Reviews

Essential The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 by Stan Lee

hisabelbide's review against another edition

5.0

The fascinating thing about Spider-man is how functional his drama is right from the start. Amazing Fantasy #15 doesn't even have him fight a villain, playing out more a horror story of a teenager learning the grave cost of greed.

But when it does become a villain of the month rag, it's the best to ever do it. Many heroes had reboots in the 80s, Amazing Spider-Man just piled on plot with arcs like Kraven's Last Hunt and Venom, Marriages and melodrama. All the way here at the start, in the 60s, there are constant character hooks left hanging issue to issue, building and complicating and convoluting the personal lives of these characters. It is invisible here in these first twenty issues, where villains like Doc Ock, Electro, Vulture, Kraven, Sandman, Green Goblin, The Lizard, Chameleon, all steal the show with their iconic looks and legitimate logic challenges to Spidey's skillset, but down the line as you get your lesser known Molten Man or Kangaroo those character hooks will keep you from skipping stories. Tarantula may inspire little curiosity, but you'll be glad you checked in on the JJ subplot, which builds towards a cooler complication in two issues. Camp and all it's just extremely digestible writing, worth study and admiration.

nomadtla's review

4.0

While I have been a Spider-Man fan off and on since the 90's I had never read how it all began. Sure we all know the origin but I wanted to kind of go back in time and see how Spidey/Peter was characterized back then.

This is a fantastic way to get those early stories that would be way to pricey to buy in their original form. There is also a lot of content here. My one complaint is that they were totally in black and white but still not bad to get the first 21 Spider-Man stories for $10-15.

The stories themselves are obviously dated with cultural touchstones that are lost on anyone without some sense of history. There is a ton of exposition and description used in these early days of comics. So much so that you kind of get tired of reading Spidey's thoughts on why he is shooting webs at a villains arms. It ties them up. We get it. Overall though this book is a lot of fun and a neat little time capsule into the character, the world he inhabits, and even the world of the readers of the 1960's. Definitely worth a read if you're interested in the character or pop culture of the time.

coolnameguy's review

3.0

Honestly, like most of its era, the original Spidey comics really don't hold up at all, visually or story-wise. What is here has its moments however, introducing some of one of the best rogues galleries in comics, some solid character moments for Peter, the obvious historical significance. It's worth a read, or at least a skim, if you really want the knowledge, and it's better than most of its time, but it's still not that great anymore.

housedesignerking's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

** spoiler alert ** I've never really read anything Spider-Man before this compilation aside from part of the 'Maximum Carnage' compilation book. Aside from that, anything I knew about this superhero came from the handful of animated episodes I've seen or from the original trilogy staring Tobey Maguire. That's... really not a lot to go on. There's so much about this series that I did not know. I didn't list it all.

J. Jonah Jameson's first appearance was in the comic's debut. He apparently has a son that I've never even heard of. I mean, I always figured the character had a family of some kind, but I don't remember hearing about his astronaut son anywhere. Jameson also apparently used to have 2 newspapers. Along with 'The Daily Bugle', he also had 'Now.'

'Issue #1' does not really have a villain aside from the man who murders Parker's uncle Ben. It's broken into two parts, much like the debut in 'Amazing Fantasy.' In part one, J. Jonah Jameson's son's storyline is introduced. He's an astronaut and the capsule that dislodges from the rest of the ship and son Jameson can't control it. It hurdles back to Earth because the guidance device went with the rest of the ship. It doesn't have a villain until part 3.

'Issue #1, Part 3:' The first villain is "The Chameleon." He's an interesting villain that somehow has the ability to become whoever/whatever he wants to be. First, Spider-Man breaks into the 'Fantastic Four' headquarters to show them what he can do. He has this hair-brained idea that his inclusion could change them to the Fantastic Five. When that doesn't work, the part with the villain comes. The villain morphs himself into looking like Spider-Man and steals missile defense plans. I was a little confused about Peter's approach to them. He was cocky, cocksure, and arrogant. *shrugs*

'Issue #2, Part 1:' "The Vulture." He has the ability to fly with the wings that are not a part of him. They were something he built after studying the science of how birds fly. He's full of himself and his thoughts tend to be self-praising. At one point, he thinks with pride about how no one knows how he can fly. The villain is determined to steal the diamonds being shipped by the 'Park Avenue Jewelry Exchange.'

'Issue #3:' "Dr. Octopus." Later known as 'Doc Oc,' Otto Octavius uses this creepy device that he straps around his middle that has four metal arm-like things that can spread out from him. Attached to these metal arm-like things are individual claws. This was one of the comics about him that inspired 'Spider-Man 2.' He's kind of eerie and the fusing of the device to his body is a bit disturbing (lol). Spider-Man is thinking that he wants a real challenge. He's a bit bored only working on local thugs who are trying to rob convenience stores (just an example). He gets his challenge in the form of 'Doc Oc.'

'Issue #4:' "The Sandman." This villain was a stroke of genius by Stan Lee. A villain made of sand that could do pretty much everything sand can do, up to and including becoming sandstone definitely comes across as a tricky villain to the reader. The villain can't really be hurt if he turns the part of his body about to be attacked into soft sand. The Spider-Man mask gets torn during a fall and he has to flee to fix his mask, lest the villain exposes him.

'Issue #5:' "Dr. Doom." He was one of the most conceited villains in volume 1. Somewhat annoyingly, in fact. Apparently, he fought the 'Fantastic Four' multiple times. The mask of this one makes him look constantly shocked… This is the first comic where Jameson's "Daily Bugle" makes an appearance. Dr. Doom wants to lure Spider-Man out and does so by using spider sensory to activate Spider-Man's tingling Spider-sense. Flash Thompson dresses up as Spider-Man in a rouse to spook Peter Parker. His plan backfires and in a case of mistaken identity, is kidnapped by Dr. Doom. I'm not sure what I really think of Flash, yet. He's a punk, but idk what else to think of him.

'Issue #6:' "The Lizard." A very creative and ambitious, yet admittedly depressing, backstory is that of this villain. A scientist with only one arm strives to find a way to regrow limbs becomes a little too obsessed with the idea of making one of the greatest contributions to medical science. It works on a rabbit without any side effects, but turns the scientist into a lizard man. This isn't so much a story about a villain as much as it is a medical accident. This is the most unique comic in this compilation, I would say. Sometimes you don't need more action to tell a story, and this one is a prime example of that.

'Issue #7:' "The Vulture" (Returns). This one had me scratching my head a bit when somehow Spider-Man inexplicably was able to save himself while falling off of a building. Not very believable. In the rematch with The Vulture, Spider-Man sprains his right arm, which makes it very difficult for the second rematch. It does, however, create a clever cover-up if anyone suspects him of being the superhero. On the 9th page of this comic, I laughed out loud because of the fifth drawing. Parker, in his Spider-Man suit without the mask is using his spider-ability to hang from the ceiling. He had just come home from his first rematch with this issue's villain and his Aunt May hears the noise of him coming in through the bathroom window. Honestly, the part of the drawing with him looks like he's touching himself – if you catch my drift – and it almost looks like the perfect picture for an "almost caught" meme. Yes, I know. I'm horrible (lol).

'Issue #8, part 1:' "The Living Brain." This one gave me black and white corny-ish horror movie vibes. Like I wanted to watch a really, really old alien movie after reading this one, but it wasn't the most entertaining issue. A robot is brought over from the I.C.M. Corporation by Mr. Petty. The robot doesn't talk and causes Spider-Man's thoughts to take the place of dialogue. I got the impression that the robot was just unsafe and was just making movements and walking in a way that could have harmed students more than I did that the robot was acting of its own accord. I will say that I found the part where the teacher tells Flash and Peter to go to the gymnasium to battle out their dislike for each other in a boxing ring that is inexplicably there to be a bit hard to believe. That teacher would be put on a suspension while an investigation would probably, ultimately lead to his dismissal if this were to occur in real life.

'Issue #8 part 2' doesn't have any villains. It's with the 'Fantastic Four'. Honestly, I think this was Lee's way of building on a sort-of feud that Spider-Man has with 'The Human Torch.' I guess this stems from issue #1, part 3. I was kind of scratching my head over this one. I don't really understand the teenage hostility that Spider-Man seems to have for the 'Fantastic Four,' or more directly, to 'The Human Torch.' There's really no backstory for it (or reason, frankly) aside from …maybe he didn't get them to change their name to the 'Fantastic Five' by including him. I guess it's supposed to come off as teenage angst? *shrugs*

'Issue #9' "Electro." Looking at him, I couldn't help but wonder if the makers of the original 150 Pokémon got inspiration from this villain for 'Zapdos.' This was much better than issue #8, part 2. With issue #9, Lee returned to the goodness that was Issues 0 – 8, part 1. Zapdos – excuse me, I meant 'Electro' :p – is something of a scientific anomaly. He has the ability to 'recharge' himself by absorbing electricity and surviving. His first act as new villain is to steal gold from an armored car ("For the luvva Pete!! What's that?" asked one of the guards. Gotta love vintage sayings.) Aunt May has become ill and needs surgery. It's not really said why she needs a blood transfusion or surgery. Peter provides some and worries that he may transfer some of his spider abilities to her. One negative comment is that this was billed as the first time Spider-Man was "defeated."… but that's not true because if you go back to Doc Oc's debut in issue 3, that one was billed as 'the only enemy to ever defeat Spider-Man." *shrugs*

'Issue #10:' "The Enforcers." The first issue to have more than one villain. A team of four. There's 'The Ox,' 'Montana,' 'Fancy Dan,' and 'The Big Man.' The last one doesn't possess any special abilities. He's just the boss. It's a bit un-Spider-Man-like. These four villains aren't exactly villains as much as they are criminals. They're a gang. In a way, this one was a bit of a let-down. In this one, Aunt May goes for a trip with some of their neighbors, and Spider-Man starts to suspect that Jameson's reason for hating him just might be that he's the head of 'The Enforcers.' Peter decides the best way to get them to stop is to brag that he knows who the head of their villain team is, and gets himself kidnapped. It is also announced in this issue why Jameson hates Spider-Man so much.

Issue #11 "Dr. Octopus," returns. By this point, Parker has found himself romantically (and otherwise) interested in Betty, the girl who works for J. Jonah Jameson as his secretary. Peter finds she's got a secret that is very concerning. Doc Oc has returned to enact his revenge on Spider-Man for their last encounter.

'Issue #12' is also with Dr. Octopus. It's billed as the unmasking of Spider-Man, and I admittedly found myself having that child-like curiosity and desire reaction of: "Wait, what? How does that happen?!" Again, I can't really give a synopsis and it's for the same reason given for issue #12.

'Issue #13' has Mysterio. I've heard of him somewhere before, but I can't place my finger on where/when. Spider-Man seems to be committing crimes. This stresses Peter out when he's worrying about his Aunt's bank account. They're still running out of cash to pay for the mortgage. This villain's timing could be deemed as "sadistic." Lee wrote in that citizens thought this villain had a corny name and the corniness of the villain was only increased by his appearance. His appearance looks like someone thought it was a brilliant idea to make a Goth/Emo spaceman suit and give it a cape. The place where this villain's cape may hook on have these rectangles with artwork that looks like eyeballs to me. What's interesting (at least to me) is that Mysterio doesn't seem all that corny. He's a bit theatrical and dramatic, but not corny.

But speaking of corny…ish…

'Issue #14' includes a movie deal for Spider-Man and some villains. Hmm… This one introduces "The Green Goblin." "The Enforcers" return, and the Hulk shows up oddly. The return of 'The Enforcers' is anti-climactic. This one, I felt, made Peter look incredibly stupid. The Hulk's appearance was pretty much random. He appears and assumes that Spider-Man is his new enemy and won't listen to reason. I mean, the Hulk is supposedly hard-headed, so I suppose this is okay… The movie guy's last movie was called 'The Nameless Thing from the Black Lagoon in the Murky Swamp.' Wow...

Issue #15 "Kraven The Hunter," and "The Chameleon" returns. The latter is too scared or lazy to seek revenge himself so he calls upon Kraven, someone who has killed one of every beast and at the Chameleon's suggestion, wants man (Spider-Man) to be the next beast. Honestly, Kraven takes Dr. Doom's place as most annoying and conceited villain, and makes Dr. Doom more likeable. I didn't like Kraven at all.

The annual comic was very enjoyable. Doc Oc has an idea. He's going to have them all draw cards to see where they will go to battle Spider-Man. One by one, Spider-Man will have to defeat them to find the next card to find out where to go next. Matters are complicated when, due to depression, Peter loses his abilities. This is psychologically brilliant in a way. It definitely doesn't help matters that Betty and Aunt May are kidnapped by the sextet.

Issue #16 "The Ringmaster." Daredevil is in this one and going to a circus with his partner Nelson and his wife. At the circus, the villain hypnotizes everyone. Daredevil and Spidey fight because the villain makes him think Daredevil is his enemy. Honestly, the villain himself (Ringmaster) isn't altogether that impressive. He thinks he is "the bee's knees" as they said in the '60s, but his only trick is hypnotism. Then he tells his crew to do the rest. He's got one ability, which makes him more useful than 'The Big Man' of 'The Enforcers,' but not by much.

Issue #17 "The Green Goblin" (returns). While Flash Thompson is starting up a Spider-Man fan club and getting the ball rolling at a dinner club, Peter's Aunt May decides to set him up on a blind date. I really didn't understand his Aunt for this. It's like: he's already dating someone, woman! He is thinking about his future. Let him be!" Spider-Man's image isn't exactly great. He mistook a scene being filmed for a heist. The Green Goblin comes to the dinner club and everyone thinks its just a show.

Issue #18 and 19 "The Sandman" (returns again). Very difficult to not give away spoilers for this one.

And finally, Issue 20. Some "mysterious figure" followed Peter home at the end of the last issue. Jameson decides to pay a scientist to make someone stronger than Spider-Man. This was a bit of a shocking development. Way to go, Lee! This honestly came across as the best one in the series. It feels like the series gets more serious and on a certain vein after this one.

The writing of all of this is a bit fantastical, I noticed. Not too much, necessarily, but there are a lot of pretentious exclamation points. I think I heard that these eventually disappeared along with the contraptions that snapped to Peter's wrist for the web-like substance. Lee also tried calling the main character "Pete" starting in issue 6. That obviously didn't last very long. Peter was also a self-absorbed victim of bullying; meaning that the bullying made him feel a bit overly important just because he was himself. I can empathize with the feelings created by getting bullied, but the egotistical nature needed to go, and I'm glad that it does before the superhero even got his own comic. I'm a bit concerned to find out that the webbing in this version of Spider-Man is asbestos-treated. Especially concerning because researchers began to notice things regarding that stuff in the early 1900s.

I am going to give this 4 stars. It was definitely worth reading. 

birdmanseven's review

3.0

This was enjoyable and much more solid than its DC contemporaries. Still, its tough to read all at once. Most panels are 40% text. I prefer the more modern style of letting the images do some of the talking.

We discuss Stan Lee's body of work on a special episode of the All the Books Show Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-169-spotlight-on-stan-lee

beecatbell's review

4.0

A lot of fun. Spiderman is funny, the artwork isn't terrible, and some of the story lines are actually depressing and/or memorable.
There is also some bad art, cheesy story lines, and tacky villains, but.....
I love Spiderman.

adiosnonino's review against another edition

3.0

with great power!!!!