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allmadhere106's review against another edition
3.0
This is a great collection of the original Spider-Man comics. It gives the story from the beginning, and while my collector's heart loves that, I also found it a little boring. I don't know if it's because I've heard these stories so many times before through interviews or whatnot, or if it's because I read the comics from the reboot first and I found them more action-packed. Either way, I'm glad that this exists from a historical standpoint, but I didn't really enjoy it in terms of reading for fun. I can see how it would have been ground-breaking at the time it was created, but I think for myself that the newer editions are favored, no matter how much that hurts me to say. I would recommend this if you want some historical background into your Spidey, but I would also recommend taking it a little slowly and not trying to force your way through it like I ended up doing. That would probably have made all the difference. I'll try reading it again for sure, but it didn't really wow me.
sonofatreus's review against another edition
4.0
Obviously what Lee/Ditko started here is unimpeachable. Spider-Man is a great character almost from the jump. There are some great villains, even early on, and the side characters are all pretty fun. Flash is a classic mid-century bully; J. Jonah Jameson presaged an Alex Jones-type eerily well. The art is all pretty well great. Some characters get a little less detail, like the Lizard, but the colors do enough to make it all pop. It's also really fun to see them work their way into who and what Spider-Man will be. He suddenly has new abilities that are quickly explained into existence, and he uses gadgets in fun, sometimes weird ways (like a Spider-Light to alert criminals that he's arrived).
That said, I always forget how wordy these early comics can be. With Spider-Man already doing a lot of internal monologuing and joking, it makes for a slow, sometimes tedious read. And not all the villains are good in this first collection. The Enforcers, in the last issue of the bunch, are particularly bad (they include Fancy Dan, an expert in Judo, and Montana, who has a lasso).
This collection made me re-appreciate the various film adaptations, particularly the Raimi ones which lean on the first few issues pretty heavily. They newest ones draw from these early comics too in some ways, like Flash being a big part of the stories, but they've also modernized the stories the most.
That said, I always forget how wordy these early comics can be. With Spider-Man already doing a lot of internal monologuing and joking, it makes for a slow, sometimes tedious read. And not all the villains are good in this first collection. The Enforcers, in the last issue of the bunch, are particularly bad (they include Fancy Dan, an expert in Judo, and Montana, who has a lasso).
This collection made me re-appreciate the various film adaptations, particularly the Raimi ones which lean on the first few issues pretty heavily. They newest ones draw from these early comics too in some ways, like Flash being a big part of the stories, but they've also modernized the stories the most.
jayspa65's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Reading this took me back to my pre-teenage years back in the 70's. Every Saturday I'd get my allowance ($1!) and walk to the local 7-11 and buy three comic books and a Slurpee. Walking back I'd usually have at least one of them read. Spider-Man was always my favorite. Those were great times and reading this brought back such vivid, happy memories. This was truly a magical book! Can't wait to read the next volume.
mrsprongs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
reneandreas's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fun and interesting read if you’ve made Spider-Man a large part of your personality for the better part of 20 years. It’s always interesting to see how your favorite characters came about, and what kind of stories they were involved in.
The first issue of this collection of Spidey stories is Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of the first Spider-Man. It tells the story all of us know by now: Peter Parker is a nerd who gets bullied sometimes and then is bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him the powers of a spider, such as his famous spider sense and the proportionate strength of a spider. With his new powers, he seeks fame in the pursuit of money until a crook pursuited by an officer runs past him and escapes. When asked why Peter didn’t stop the robber, he replies “that it’s not his problem and he’s got to look out for number one - himself!” The criminal then goes to commit more crimes in the same day, one ending with Uncle Ben’s death and Spider-Man learns the single greatest lesson of his life: “With great power, comes with great responsibility.”
The following issues of the then-new monthly series, The Amazing Spider-Man, sees Peter Parker try to juggle his teenage life with his superhero life, as well as try to make some money to help his Aunt May as a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle and using science and smarts to defeat some of his villains, like the Vulture and the Lizard.
The issues reminded me of Saturday morning cartoons, as they loosely thread each issue into the next, and each new issue is a sort of villain of the week story, some of which are enjoyable, and some of which are less enjoyable.
In addition, the dialogue is a lot… to read. There’s so many words on each page and so many tiny panels that it gets annoying and starts to not be fun to read, but that’s a personal nitpick. I could definitely see how Spider-Man found his success at the time, as he’s an invert of what people associated with superheroes at the time, and understand that these stories were not made with the intention of being read one after the other, but that won’t stop me from complaining.
All in all, this book is great time capsule to see how comics were written in the 60s, and a great read for anyone curious, like me, to see how Peter Parker’s story began. I’ll definitely check out the following issues, but not any time soon. I need a break.
The first issue of this collection of Spidey stories is Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of the first Spider-Man. It tells the story all of us know by now: Peter Parker is a nerd who gets bullied sometimes and then is bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him the powers of a spider, such as his famous spider sense and the proportionate strength of a spider. With his new powers, he seeks fame in the pursuit of money until a crook pursuited by an officer runs past him and escapes. When asked why Peter didn’t stop the robber, he replies “that it’s not his problem and he’s got to look out for number one - himself!” The criminal then goes to commit more crimes in the same day, one ending with Uncle Ben’s death and Spider-Man learns the single greatest lesson of his life: “With great power, comes with great responsibility.”
The following issues of the then-new monthly series, The Amazing Spider-Man, sees Peter Parker try to juggle his teenage life with his superhero life, as well as try to make some money to help his Aunt May as a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle and using science and smarts to defeat some of his villains, like the Vulture and the Lizard.
The issues reminded me of Saturday morning cartoons, as they loosely thread each issue into the next, and each new issue is a sort of villain of the week story, some of which are enjoyable, and some of which are less enjoyable.
In addition, the dialogue is a lot… to read. There’s so many words on each page and so many tiny panels that it gets annoying and starts to not be fun to read, but that’s a personal nitpick. I could definitely see how Spider-Man found his success at the time, as he’s an invert of what people associated with superheroes at the time, and understand that these stories were not made with the intention of being read one after the other, but that won’t stop me from complaining.
All in all, this book is great time capsule to see how comics were written in the 60s, and a great read for anyone curious, like me, to see how Peter Parker’s story began. I’ll definitely check out the following issues, but not any time soon. I need a break.
jdauer5's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed learning more about the origins of Peter "Palmer," Aunt May, and other Spiderman pillars, but this is a long collection of comics
asacinski's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
wuxian31's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
evanc's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0