Customer Reviews

Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1 (Marvel Masterworks)

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By the early 60s, Stan Lee was pretty much sick of comic books. He had been working in the industry since he was a teen and the monster and romance books held little meaning to a man entering middle age. Then, in 1961, he wrote the comic he wanted to write figuring that if it didn't work, he was leaving comics anyway. Well, Fantastic Four was a hit and Stan and Jack Kirby began to create their own universe to play in. I think Stan stayed in, mainly, because for the first time ever he was getting feedback. And these weren't just letters from kids, students from places like Yale were stopping in the Marvel offices, wanting to talk to Stan...readers of Rolling Stone were talking about Marvel...Stan was feeling like what he was writing actually mattered to thinking people. While FF is the darling of the comics intelligentsia, especially big time Kirby fans, its family of characters still trail behind Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-Man, in the hearts of most folks. I think the genius of the character, from the minds of Stan and Steve Ditko, was that many of the known tropes of superhero comics were used, but were tilted in a way never fully explored before. Clark Kent lost his parents and was raised by an older, loving couple - check. Bruce Wayne's parents were killed by a street thug - check. An accident with radiation gave a person incredible powers (FF, Hulk) - check. Peter Parker had all of these...so what made him special? He didn't start out with goodness in his heart or a sense of justice...he had to learn it the hard way. That pushed Spidey closer to all of us. Because of the fantastic origin story of Spider-Man, Peter could never completely put himself above the petty crime, the greed, or the selfishness he fights against. Batman looks at a criminal and sees the person who took his parents. Superman can't understand man's inhumanity to man. But Pete knows, in his heart of hearts, that, while he didn't kill his beloved uncle, he certainly played an important part in the events that led to his murder. Peter Parker had to live with his aunt after those events...had to watch her mourn...and it had to twist his stomach. But...and this is important...Peter didn't let this make him sullen. He made a life-change and it launched him into action. To start out so tragically, but become so upbeat, a force for hope and goodness...that's what we love about the character and his adventures. And it certainly helped that 1) Stan, Steve, and John surrounded Peter with a fantastic cast of supporting characters (the best in mainstream comics) and 2) Stan wrote some great, laugh-out loud dialog accompanied by Ditko's strangely beautiful art and Romita's window into the New York of the 60s and 70s.

While Superman and Batman may still be the most iconic superheroes in the world, Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-Man, is the most human and, ultimately, the greatest creation of 20th century comic books.

Spidey fans, this is the foundation-in affordable form.

These are the original stories from 1962-63 that brought the Spider Man legend to the world.

This is where we meet Peter Parker, see how the whole story started with our man being bitten by a radioactive Spider, how PP hooked up with J. Jonah Jamison and his rival Flash Thompson, and what happened to his Unle ben, who was never seen again after his initial appearance.

In 1962-63, this was avant-garde stuff because it presented Peter Parker in a manner that the mostly geeky teenage boys who read such books could truly relate more than they cared to admit. PP is the target of bullies, girls avoid him, adults don't understand him, and the world just isn't ready for him. Even as superhero Spidey, he's still the same mistake-prone geek. This was revoutionary at the time and accounted for much of his early appeal.

So read and see how the legend began in an economical format. Enjoy.

First off, this Marvel Masterwork (in paperback) is a spectacular restoration of the original comics of The Amazing Spider-Man from 1962-63. The artwork is incredible thanks to Steve Ditko and the storylines are also equally amazing, courtesy of Stan Lee. With 10 issues of fantastic adventures, this comic has proven itself not to dissapoint. Also, the price is so much lower than a bookstore close to me. It is a great deal and it is also something good to read if you wanna slip out of reality for an hour. This Marvel Masterwork is the start of a tremendous age, and it is still 1 of the best ones you'll ever read today. I just ordered Fantastic Four, by the way. I'm expecting them to come in soon (I think on May 10th, can't wait!) Look for my reviews on other Marvel Masterworks for some helpful shopping advice. (Only Paperbacks)

This volume reprints Amazing Fantasy #15 from August 1962 and The Amazing Spider-Man issues 1-10 from March 1963 to March 1964 (issues 1-5 were bi-monthly). The stories are scripted by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko, with Jack Kirby pencilling the back-up story in #8.

The script and art combine flawlessly to whisk you along at a great pace through the stories; there are no extraneous caption boxes, as used by so many later writers as the art tells you everything you need to know, nor are there endless speech balloons to slow the flow [Roy Thomas and Chris Claremont, I'm looking at you], but that is how it was in Stan's day.

The contents are -
#1 - featuring the Chameleon
#2 - featuring the Vulture and the Tinkerer
#3 - featuring Dr Octopus
#4 - featuring the Sandman
#5 - featuring Dr Doom
#6 - featuring the Lizard
#7 - featuring the Vulture again
#8 - featuring the Human Torch
#9 - featuring Electro
#10 - featuring the Enforcers

How's that for a line up of some of Marvel's most famous villains - and you saw them here first. Well, 8 out of ten of them anyway, Dr Doom was already spoken for. This is where the Marvel Empire began (even if the Fantastic Four got top-billing as `The World's Greatest Comic Book' - Spider-Man was always the more `human' comic to me).

Finally, early spider-man issues collected in an affordable format.

I love these stories, as I'm sure many people do, because Peter Parker is a very relatable character for many people. Stan Lee captures his geekiness on one side, but on the flip side he catches the man Peter wants to be but can only be when he is spider-man because he wears a mask and has nothing to fear.

These issues are great introductions of some of spider-man greatest villains that remain in his rogues gallery still today. We meet Chameleon, Vulture, Lizard, Tinkerer, The Enforcers, and of course JJJ.

This is essential to anyone who is a true fan of spider-man comicdom. Great reprinted artwork, high quality pages. Highly recommended.

but I could not justify buying it at the time. I have been reading with kids at my daughter's school and one of the boys I read with said he does not like to read to which I said, "You are not reading what you like. What do you like?" He said "Spider-man." I went home and looked for this book that night. Sometimes it's still a fight to get him to read, but others he is excited to read these original comics. It's also great to talk with him about the differences between these stories and the ones in the movies and in the cartoons that are on TV.

Last week I read the first comic with a 3rd grader and he really thought it was a cool book. He was amazed that it was written so many years ago and wanted to keep reading even though we were out of time.

Reading the first stories of Spider-Man is fresh and exciting. Experiencing things right along with Peter Parker without decades of backstory is great. You can see the magic right away and know why this became one of the most successful comic series in history. It's pretty darn awesome to see Doc Oc appear the first time. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko are legends in the field, and all of us comic fans are in their debt for inspiring the creators that came after them. I truly feel like this Lee and Ditko's finest work, and that is saying a lot. It seems to be out of print now, but there are mint copies available on the used market or you friendly neighborhood comic store.