What are the 11 best spiderman comics of all time?
Since 1962, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s Spider-Man has been the forerunner of Marvel Comics. For the first time, Marvel had a hero that was closing the sales gap on Batman/Superman. Until this time Marvel had been the little brother in the comics industry. Superman was continuing to win over hearts and minds with a cartoon and live action series. When Lee decided he was going to create and write a hero more like himself. how he wanted them to be. A hero with problems, bullies, and lowno self-esteem. Lee didn’t realize it at the time, but he had figured it out. A hero that kids could connect with would develop a faithful following. Unknown to Lee his idea gave characterization to its heroes. Making them seem as if they are real people. Spiderman has appeared in movies, cartoons, and a failed Broadway play. With this list, I will give the uninitiated a look into Peter Parker’s world.
11. The Amazing Spider-Man 298 – First Appearance of Eddie Brock (Venom)/Todd McFarlane first cover.
I would be carelessremiss if I didn’t start off the list with McFarlane. Todd McFarlane has done as much, if not more, for Spider-Man than anyone else since the wall-crawlershis inception in 1962. McFarlane had spent his first few years at Marvel working on the Hulk. When a Spidey sketch he was working on came under the eye of an editor, McFarlane took the job as the new spider artist and didn’t look back. His caricature style, individual strands of webbing, larger eyes and mask, and crazy positions he drew quickly made him a fan favorite. Not only did he move on to create Spawn and co-founded Image comics, McFarlane was the first artist to reveal Venom, but that’s another story.
10. Kraven’s Last Hunt
When it comes to Spidey villains, Kraven is near the top of fan favorites. Kraven is the self proclaimed, ‘World’s Greatest Hunter.’ Over the years he has placed Spidey in a number of unfortunate situations. Can you imagine if he was the focal point of the stories? If you’ve ever seen Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius, catch the roadrunner then you understand where Kraven is coming from in this series. With his plan to capture and kill Spider-Man complete, the world’s greatest hunter experiences a depression. He understands that what he loved/hated most about Spider-Man was the hunt. All this takes place over three different Spider-Man comicstitles by the same writer and artist, cool stuff!
9. Amazing Spider-Man #31
There comes a time in every hero’s destiny when he must accept the changes that have been thrust onto them and embrace the new part of their life. In Amazing Spider-Man number 31, Peter begins an arc that would take him from meek boy with powers, to hero who can tackle any challenge. (Check out the Panel from the title page!) What makes this series so substantial is the turn that Peter takes into maturity. The lost high school student begins to fade away and we take our first steps into Peter’s life after Spider-Man.
8. Spectacular Spider-Man #107 – 110
The Death of Jean DeWolff is an epic storyline and a turning point to a much larger problem which lies ahead. Jean DeWolff is one of the first victims of the killer Sin-Eater. While her name is prominent in the series, she only appears as an afterthought. She was a woman who had a crush on Peter, and he had no idea. The intense reaction to her death by Spider-Man forces him to take stock of what his life has become since he adopted the new symbiote costume. If not for interference from Daredevil, Spidey would have killed Sin-Eater. Not since the death of Gwen Stacy has Peter acted so out of character that the fans began to pick up on the suit and what kind of power it contained.
7. Amazing Spider-Man #39
When it comes to a twist, Amazing #39 gave fans the something they never knew they wanted. Harry Osborn, Peter’s best friend and the third leg of the Gwen Stacy tripod, is revealed as the Green Goblin. Up until this time, a shift in the main character was unheard of. For Stan Lee to gamble the outcome of what was at the time a hot book and reveal that his best friend was also his worst enemy, took loads of courage. The book set Peter up to be a lonely friendless man well into his superhero-ing years, showing his level of hurt by Osborn.
6. The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1
Almost as iconic as the Spider himself, the Sinister Six made their debut way back in the first Amazing Spider-Man annual. After a series of defeats, Doc Ock is rescued from prison by his rogue tentacles. He can’t fathom being beaten by the spider yet again, so he initiates a plan to bring all of the friendly neighborhood wall crawlers villains to bear. Only five show, Sandman, Electro, Kraven, Mysterio, Vulture, and the kind Doctor himself. While it seems that attacking in force would be the solution, the group holds a drawing to take turns trying to take down the wall-crawler.
5. Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21
Peter and Mary Jane Watson met way back in Spider-Man #25, in 1987 the couple were married! Wait, it can’t be that easy? Can it? What makes the unity so unique is that, even though they have been in love with each other for some time, there is still some doubt. A previous beau of MJ’s tries to swoop in and steal her, but she decides to party with her friends instead. While Peter has a nightmare, forcing him to look back on what happened to his first love, Gwen.
4. Amazing Spider-Man #50
Every so often a comic comes along that influences everything from that point forward. In Amazing Spider-Man, #50 Peter turns his back on his life of crime fighting. The constant barrage of bad press, pressure from his Aunt, and general stress prove too much for the web-head. John Romita’s iconic drawing of Peter walking away from a garbage can with the Spidey suit peeking out is one of the most applauded panels in comic history. The story is so important that it made it to the big screen in Spider-Man 2.
3. Amazing Fantasy #15
For number three on my list, I wanted to go back to where it all began. Spider-Man burst out in 1962 with this final issue of Amazing Fantasy. Stan Lee was burnt out with the same comics he had been producing since the end of the war in 1945. His idea for Spider-Man was to create a character that rivaled the ones built in novels. Placing a teenage boy as the hero was a stroke of genius. Teenagers were usually held as the side-kick when they got a load of Peter Parker their minds were blown and instantly they became fans.
2. The Amazing Spider-Man #300
What started in Secret Wars #8 comes to fruition in Amazing Spider-Man #300. For fits and starts over the past year, a mysterious black shrouded man continued to attack and harass Peter. He has even shoved off a subway platform into the path of a speeding train. In this issue, the culprit is revealed to be Spider-Man’s most dangerous foe, Venom. After freeing himself from the alien symbiote, Peter thought he was released from its clutches. When the symbiote possessed Eddie Brock reveals himself as Venom, we see for the first time what it Spider-Man’s, for lack of a better term: kryptonite.
1. Amazing Spider-Man #121 – 122
Widely chosen as the best Spider-Man storyline of all time is the Death of Gwen Stacy. Under threat from the Green Goblin, Peter’s pal Norman Osborn kidnaps young Gwen and throws her off a bridge. Spidey arrives just in time and fires a web that catches her before she impacts with the ground. What he doesn’t yet know is the whiplash from the web has broken the young girl's neck. This is a considerable step for a hero who was still considered a boy at the time. His reaction to the Green Goblin pushes him towards the limits of what he believes as a hero. Should he kill the Goblin? This was a question that had gone unasked to readers and is a topic that is still hotly debated today.
Spider-Man has since the 1960’s and is still one of the top-selling books in Marvels publishing house. Peter Parker’s down to earth demeanor, and relatability made him a fan favorite from jump street. Over the years such writers as Erik Larsen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Brian Michael Bendis have all had their tilt at the helm. Over that time, like some other heroes, Peter’s origin remains unchanged. It’s a testament to how on the nose Stan Lee was when he wrote, “with great power, comes great responsibility.”
