Review- THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 2

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 2 (Marvel, First Printing, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects The Amazing Spider-Man #39-67, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #3-5, The Spectacular Spider-Man #1, 2, and the Spider-Man stories from Not Brand Echh #2, 6, 11 (cover dates August, 1966- December, 1968)

Writer: Stan Lee

Artists: John Romita, Sr. with Don Heck, Larry Lieber, Jim Mooney, Marie Severin, Mike Esposito, Bill Everett, and Frank Giacoia

While I love Steve Ditko, I prefer the artwork of John Romita, Sr. a whole lot more. I remember teenage me arguing with some nerds at the comic shop circa 1987. This guy said Ditko all the way. I argued that Ditko is great and laid the foundation, but it was John Romita, Sr. who defined the contemporary Spider-Man that we know and love. This was right before Todd McFarlane would do a hard reset and make Ditko the only acceptable reference point for the character for decades to come. Those of us who were Bronze Age children know Romita's version as the one who adorned t-shirts and luncboxes.

This stuff is art of the highest order. There are too many highlights for me to do a blow by blow, but I'll take a shortcut and tell you that if you are not familiar with this run that it is top shelf material and it belongs in everyone's library.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING APPLY TO THE 2012 FIRST PRINTING OF THIS BOOK.

Linework and Color restoration: There are a couple of issues here which look like they could be improved upon if better source material surfaced. I am uncertain if the second printing of this book used any original artwork which may have surfaced since this book was released.

Paper stock: Coated stock with a slight sheen. This is closer to glossy than matte.

Binding: Sewn binding. Like many older Omniboo, this has developed the dreaded Omnibus sag due to gravity and the weight of the book block. Some folks use post it note pads to prop up the block, others store them spines down. I like to live dangerously and store my books vertically.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Laminated dustjacket. The hardback has faux leather grain and dye foil stamping. The second printing does not have that.

The hardback has ugly creases on it after reading it.

Review- SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE ALIEN COSTUME SAGA BOOK 1

God bless Marvel's collected editions program. If you sit back and look you can see the pieces of the puzzle being assembled across multiple formats. The Spider-Man By Roger Stern Omnibus bumps right up to these two chunky trades which bump into the Epic line. You can get almost four straight years of Amazing Spider-Man, with the gaps before and after those years being rapidly filled in.

Back in 2003 I descended down this rabbit hole of madness stumbled upon the Essential line at the now-defunct Borders Books And Music in Oakland Mall. I dreamed of owning the entire run of Amazing Spider-Man in such a format. Within the next few years we will likely have the first 30 years of Amazing Spider-Man completely restored and available in collected editions.

SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE ALIEN COSTUME SAGA BOOK 1 (Marvel, First Printing, 2014; Softcover)

Collects The Amazing Spider-Man #252-258, Marvel Team-Up #141-145, Marvel Team-Up Annual #7, and Peter Parker,The Spectacular Spider-Man #90-95 (cover dates May- November, 1984)

Writers: Tom DeFalco, Al Milgrom, Cary Burkett, Tony Isabella, David Michelinie, Jim Owsley, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern

Artists: Pencilers- Ron Frenz, Greg LaRocque, Rick Leonardi, Al Milgrom*, Paul Neary, and Bill Sienkiewicz*; Inkers*- Josef Rubinstein, Bill Anderson, Brett Breeding, Sam De La Rosa, Mike Esposito, and Jim Mooney

Journey into nostalgia with me as we head back to the magical land of 1984, where a 10 year old kid was spinning the spinner rack at 7-11 around on a cold wintry day that February and stumbled upon a bizarre cover: Amazing Spider-Man #252. Try to imagine (or remember if you are old enough) a world with little access to the Direct Market (comics specialty shops as they were referred to at the time), no real media hype or interest when changes happened to canonical characters, and actual honest to gosh surprise when you saw the issue cover and had no idea what was about to happen. It was magic. Each issue was the moment that you lived in. No past, no future, only the current issue on the spinner rack determined if a series lived or died.

I read all of the new Amazing Spider-Man issues dozens of times in 1984. I started picking up Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man with #92 and read it monthly through 1989. Aside from the Annual, all of these Marvel Team-Up issues were new to me. I wouldn't pick that series up until #147 that fall.

I loved watching the entire saga unfold, with Peter learning about the costume along the way. #258 blew my mind when it came out. I was also reading Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars back then. Many people erroneously claim that Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars #8 was the first appearance of the black alien costume symbiote. This is false. ASM #252 was the first issue that the costume appeared in.

Puma was a favorite of mine when he was introduced. I loved watching The Answer/Black Cat/Kingpin/Silvermane/Cloak And Dagger saga unfold over in Peter Parker,The Spectacular Spider-Man. These are some of my all-time favorite comic books even if I realize that they are not among the greatest comic books ever made in a big picture sense.

I didn't realize at the time that panel 4 was a Ron Frenz homage to Steve Ditko. Kraven The Hunter and Spider-Man were posed in a similar manner by Ditko. 

The solitary nature of this hobby circa 1984 is something a fan could never have today. Spinner racks with no Previews (or even Marvel Age, which at the time was a comic shop exclusive), no Internet to discuss and speculate, only the imagination of a 10-going-on-11 year old kid driving things. While I love the Internet and interacting with other fans, I really feel that this hobby (and the world in general) traded off a lot of things in the process for better and sometimes worse. It is what it is, but I'm glad that I was a kid in the old world. And I am glad that I was there when these comic books were originally released.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Linework and Color restoration: Excellent throughout. There is an odd dropout in a word balloon or two but nothing any sane person would notice.

Paper stock: I love the matte coated stock that Marvel uses in their trades of material with flat coloring. It looks and feels like a comic book but doesn't feel cheap. It also smells nice.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover. 

Review- SPIDER-MAN BY ROGER STERN OMNIBUS

SPIDER-MAN BY ROGER STERN OMNIBUS (Marvel, First Printing, 2014; Hardcover)

Collects Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #43-61, 85, The Amazing Spider-Man #206, 224-251, and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16, 17 (cover dates June, 1980- May, 1984)

Writers: Roger Stern with additional writing by Marv Wolfman, Steve Leialoha, Bill Mantlo, Marie Severin, Jan Strnad, and Tom DeFalco off of plots by Roger Stern

Artists: Pencilers- John Romita, Jr., Ron Frenz, John Byrne, Denys B. Cowan, Bob Hall, Ed Hannigan, Greg LaRocque, Rick Leonardi, Steve Leialoha, Luke McDonnell, Al Milgrom, Jim Mooney (also inking), Marie Severin, Jim Shooter, and Mike Zeck

Inkers- John Romita, Sr., Terry Austin, Brett Breeding, Vince Colletta, Gene Day, Kevin Dzubian, Frank Giacoia, Al Gordon, Dan Green, Dave Humphrys, Klaus Janson, Bob Layton, Pablo Marcos, Steve Mitchell, Bruce Patterson, Josef Rubinstein, Dave Simons, Frank Springer, and Bob Wiaceck

I've bought and read these comic books so many times across various formats over the past 35 years. I go into greater detail in my previous reviews of this material: Essential Spider-Man Vol. 10 and Vol. 11, Spider-Man: Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut, and Spider-Man: Origin Of The Hobgoblin.

If you are done reading those nostalgic ramblings linked above then you are about to be subjected to more. I feel lucky to have been a 9.5 year old kid on that cold morning of January 9, 1983, when my mom let me get one of those Whitman three-packs of Marvel Comics at Farmer Jack (RIP). I didn't realize that I was witnessing the dawn of a villain who would go on to dominate the next four years of the title, or that I was reading something by a writer whose run would go down in history as one of the best in the history of the character. I was just a kid who liked reading comics and was bit by the collector bug that day.

Stern starts off slow over in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, but over the course of his 19 issue run he finds his voice with the character. By the time he gets promoted to the flagship title, The Amazing Spider-Man, he has shifted into high gear. We see the rebirth of The Vulture, an outstanding issue with the Foolkiller, and a two-part Black Cat story which would set the stage for what Al Milgrom would build on over in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man.

Stern did lots of two-parters. 229-230 are the legendary Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut, which are possibly the most inspiring underdog comic books of all time. I am sucker for the Cobra/Mr. Hyde two-parter (231-232) ever since I got a quarter box copy of 231 back in 1983. 238 and 239 were the introduction of The Hobgoblin, with 240 and 241 showing the Vulture as a major contender, something not truly seen since the '60s.

After that Stern plays it a little looser, running subplots behind the main issue's action, all building toward #250. Then Stern decided to jump ship for reasons I'm unsure of. Tom DeFalco comes on board without missing a beat, and his run is as much a favorite of mine as Stern's.

I can't wait to buy this material again when the Marvel Masterworks reach this era. Kill me now.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Linework and Color restoration: This is the Blu-Ray/4k version of these comics. While they have been remastered before for various collections, many of these issues were remastered again by the same team which does the state-of-the-art Marvel Masterworks.

Left: Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut PHC restoration. Right: This book's restoration. Night and day. 

Paper stock: Lightweight coated stock with a slight sheen to it. Marvel switched to a thinner paper in their Omniboo back in 2013 and I don't like it as much. The only plus that I can give this paper stock is that it makes the book lighter. This book is nearly 1,300 pages as it is, and it was still a heft beast.

Binding: Sewn binding. The book lies completely flat, a real feat when you are dealing a book this size. The downside with Marvel's more flexible binding is that the heavy book block has a tendency to sag a pinch when stored vertically. Many collectors advise storing these book horizontally, while others customize Post-It note pads to the exact height necessary to support the opposite end of the binding. I'll be dead and gone before this is a concern and my kids can deal with this crap.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: The dustjacket has the same high quality lamination and weight as always, but it's the casewrap which has been decontented with the 2013-on Omnibus book. Gone are the faux leather grain and dye foil stamping, in are paperwrap with a chintzy coating which is easily scuffed. 

Review- CLOAK AND DAGGER: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

CLOAK AND DAGGER: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (Marvel, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #64, 69, 70, 81, 82, 94-96, Marvel Team-Up Annual #6, and Marvel Fanfare #19 (cover dates March, 1982- March, 1985)

Writers: Bill Mantlo, Al Milgrom (#94-96)

Artists: Pencilers- Ed Hannigan, Al Milgrom, Ron Frenz, Tony Salmons, Rick Leonardi, and Kerry Gammill

Inkers- Jim Mooney, Al Milgrom, Kevin Dzuban, Terry Austin, Tony Salmons, and George Freeman

Progress and diversity are two things on the tips of the tongues of comic fans everywhere these days. Judging by the hype in the comic press, this is something new and now. Sorry kids, but writers like Bill Mantlo and others were blazing the trail decades earlier. Unlike nowadays, there were no plugs from CNN or USA Today whenever something new or daring was attempted...something like, say, an interracial superhero couple. Bold ideas were presented to the story more organically and thus enjoyed greater acceptance than many of the so-called progressive or diverse ideas forced down the throats of comic fans today.

Cloak and Dagger were teenage runaways who were kidnapped and experimented on with synthetic drugs by the mob, who were trying to make new addictive drugs. Due to some anomaly in their body chemistry they were the only ones to survive...and somehow get super powers in the process. They take up a crusade against drug dealers everywhere. This was all very 1980s, Nancy Reagan “Just say no” for the comic book set.

Spider-Man is in every issue except for one, so this is kind of like a Spider-Man hardcover as well. Dagger's light steals Silvermane's life in #70, a plotline revisited and resolved in issues 94-96. Those three issues are all special to me, as I bought #94-96 off of the stands and read them countless times during the summer of 1984. The Punisher losing his sh*t in issues 81 and 82 is highly enjoyable as well. 

This is as close to Cloak And Dagger Masterworks as we will ever get. Combine this with the other Premiere Classic hardcover which collects their original mini-series and you have their early run collected. It would be nice to see these two make the silver screen if only to get more 1980s material collected.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The late, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic line was a sort of junior Masterworks line, where material was presented in a high quality format but at a much lower MSRP than the Marvel Masterworks. The line reached well over 100 volumes but petered out because Marvel flooded the market with them.

Linework and Color restoration: The linework is tight and clean. Not Masterworks level but I am fine with it. The coloring is pretty faithful to the original issues.

Paper stock: Thick coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding, lays mostly flat.

Hardback cover notes: The dustjacket has that stupid dull matte finish which scuffs if you breathe on it hard enough. The images have spot varnish and the lettering has a foil stamp. These comments apply to the bookstore market design only. The Direct Market variant dustjacket is different. The cover of the hardback has that grainy faux leather casewrap with white die stamping.

Review- SPIDER-MAN: THE DEATH OF JEAN DEWOLFF

SPIDER-MAN: THE DEATH OF JEAN DEWOLFF (Marvel, 2011; Hardcover)

Collects Peter Parker, The Spider-Man #107-110, 134-136 (cover dates October, 1985- March, 1988)

Writer: Peter David

Artists: Pencilers- Rich Buckler (#107-110) and Sal Buscema (#134-136) with Inking by various artists

The year was 1985. The summer was hot as Hell, and since my family was poor we did not have air conditioning. It was in this hot, humid setting that I read issue 107, and that feeling of oppression still resonates every single time that I read this issue. I bought it off the spinner rack at the 7-11 by my house an as 11-going-on 12 year old kid. I pulled out my original comics to compare to the remastered versions found in this hardcover, and was surprised to see that my 108 and 109 were Direct Market versions. The first Direct Market comic book shop within walking distance of my house opened up that summer, and so I must have bought those two issues there before returning to 7-11 for 110. It was during the spring of 1986 that I started buying comic books exclusively at comic shops, since they came out three whole weeks ahead of newsstands like 7-11.

My original issues from 1985.

 Peter David was a newcomer to the comics scene, a fact that I was unaware of at the time. He had scripted a handful of self contained, mostly unremarkable issues in both this title and Amazing Spider-Man, but it was with The Death of Jean DeWolff that he hit the big leagues, at least in my opinion. It was dark, way darker than any Spider-Man comic book had been. Certainly darker than any I had ever read at that point, and I loved it. Comics getting edgier and darker were fresh and new in the '80s. Now they are stale and old. I can see a modern comics fan picking this up now and shrugging their shoulders in indifference since comic book deaths are a dime a dozen.

Rich Buckler's artwork is gritty and hard edged. It has held up very well nearly 30 years later. Sal Buscema's artwork was wretched on the sequel, though. I liked Sal's '70s output as a kid, but even as a 14 year old reading #134-136 off of the stands I could tell that this was phoned in, workman like art. Sal Buscema is a good storyteller with good layouts and panel composition. He understands the medium and how to make it work. He just didn't put any effort into these issues. He has done good work after these issues, further cementing my opinion.

One of the few spots where the recoloring doesn't work well.

Comic book deaths are now a cliched sales gimmick, but they still carried some weight in the mid-80s. This was hard hitting and coarse to me as a kid. My fun, lighthearted Spider-Man was nowhere to be found in 107-110. Bear in mind that this predates Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. There was a groundswell of darker comics at this time, only nobody seems to ever mention this arc when they have that conversation.

Original comic book of same page for comparison. 

 The addition of the sequel from #134-136 was the impetus for me to upgrade from the Spider-Man: Wizard Masterpiece Edition hardcover which featured the main arc. That book was an upgrade from the original Spider-Man: The Death Of Jean DeWolff trade paperback. While these three issues are vastly inferior to the original arc they are a nice sort of bonus feature. The steep decline in nearly all current Marvel titles circa 1988-89 are what caused me to eventually drop all comics as 1989 gave way to 1990. If I were buying only new comic books today, the situation would be identical. Luckily for Marvel they are cranking out plenty of books of vintage material to drain my wallet month in and month out.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

Buy SPIDER-MAN: THE DEATH OF JEAN DEWOLFF HC at InStockTrades!

Also available in softcover!

The OCD zone-The late, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic Hardcovers were a sort of junior Masterworks line. While they weren't quite the “Blu-Ray” version of these issues like you would see in a Marvel Masterwork, they are still have decent production values at a reasonable price.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: Back cover of the dustjacket minus trade dress (itself a fully rendered version of the cover of #109). (1 page)

Linework and Color restoration rating: 4.5 out of 5. The original color palette is maintained for the most part with only a very minor deviation here or there. All in all it could be marginally better but most sane folks would never notice.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Sweet smelling toxic ink Chinese printed on (possibly made with) virgin Amazon rainforest tree-sourced coated stock paper with a slight sheen.

Binding rating: 5 out of 5. Smyth sewn binding, 6 stitches per signature. The book lays mostly flat.  

Review- SPIDER-MAN & THE NEW WARRIORS: THE HERO KILLERS

SPIDER-MAN & THE NEW WARRIORS: THE HERO KILLERS (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 26, New Warriors Annual No. 2, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual No. 12, and Web of Spider-Man Annual No.8 (cover dates Annual 1992)

Writers: David Michelinie, Fabian Nicieza, Eric Fein, Tom Brevoort, Mike Kanterovich, Glenn Herdling, and G. Alan Barnum

Artists: Pencilers- Scott McDaniel, Brandon Peterson, Aaron Lopresti, Vince Evans, Scott Kolins, Tod Smith, and Steve Buccellato; Inkers- Keith Williams, Mark Stegbauer, Al Milgrom, Jimmy Palmiotti, Bruce Jones, Don Hudson, Sam DeLarosa, and Aaron Lopresti

This is one of those bizarre, somewhere out of left field collected editions. Collecting a four part crossover which spanned the Spider-Man summer Annuals, it co-starred The New Warriors, the '90s attempt at making a go of a new superhero team. They come off as also-rans. Nova was a '70s C-lister. Firestar was created for the Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends animated series in the early 1980s and found her way into comics a few years later. Namorita goes back to the '50s but never really caught on. Speedball's biggest claim to fame is the short-lived Steve Ditko-penciled series of the late '80s. Night Thrasher...I still don't know what his powers are after reading this book. 

Silhouette is easily the worst of the bunch though. I am not making light of people with disabilities. My aunt suffered from, and ultimately died from, MS, so I know full well the horrors and hardships that people with disabilities can go through. But the notion of a superhero whose only power is blending in with shadows and has to use crutches to walk is just plain dumb. She uses them as weapons, too. I can't see how anyone would think that bringing someone with a disability like this into combat situations is a good idea. It seems irresponsible. People with disabilities can lead full and active lives, but fighting super villains seems unbelievable, and this is comic books for chrissakes! 

Handicapped characters, such as Handi Man, must have been perceived as THE NEXT BIG THING. Why else would Marvel have a character like Silhouette?

Like many early '90s comics, this is high on action and low on story. Think of it as a more entertaining version of decompression. Rather than padding out a thin story with endless conversations, it is padded out with a seemingly endless array of battles. The main story is basically Speedball and other superheroes being kidnapped by Justin Hammer and (SPOILER) the Sphinx to steal their energy, and Spider-Man and The New Warriors fighting battle after battle after battle to rescue them. Throw in some overwriting and typically mediocre '90s art and there you have it. 

You could do a lot worse than this book, but you could also do much better. This is for '90s children and completists only.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The back up stories and all pages not related to the main story are collected in the back of the book. This is done for the reading flow of the story and makes perfect sense when reading it. This practice would not fly in a Marvel Masterworks, for example, but in a self-contained collection like this it does.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: The fully rendered front and back covers of the book minus the trade dress. (2 pages)

Linework and Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. This is the '90s. It looks like crap because a lot of it is. Cory Sedlemeir and Michael Kelleher couldn't spit shine these turds.

Paper rating: Nice dull matte finish coated stock, the same found in Classic lines and the softcover Marvel Masterworks.

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

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. The usual high quality waxlike lamination found on all Marvel trade paperback releases.

Buy SPIDER-MAN & THE NEW WARRIORS: THE HERO KILLERS TP at InStockTrades!