Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 [Hardcover]

Stan Lee (Author), Steve Ditko (Author)

Book Description

Series: Marvel Masterworks (Numbered) | Publication Date: September 2003

Celebrate Marvel's 70th anniversary by experiencing the tales of the world's most-famous super heroes from the very beginning! The Marvel Masterworks have brought readers deluxe hardcover collections of Marvel's classics from the Golden Age, Atlas Era, and the mighty Marvel Age, and now you can join in the Masterworks excitement with our new, monthly Marvel Masterworks trade paperbacks. In 1962 in the pages of a comic book slated for cancellation, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko gave birth to one of the most-enduring icons in American popular culture - the one and only Amazing Spider-Man! Turning the concept of a super hero on its head, they imbued the young, guilt-ridden Peter Parker with the fantastic powers of an arachnid and the fantastic pressures of an everyday teenager. The combination was pure magic. So join us in the following pages as we present stories of spectacular, web-slinging adventure from Spidey's very beginning! Collects Amazing Spider-Man #11-19 & Annual #1.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Entertainment Group (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785112642
• ISBN-13: 978-0785112648
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lee and Ditko make Spider-Man's life much more complicated, April 13, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

The second ten issues collected in "Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2" are better than the first ten issues collected in Volume 1. Of course, you cannot appreciate the second ten issues without having read the first ten issues, so do not think that you should begin your appreciation of Spider-Man with this second volume. Unlike the "Essential Spider-Man, Volume 1," which combines all of the aforementioned comic book stories in a single volume, these reprints are in color. Either way one of the things that stands out in these issues is the outstanding artwork of Steve Ditko. I was never really a fan of the way Ditko drew people, but his compositional skills are absolutely first rate.

In these ten issues Stan Lee and Ditko consistently work in all of the familiar elements that made Spider-Man the most popular comic book superhero of the 1960s. Peter Parker loves Betty Bryant, but when her brother is shot during a fight she ends up blaming Spider-Man (#11), showing that when it comes to the romance department our hero rarely has any good luck. To add to his troubles Spider-Man is "Unmasked by Dr. Octopus" (#12), has to tangle with both the Green Goblin and the Incredible Hulk (#14), teams up with Daredevil to battle the Ringmaster (#16), has to deal with a supervillain created specifically by J. Jonah Jameson ("The Coming of the Scorpion," #20), has to worry about poor old frail Aunt May (#17), and even ends up seeing a psychiatrist because Mysterio is driving him crazy (#13). For Spider-Man, being a superhero is not all it is cracked up to be.

One of the improvements in this second collection is that we are dealing with the best of Spider-Man's villains: Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, and the Scorpion, with Dr. Octopus and the Green Goblin appearing in two issues apiece. This is a big improvement over the Terrible Tinkerer and crossover bad guys like Dr. Doom. Stan Lee is writing better stories about both Spider-Man and his secret identity, creating a situation that is more and more complex. The predictability of these stories is getting less and less as Lee goes out of his way to keep taking things in new directions. But keep in mind: this is not the best of The Amazing Spider-Man by Lee and Ditko; that is yet to come (that would be the Master Planner/Doctor Octopus trilogy in issues #31-33, which means you have to wait for Masterworks Volume 4).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great early comics for my son, March 24, 2010

By 

cw "cw" (austin texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 2 (Marvel Masterworks) (Paperback)

Oh this is great stuff. I forgot how good the early spidermans were. I'm getting to relive them as I read them to my son at night. These are great stories that don't have the same violence as the new comics. Yes Spidey still fights but its not gorey or frightening for my young son and he loves it.
Fantastic introduction to comic book superheros. Many of the good guys and bad guys make appearances in these early comics.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatness continued..., February 1, 2011

By 

Cozzster - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 2 (Marvel Masterworks) (Paperback)

This volume picks up where the first left off and continues to bring the greatness.

This collects amazing spider-man 11-19 and the annual. Here we find more Dr. Octopus, Kraven, Green Goblin, and even a cameo by the Hulk. The annual of course, brings us spider-man's real test of his endurance as he battles the sinister six.

Overall, this is great quality work on high quality printed pages and beautifully restores what stan lee and steve ditko worked so hard to create. The only thing I do not like so much is how there are so many full (packed to the brim) word balloons and everyone always has to say something. This was just stan's way of writing back then and if you are new to these it may be overpowering, but just take your time and you will enjoy the stories and the character he builds along with Ditko.

Highly recommend this to anyone looking to read about spider-man.