At the entry level, there is a lot of runs very close in quality, to choose from. All of them having their pros and cons, specially in the writing department, the only thing that might set them apart, being the art. Not to belittle Romita (getting to be first pick at the bottom), but he was still learning the trade, by the time he first landed on ASM. His time on Iron Man notwithstanding, his work back then, wasn't yet that of a seasoned artist. And yet, the issues he draw, were favored with O'Neil's best scripts. When pencils were handed to others, O'Neil's work really took a dump, justifying this run's bad reputation. Often regarded as one of the worst, stories like Blues For Lonesome Pinky, sure have a right to claim such a title. All in all, this is, without a doubt, the most uneven run in the character's history. I certainly wouldn't recommend to anyone, reading it in its entirety, but I hope that the selected issues, will encourage someone, to at least try the ones with JRJR in them. In fact, beyond these handpicked issues, up to seven consecutive comics could be in this list, if not for some minor flaws. ASM #210 fails because of a too convenient resolution, and the three-parter that starts in #213, presents a sizeable plot-hole, towards the end. I'd really wish I were able, to include them all here, but it looks to me, as if O'Neil didn't pull his weight on this series. Whatever the reason, his writing fell apart at the seams, most often than not. If any member has information, about the terms of his contract at the time, the conditions under which he took the Spider-Man writing chores, or the prospects he was given, I'd love to hear about it, in the comments thread.

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Taking everything into consideration, the issues selected are the ones which deserve a place here, no more and no less. Even at the tender age of 11, these comics stood out for me, above everything else I had read before on the title. I grew up with Ditko's Spidey, with Romita's, but there was something different in O'Neil's, something new, something better. I couldn't quite put my finger on it at the moment, but given time, I've been able to: it felt more real. He still climbed walls, and his enemies breathed under water (or turned to water), but there was a focus on the little things, internal coherence and a much needed absence of theatrics.

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We had seen some level of detail before. For example, during the Stan Lee era, it wasn't uncommon for Peter to sew up a new costume, or even resort to getting one at a Halloween Costumes Shop. With O'Neil, such a thing would be taken a step further, when the character is given the burden of an itchy uniform. Something that would've been just a gag with other writers (a brine bath), is followed trough to the bitter end. First he scratches for a couple of issues, and on the third one he finally decides to ditch the costume, but not before an embarrassing attempt, to get the old one clean. Peter Parker was originally presented as a genius teen inventor, chemist and telecommunications engineer; here... not so much. From the same guy, who gave us the world famous web formula, we get a powerful detergent. The problem is, unless you want to get rid of that piece of clothing, your fiancee bought for you, Parker would have a hard time selling his mix. End result, we get a washed out costume that should be up there, among the many our character, has worn over the years. All this goes to show that he really is poor, and tries to salvage his duds by every means necessary. By contrast, Lee would have him throw away a perfectly good uniform, just to play a joke (ASM #25). As long as I am on the topic, another thing that does't happen here, is seeing his costume reduced to shreds because of a fight; we see it endure some minor wear, but not to the point where it needs replacement, like it happened way back, in ASM #82. The man behind the mask, however, does indeed require some patching up. Another example would be how, instead of showing us Parker climbing walls (with his shoes on) as seeing in AF #15, they're wrapped around his neck here, when web-slinging in his civvies.🔗 I can't say for sure if it was O'Neil or Romita's doing (taking after his father), but I'd bet it was on the script, considering he went down the same route, when Mooney was drawing (ASM #207). Yet another instance, where a little detail makes for a more immersive experience.

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As for internal coherence, we have the case of Spider-Man's power set, that has always been a source of contradictions, at the same time that it allowed plot flexibility. His unique combination of strength, endurance, speed, reflexes, spider-sense, webbing and ability to stick to almost any surface, made it possible for him, to have one of the most varied villains gallery. This is one of the things that readers have come to appreciate and expect the most, and it also encouraged writers to aim for variety. But there's another side to it, and at some point, lazy writers turned a strength into a weakness. Lee himself, who kept a delicate balance at the beginning, soon started to forget about the character's upper and lower bounds. In an attempt to increase dramatism (ASM #33) or because of a lack of creativity (ASM #73), Lee would have Spider-Man both lift a multi-ton piece of machinery, and get beaten by a strong, but otherwise normal human. This problem would only get exacerbated, at the hands of less capable writers, but was clearly addressed by O'Neil. When confronting both Namor and Hydro-Man with Spider-Man, he portrayed the character using his brains to devise a combat strategy, in order to level the playing field. (Too bad he used pretty much the same plan, in both cases, being repetitive was never a good thing). At the other end of the spectrum, no regular guy gave Spidey much trouble, during his tenure as writer.

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The third leg on which his work rested, to achieve some verisimilitude, was characterization. O'Neil got rid of the Globe's staff, introduced Madame Web, and gave the stage to Debra Whitman. He brought back Jameson and Robertson, although he only used them occasionally. Peter's life at ESU was barely mentioned, and Aunt May was tied up on PPSS. These last two focal points for his personal life, where probably out of his hands, but the reluctance to use the Bugle's personnel, may be due to JJJ being kind of a strident character. Reading the comics he co-authored with Romita, I get the clear impression that he wanted to avoid histrionics, hence the low profile for Jameson. The character wasn't given much room, and was toned down when on panel. All this circumstances led O'Neil to look elsewhere, for normal people to display on panel. He mainly achieved that by showing his neighbors to the audience. No relationship of any kind had to actually come out of that, it just showed the reader, what it was to live in a real apartment building. A funny corollary: interaction was mostly achieved through the walls. Up to that point, except for Glory, no neighbor had been introduced, we just knew about his landlady. And even Miss Grant, wasn't exactly the kind of neighbor I'd call realistic. Parker spending some alone time, in these issues, worked towards reinforcing his New Yorker image. The rest of the characters displayed pondered yet distinctive behavior, and the villains motivations were everything but extravagant.

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A couple of historical remarks now. Hydro-Man was the first (and only?) villain, to be born due to Spider-Man's actions. Granted, the Hobgoblin came to be, because of the wall-crawler letting someone get away, but not because of something he did (rather something he didn't). The closest thing I can remember would be Venom, as it can be argued that Spidey shouldn't have been tinkering with the wrong alien machine, when he originally came into contact with the symbiote. Anyway, the accident that turned Morris Bench into a freak, was a much more cause and effect kind of event. O'Neil could have tried to turn him into the antagonist, someone with a real grudge against Spider-Man, but this wasn't the kind of melodramatic setup that made his run interesting. Instead, he would just make "Morrie" pick on him as someone his own size. This was a simple character, a though man used to the roughness of the life at sea, a guy who liked to blow off steam, by getting into a fight.

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The other remark has to do with Mary Jane. If Gerry Conway was his champion, and Marv Wolfman the man who wrote her off the book, Dennis O'Neil would be the one to demote the character to its lowest level. Without even portraying her in the story, he redefined their romance as one "on the rebound". Tom DeFalco would later give it yet another spin, with a 180 degree turn for the title and, with Conway's own Parallel Lives, the first big Spider-Man retcon.

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Last but not least, I'd like to comment on the Debbie "business". Certainly not a romance, hardly an affair, barely a fling, Peter's relationship with her was little more than flirtatious. It started in PPSS, at the time Bill Mantlo was handling the writing, but it wasn't getting anywhere, so the decision reached by O'Neil (just end it) should be considered as sensible. Roger Stern, who replaced Mantlo, didn't seem to have much of a problem with that, but once he moved to ASM, and Mantlo got back, a new angle for the character was introduced. The final resolution, in PPSS #74, was a far cry from the down to hearth one O'Neil provided.🔗 This alone, is all the proof you should need, to consider these issues as the above average Spider-Man comics they are. Admitted, his plots weren't much elaborated, and the structure of his stories wasn't as good as it could've been, but even with the quirks it had, O'Neil's work was well executed entertainment.

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On a more technical note. Dialogues didn't feel fabricated, as with most of Lee's era. Boxed captions contained informative text, with no pretensions, and were adequately placed to ease panel transitions. Characteristics in line with the apparent simplicity of the stories. As for the art, page composition was noteworthy, from time to time. Unfortunately, I can't objectively say anything more about Romita, that will cast his pencils for these issues in a positive light. I say "unfortunately", because I consider him to be the ultimate Spider-Man artist, even though these comics aren't the best example of that. He exhibited problems, when keeping different objects proportional to one another, and his obsession with perspective was a clear indication, of him still being in the process, of assimilating that lesson.

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The Good
Characterization, attention to detail, use of the power set, dialogues, use of captions.

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The Bad
Plot, structure, repetitiveness, proportions, perspective.

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