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A review by dantastic
Untold Tales of Spider-Man Omnibus by Alexi Taylor, Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, Terese Nielsen, Paul Lee, G.L. Lawrence, Kurt Busiek, Greg Loundon
4.0
Untold Tales of Spider-Man Omnibus collects Amazing Fantasy 16-18, Untold Tales of Spider-Man 1-25, -1, annuals 1996 and 1997, and material from Amazing Spider-Man Annual 37.
I read a handful of these as they were coming out and the 1996 annual is one of my favorite single issues of all time. This was on my radar forever and I jumped on it when InstockTrades.com had it marked down to $35.
The 1990s were kind of a shit show for comics and Spider-Man didn't escape the splatter with the clone saga, Maximum Carnage, and other events. With chaos in the main Spidey books and Ben Reily seemingly the real Spidey, Kurt Busiek and Pat Oliffe's Untold Tales of Spider-Man was touted as a breath of fresh air.
Set during Spider-Man's first couple years in action, Kurt Busiek and Pat Oliffe crafted some back to basics, no baggage Spider-Man tales. Busiek did a great job walking the tightrope between the early Amazing Spider-Man issues, telling compelling stories without upsetting the apple cart.
In this tome, Spidey takes on old favorites like Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and the Vulture, new threats like Supercharger, Scorcher, and The Headsman, and established villains with no connection to Spider-Man like Radioactive Man, The Eel, and the Human Top. The supporting cast is fleshed out a bit, giving new depth to Flash Thompson and Liz Allan, and establishing new supporting characters like Sally (who I think was in one or two panels in early Spider-Man comics), Tiny, and Jason.
Pat Oliffe's art wasn't flashy for the time period, modern but still subdued enough that it felt right for the bulk of these neo-Silver Age tales. The tales feel Silver Age but with modern sensibilities. I like that Busiek wove things into Spider-Man's history without contradicting anything and even used some of Stan Lee's dialog snafus to launch new stories, like Aunt May calling Mrs. Watson Mrs. Watkins being symptoms of impending health problems.
I really don't have any gripes about this book. It's a mammoth tome at 800 pages but I'd read 800 more.
Untold Tales of Spider-Man Omnibus is a perfect companion to the early Stan Lee/Steve Ditko issues of Amazing Spider-Man. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I read a handful of these as they were coming out and the 1996 annual is one of my favorite single issues of all time. This was on my radar forever and I jumped on it when InstockTrades.com had it marked down to $35.
The 1990s were kind of a shit show for comics and Spider-Man didn't escape the splatter with the clone saga, Maximum Carnage, and other events. With chaos in the main Spidey books and Ben Reily seemingly the real Spidey, Kurt Busiek and Pat Oliffe's Untold Tales of Spider-Man was touted as a breath of fresh air.
Set during Spider-Man's first couple years in action, Kurt Busiek and Pat Oliffe crafted some back to basics, no baggage Spider-Man tales. Busiek did a great job walking the tightrope between the early Amazing Spider-Man issues, telling compelling stories without upsetting the apple cart.
In this tome, Spidey takes on old favorites like Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and the Vulture, new threats like Supercharger, Scorcher, and The Headsman, and established villains with no connection to Spider-Man like Radioactive Man, The Eel, and the Human Top. The supporting cast is fleshed out a bit, giving new depth to Flash Thompson and Liz Allan, and establishing new supporting characters like Sally (who I think was in one or two panels in early Spider-Man comics), Tiny, and Jason.
Pat Oliffe's art wasn't flashy for the time period, modern but still subdued enough that it felt right for the bulk of these neo-Silver Age tales. The tales feel Silver Age but with modern sensibilities. I like that Busiek wove things into Spider-Man's history without contradicting anything and even used some of Stan Lee's dialog snafus to launch new stories, like Aunt May calling Mrs. Watson Mrs. Watkins being symptoms of impending health problems.
I really don't have any gripes about this book. It's a mammoth tome at 800 pages but I'd read 800 more.
Untold Tales of Spider-Man Omnibus is a perfect companion to the early Stan Lee/Steve Ditko issues of Amazing Spider-Man. 4.5 out of 5 stars.