Way to go, Greg Kirkman! I recognised the imagery from Steve Ditko's "Wondrous Worlds of Doctor Strange" cover, too.

Speaking of Ditko, our host did a quite nice evocation of his work in the one Spectacular Spider-Man he did with Roger Stern.

Even the infamous inks of Vinnie Colletta couldn't hold back JB. He drew Spidey battling a baddie called the Ringer who formed little rings of matter from the dust in the air; our hero was leaping about from panel to panel, ducking and dodging, and sometimes rings would be formed about Spidey's arm or leg, but he'd whip the member in question out again, before the circular traps could solidify, by the next panel.

It was just the way Ditko would have done it.

...it started with this one...

It started for me with the next one. The 60's cartoon show had introduced me to the character, and this was my first Spider-Man comic. The cover drew me in (as they shoudl!) and, admittedly, it was mostly for the pictures, at first (hey, had just turned 6!).

I still have it. That cover is long gone...but it's still a good read.  

So, I've been listening to a number of Spider-Man podcasts, lately. One features a group of guys discussing and reviewing all of the character's appearances, in-depth, beginning with AF # 15.

The other is produced by some of the same guys, and is tackling the Clone Saga, specifically. I just listened to the episode where they covered the infamous SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN # 226--where Peter is "revealed" as the clone, and Ben Reilly the original (with Peter violently smacking the pregnant Mary Jane).

The question came up--what is the most controversial Spider-Man story of all time, the Clone Saga or ONE MORE DAY/BRAND NEW DAY?

Sure, there have been others (like THE OTHER and the TROUBLE miniseries, which revealed that Ben and Richard Parker were both banging May, and that she was Peter's real mother), but these two storylines are generally considered to be the standouts.

It's hard to say which one has proven more controversial. If the 'Net was in the 90s what it is now, the Clone Saga would surely have been as hotly debated a topic as the current books are.

And, amazingly enough, despite the years of controversy, the Clone Saga is now being collected into a massive series of trades!

The Clone Saga told us that the Spider-Man we'd known since 1975 was a clone. ONE MORE DAY featured Spider-Man making a deal with the Devil to negate his marriage (apparently so he could be free to have drunken, masked sex with the Black Cat. But I digress...).

Which is worse and more offensive? The world may never know.

••

There's an unintended symbolism in that cover.

Due to its essentially liquid nature, when glass breaks the pieces deform, making it impossible to fit them back together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Sort of like Spider-Man.