I'm willing to allow the ends to justify the means this time because there were so many bad decisions made with the Spider-Man mythos in the last five years that it's worth it to me to be back to a point were a version of Spider-Man exists that I can enjoy reading.  I had no objection to his marriage and I have enjoyed many of the stories that resulted from it.  I also grew up reading stories when he was single.  

Here on the JBF we often postulate what it would be like to live in the M***** Universe if it was our actual universe.  If this was the case, the process of OMD would not follow logically for most of us.  In that Universe, it is a fact that there is an afterlife.  If we lived in a Universe where the after life was an established fact, and not speculation as it is in ours, would there be a reason for good people to fear death?  How different would the story be if rather than trying to bend heaven and earth to save Aunt May, Peter sought out entities to help her transition to the other side?

I had been a fan of Spider-Man since I was a little kid through the cartoons,
but I didn't get into the comics until around 1986. At the time, I preferred
the Spider-Man reprints in Marvel Tales to the storylines in the then-current
issues.

***

I knew the character from the cartoons when I was 5 or 6, but didn't get into the comics until I was about 8 in 1985. Not much of a difference in time, but at that age, it seems like an eternity.

For me, all that crap can be chalked up to a terrible, piss-poor run on ASM ending with a story in the same vein as all those that preceded it for the past eight years. What matters to me is what happens from this point on.

+++++++++

I tend to agree, with reservations.

I'm not buying again. But I do look forward to seeing what results from this. We'll see how it goes.

I'd say that things went off the rails when DeFalco and Frenz were removed
in the midst of the "Gang War" storyline, and the series never fully recovered
after that. Though there have been some good moments since then, of
course.
+++++++++++

That sounds about right.

How long has it been since things went completely off the rails?

••

Issue 38 was… how long ago?

++++++++++

41 years.

But who's counting?

While I certainly agree that nothing matches Lee and Ditko's run, I do feel that many of the follow-up runs (Lee/Romita, Conway/Romita/Kane, Conway/Andru, Stern/Romita Jr., DeFalco/Frenz, etc.) still felt like Spider-Man, even if the character had slowly drifted from his roots over time.

Moving Peter to college was the beginning of a gradual depature. The death of Gwen Stacy was another. Peter graduating from college was another.

None of these events were catastrophic per se, but their gradual, cumulative effect--and the influx of fan-turned-pro writers, has slowly led Spider-Man to where he is now. 

And the marriage got the ball rolling downhill very fast.

Aside from some spotty post-marriage stories, that vast majority of the past 20 years' worth of stories don't feel to me like they're part of the same rich tapestry created by Lee, Ditko, Romita, etc. Somehow, it's as if Spider-Man became disconnected from his readers, his own universe, and his and personality.

Nothing in recent stories has led me to say, "Ah-ha! This is the same Peter Parker whom we've known and read about for so long!".

Those of you who got into ASM 'round about the time Peter was dating and ultimately married MJ in the mid-late '80s are pissed.  Those of us who had gotten into ASM a decade or so earlier, who were pissed about the change in status quo from a single Peter to a married one, are now happy that he's single (plus some) again. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.  Y'all had a married Peter Parker for 20 years.  Me, I think it's about time to have the mainstream, flagship title be about the character most people can readily identify with.  I'm back on board.

+++++++++

As usual, I'm something of an oddity. I should be firmly in the "I grew up during the marriage era, therefore I prefer a married Spider-Man" camp, yet I'm not.

I was born a few years before the marriage, and grew up with it (BUT, I read lots of reprints and back issues during my formative years, which gave me a clearer view of Spider-Man's entire history, not just the then-current status quo), and yet I prefer the old stuff, the classic stuff, the single stuff.