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Spidey's badass. (SM#15) Art by Erik Larsen.
7. Ron Frenz (1984-1986 ASM run)
Ron Frenz is largely remembered for his run on Tom DeFalco's horrible Spider-Girl series. However, this veteran penciller should be given tons of credit for his run on ASM during the 80s, where he had a hand in some of the best black costume adventures of the period (when said DeFalco still wrote well). Spider-Man was thin and lithe under the pencils of Frenz as he emphasized the wall-crawler's speed and agility rather than brute strength in many of his battles. Frenz drew some of the best fisticuffs in the Spider-Man books. Whereas other writers/artists fight scenes involved the wall-crawler just standing still and exchanging punches with his opponent, Frenz worked hard at choreographing a long and fast-paced brawl which typically focused on just how good Spidey was at taking advantage of his speed. Some of Frenz's best issues were battles against Puma, the Hobgoblin, and Man-Mountain Marko. Contrary to popular belief, Spidey (under Ron Frenz's skilled hands) had perfected a fighting style long before Dan Slott's Spider-Fu. Using his speed and agility, Peter could attack from several dozen angles, blinding, confusing, and battering powerhouses such as the Absorbing Man, the Hulk, and Firelord into submission.
Puma was an adequate opponent . . . but was strictly third-rate.
(ASM#257) Art by Ron Frenz.
It was during Frenz's run that fans were introduced to the Black Fox, Aunt May's handicapped beau Nathan Lubensky, and a classy Silver Sable. Although Ron Frenz, like John Romita Jr. (#6), penned the most convincing fight scenes of the time in ASM, my personal favorite issues of Frenz involved quieter issues such as Peter's return from Battleworld ( ASM#252 where he debuted the black costume), the story of Crusher Hogan (ASM#271 with the wrestler who fought Peter in Amazing Fantasy #15) and the story of Mary Jane (ASM#259 where her broken family background was revealed).
Even injured, Peter was damn untouchable against overrated villains
like the Hobgoblin. (ASM#275) Art by Ron Frenz.
6. John Romita Jr.
Although his blocky style has made his drawings recognizable today, there was a time when John Romita Jr.'s art had followed the footsteps of his father, John Romita Sr. Before Todd McFarlane, there was JRJR, who perfected the webs on the costume, refined the eyeholes (which before JRJR was prone to interpretation) and with Roger Stern brought back the cobwebs in the armpits. JRJR and Roger Stern had some of the most well-written and underrated storylines of all time. Roger Stern respected Spidey's power and speed, and made Peter nigh-unbeatable against Tarantula, Mr. Hyde, Cobra, Will O' the Wisp, the Juggernaut (the fantastic 2-parter), Foolkiller, and Hobgoblin (who was battered on his first encounter with Spidey). John Romita Jr. made the clean-cut Peter Parker of the Stan Lee-era into more of a modern macho heart throb without losing the signature look his father established. Unlike today's Peter Parker, his Peter Parker was older and more mature than the Ditko-Gil Kane of the 70s. Under Roger Stern's writing, JRJR's Peter was the professional superhero who was self-aware and confident and perfectly comfortable at figuring out how to beat the tar out of his more powerful opponents.
Contrary to popular knowledge Peter was NOT an inept bachelor, he actually dated quite
a few ladies (not this one though) – art by John Romita Jr. (ASM#249)
Although his artwork is still much better than the junk Marvel releases regularly, I'm not too fond of JRJR's style today, which oddly feels sloppy and less detailed than his older work in the 80s. There are too many fantastic issues of JRJR to mention and even his work during the crappy Clone Saga was exceptional. One issue that comes to mind, however, is the second romantic encounter Peter Parker had with the somewhat unbalanced Felicia Hardy (ASM#226-227), aka the Black Cat (this was before Peter David made her sleep with the Foreigner and countless writers like Mark Waid and Al Milgrom transformed Felicia to a slut). The original Hobgoblin's debut was also fantastic as was almost every issue Romita drew for Roger Stern. However, one issue I always recommend to fans of Mary Jane is ASM#290 where David Michelinie and JRJR pens a heartfelt issue of the second time Peter proposes to Mary Jane (and is once again rejected).
Even fans of Gwen Stacy grew to be fond with Mary Jane,
who did mature despite not outgrowing her partying ways
(ASM#290) – art by John Romita Jr.
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