what happened to Uncle Ben, therefore, I could never show him the love most everyone else does), I do like him at times and I'm really excited about David working on this title with an actual artist.

However, if this book just is going to be for multi-book crossovers, even just once, I have no interest in it. I have no need for that in my new comic buying era.

I love the title, though, that's always been my favorite line.

So the number of Marvel books I'll be gettting will be.... Three. Hulk, Defenders, and FNSM. Perhaps Spidey could fight a character named Finsm in an issue, or would that be too confusing?

Peter, I loved your previous Spidey stories ("The Commuter" is a favorite), but I remember you reading that you weren't interested in returning to the character because he's so iconic that you can't do much with him--as opposed to, say, The Hulk where you had more flexibility to take him in certain directions. Out of curiosity, what changed your mind?

I'm looking foward to this book, but I'm going to apologize. So far every book I've read by has been cancelled. Young Justice, Supergirl, Captain Marvell, and Fallen Angel. And it always seems like it's right after I start reading. So if this gets cancelled then I'll just do everyone a favor and have someone else buy the book and then just tell me about it...

I have to agree with Ken: "they have to corrupt long dead characters to come up with stories.". As much as I love Peter's writing, it's flogging a dead horse so come up with more Spider-Man stories. I think it's a poor reflection on the reading public that they'll lap up more Spider-Man nonsense but chose not to read Fallen Angel.

"Peter, I loved your previous Spidey stories ("The Commuter" is a favorite), but I remember you reading that you weren't interested in returning to the character because he's so iconic that you can't do much with him--as opposed to, say, The Hulk where you had more flexibility to take him in certain directions. Out of curiosity, what changed your mind?"

I don't remember saying that off hand. If I did, well, certainly over the past years I've had a pretty formidable lesson drummed into me: Specialize in writing non-iconic characters in today's marketplace, and you get to watch your titles disappear. The small percentage of readers who claim they want to see new and different from writers pales in comparison to those who shun new and different.

It certainly helps that I have a great fondness for the main line Marvel characters. And once upon a time I could sustain a career based entirely upon second string characters. But now it's pretty much impossible.

PAD

Currently, the only Spider-Man comic I'm buying and reading is the Spider-Man/Human Torch L.S. I'm planning on adding PAD's new Spider-Man series to my pull-list.

A friend of mine only gets a few comic books a month. He said "I am getting Marvel Knights 4 because it is more mature." There is nothing that majorly different between Fantastic Four and MK:4 in terms of 'Adult Content' but because of the MK grouping, it is considered more mature.

Forget making this a kid-friendly book. Take it in another direction. This should be a MAX title to replace SUPREME POWERS. :-)

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Ken,
"But instead of a guy who accidentally got spider-powers on accident trying to muddle through, we have a character who got (?) was chosen by some mystical spider totem"

Wrong! JMS never made it 100% clear that it the radioactive spider did NOT give Peter his powers. He simply has the character Ezekiel make Peter open to the possibility that perhaps the spider was going to give Peter the powers anyway, and the radiation killed it. It was a fresh angle on something Peter and readers had thought was open and shut and made it a mystery.
See, this is what I love about so many fans. They will whine about not having something "fresh and different", then bitch when they see somebody do something "fresh and different."
A good writer - and especially a great one, which I think both PAD and JMS are - does not need a blank slate character to tell fresh stories. He or she simply tries something new with established characters.
Unfortunately, this usually draws the ire of people who say they want to see something different.

"(or some equally stupid sounding explanation)"

The explanation was not stupid. You simply refuse to get it.

"and is an active member of the Avengers"

So? He should have been a long time ago.

"And whose life is wonderful."

PAD has said one of the things he will focus on is how - even though everything would seem to be peachy - even people who seem to have everything experience problems. They feel they might not deserve it, etc.
JMS recently answered this question as well, stating,
"You've got Logan hitting on MJ, May getting into a relationship with Jarvis, the pressure to work out in his new job, conflicts with his co-workers...all of those are pretty much relatable to just about any audience. Whatever his powers or strengths, his herat can still be pierced, and that's where you keep the character understandable. William Faulkner, in his Nobel prize acceptance speech, said the only thing worth writing about, the only thing worth the blood and the suffering, is the human heart in conflict with itself, and that's as much the common currency of Peter as anybody else."

"There is no need to hide his secret"

Seeing as how he just had the house he lived in all his life burned to the ground by a villain who found out his identity, he might disagree.

"The current writers have written themselves so much into a current (uh, you mean corner?) with this"

Uh, no. The current writers - Bendis, Hudlin and JMS are actually taking the character in different directions. You just don't like the directions. It seems YOU want to keep the character in a corner, where he is still getting beat up by Flash Thompson. Characters grow and evolve.

"that they have to corrupt long dead characters to come up with stories"

Nonsense. Before the Gwen Stacy story, JMS had introduced no less than four well-received new villains - not counting a "new" Dr. Octopus - and had him slowly get back together with MJ.
As for the Gwen story itself, your knee-jerk reaction is not uncommon among fandom at large. But if you really look at those old stories, REALLY look at them, there are little clues as to how Gwen and Norman hooking up makes sense and why.

the czar,
"However, if this book just is going to be for multi-book crossovers, even just once, I have no interest in it. I have no need for that in my new comic buying era."

I swear, some people are determined to live in the past. First, I don't think PAD would have taken the gig if what you fear were imminent. Second, Marvel's "House of M" is the first major crossover event they've had since the whole "Onslaught/Heroes Reborn/Heroes Return" thing. There has not been a major mutant crossover or a major Sidey crossover in about a decade.
Relax, and enjoy comics of the 21st century.

Kevin Hall,
"I have to agree with Ken"
Unless Ken has the same powers as Maxwell Lord, you don't HAVE to, you are CHOOSING to.

"As much as I love Peter's writing, it's flogging a dead horse so (to?) come up with more Spider-Man stories."

Your opinion. Obviously, PAD doesn't think so. Neither do I. You can keep any character interesting as long as you have talent and imagination.

"I think it's a poor reflection on the reading public that they'll lap up more Spider-Man nonsense but chose not to read 'Fallen Angel'".

And I think this statement is a poor reflection on YOU. First, you have not even read one sentence of PAD's book, yet you are categorizing it as 'more Spider-Man nonsense'?
Second, just because a character is popular doesn't mean the product is instantly inferior. When the Spidey titles were suffering from mediocre writing, sales reflected that. Now that each book has top talent on it, sales have improved again.
And just because a project is "different", doesn't make it instantly "better". I get about 70 titles a month. So yes, I enjoy diversity. But 'Fallen Angel' never quite did it for me. In fact, it was PAD's passion for the book that kept me buying it. But I hardly think it was the best thing since sliced bread, as many people do. Again, it's all opinion. I actually wish more people would read comics, period. From "Astonishing X-Men" to a neat book like "Manhunter" to an important book like "Black Panther".
But that won't happen as long as comic fans continue to be jaded and bad-mouth their own hobby every chance they get.

Sounds like a good comic. Good luck with it.

My God, Jerome Maida. You're defensive if you're nothing else. (a) I don't care how many books you buy per month. (b) I don't recall accusing any popular "product" as being inferior. (c) When you have the same characters and same environment it's impossible to avoid repeating yourself or someone else. (d) Spider-Man is not "fresh and different" in any meaningful sense of the word. It's still a kid in tights climbing up walls and battling the same enemies he did 40 years ago. (e) Fallen Angel was fresh and different and demonstrated a reluctance to try something new from the buying public.

I am also puzzled at why you made this personal when no one else did ("And I think this statement is a poor reflection on YOU"). That seems like poor form to me. You also seem to be trying to imply that because you read "70 books" a month your opinion is more valid or more insightful - which seems particularly ridiculous when your talking about such a narrow range of literature.

I don't think the title of the book will scare any potential readers away, it's no more silly than "Allstar Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder" for example.

I was gonna pick up the comic but after reading some comments PAD made at Newsarama, comparing Peter and MJ to Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston I decided to wait.

I have no desire to see any writer messing with their relationship, so until I see what PAD has in his mind I'm sticking with ASM. JMS is currently doing such a wonderful work writing the couple, one of the few good writers who can actually write them well.

"I was gonna pick up the comic but after reading some comments PAD made at Newsarama, comparing Peter and MJ to Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston I decided to wait. I have no desire to see any writer messing with their relationship, so until I see what PAD has in his mind I'm sticking with ASM. JMS is currently doing such a wonderful work writing the couple, one of the few good writers who can actually write them well."

Okay, well first of all, you can't see what I have in mind unless you actually buy the book. Second, I can't unilaterally break up Peter and MJ, even if I wanted to. Third, I don't want to.

And fourth, you 100%, completely, totally misunderstood the Newsarama piece. What I was responding to was the perception by many fans that since Peter Parker has so much going for him, he couldn't possibly have any problems anymore. And my response was, hey, look at Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston. Young, beautiful, rich, famous...they've got it all. And what happens? Their marriage goes bust. So just because one appears to have it all on the surface, that doesn't mean things can't go wrong in their lives.

My view was that there are some people who, deep down, don't believe they deserve happiness. I think Peter has some of that in him, mostly because he's still beating himself up over Uncle Ben. And that fundamental feeling of lack of entitlement can serve to make him as lovably neurotic as he ever was.

At no point did I say that I was going to have Peter and Mary Jane break up, or wreck their relationship. You just assumed that.

PAD

Samuel:

>I have no desire to see any writer messing with their relationship, so until I see what PAD has in his mind I'm sticking with ASM. JMS is currently doing such a wonderful work writing the couple, one of the few good writers who can actually write them well.

Wow. While I have enjoyed some brief moments in JMS's run, I have rarely felt as those I was experiencing a Peter Parker/Spider-Man comic as I read through his Amazing issues. Not only does his interpretation of Spider-Man's world and experiences come off as totally alien to this longtime reader, but he has missed the boat on the characterization as well, IMO.

Just out of curiosity, have you read any of PAD's previous Spider-Man stuff? His PPSSM run had some very mature themes and very dark moments, but the tales never strayed from the elements that make the character or his responses to situations recognizable to me.

Fred

Okay, thanks for clearing that up PAD. Looking forward to your run.

Fred:

>Wow. While I have enjoyed some brief moments in JMS's run, I have rarely felt as those I was experiencing a Peter Parker/Spider-Man comic as I read through his Amazing issues. Not only does his interpretation of Spider-Man's world and experiences come off as totally alien to this longtime reader, but he has missed the boat on the characterization as well, IMO.

I'm a long time Spidey reader and I think JMS "gets" the character better than most, his characterizations are spot on, imo. I've liked all of his stories, even Sins Past.

>Just out of curiosity, have you read any of PAD's previous Spider-Man stuff? His PPSSM run had some very mature themes and very dark moments, but the tales never strayed from the elements that make the character or his responses to situations recognizable to me."

As far as I know, I've read every single Spidey story by PAD and I've liked most of them. The only ones I remember disliking are the two annuals (WOSM?) featuring Ace.

Is there a danger that some people may think it's a kid's book?

Keep out the Rocket Racer and any of the Electric Company crew and everything should be cool and groovy. :)

I read a short while ago that PAD's run on PPSSM included the Death of Jean DeWolfe arc...I'm still floored by that, because that was maybe the second Spider-Man arc I ever bought, the first being a two-parter with Wasp and Palladin, which I think immediately preceeded the DoJD story. It's because of that story that I really got into comics. Until then, I was kinda just dabbling.

So, in a way, I have PAD to thank for the 7 or 8 bins of comics that survived my wife's "Clean Sweep" purge of a whole lot of crappy comics, and years and years spent on a hobby that has brought me countless hours of entertainment.

So, a big THANKS PAD!

I don't have enough $$ floating around to collect any more (other than Fallen Angel...if/when it ever surfaces again), but I highly doubt a PAD-written SM book needs my to help support it. But good luck, and enjoy writing everyone's favorite wall-crawler.

I doubt there's any chance of this happening, but I'd like to pretend that FNSM will feature the reunion of Spider-Man and the Misfits (Frog-Man, Spider-Kid, and the Toad).

Quite simply, "Jump For My Love (Or Spring Is In The Air)" is the all-time best Peter-written Spider-story ever. Why people keep overlooking this story while fixiating on "The Commuter Cometh" eludes me.

--R.J.

Say Peter you have to convince your Best Man to co write a Spider-Man annual?

Re: the spider-totem thing:

I happen to be the proud owner of the "Coming Home" collection, autographed by JMS and John Romita Jr. In the last part, when Spidey's having his big knock-down drag-out with the vampiric Morlun, he gets a big speech about the whole concept. I don't know how PAD feels about large chunks of other people's books being quoted on his site, but it boils down to Parker declaring that it doesn't matter whether it was an accident, as he'd always thought, or whether this "totem" had chosen him, as Ezekiel believed. Whatever the spider's intentions, if any, before it got to him, it had just been subjected to a massive dose of radiation - which should have been enough to kill it, and was definitely enough to change it. Peter Parker became, as he put it, "a child of the spider, first cousin to the atom."

Now, you can choose to believe Ezekiel's "totem" explanation, if you like - it fits some of the other things that have happened since. Or you can believe that it was just one of those weird comic-book accidents, and it just happens to resemble the "totem selection" routine - that fits, too. That's one reason why I like JMS's writing (and PAD's) - you aren't always force-fed the final answer. Sometimes you have to find it for yourself.

I'm really looking forward to PAD's return to the ol' wall-crawler... :-)

Jonathon, I'd always considered the sheer randomness of the irradiated spider bite to be an integral part of the origin. When there is any glimmer of doubt as to whether it was some pre-ordained destiny, it looses much of what makes the character and the origin story special, imo.

Fred

But, Fred, while there may be some question as to whether the spider bit Peter accidentally, or for some mystical higher reason, the irradiation was completely random. There was no way for this "spider totem" to make the experiment that the kids were observing go awry (or, in the movie version, for this "totem" to influence which genes the scientists chose to recombine). Even if Peter's bite was planned, ordinarily it would have only made the poor boy extremely ill, perhaps marking him for Ezekiel and his buddies. The radiation, though, changed everything - randomly. Peter still became the Spectacular Spider-Man by sheer accident, which, as Ezekiel observed, is why he handled it the way he did - going the wrestler route first, then putting on the Spandex body suit.

All my interpretation, of course - your mileage may vary. Driver on closed course. Do not attempt. Payments are O.A.C. $2576 due at signing.

Kevin Hall,
"My God, Jerome Maida. You're defensive if you're nothing else."

No. I was simply expressing my opinion and disagreeing with some of the points that you made. First Amendment, don't you know.

"A.)I don't care how many books you buy per month."

Just giving some background on why I feel there is more "freshness" and diverse, quality material than you seem to think there is.

"B.) I don't recall accusing any popular "product" as being inferior."

No? The term "nonsense" when comparing Spider-Man to Fallen Angel and the phrase "flogging a dead horse" when talking about PAD Spider-Man stories would SEEM to imply that you do not feel any stories involving the character are worthwhile.
Also, saying it's a "poor reflection" on the readership at large that they choose to "Lap up" such "nonsense" and chose not to support "Fallen Angel" does more than imply that one product is superior to the other. It comes out and says it.

"C.) When you have the same characters and same environment it's impossible to avoid repeating yourself or someone else."

First, the characters and environment have changed. That is one reason many long-time readers are uncomfortable with Straczynski's run. Has he been an Avenger for 40 years? Been married for 40 years? Second, it is not "impossible" to avoid repeating yourself or someone else if you have talent and imagination like PAD, Hudlin, JMS and Bendis do.
Do you really think PAD would have taken the gig if he thought it was impossible to avoid repeating himself or someone else?

"D.) Spider-Man is not fresh or new in any meaningful sense of the word"

Depends on how you define meaningful.

"It's still a kid in tights climbing up walls and battling the same enemies he did 40 years ago."

No. It's now a MAN, a married man in fact, in tights. He has new friends and new enemies. And JMS in particular has been careful not to fall into the trap of having him face Electro for the zillionth time. He has created new, unique, exciting villains and has been doing so for the past three years. Other writers ahve done the same. Heck, I wish they were creating new villains at this rate for Batman.

"E.) Fallen Angel was fresh and different and demonstrated a reluctance to try something new from the buying public."

Yes. To an extent. But the fact is, the book started off with borderline sales and NEVER got better. Books from "Spider-Girl" to "Wonder Woman" to "Y The Last Man" have seen sales increase due to strong word of mouth the last couple of years. Fallen Angel was different, but it just didn't seem to excite people to try something different and tell their friends to the extent other books do.
And I guess part of what hit me the wrong way was tearing another book/character down in order to give props to another. This happens a lot. In politics. In sports comparisons. And in comics. And I'm sick of it. Can't they both be good?Isn't it enough to describe why you like a book? Isn't that more fun?

"I am also puzzled at why you made this personal when no one else did. ("And I think the statement is a poor reflection on YOU.") That seems like poor form to me."

Perhaps. Ijust found it extremely annoying for you to make the statement that "it's a poor reflection on the reading public" to "lap up" more Spider-Man "nonsense". In other words, I am puzzled as to why you would choose to denigrate the "reading public" for not liking the same book you do. And "lap up" brings to mind Pavlov's dog. Like the readers are mindless zombies buying based on familiarity and routine than on quality. Which is pretty darn condescending, IMHO>

"You also seem to be trying to imply that because you read '70 books' a month your opinion is more valid or insightful."

Valid? No. An opinion is an opinion. You can say "U.S. 1" is the best comic of all time and that is just as valid as someone who loves "Maus" or "Dark Knight Returns" or "Watchmen".

Insightful? Yes. I do think so. I know people who, no matter the writer, won't read a "Fantastic Four" book if you paid them.
Or refused to get the last issue of "Tomb Raider" despite the fact that it was written by Dan Slott. Or Captain America or Superman because they're "corny", even though they have not read them in years.
To me, these people are only cheating themselves. Why not give a book the benefit of the doubt? "which seems particularly ridiculous when (you are) talking about such a narrow range of literature."

See. There you go. You are dismissive of the entire genre being a "narrow range of literature". It is no more narrow than TV or movies or music or any other art form. There is a lot of fun stuff out there, and a new creative energy, especially at the Big Two. Not to mention the smaller companies and the guy selling his self-published comic out of the back seat of his car.
Why not enjoy as much of it as you can?

Fred,
"I'd always considered the sheer randomness of the irradiated spider bite to be an integral part of the origin. When there is any glimmer of doubt as to whether it was some pre-ordained destiny it (loses) much of what makes the character and the origin story special, imo."

I see your point..to a point. But I remember back in an early issue of the original "What If?" series, they did a story where three different people were bitten by the spider instead of Peter. Yet in every case, he became Spider-Man eventually.
To be honest, I think that kind of "this person was so special he was destined to be Spider-Man works a lot better than the sci-fi equivalent of hitting the lottery, of being lucky. This makes Peter...special, I think.
Also, remember, it was never "revealed" what was the truth. I think the fresh breat of air of mystery served a 40 year old character quite well. Because if we already know everything there is to know about Spidey and can predict everything that's going to happen....well, that would be pretty boring.

Well, looks like I will be picking up my first Spidey book since.....10 years or something!

I do hope this doesn't mean that there won't be another book (X-something ^_^) that was hinted at in the letters page of the last Madrox issue....

Marty

Marty,
Yes, I do think PAD doing an "X-Factor" book would be cool, especially now that he's reintroducing himself to people with higher-profile projects and because the "Madrox" series was a bigger success than many thought it would be, which is a credit to PAD's writing.

Mr. David:

I was all for Peter and MJ's marriage when it took place all those years ago. One of the things that convinced me was your excellent issue of THE MARVEL SAGA put out around the same time of the wedding (circa 1987).

(By the way, I STILL have that issue but I can't remember the number).

Unfortunately, I can't say that I've been thrilled with the Parker marriage. There have been a few bright moments but for the most part it's been sorely lacking in terms of drama. I think a large part of this is due to the way MJ has been charactrized. No one seems to have a good grasp on her character. As a result, the her character has become one note and bit of a drag.

A fan once said that the reason MJ is so dull is b/c she was created by 2 men (Stan Lee and John Romita Sr.) who like(d) her a lot more than the creative personel that followed them. Consequently, the character bores little resemblence to the original incarnation.

Stan Lee's MJ was an airhead; But at least she was fun to have around and provided a sense of humor to the strip. Stan has commented on how MJ was just as popular as Gwen, maybe even more so when he wrote the series despite the fact she wasn't the female lead.

The witty/sexy/flirtatious side of MJ's character has all but vanished. I realize she can't go around calling Peter "daddy-O" and saying "far out". She's matured quite a bit since the Silver Age. Still, that doesn't mean she can't be fun again. The Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale take on MJ in Spider-Man Blue a couple of years back was one of the best I've seen since the Silver Age.

When I read the yet to be finished Spider-Man/Black Cat mini awhile back I really dug Kevin Smith's take on Felicia Hardy. Her dialogue and chemistry with Peter IS EXACTLY the type of chemistry Pete and MJ should have with one another...in my opinion of course. I can't help but think the marriage would be far more accepted if MJ was more interesting and appealing.

I said all of that to ask this you this. What's your take on Mary Jane as a character and the Parker marriage in general? Is my take on MJ off in your opinion? I don't expect you to give away any story details this early but I know I'm not the only one who would like to hear your thoughts on this matter.

CBP

Peter,

Please, please, please bring back Frog-Man and the Steel Spider with a new group of Misfits. Maybe Slapstick could be on the team.

At least bring back Frog-Man!! (And the Steel Spider, and the Misfits!)