As the resident comic nerd in my social circle, whenever a Marvel movie hits, my friends usually come to me for recommendations for DC and Marvel books. Since the Marvel Cinematic Universe dominates entertainment, they usually only approach me for the latter. And, I don't know about you, but it's remarkably challenging for me to recommend Marvel books to my casual comic reading friends.
Unlike DC, which succinctly compiles some of the greatest stories ever written in one trade paperback- ala Kingdom Come, Arkham Asylum, Superman: Red Son, etc.- the best Marvel stories aren't so neatly contained. Sure, I could recommend you the John Byrne run of The Fantastic Four, but are you really going to read issues 232 to 295? Do you have any idea how many issues Brian Michael Bendis was on Daredevil? Marvel, in almost every medium, doesn't aim for brevity.
That's why I struggle when my friends ask me to recommend some Spider-Man. Spidey's history on the printed page is replete with a host of ups and downs. Aside from the exceptional J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr run, modern Spider-Man is a wasteland of inconsistent storytelling. On the other hand, the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko/ John Romita Sr. run of the 60s is primo quality, folks. Unfortunately, most casuals find silver age comics inaccessible due to outdated dialogue and older art.
So whenever I'm tasked to recommend Spider-Man to friends, I skip the books altogether. I can already hear the fingers cracking of Spidey loyalists itching to roast me in the comments, but hear me out. Instead of the comics, I recommend the greatest piece of Spider-Man media(outside of the comics)ever created. I recommend the Spectacular Spider-Man. And in the video linked above, you'll find out why.
