Essential Spider-Man, Vol. 4 (Marvel Essentials) (v. 4) [Paperback]

Stan Lee (Author), John Romita Sr. (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

In this volume, Peter faces some of his greatest challenges and his most harrowing foes such as Doc Ock and the Kingpin. Featuring a guest appearance by the Fantastic Four. Collects Amazing Spider-Man #69-89 and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4-5.

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (August 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785118659
• ISBN-13: 978-0785118657
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 1.8 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #387,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars classic Spider-man action, September 22, 2001

By 

Biff Fearless "World Reknowned Adventurer" (Cape Coral, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Spider-Man Vol. 4 (Paperback)

I bought this book along with the previous volumes. In the wondrous Marvel Age of the sixties, there were two true stand-outs. The first was the Fantastic Four (Kirby's best 'nuff said), and the other Spider-man. I would argue that Peter Parker is the greatest of the classic Siver Age Super-Heroes. He was no Jet Pilot, Doctor, or Captain of Industry, just a pretty average kid who, after one tragic mistake, always tried to do the right thing. This volume I would not rate as highly as the others, simply because it does not feature Ditko or Romita Sr. That does not mean that it is not great in its own merit. The tales scripted by Spider-man co-creator Stan Lee were more complex and inter-woven than previous stories. It is a great sampling of Spider-man in his rightful era, and while there is no Steve Ditko or John Romita Sr, the art chores are handled by industry legends such as Jim Mooney, John Buscema, and Gil Kane. This is another excellent addition to the "Essential" format. Once I got past the black and white I settled down for some classic adventures at a bargain basement price. If you've never purchased any of this line of reprints, give it a shot. They're the size of phone books and are jam-packed with some of the best comics Marvel has ever produced.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spider-Man begins the Seventies in less than stellar form, July 20, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Essential Spider-Man Vol. 4 (Paperback)

"The Essential Spider-Man, Volume 4" presents black & white reprints of "The Amazing Spider-Man" #69-89 and Annuals #4-5, which covers the web-head from 1969-71. I was sort of surprised as I read through these issues again that really nothing significant happens. I mean, we have return visits from the Kingpin, the Lizard, the Chameleon, Mysterio and Doctor Octopus, but the new villains are pretty week: Man-Mountain Marko, the Prowler, the Kangaroo, and the Schemer. Make that incredibly weak villains, except for the Prowler, who is just a kid making stupid mistakes.

At this point Stan Lee has his formula for Spider-Man, which is probably encapsulated best by what our hero says at the conclusion of issue #72: "So, I finally nailed the Shocker...Big deal! I'm in the doghouse with Gwen...the tablet is gone again...I just remembered something else...I forgot to take a single picture of the entire battle! So all I get out of it is some skinned knuckles! In other words, the wonderful Parker luck is still running true to form! Nuts!" The best story in this collection is probably "The Parents of Peter Parker!" from Annual #5, although the most memorable moment is when the Black Widow comes up with her sexy new threads of the Seventies.

John Buscema takes over the penciling chores from John Romita (Sr.) at one point before Gil Kane makes his first appearance right at the end. Buscema did some nice work on "Conan," but Spider-Man does not play to his strengths; Kane, however, does manage to adapt his distinctive style to the comic. Fortunately, things improve considerably for Spider-Man as Stan Lee gets a feel for the Seventies. So you can just write off this collection as the quiet before the storm of Harry's drug addiction, the deaths of Captain and Gwen Stacy, and Spider-Man really becoming Spider-Man.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great 30+ Year-Old Stories That Seem So Relevant Today, February 27, 2002

By 

JON STRICKLAND "Jon Strickland" (Smithfield, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Essential Spider-Man Vol. 4 (Paperback)

The Essential Spider-Man Volume 4 is a very good collection of stories that place our super hero and his alter-ego into situations that, in a day and age over thirty years after their publication, seem so relevant to modern-day Americans.

Though Peter Parker was always busy being both an underappreciated crime fighter and a student trying to maintain an active social life, his attempts to keep his super hero identity a secret have taken their toll. Before, Peter's main secret identity challenge was to never let poor Aunt May know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. In these stories, he is now faced with an added unsurmountable task of keeping this secret away from a much younger, less gullible individual in Harry Osborn, his college roommate.

Throughout the stories, Peter, because of trying to pull double duty as a full-time college student with a girlfriend (who constantly questions his motives and who does not and must not know his secret) and as the ever-loving Spider-Man is bombarded by working 'round-the-clock hours and facing lack of time necessary to keep his grades up. In the earlier issues, he could manage to fight crime and still be the top student in his high school classes; however, this time, he is sleeping less, and after he fights up yet another victory, he returns to a home that is a much smaller setting than Aunt May's place at much later hours and cannot change out of his costume until he has climbed in through the apartment window while Harry is either away or asleep. And in some of the episodes, Peter is so tired that he crashes and ends up falling asleep while lying across the bed as opposed to having properly tucked himself in.

In a day and age of holding down two or more jobs and multitasking each one, we cannot help but sympathize and empathize with Peter Parker's dilemmas. Not only do we feel Peter's exhaustion, but we, in our own way, are like Peter in the sense that it is sometimes impossible to reveal to others who question or criticize us the challenges we put up with, because our situations are either unique or beyond their comprehension.

Pivotal points and issues also make these past stories so relevant. We have the inclusion of minority characters who are trying to improve their living standards through education, and even when they are in college or have just graduated, it seems that opportunities are few, since someone else higher up has already rung up the ladder of success.

Attempts to handle these circumstances, through student protests to improve living conditions and educational opportunities at Empire State University and through one's desperate attempt to take on a masked villain alter-ego to create fear, thus respect, from the big wheels of society, seem no less primitive in this day and age. And we still often wonder if there is any way that a pacifist can truly create change in a society where change is truly needed.