Review- SPIDER-MAN: THE GATHERING OF FIVE

SPIDER-MAN: THE GATHERING OF FIVE (Marvel, 2013; Softcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 440, 441, Sensational Spider-Man Nos. 32, 33, Spectacular Spider-Man Nos. 262, 263, and (Peter Parker,) Spider-Man Nos. 96-98 (cover dates October- November, 1998)

Writers: John Byrne, Howard Mackie, and Todd Dezago

Artists: Pencilers- Luke Ross, Rafael Kanayan, John Romita, Jr., Norman Felchle, and Joe Bennett; Inkers- Scott Hanna, Bud LaRosa, Jimmy Palmiotti, Rodney Ramos, Al Milgrom, and Ralph Cabrera

Colorists: Gregory Wright, Mark Bernardo, Mike Rockwitz, John Kalisz, and Tom Smith

The gist- Norman Osborn, a/k/a the Green Goblin, goes on a quest to find five willing participants to help him perform a ceremony called the Coming Together (or Gathering) of the Five. There are four arcane stone pieces and a center spindle which all must be placed together. Once completed, there are five gifts which will be dispersed among the participants: Power, Knowledge, Immortality, Death, and Madness. Along the way we see the return of the Molten Man,who is duped much like everyone else by Norman Osborn. The whole Norman-Osborn-has-been-pulling-the-strings-all-along bit was hard to swallow at times, but I was more than able to buy it, especially when you consider some of the crap that they try to pass off on us nowadays. 

 

The Green Goblin looks a lot like a Skrull here.

I can see why lots of long time readers became disenfranchised with the title during this time even if I do not share that sentiment. Yes, making Osborn a part of some Goblin cult (the Scriers) seems a bit a of a stretch and yes, the Aunt May thing was a cop out, but it is still better than the last few issues of Amazing Spider-Man leading up to the ill-advised #700. I'll take a baby stealing goblin cult and kidnapped Aunt May over the so-called Superior Spider-Man.

By this time, the newer artists were all moving away from their Image-influenced roots and finding their own voice. Luke Ross has shown improvements by leaps and bounds just a couple of years after he started drawing the character. Rafael Kanayan is an artist who doesn't seem to be in the comic book business anymore but whose work I enjoy. Of course John Romita, Jr.'s artwork is incredible. His work has more aggressive styling during this era which I like.

Artwork by John Romita, Jr. Lots of Green Goblin goodness in this book.

Boy that Marvel sure is sneaky. While some of their collected editions of '90s material seem to be piecemeal, random arcs thrown out there in a trade paperback for no reason, those of us who watch closely begin to see a pattern of large runs collected across several books. This remains a great time to be a collected editions fan. When I started buying these books eleven or so years ago I could scarcely dream that we would ever get this far, or how this hobby would force me into a life of male prostitution to help pay for my habit. If loving this hobby lifestyle is wrong, then I don't want to be right!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The TLC that Marvel's collected editions department puts into their books makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. While none of the extras listed below make the story read any better they certainly add a completist feeling to the proceedings. Think of it like a Blu-Ray. You might not always watch that disc of extras, but it is wonderful to know that every piece of bric-a-brac was stuffed in there for when you do.

For instance, six pages of story from Amazing Spider-Man #434 and 435 are collected before the issues in this book as a sort of recap. While I read those issues in the books leading up to this one, it would be helpful to someone who has only picked up this book.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: All are one page each unless otherwise noted:

(Peter Parker,) Spider-Man #98 inner cover, which was bound underneath the regular cover.

Marvel Comics Catalog #3 article Spider-Man: The Final Chapter?!? (3 pages)

Letter page farewells from Editor Ralph Macchio and Luke Ross from Spectacular Spider-Man #263 and Todd Dezago from Sensational Spider-Man #33.

(Peter Parker,) Spider-Man #98 Page 1 art by John Romita, Jr. and Scott Hanna.

Wizard Magazine #84 cover by Mike Wieringo and Liquid.

Wizard Spider-Man Special Edition cover by John Romita, Jr. and Liquid.

Marvel Creators Collection '98 trading cart art by John Romita, Jr., Rey Lago, Alex Saviuk, and Mike Wieringo. All four cards presented at actual size on one page.

Linework and Color restoration rating: 4.75 out of 5. Everything looks great except for Spectacular Spider-Man #262, which was scanned from the original comic. They are good scans, but it is apparent that they are scanned from floppies. You probably can't even tell the difference, but I tend to skew uber-anal.

Paper rating: 4.5 out of 5. The paper is a thinner coated stock with a slight sheen. I quite like it. It works very well for this material.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Perfect bound trade paperback

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4.5 out of 5. As we rush headlong into our brave new world of digital publishing, companies are continually looking for ways to cut costs. Ways like making the cardstock cover marginally thinner than they used to. The lamination is still as nice as ever and I have little concern in terms of durability. On the plus side, the thinner cardstock cover is more malleable and makes the books feel more like a giant periodical. This may seem appealing to some people. While I like the improved flexibility that the new, thinner cardstock provides, my OCD flares up like a pack of hemorrhoids when I perceive something done as a cost save.

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SPIDER-MAN: IDENTITY CRISIS

SPIDER-MAN: IDENTITY CRISIS (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 434, 435, Sensational Spider-Man Nos. 27, 28, Spectacular Spider-Man Nos. 257, 258, and (Peter Parker,) Spider-Man Nos. 91, 92 (cover dates May-June, 1998)

Writers: Todd Dezago, Tom DeFalco, Howard Mackie, J.M. DeMatteis, Glenn Greenberr, and with Mike Wieringo

Artists: Pencilers- John Romita, Jr., Luke Ross, Mike Wieringo, and Joe Bennett; Inkers- Richard Case, Dan Green, Bud LaRosa, Al Milgrom, and Scott Hanna

Picking up right where the Spider-Man: Spider-Hunt trade paperback ends, Identity Crisis finds Spider-Man adopting not one, but four new identities. Norman Osborn, the original Green Goblin, had hired the Trapster to frame Spider-Man by murdering a two-bit criminal. Osborn offers a five million dollar reward for anyone who can capture Spider-Man, essentially forcing him into hiding. Mary Jane convinces Peter Parker to adopt a new identity. Working with Hobie Brown, a/k/a The Prowler, helps him design the armored Hornet costume. Another new identity, Dusk, was a costume that Spider-Man brought back after his adventure to the Negative Zone where he fought Blastaar.

Ricochet is the weakest of the four new identities, coming off like an even lamer Speedball, if that is possible. Prodigy is lame, but at least it's intentional on Peter Parker's part. Things are decent with these identities with the exception of the fight with Roughouse and Bloodscream, where he finds time to change costumes repeatedly in order to confuse people so that they don't believe that they are the same guy...except that there is no one on the docks to witness this fight. 

Osborn has not only made Spider-Man's life miserable, but that of the Trapster as well, taking out a contract on his life so as to not have any loose ends. Along the way we get treated to fights with the Shocker, the Vulture, and the climax featuring a new(?) Jack O'Lantern and a new villain by the name of Conundrum.

The artwork is a mixed back. Of course John Romita, Jr. is tops. Mike Wieringo is what I call a “bridge” artist in that he blends then-contemporary and Manga influences into a more classical Marvel house style. Joe Bennett...I don't get it. Some of his panels look great, others look godawful. Same with people's faces. It's weird. Luke Ross...let's just say that he gets good later on in his career.

This book is entertaining and fun without being dark, moody, or taking itself too seriously. There is a fine line between that and the contempt for “capes” shown by some modern writers. I will gladly take this over the so-called Superior Spider-Man any day.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This was a double dip purchase. Unlike DC, when Marvel decides to go back to press on something they reexamine it and see if there are any improvements which can be made. The original trade paperback was from the '90s, and this is a frame up improvement.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: The Secret Of My Identity introduction by Ralph Macchio from the Spider-Man: Identity Crisis 1998 trade paperback. (1 page)

Sensational Spider-Man #27 variant cover by Mike Wieringo and Rich Case.

Amazing Spider-Man #434 variant cover by Mark Buckingham. (1 page)

(Peter Parker,) Spider-Man #91 variant cover by John Romita, Jr., Scott Hanna, and Atomic Paintbrush. (1 page)

Spectacular Spider-Man #257 ariant cover by John Romita, Sr. (1 page)

Spider-Man: Identity Crisis 1998 trade paperback cover by Mike Wieringo and Rich Case.

Hornet, Ricochet, Dusk, and Prodigy character sketch and explanation pages (four, one page each).

House ads for the crossover event (3 pages)

Linework and Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. I usually list this for all books of pre-2000 material, but it is silly for this one because pretty much everything was digital by this point.

Paper rating: 4.5 out of 5. Good weight glossy stock which is perfect for this material. 

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Perfect bound (glued) trade paperback.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. Nice thick lamination will provide years of enjoyment...until the Epic line, Marvel Masterworks line, or Omnibus comes along and forces me to re-buy this material again. Kill me.

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Review: SPIDER-MAN: SPIDER-HUNT

SPIDER-MAN: SPIDER-HUNT (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 432, 433, Sensational Spider-Man Nos. 25, 26, The Spectacular Spider-Man Nos. 254-256, and (Peter Parker,) Spider-Man Nos. 88-90 (cover dates February- April, 1998)

Writers: Howard Mackie, J.M. DeMatteis, Tom DeFalco, and Todd Dezago

Artists: Pencilers- John Romita, Jr., Luke Ross, Joe Bennett, Todd Nauck, and Tom Lyle; Inkers- Scott Hanna, Dan Green, Al Milgrom, Bud LaRosa, and Andrew Hennessy

Norman Osborn, a.k.a the Green Goblin, was brought back from the dead, and with that development, the question becomes: How bad can he mess with life of Peter Parker/ Spider-Man. The answer is, apparently, a heck of a lot, because he bought a controlling interest in The Daily Bugle, using the paper as a starting point in his smear campaign against Spider-Man. While J. Jonah Jameson always ran anti-Spidey editorials, Osborn's edicts have turned the paper into an anti-Spider-Man machine. A small time crook is found dead, apparently having suffocated from what appears to be Spider-Man's webbing. Public opinion against Spider-Man has never been higher, and with Osborn offering a five million dollar reward for his capture, he has declared open season on our hero without lifting a finger. There is also a new Green Goblin lurking about who is not Norman Osborn. Osborn is obviously behind this new Goblin, but who or what he/it is is not revealed in this book.

This is the gist of Spider-Hunt. Spider-Man is being gunned at from all sides and at all times, leaving him without a minute to catch his breath or step back and try and think straight. From every redneck with a shotgun to upstarts like Override and Aura and Shotgun. We see Spider-Man get his ass handed to him by the Black Tarantula, a character who goes on to play a recurring role in the MC2 Universe title Spider-Girl. Even Hyrdo-Man tries to get in on the action, until Sandman and Silver Sable show up to lend Spider-Man a hand. Yes, this was the era where Sandman was making a concerted effort to be a good guy. I'm not a fan of this sort of thing, as it feels like WWF Wrestling, when a bad guy would get so popular that they had to make him into a good guy. This always annoyed me as a wrestling watching teenager. This being the '90s, of course The Punisher pops in for an issue or two. 

I have a major problem with Amazing Spider-Man #433. In this issue, Joe Robertson is having his “retirement” party at the Hotel Roosevelt. While Peter Parker is there, a gentleman by the name of Dr. Calvin Zabo walks by him in the lobby, triggering his Spider-Sense. Once Peter figures out that he is Mister Hyde, a known villain and wanted felon, he searches him out by crawling around the outside of the building, peeping in windows like some weirdo. Mind you, Zabo had merely checked in to this hotel and was trying to lay low. Of course the sight of Peter in disguise (and not his Spider-Man costume, since he was also trying to lay low) incites Zabo, resulting in him becoming Hyde and running amok in the hotel, crashing the party and endangering everyone. Peter Parker created the situation which made Hyde going into action necessary, and it seemed like the story didn't really work because of it. The whys of Peter climbing around the building seem flimsy.

While there are some dated aspects to the storytelling, this holds up pretty well storywise. I for one miss the third-person narrative mode which is interspersed with the first-person view which is now the sole method of comic book storytelling. The biggest problem with the story comes from occasional overwriting, resulting in annoying smaller text in some of the word balloons in the same panel.

The artwork is a grab bag, from John Romita, Jr.'s amazing artwork to Luke Ross and Joe Bennett's Image influenced dreck. Todd Nauck is a hit or miss artist for me, and here he misses. Tom Lyle is another whose work essentially defecated on my eyes.

This story arc of course all leads up to the Spider-Man: Identity Crisis trade paperback, which I am currently reading. I have been sifting through my unread Spider-Man collected editions as of late because, quite frankly, I miss the character. Superior Spider-Man is not Spider-Man, it is Doctor Octopus in Peter Parker's mind and body, and I refuse to support this project in any capacity. Thankfully no one can ever make me read Superior Spider-Man, nor can they take books like this away from me.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Marvel's trade paperback program is a completist fan's dream come true. No stone is left unturned when it comes to off the wall collections like this one. It's nice to have the variant covers included, especially since most people wouldn't even remember that these issues even had variant covers. I can guarantee that DC would not put this kind of effort into their products.

I also like how the original trade dress is included with each issue. It is standard practice for all publishers to present the covers without the trade dress, but I really enjoy seeing it.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: The following are all one full page.

Sensational Spider-Man #25 variant cover.

Amazing Spider-Man #432 variant cover.

(Peter Parker,) Spider-Man #89 variant cover.

The Spectacular Spider-Man #255 variant cover.

Linework and Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. I don't know, maybe I shouldn't even include this category for this era of comics. These were all originally done digitally, correct? So then there is nothing to restore save a missing page or corrupted file, unless I am totally mistaken. Somebody enlighten me.

Paper rating: 4.5 out of 5. This book has a good weight glossy coated stock which is perfectly suited for the material.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Perfect bound (glued) trade paperback.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. Nice thick waxlike lamination makes me happy.

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Review- SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC BOOK 6

SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC BOOK 6 (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 417, 418, Sensational Spider-Man No. 11, The Spectacular Spider-Man Nos. 240, 241, Spider-Man Nos. 73-75, Spider-Man: Team-Up No. 5, Spider-Man Unlimited No. 14, Spider-Man: 101 Ways To End The Clone Saga, Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand, Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal, and the fourteen exclusive story pages from the 1997 Spider-Man: Revelations Trade Paperback (cover dates October, 1996- April, 1997)

Writers: Howard Mackie, Tom DeFalco, Glenn Herdling, Darick Robertson, Steve Gerber, Todd Dezago, J.M. DeMatteis, Glenn Greenberg, Mark Bernardo, Roger Stern, and Joe Edkin

Artists: Pencilers- John Romita, Jr., Ron Garney, Joe Bennett, Darick Robertson, James Fry, Luke Ross, Mike Wieringo, Steve Skroce, Kyle Hotz, Ben Herrera, and Dan Lawlis; Inkers- Al Williamson, Al Milgrom, and many others.

Colorists: Kevin Tinsley, Bob Sharen, Christie Scheele, Gregory Wright, and others

I did it. I finally did it. After 11 (12 if you count Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga trade paperback) chunky 400+ page trade paperbacks, I have read the entire Clone Saga in all of it's infamous glory. It was at times exhausting, at times (due to the artwork) excruciating, but it was by and large highly enjoyable. I'll admit that the ending of it was something of a clusterf**k, but Marvel had sort of backed themselves into a corner and were in an unwinnable situation.

Things start out really strong, with the resolution of the gangster Jimmy-6's storyline. I am a sucker for all of the crime lords and gang wars of the Marvel Universe, and many of my favorite Spider-Man villains turn up: Tombstone, the Rose, Caesar Cicero, Hammerhead, Silverman, and the Slug. I have always dug on Tombstone since his first appearance and am a sucker for Silver and Bronze Age villains like Hammerhead. The fact that we are treated to some stellar John Romita, Jr. artwork didn't hurt, either. 

Spider-Man Unlimited #14 is horrid. Everything that it wrong with '90s comics is on display in this issue. Ill-conceived villains with ill-conceived costume designs. Horrid Image-influenced artwork by the abysmal Joe Bennett. Sloppy hand lettering. Colorists going apeshit with the then-new bells and whistles of computer color separations, coloring people's faces with four different flesh tones. Just ridiculous. I'll stop short of criticism on the coloring, though, because they were experimenting and discovering the limits of this new coloring technology. It just hasn't aged very well.

There is a continuity gaffe in Spider-Man Unlimited #14. Ben Reilly recognizes the Rocket Racer, who first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #172. This is after Reilly would have left New York, and he had not appeared anywhere where he could have possibly interacted with Reilly.

Spider-Man: Team-Up #5 is another example of comics gone wrong. I am going out on a limb here because everyone loves Gambit, but I think that he sucks. He has a stupid power, an even worse costume, and I can't stand reading his Cajun dialogue. I can imagine my own dialects, I don't need his dialect spelled out in every word balloon. The story in and of itself is good in spite of all of this. It was Steve Gerber's Howard The Duck back-up story that sucks. I have never been a Howard the Duck fan but I am a huge fan of Gerber's Man-Thing run. The story is full of so much of latter era Gerber's self reverence that it is off-putting. I realize that Howard The Duck was satire, but it was never my cup of tea. The redesigned Circus of Crime made me ill. There's even an appearance by Kiss in this issue, another nod to Gerber's '70s comics heyday. I did enjoy the Valujet and Savage Dragon spoofs, though. Apologies to all Duck and Gerber fans, but this story blew. 

Artwork by John Romita, Jr.

Luke Ross' early artwork is horrid. I was shocked when a reader pointed out to me that he did a run of newer material that I enjoyed. I did a quick look and sure enough, Ross has evolved into a fine, fine artist, and I have enjoyed many issues that he has done. His work here is pretty bad, though. Chalk it up as the work of a young artist finding his voice. Steve Skroce's artwork made me ill. There is nothing pleasing to the eye about it.

Fortunately we get treated to Kyle Hotz's unique artwork in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal. Hotz's work always has serrated edge to it, and it works really well with the Green Goblin. The one-shot spoof Spider-Man: 101 Ways To End The Clone Saga was an entertaining read and offered some interesting takes on the ending. I quite liked the whole Dr. Seward Trainer as Judas Traveller idea, even if it wasn't airtight. Coulda shoulda woulda, right?

Artwork by Kyle Hotz. I really enjoyed his Marvel MAX Zombie series. (Both of them.)

The book ends with the one-shot Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand, this one featuring an old favorite of mine, Carrion. It ended the book on a good note. So there you have it. Everything that you ever wanted to know about the Complete Clone Saga/Ben Reilly Epic trades but were afraid to ask. I just hope that Marvel doesn't slap all of these books into five Omnibus hardcovers anytime soon...

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5. 

The OCD zone- The fourteen story pages that were exclusive to the 1997 Spider-Man: Revelations trade paperback are included here, interspersed with Spider-Man #75 as they were in that trade paperback. The entire issue was recolored by Gregory Wright for the 1997 collected edition, and that is the version collected here. (Special thanks to Jeph York for clarifying that tidbit for me!) Now my OCD completist self also wants to see the issue as it was originally presented and colored. Maybe the seemingly inevitable Omnibus will collect it as an extra. Why do I do this stuff to myself. Why? Why???

DVD-style Extras included in this book: The Return Of The One True Spider-Man house ad for the Revelations crossover.

Spider-Man: Revelations trade paperback introduction by Ralph Macchio.

The Spectacular Spider-Man #240 Halloween Variant Cover by Luke Ross.

Spider-Man: Revelations trade paperback cover.

Spider-Man: Revelations trade paperback afterward.

Linework and Color restoration rating: 4.75 out of 5. There are three pages where the colors appear muted, with the blacks looking especially weak. I suspect that it was a printer error, but regardless of whose fault it is, it costs .25 OCD points.

Paper rating: 4.5 out of 5. A good, thick glossy coated stock of paper. It works well for material with more modern computer coloring. It would not get as high of a rating if it were used on '60s-80s material.

Binding rating: 4.25 out of 5. Perfect bound book. That means glue, kids. It has a nice thick band of glue, however, and it lays pretty flat in one hand for about 80% of the book, like a big honking comic book would.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. I never have a problem with Marvel's waxlike laminated cardstock covers.

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Review- SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC BOOK 5

SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC BOOK 5 (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 414-416, Sensational Spider-Man Nos. 7-10, The Spectacular Spider-Man Nos. 235-239, Spider-Man Nos. 71-72, Spider-Man Team-Up No. 4, Spider-Man Unlimited No. 13, and selections from Amazing Spider-Man Annual '96 (cover dates June- November, 1996)

Writers: Todd Dezago, Tom DeFalco, Howard Mackie, James Felder, George Perez, and Ron Frenz

Artists: Pencilers- Sal Buscema, Luke Ross, Mark Bagley, John Romita, Jr., Joe Bennett, Darick Robertson, Mike Wieringo, Ron Garney, Ron Frenz, Steve Geiger, Dan Jurgens, and Brandon McKinney; Inkers- John Stanisci, Al Williamson, Larry Mahlstedt, Al Milgrom, Chris Ivy, Andrew Pepoy, Richard Case, John Romita, Sr., Randy Emberlin, Steve Montano, and Tom Palmer

Colorists: John Kalisz, Gregory Wright, Bob Sharen, Kevin Tinsley, Christie Scheele, Tom Smith, Malibu, and Graphic ColorWorks

Things start off strong in The Spectacular Spider-Man #235-236 with the return of an old favorite of mine, Will O' The Wisp. Wisp is being coerced by Doctor Jonas Harrow to steal a piece of technology for the Roxxon Corporation...a piece of advanced technology known as the living android, Dragon Man! I am a sucker for all of these classic scenarios, which Todd Dezago seamlessly weaved together.

There is a crime wave of B and C list villains going on, or so it seems. I won't spoil the identity of the true perpetrator, as it is one of the better subplots running through these issues. Another great subplot running through this book is the rush to fill the power vacuum left by the absence of the Kingpin.

Spider-Man Unlimited #13 completely sucks, from the cheesy artwork by the abysmal Joe Bennett to the horridly redesigned Scorpion costume to Jack Morelli's vomit-inducing hand lettering. Hand lettering is great when done right, a real lost art. Morelli is an argument for ComiCraft computerized lettering, though. Bennett's renditions of Luke Cage/Power Man and Iron Fist are crimes against humanity. I am dumber for having read this issue.

Newsarama recently did an article about the 10 greatest Spider-Man artists of all time. They did not list Sal Buscema, whose work is shown above. They DID list Humberto Ramos. It is apparent that they are smoking some of that medicinal stuff.

Spider-Man Team-Up #4 is a textbook example why the '90s get such a bad rap from comics fans. Spider-Man teams up with The Avengers, in all of their updated, extreme '90s glory. The Wasp is now a real, mutated human-wasp hybrid. Iron Man is now some time-displaced 19 year old version of himself. No, I don't get it, either. Yes, I unfortunately did buy Avengers: The Crossing Omnibus. No, I have no timetable on when I will read it to find out the whys and wherefores of it, and I'm not entirely sure that I even want to now. Part of me doesn't want to. Giant-Man has a crappy headgear/pouch-laden costume which was sadly the style at the time. Thor is a shirtless hippie with hair past his ass. On top of all of this, the story and artwork completely suck as well. These two issues nearly killed the book for me. I am a completist and am grateful to have the kitchen sink thrown in, but man did these two issues suck!

Mike Wieringo's artwork is a breath of fresh air. His style is a mixture of classic Marvel “house style” coupled with then-modern, almost Manga-esque flourishes. He passed away in 2007 at age 44 from an aortic dissection.

I really enjoyed the Onslaught crossover issues. I've read them before, and they hold up pretty well on their own, even without knowledge of the entire crossover. So long as you understand that something major is going on you can enjoy watching Spider-Man and Peter Parker battling Sentinels. I also enjoyed the return of Swarm, which was a logical follow-up to the fallout of Onslaught. 

Artwork by Ron Frenz and John Romita, Sr.

Towards the end of the book two characters who will play a major role in the next volume appear: Scrier and Judas Traveller. Yes, I know that Traveller is spelled wrong, I'm not an idiot. I typed it as it was spelled in this book. There was a great multi-part Lizard story where the conclusion is marred by the substandard artwork of Luke Ross. The '90s saw so many untalented hacks working in comics due to the glut of Image-inspired dreck, and this “artist” fits that bill to a tee. Horrid, horrid work. My eyes have been raped.

The book ends on an incredibly high note with the main story from Amazing Spider-Man Annual '96, a flashback story where Ben Reilly remembers the first time he met with Captain George Stacy. This “Untold” tale fills in some gaps about Stacy's knowledge that Peter Parker was actually Spider-Man. Of course this is told from Ben Reilly's perspective, since it was believed that he was the real Spider-Man and not the clone. Unlike many ret-cons, this does not contradict any of the events of the Silver Age.

Aside from two really, really, really bad issues, which were so bad that I docked the book .75 points and I am angry that those issues were ever published in the first place, this was another solid, enjoyable read. I still can't see why this era of the title is despised so much. Only one more Clone Saga book to go!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I love these big fat chunky trade paperbacks. These Epic collections warm my completist OCD heart!

DVD-style Extras included in this book: Onslaught Vol. 5 trade paperback cover.

The left is this book, the right is the X-Men Onslaught book.

Linework and Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. Everything looks great except for page 14 of Amazing Spider-Man #415. I checked in my copy of X-Men: The Complete Onslaught Epic Book 2 TP from 2008 and it looks fine there, but here it looks like portions of the page were printed off-register. Was this unique to my copy or was this a print run wide defect? Was this a printer error or did someone goof up during restoration? I am going to guess printer error, since the work was already done for the aforementioned book and I can't imagine Marvel remastering these issues again specifically for this book and then screwing it up.

Paper rating: 4 out of 5. Thin dull matte with a slight sheen coated stock. It holds the color well and the thinner stock helps...

Binding rating: 4.25 out of 5. ...the book to lay pretty flat. The binding, combined with the thickness of the book due to the page count, gives this book a malleability that allows it lay flat in one hand like a giant periodical, which is just incredible for a softcover book.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. I love the thick, waxlike lamination that Marvel uses on their cardstock covers.

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