| Title | : | Essential Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 6 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0785113657 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780785113652 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 576 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2004 |
Essential Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 6 Reviews
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Thus begins the
Gerry Conway era with art from
John Romita Sr. and
Gil Kane. For each weak story in this volume there are many counterweights, the debuts of the Punisher (!), Hammerhead, Smasher, Disruptor, Man-Wolf and more!
Alas there was also the Spider-Mobile debut. But the huge news is the heartache around Harry Osborn's drug addiction(!) and the deaths of 2 huge characters in the Spiderverse. Did I not also mention Aunt May getting married? Soleley based on the highs, I have to give this volume 8 out of 12, Four Stars for the most important phase so far! I read the comic book reprints of Amazing Spider-Man #114-137, Amazing Spider-Man annual #9 and Giant Sized Spider-Man #1-2, that equate to this volume.
2014 read -
I desperately want to give this volume five stars because it contains The Amazing Spider-Man #121: The Night Gwen Stacy Died... also known as the first time a comicbook broke my damned heart... (Excuse me; I seem to have something in my eye...) Seriously, not only does this story still hold such power over me, decades later, that it still makes me cry, but it's a major turning point in the life of Peter Parker; perhaps THE turning point. The Spider-Man post Gwen's death is not the same guy as he was before.
The trouble is, this volume also contains one of the stupidest moments in Spidey history: the wedding of Aunt May and Dr. Octopus. Sigh... What the Hell was Gerry Conway smoking when he came up with that one?
I could, perhaps have ignored this piece of numbnutsery, but that isn't all. This volume also contains the biggest rip-off in Spidey's history. Issues 116 to 118 of The Amazing Spider-Man are just expanded, coloured reprints of the giant-sized, black and white first issue of The Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine from four years earlier. I guess Marvel thought Spidey fans' memories didn't go back that far...
Still, despite these two... abominations... this volume contains a whole bunch of cracking Spidey material that no fan should miss; including the very first appearance of the Punisher. You may have heard of him.
(Begrudgingly) four stars. -
Now this is classic Spider-man! We get great villains such as Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Morbius, Tarantula, Man-Wolf and even The Punisher. Peter deals with the drama of his Aunt May possibly marrying Ock and all the drama that writer Gerry Conway can throw at him from loves to loves lost, college classes and his job as photographer for the Daily Bugle working for Jameson who hates Spider-man with a passion.
Art is spectacular from Gil Kane, John Romita and Ross Andru. There is movement and great panel layout throughout this massive collection. We even get a Dracula appearance and one from Shang-Chi.
Just a wonderful period in the career of the wall-crawler. -
Update: Finished!
My project of reading all of ASM stalled out for a bit, but I'm back. With a vengeance! In pog form! All the ways you can be back, I'm those.
There are a few great things that happened in this volume, but first I wanted to say that I LOST MY LIST! I had this list I made of the issues I've read already and the ones I still need to read. And I recently supplemented with a list that showed a clear path through graphic novels/trade paperbacks so I wouldn't have to spend, I don't know $8 million on funnybooks. And now I can't find the damn thing. It's sad. The list wasn't the project, and I can remember where I've been already, but it's a real shame to lose the list.
I did a hard-target search of every paper pile, desk drawer, man purse slot and everywhere else I could think of. Did I look in the garbage? Maybe. Did I stop looking in the garbage when I touched a large, wet mass of something? Yes. Did I then work up the courage (be drunk) and take another run at it? You betcha.
Did I look at the crack between the bed and the couch? All over inside the car? In a giant recycle bin at work? In my coat pockets? All over my desk at work. Yes, yes, and more yes.
It's upsetting. And if you want to see me thrown into a rage, comment below with a suggestion of somewhere to look. Credit to my partner, Poonmaster Flex, for being very understanding in this dark time and not really suggesting I look here and there.
Anyway, some highlights.
+Spider-Mobile: A car company has invented some kind of rad new engine, and to promote it they want Spider-Man to drive around with it. Which sounds pretty stupid, and then you find out that not only is he supposed to demo the engine, he has to build the car himself! He recruits the Human Torch to help him out, and they come up with the Spider-Mobile. Which looks like a ridiculous beach buggy they would use back in the day when they did stuff like X-Men Bikini Specials or whatever.
Also, a Spider-Mobile would be totally awesome where I live, but completely stupid in Manhattan. Where the fuck are you going to park while you fight crime? Aren't you just going to be stuck all the time?
Oddly enough, the thing is pretty much forgotten almost right after it's introduced. I know it comes back later and is buried for good, but it's weird that the appearance is so brief. Until you start thinking outside the panels.
The story, possibly apocryphal, goes that Stan Lee was approached and told that the way to sell toys is to pair action figures with playsets, vehicles, stuff like that. So he told Gerry Conway to put a vehicle in the book. He didn't care how he did it, just do it. Conway made the same protests I did, also highlighting that Spider-Man's whole thing is swinging around between buildings, but Smilin' Stan was like, "Dude. Quit hassling me about this. Make a fuckin' car."
Not an exact quote. Not remotely.
What's funny is that when the Spider-Mobile is complete, Spider-Man calls it a "fiasco." He criticizes the ejector seat, a common staple in cool cars of the time, and when he takes it out for a drive, he realizes he's never driven a car before. Even in the comics, it's kind of a fuck-up.
Through its history, the Spider-Mobile was stolen by super apes, rebuilt by The Tinkerer, sunk in a river, and ultimately displayed at the Smithsonian somehow. Oh, and on Old Man Logan's alternate Earth, used to drive Logan and Hawkeye cross-country.
+The Death of Gwen Stacy
Sooo much has been said about this, so I won't belabor the whole thing. There are a couple things about it I do still find interesting.
For starts, I guess there was some question, at the time, about whether one could die simply from falling a long distance. Not by crashing into the ground, but that a long fall would kill you and you'd be dead before you hit the ground from shock or terror or from not breathing or whatever. This was back when, before you could just google something and find out if it was true. Looking at a little history, skydiving was a thing in the 60's, but it wasn't until the 70's that there was equipment designed for skydivers as opposed to skydivers using military surplus stuff. This issue originally cam out in 1973, so I guess there might have been some questions, but it's probably more a question of urban legend versus science, a case in which science doesn't always fare well.
Another weird thing, Peter Parker's girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, dies, and his supposed friends are getting all pissy that Parker is still upset about it like a MONTH later. Can you believe it? Parker is still sad about the violent death of his girlfriend a WHOLE MONTH after the fact?
But the strangest thing of all, the very next month we have a werewolf story. For some reason, John Jameson, son of J. Jonah, goes to the moon, gets a moon rock made into a necklace, and he starts turning into a werewolf when there's a full moon.
I mean, I was complaining about the science a second ago, and now that seems pretty stupid.
Spider-Man fights the werewolf, and he rips the moon rock off him. It's sort of embedded in his neck, and I guess this puts John Jameson in critical condition for some reason. Whatever.
The important thing is, Spider-Man rips a moon rock off a guy, a rock that's turning him into a werewolf, and what does he do with it?
I'll give you a few options.
A) He takes it to somewhat-friend Reed Richards, who has explored space and might know something about it.
B) He takes it to Doctor Strange, who also knows a thing or two about werewolves and is pretty accessibly seeing as he lives in Manhattan.
C) He hucks it into the East River without a second thought.
Seriously? What the hell? You just chuck it into the river, dust your hands off and say, "And that's the end of that chapter"?
And then you're surprised when it comes back into play like three issues later? C'mon.
Look, Spidey. It's a pain in the ass, but when it's time for me to take out the garbage (literally take a bag of trash out to the dumpster) I don't just throw it into another room, dust my hands off and walk away, assuming it's all good now. That's pretty lazy, sir.
But what's REALLY interesting is that this is the story that happens RIGHT AFTER the death of Gwen Stacy, a story that's still talked about in Spider-Man lore to this day.
Maybe they were going for something lighter and sillier after such a heavy tale. Or maybe they didn't really know at the time that this story would have such an impact.
It's handled really differently than it would be today. I don't think we'd follow up the death of a key character with a werewolf story, that's for sure. We'd DEFINITELY get a long-ass funeral/remembrance issue. When J. Jonah Jameson's wife Marla died in ASM #654, the following issue was completely guided by the event. She was a lot more minor than Gwen Stacy.
Anyhoo, just a couple things that were interesting about the event in context.
[original review]
Haha, okay, there are some things that warrant a review-in-progress here.
We've got this bad guy, the Disruptor! And he's the biggest dick and the biggest idiot. He's the biggest of two things.
He hired a scientist to build him this evil, super-strong, remote-controlled man thing, and what does he do the moment the scientist is finished?
Disruptor: "GIVE ME THAT REMOTE!"
Scientist: "Dude, totally. Here."
Disruptor: "Now that I'm in charge, nothing can go wrong."
Scientist: "Okay. I mean, I can tell you how that remote works. I created an impossible being who should not exist, so if you wanna know how it works kinda-"
Disruptor: "SILENCE, FOOL! Only imbeciles take directions from dolts such as yourself. Why don't you go back to creating impossible science miracles or something and leave the real work to a man."
Disruptor: "FULL POOOOOOOWER!"
Disruptor: "Oh balls! This thing is way too powerful! How do I stop it!?"
Scientist: "Push the stop button! That's what I wanted to tell you about!"
Disruptor: "Yes, yessss. Thanks to the genius of The Disruptor, your rampage has stopped, beast. You'll only destroy a few more priceless machines before you run out of energy. And to be clear, I stopped you. Me. The Disruptor."
Disruptor: "Alright, I'ma practice. In the meantime, just remember that you're totally my bitch, giant monster that totally almost killed me and who I don't know how to operate." -
One of the best volumes collecting important issues such as The Night Gwen Stacey Died, The Goblin's Last Stand and My Uncle My Enemy. Spider mobile is also really fun (despite looking like a cheap version of bat mobile) and there were a lot of guest characters like the Punisher and Human Torch. A great volume that shouldn't be missed.
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Definitely an improvement over the first almost 100 issues. Spidey isn't as mopey, his relationships are better fleshed out, and at one point, he briefly gives p on being Supider-man, which I would've done a while ago. It' still obnoxious and unrealistic just HOW much people loathe Spider-man and are quick to assume every wrong-doing is his fault, no matter how much they praise him before or after. It wqas still kinda boring throughout, however, and for fairly obvious reasons, it's hard to get super-attached to pete and Gwen as a thing, besides the fact that they don't do much besides say "I love you" a bunch, I honestly think Pete and MJ have more immediate chemistry, an they barely talk. Gil Kane's art is very underrated. Also, i do not look forward to finishing these and having to seek out individual issues cuz marvel just stopped.
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A collection of twenty-two issues of classic Spider-Man tales from the 1970s.
This book sees Spider-Man trying to cope with not only the deaths of his enemy Norman Osborn and his beloved Gwen Stacy but also with being blamed for their murders. Meanwhile his best friend Harry Osborn descends into a hell of drug abuse and madness.
Spidey confronts foes as diverse as the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Hammerhead, Morbius and Man-Wolf, as well as finding new allies in Shang-Chi and the Punisher.
This book couldn't be more 70s if it tried, marking a notable departure from the style and tone of Spider-Man's original adventures in the 60s.
Among the Seventies zeitgeist tapped into here is blaxploitation, with an appearance by Luke Cage; horror of the era, with vampires, werewolves and Dracula himself (yes, literally Dracula); gritty and violent revenge thrillers, pretty much embodied by the Punisher; as well as the kung fu craze, represented by a team up with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. If these things are not your cup of tea, then you'll probably struggle to enjoy this book. For me, growing up in the 80s with re-runs of 70s TV and movies, it was all good (if occasionally silly) fun.
Where I'm a bit conflicted about this book is how it deals with the emotional impacts of some of the major story points.
The death of Gwen Stacy is handled really well, as is the harrowing scene where an enraged Peter refuses to offer sympathy to Harry, who is on the verge of total mental breakdown. I also enjoyed seeing Peter and MJ slowly rekindle their relationship in the aftermath of Gwen's death (I'll always be an unapologetic MJ+Peter fan).
What doesn't work quite so well is how Peter's grief and depression are handled, as if the writers wanted to acknowledge them but didn't want to risk putting off readers by being a downer. What this results in are scenes where Peter tells himself that he should just cheer up and get on with his life a mere ten days after he witnessed his girlfriend's murder at the hands of his best friend's dad, who then died trying to kill Peter.
I'm pretty sure you could be justified in having a few long-term hang-ups about something like that.
* More reviews here:
https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com * -
I think these Bronze Age issues are actually more fun than the Stan Lee issues from the 60s. Stan was having to write a whole line of books all by himself. That's how the Marvel Method evolved, where the artists did the plotting and then Stan supplied words over the top of that, for the entire line of comics. It was the only way Stan could do all the work. They actually hired writers in the 70s to take over various books, and I think that improved things overall.
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This book sees us swing fully into the Gerry Conway era on Amazing Spider-man and for many, it includes the event that many say launched the Bronze Age of Comics. This book collects Amazing Spider-man #114-137, Giant Sized Superheroes #1, and Giant Sized Spider-man #1 and #2.
The book kicks off with #114 and #115 which continues a previous story arc about a gang war between Doctor Octopus and Hammerhead. The book also establishes a long time problem of Aunt May staying on as Doc Ock's housekeeper much to Peter's distress.
Issues #116-118 reprints and revamps a story from the magazine size Spectacular Spider-man #1 featuring the story of a reform mayoral candidate and a strange man-monster pursuing him. The action is a good and the story is decent as far as it goes. The story creates a minor continuity issue since the name of the candidate wasn't changed. Still, the result isn't bad.
Issues #119 and #120 have Peter Parker going to Canada to investigate a strange letter sent to Aunt May that may tie into the reason for Doc Ock's interest in her. While in Canada, he fights the Hulk. The story is good and a nice crossover that takes Spider-man out of his element and allows him to meet up with General Ross. The action is good and my only problem with it is that Spidey's attitude is a bit inconsistent with what was betrayed in Annual #3 when he chose to let the Hulk go out of compassion even though it cost him his first chance to join the Avengers.
Issue #121 is the big one. It's, "The Night that Gwen Stacy Died." which is one of the seminal events in Spider-man history and the history of comics in general with many saying that Spider-man #121 marked the start of the more serious Bronze Age of comics. Clearly, the biggest reason for the death of Gwen Stacy is that the author didn't know what else to do with her. Dating back to Issue 111, Conway had done very little with this relationship, so her death was necessary.
However, Conway goes beyond necessity and creates a masterful story that acknowledges the real impact of what happened when she perished as a result of Spider-man's fight with the Green Goblin. The reaction is realistic and completely believable. The emotions are handled appropriately and with great sensitivity, adding depth to Spider-man character.
The one unrealistic part was Gwen dying before Spidey's web hit her. This was retconned to her dying as a result of her spine snapping when the web grabbed her close to the ground.
At any rate, Issue #122 has the follow up death of Norman Osborne and also begins to see the development of Mary Jane Watson as a character which Conway also does in a very subtle intelligent way throughout the book.
Issue #123 has J Jonah hiring Luke Cage to go after Spider-man and is really a showcase for that character that works pretty well. Issues 124 and 125 are another great concept as J Jonah own son has become one of the "freaks" he raves against as a new Man-wolf. Issue 126 features the return of the Kangaroo. Issues #127 make up a nice two parter about the apparent return of the Vulture with some great plot twists along the way.
Issue #129 is the first story featuring the Punisher. It's pretty basic but gives a good outline of the character. Issue #130 has the return of Hammerhead and leads into Issue #131 where Peter has to prevent Aunt May from marrying Doctor Octopus. It's a fun story, but you just have to avoid thinking about why Doc Ock is wanting to marry Aunt May because it breaks down. Issues 132 and 133 have Conway revamp yet another previously introduced villain into a major menace and he does a great job with the Molten Man.
Giant Sized Spider-man #1 features a team up between Morbius the living Vampire and John Jameson as Man-wolf. The story is probably one of the weakest in the book but still okay.
Giant Sized Spider-man #1 was written by Len Wein and has Spider-man and Dracula in it, though the two don't do battle although Peter Parker bumps into her in the hall. This is a decent story of murder and fear on a cruise boat with Spider-man needing to find a scientist to get them back to New York to save Aunt May. Issue #134 has Spider-man fighting the Tarantula with the Punisher joining in Issue #135 after initially believing Spider-man was in league with the Tarantula (hmm, the Punisher must read the Daily Bugle.) The Punisher is pretty reasonable in this story and suprisingly so given how the character developed as he's okay with Spider-man catching Tarantula and turning him over to the police.
Giant Sized Spider-man #2 (also by Len Wein) has Spidey teaming up with the Master of Kung Fu with both men beginning the adventure thinking the other is a villain. This was a nice change of pace and just a fun team up that took Spidey out of his element.
Issues #136 and #137 feature the reveal of the new Green Goblin as Harry Osborn in a truly epic story.
Overall, this is a book that lives up to his title as these are truly essential tales. Several issues are much-read including the first Punisher stories, the Night Gwen Stacy died, and the last two stories featuring Harry Osborn. That which isn't actually Essential is very well written and pretty darn interesting. Conway doesn't redo the Spider-man mythos but builds on it and the results are amazing and this book is to. -
Big changes for Spidey in this volume. Some [myself included] mark the events in this volume as the end of the Silver Age of Comics.
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I'm really digging the new creative team. Bold moves, great payoff. 4.5/5.
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This comic book is actually awesome!
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Okay so even if the vast majority of this collection sucked it would still deserves the five stars purely based on two iconic issues - #121 & #122. Fortunately that isn't the case, but these two issues in particular are so emotionally moving and full of the tragedy which define Spider-Man. The tension and drama mean these issues in particular are a real page-turner and I was transfixed. But the final page of #122 especially is one of the most moving things I have ever read, where MJ, the party girl, comforts Peter.
The rest of the collection is very consistent. The shadow of the Green Goblin and the tragedy of Gwen Stacy provide a thread which runs through the majority of the issues, but there's still time for a somewhat bizarre story where Doc Ock tries to marry Aunt May. It also contains The Punisher's debut, the Man-Wolf and the return of Morbius. Plus it has the debut of the Spider-Mobile!
It's a collection which really does live up to its title. Amazing. -
This volume gives us Spidey fighting some amazing adversaries like Doc Ock, The Tarantula, The Punisher, Hammerhead, to name a few. And he even meets up with a few of his fellow Marvel super heroes like The Hulk and the Human Torch. It covers a bunch of great stories that are written by Gerry Conway that include the Spider-Mobile, the death of Gwen Stacy, the interrupted wedding of Doc Ock and Aunt May, the introductions of both the Punisher and the Jackal and the return of the Green Goblin, this time with Harry Osborne taking up the mantle instead of his father.
The only downside of this volume is when Spidey and Dracula show up in the same issue. Do we really need to see them together? What purpose does it serve to put them on the page together?
It's a great group of stories and any Spidey fan will love it and will want to own it. Check it out! -
Again this edition drags at points but the big pieces are BIG and astonishing. He death of Gwen Stacy goes beyond a fridging in spite of basically inventing the trope. Every emotional pitfall that follows is jarring and you begin to question Peter Parker as much as he does. Harry becomes the goblin at the end and it really is heartbreaking to see that. This is still very much in the Stan Lee vein but the depth of the stories is profound and written in a more engaging, less pandering style. Lots of characters float in here, chief among them the punisher, who emerges filly formed and really no substantively different than the punisher of four decades later.
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I don’t think I could love this classic Spider-Man anymore!
Note: I read the issues on Marvel Unlimited and not in a newspaper collection, still recommend it.
Peter Parker faces Green Goblin, Doc Ock, the molten Man, and the Tarantula in this collection. And it’s just great. Authored mostly by Gerry Conaway. The main series is awesome and the giant size issues are a fun little break from the drama of Peter Parker.
Gwen Stacy dies, he gets together with MJ, and Harry becomes the Green Goblin. It doesn’t get any better.
5 stars. -
Pathos. Subtlety and deep psychological insight.
Okay, more like silly melodrama. But still, reading spider-man always takes me back to rainy summer days in Maine, sitting in camp and incessantly re-reading the same ratty old spider-man paperback. -
I was a bit disappointed. Many of these felt very dated.
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Some great moments in Spidey history in this volume. I thoroughly enjoyed it, except the last issue was missing half the pages.
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Epic & amazing.
From my favorite time period in comics.
