Ultimate Spider-Man Collection - Barnes & Noble Edition [Hardcover]

Product Details

• Hardcover: 992 pages
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books; Limited Edition edition (2004)
• ISBN-10: 0760761337
• ISBN-13: 978-0760761335
• Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 10 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #910,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The new and improved comic book version of Spider-Man, August 30, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man Collection - Barnes & Noble Edition (Hardcover)

You know, I think "Ultimate Spider-Man" might be my favorite Spider-Man comic book, even more so that "The Amazing Spider-Man." It is a toss-up between Brian Michael Bendis and J. Michael Straczynski, the two writers for those respective comic books, but what tips the scale might simply be that I like Spider-Man as a teenager superhero, struggling with doing the right thing. I also like the premise of "Ultimate Spider-Man," which was to update the character for the 21st century by going back and starting over from the beginning. However, this time Peter Parker is a bit younger, Mary Jane Watson is there from the beginning as the girl next door, and the story lines are clearly cognizant of what Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, John Romita Sr., and everybody that came in their considerable wake did with the character. The modern marketing ploy of turning issues into trade paperbacks also benefits the story lines because the multi-part stories mean that there is not a different villain every single month (which is how you end up with the likes of the Terrible Tinkerer).

This first volume in the "Ultimate Spider-Man Collection" collects the first three hardback volumes of the "Ultimate Spider-Man," which contain the first six trade paperback collections, which gives you the first 39 issues of the comic book. The art is pencils by Mark Bagley and inks by Art Theibert (and other diverse hands):

"Power and Responsibility" (issues #1-7) takes its time in developing the origin of Spider-Man. That infamous radioactive spider is the creation of Osborn Industries, the pet project of Norman Osborn and one of his chief scientists, Dr. Otto Octavius. Osborn is extremely interested in why young Peter Parker does not die after the bite and the creation of the Green Goblin becomes a direct consequence of the fateful spider bite. In time I am sure we will see the birth of Doctor Octopus will come from this as well.

"Learning Curve" (#8-13) has to do with Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. the Kingpin, who catches Peter Parker's attention. Spider-Man tries to bring down the secretive crime lord, but is way over his head as a superhero. The Kingpin proves this by taking about a half dozen pages to defeat Spider-Man and toss his unconscious body out the window. Spider-Man's early attempts at crime fighter are so inept that he actually contributes to the idea that Spider-Man is a criminal, making it easy for J. Jonah Jameson to trash the hero in "The Daily Bugle." In the end it is as much Peter Parker as his alter-ego that scores an initial, tentative victory over the Kingpin; plus Spider-Man's verbal battle with the Kingpin is a minor comedic gem.

"Double Trouble" (14-21) introduces us to the Gwen Stacy of this storyline, who is big on the mascara and perfectly willing to pull a switchblade on a bully, both of which are completely valid reasons for Peter to have his eyes pop out of his head when he looks at her. Not even her police Captain father can reign in this blonde tornado. Meanwhile, Spider-Man has two villains after him, namely Doctor Octopus, who has come out of his coma to discover his tentacles are fused to his skin, and Kraven the Hunter, who is now a reality television star from Down Under.

"Legacy" (#22-26) brings back he new and evolved Green Goblin (more Hulk-like this time around) and the question of Peter Parker's secret identity. The Goblin knows the truth, but instead of trying to kill Spider-Man he has a different plan, of sorts, for Peter.

"Public Scrutiny" (issues #28-32) does not involve a fight with a super villain but focuses instead on Peter Parker being Spider-Man, an issue that is addressed on multiple levels, from Peter being distracted at school and Mary Jane having a hard time handling being constantly worried about Peter getting hurt. Then Spider-Man has a bad encounter with the police who are gunning for him because he has been robbing banks and killing police officers. Somebody is impersonating Spider-Man, which is just another part of the growing headache for our hero.

"Venom" (#33-39) begins when Captain Stacy is killed while in pursuit of a burglar who had gone on a crime spree posing as Spider-Man, leaving Aunt May to give Gwen a place to live. Meanwhile, after defeating the burglar who has been posing as Spider-Man, Peter is stunned when Mary Jane breaks up with him, unable to stand the pressure of knowing his secret. In the wake of that shock Peter connects with Eddie Brock, now a student at Empire State University. It seems Peter and Eddie's dad worked together at the lab and Peter thinks Eddie would like a copy of a videotape of their families enjoying a picnic. Eddie is touched, and has something to show Peter as well, something he calls their "inheritance."

I really believe that those of us who know the original stories are in the best position to appreciate the way these "re-tellings" play off of the original, because there is always some sort of key twist that makes the old stories decidedly new. Yes, Peter's personal life smacks of "Dawson's Creek," but there is nothing wrong with that. I especially like the way his secret identity is handled, not just with MJ but also with Nick Fury (especially with the idea that when he turns 18, Spider-Man belongs to the government). The "Spider-Man" movies have helped accepted MJ as the girl next door, instead of the redheaded bombshell she was when she originally arrived on the scene. Given the pacing of these stories, I can see how these collections might be preferable to reading an issue a month since the stories are almost always 5-6 issues long, and if you passed on the comic books, the trade paperbacks, and the first hardback collections, you have to think it is not going to get much bigger than this one.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tough to top this, March 30, 2006

By 

Professional Strong Man (Selinsgrove, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man Collection - Barnes & Noble Edition (Hardcover)

I recently received this as a gift from my son and I really appreciate it. I had already read the first thirteen issues of USM (through the Kingpin storyline) and found the revisions/updates to be quite interesting and surprising at times. If you've ever read the first 20 or so issues of ASM from the 1960s, the same villains show up in pretty much the same order. I enjoyed the updates on the villains as well as the revised origin of Spider Man.

That being said, I was not familiar with the remaining issues in this tome (yes, it is a tome - its a big freakin' book!) but from what I have seen they are just as wonderful an update. I really enjoyed the revised twists on Harry Osborn and Eddie Brock. They were much more plausible than the original ASM storylines way-back-when. And almost losing Mary Jane in USM the way Gwen Stacy was lost in ASM??? Had me on the edge of my seat. If you're familiar with the 1960s through 1980s Spider Man, this is definitely a much more realistic take on a teenage superhero just trying to find his place in the world.

The artwork is excellent and this is a truly high quality book. Excellent paper stock and coloring compliment the artwork. A true collector's edition that will tolerate several readings as well as look great on the bookshelf. This is a keeper - do yourself one favor though and shop around. At $50 retail price, it may be cost prohibitive for some (my son found it half price and got a 35% discount on top of that).

So far I've stuck with USM and the Ultimates in the Ultimate Marvel line - all I can say so far is, Excelsior!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Spider-man for our times, January 11, 2007

By 

Robert Frost (TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man Collection - Barnes & Noble Edition (Hardcover)

This collection puts the first 39 (I think) issues of Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley's brilliant version of the story of Spider-man into one treasure of a tome.

Brian and Mark are two very prolific creators. Brian writes several of Marvel comics most successful books, every month, and Mark pumps out gorgeous pages faster than almost all other artists. They will forever be known for their work on this series. Together they've done over 104 issues - the longest continuous run on a single Marvel book by a single creative team.

No one can capture emotion better than Mark Bagley and no one can capture dialogue better than Brian Bendis. Although full of the expected comic book superhero action, this series also captures the reality of being a teenager - if after reading this book you don't feel that you've known Peter Parker all your life, then you never will.