But what do you think?

Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer tpb Vol. 15: What Cost Victory
Marvel Comics
Creators: Nick Spencer, Federico Vicentini, Ze Carlos, Mark Bagley, Carlos Gomez and Alex Sinclair
Release date: November 2021

Got something a little different this time: I want YOU to tell ME what you think of Nick Spencer’s recent run on Amazing Spider-Man.

I like Spider-Man, but I’ve never been a regular reader of his adventures. I read some random issues that I bought as a kid in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but most of them were truly random. The only continuous run I read during that time included some issues with Spidey facing off against Silvermane, Green Goblin and other gangsters. At the time, everyone assumed the Goblin was Harry Osborn again, but it didn’t turn out to be him in the outfit. I borrowed these comics from a friend, and I currently own a trade collecting some of them: Amazing Spider-Man: A New Goblin, reprinting Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 176-180 by Len Wein and Ross Andru.

I bought many of the then-current Spidey titles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but I’ve since sold off most of those issues. I kept Amazing Spider-Man No. 267, “When Cometh … the Commuter,” a very amusing stand-alone issue written by Peter David. I had the original six issues that told the story that came to be known as “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” but I’ve since sold them and bought a hardcover of the story instead.

All of this is to say I am no stranger to Spidey stories. I’ve read a lot of them, but I don’t still own most of the stories I’ve read. And I don’t follow the character regularly.

But I do like Spider-Man, and I really like some of his villains. I’ve always been partial to the Green Goblin in his various incarnations. I also like Doc Ock, Kraven, Chameleon and some of the others.

I hadn’t paid much attention to Nick Spencer’s recent run on the title. Nothing against the writer; I haven’t read many Spidey stories in more than a decade by anyone. And I’m not familiar with other things Spencer has written.

But the solicitation image for the trade collection of “The Chameleon Conspiracy,” which was the 14th trade collection of Spencer’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, caught my eye. The cover image shows the Chameleon sitting in a darkened room surrounded by masks of the faces of many of Spider-Man's friends and enemies. There are nearly 30 masks pictured, and the cover brought to mind the first appearance of Chameleon in Amazing Spider-Man No. 1, of which I own a reprint. I don’t know if there is a previous image similar to this trade’s cover, but it made me thing of that initial appearance of Chameleon, and piqued my curiosity.

I pre-ordered the trade and then ordered the next one, Vol. 15, when it was solicited. I don’t think I knew when I ordered Vol. 15, “What Cost Victory?” that it would be Spencer’s last. But it did seem like a resolution he’d been building to, and I thought I might need this trade to complete the story begun in Vol. 14. Turns out I was both right and wrong about that.

Both these two trades very clearly wrap up a lot of plotlines from Spencer’s run and stories from past creators, too, including a story arc I’ve never read but heard a lot about, “Sins Past.” Both of these trades were decent reads, but I got the feeling frequently that I wasn’t getting the entire story. I was very aware I hadn’t read everything that came before. I didn’t feel lost, exactly, but still like I was missing something.

So I’m curious to hear from others who have read all of Spencer’s run, and perhaps even more. What did you Spider-Man fans think of his run on the title? Is it worth it to seek out and buy the earlier Spencer trades? What say you, Spider-fans? I’d like to hear from you for a change.