Amazing Spiderman Takes a Step Forward

JMS, J. Michael Straczynski, is the same man who has two comics that are at the industry's top 20, and yet neither inhabit such recognition, or such a name as Spiderman holds. Marvel plans on letting JMS head up The Amazing Spiderman comic in order to bring it up to speed with his other comics, Rising Stars and Midnight Nation.

JMS will be taking the comic over with issue #30, and finally, the writer will have a chance to show off his gifts of characterization with dynamic story telling. JMS admits that with his take over, the comic is going to change tremendously, (which most all writers say) but JMS in particular says his plan is to finish off the death of Mary Jane. While he may be talking about letting Peter forget about his dead wife, he may also have the super-model come back.

If one would take a Spiderman comic from today and put it next to a Spiderman comic in the 60's, the 60's comic will be noted as the better, but JMS says it's not just because comics are getting better today while Spiderman stays the same. JMS says that it is all about the story line itself. In the 60's, the Spiderman comic had the web-head against not only villian, but regular people. The bank robbers, the ordinary thief, the newspaper editor! But today, they have Spidey against super alien villians, and other galaxy enemies. It goes way beyond your friendly "neigborhood" spider. It goes to a level that Dr. Doom, and the Fantastic Four are on, and that level is not meant for Spiderman, it is not meant for Peter Parker, the freelance photographer.