By: Stan Lee Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 528 Publication Date: November 29, 2006
Amazing Spider-Man run from 11/70 to 10/72 in black and white This fifth `Essential' volume collects Amazing Spider-Man issues #90-113 originally published between November 1970 and October 1972. Stan Lee is the credited writer for most stories (#90-100, 105-110) with Roy Thomas scripting #101-104 and Gerry Conway beginning his run in #111. The pencil work is split between Gil Kane (#90-92, 96-105) and `Jazzy' John Romita Sr. (#93-95, 106-113). Lee was the Marvel Comics editor until Thomas assumed the helm for #112. Some of the most reprinted Spider-Man stories appear herein, including the famous `Death of Captain Stacy' issue (#90) and the `Green Goblin Reborn' story (#96-98) that eschewed the archaic 1970s Comics Code to address Harry Osborn's drug use. Also featured are the `Six Arms Saga' that introduced Moribus, a trip to the Savage Land, the third incarnation of the Spider Slayer, and a Flash Thompson Vietnam War story. Peter's tenuous relationship with Gwen Stacy features prominently and she even moves to England for a while. Many of these issues were also reprinted in issues #71-92 of the mid 1970s Marvel Tales series (and reprinted again in MT #225-227 and 251-253). I prefer the Amazing Spider-Man DVD-ROM for its complete collection of the entire ASM run in full color PDFs. However, the Marvel Essentials series offers convenient, inexpensive access to these 40-year old Spider-Man comics without needing a computer.
GREAT ALL-TIME ISSUES IN THIS VOLUME The Essential Spider-Man, Volume 5 is perhaps the darkest of the Essential Spider-Man releases to come out. Themes dealing with drug addiction, love lost, experiments gone wrong, and characters in psychological torment other than Peter Parker/Spider-Man set a new precedent never before witnessed by the avid Amazing Spider-Man reader at that time.
Included is the controversial Amazing Spider-Man #97 (which did not receive the Comics Code Authority approval seal) that dealt with Harry Osborn's dependence on drugs and that pictured montages of pill-induced hallucinations that the son of The Green Goblin was having to endure. Truly this was a strongly implicit message that dealing with illegal substances is no way to battle inferiority complexes or depression. In Harry's case, the personal problems he perceived to be having loomed larger by taking this particular route.
In addition to this classic is the Amazing Spider-Man #100, where Peter Parker, in his attempt to rid himself of the "spider within", drinks a serum he concocted in order to regain what he deemed what was once his physically normal state only to find out at the end that that which he was trying to destroy was augmented!
Immediately following are what I think are, in ASM #101 & #102, two of the best back-to-back issues in the comic book's history that did not include The Green Goblin. Introduced is the vampire, Morbius, who, as the renowned scientist, Dr. Michael Morbius, conducted radical experiments to cure himself of a terminal blood condition only to end up as a Draculalike psychopath. His initial attempts to make things better for himself and for those he loved would all go wrong, leaving him in ultimate despair. With the combination of Gil Kane's art and Roy Thomas' finely-honed writing style, especially since those late 1960's Avenger issues, this particular storyline in these two aforementioned issues is perhaps among the most Shakespearean in comic book history.
Though there are some stories in between that don't stack up quite so well, such as the ones with The Gibbon and The Beetle, they were nonetheless momentary distractions from key turning points that starkly set a foreboding tone that tragedies were awaiting Spider-Man's future. Also included in ESMV5 is the issue that ends with Capt. Stacy's death.
With all the seriousness and tragedies contained, The Essential Spider-Man, Volume 5 is a rather Gothic assemblage and is arguably more ominous than the any of the bound Dr. Strange Essentials.
good bye stan lee In this volume we say good bye to stan lee, which is not good. I always liked it better when Stan Lee was writing and in this volume it shows the series getting worse. There are far less comics with spidermans' arch-enemies and more with random other enemies.There are none with some of the villans I always liked more such as scorpion. The only super villans are doc ock, green goblin, the lizard (pretty cool but the comic he is in is about morbius and the lizard is only the lizard for a little while until morbius bites him), and the worst and most boring in my opinion Kraven the hunter
GIL KANE's Spider-Man This answers the question, "When exactly did AMAZING SPIDER-MAN as a series go completely to HELL?" No-it WASN'T when John Romita stopped inking. It WASN'T when Gwen Stacy was murdered (which, after all these years, it turned out it was John Romita's...idea). And no-it WASN'T even when Stan Lee stopped writing "his" main character!!! NO!!! It was when GIL KANE started DRAWING the [darn] book, THAT'S when!!! Kane's people are UGLY, his anatomy is AWKWARD, and his storytelling has NO sense of fun or humor about it at ALL!!! Most of these I'd never read before, and I got the book mainly because it was a CHEAP way to fill these huge gaping holes in my Spidey collection. MY GOD!! Reading these is like watching the 6th season of HUNTER. Sure, Dee Dee McCall was still there, but the whole tone, balance and focus of the show had gone terribly astray, thanks to Fred Dryer's massive ego getting in the way.
There's a few issues with pure JOHN ROMITA art, which are a joy to behold compared to the rest. (Romita plotted "Vengeance In Viet Nam" all on his own, it was his big Milton Caniff tribute!) There's also a couple near the end which had Romita pencilling over layouts by JIM STARLIN! But overall, the tone of the series had gotten very dark, downbeat and pessimistic. In a word-- unbearable.
For anyone who'd wonder why I have NO interest in reading ANY new Spider-books ever again, here it is. I have BOXES of the stuff in my back room, and don't have the time for that right now-and that's the GOOD stuff! To me, there are 2 and ONLY 2 Spider-Man artists who matter-- Steve Ditko and John Romita. Everybody else is just wasting their time trying to fill their shoes. 30 years is a LONG time for a character to be living off his past reputation!
Stan "the Man" Lee ends his run as the writer of Spider-Man Volume 5 of the "Essential Spider-Man" covers the end of Stan Lee's run as the writer on his most famous comic creation. Lee wrote through issue #100, then Roy Thomas penned issues #101-104, Lee returned for issues #105-110, and then Gerry Conway (the man who killed off Gwen Stacy) became Spidey's scripter with issue #111. Spider-Man's artwork features some major revolving door action as well, with John Romita (Sr.) inking Gil Kane and then doing the pencils again, then Kane taking over with a different inker, then... (you get the idea). Anyhow, the cover is wrong because John Buscema does not do any of the artwork (brother Sal does some of the inking); it is Conway's name that should be there instead.
Anyhow, this volume includes several pivotal moments in Spider-Man's history: the death of Captain Stacy, the infamous Green Goblin/Harry Osborn on drugs trilogy where the comic did not receive Comics Code approval, and the 100th issue where Peter Parker decides to concoct a magic formula to take away his spider powers and ends up growing two extra sets of arms instead (talk about weird science, huh?). The Marvel tendency to try and be realistic pops up as well as Flash Thompson returns from Vietnam with a story to tell. There is a nice bookend effect to this volume, which begins and ends with Doctor Octopus. I know the Green Goblin is the most important of Spider-Man's villain (knowing Spider-Man's secret identity sort of makes that a moot point), but overall I think some of the best Spider-Man stories involve Doc Ock, and it is not just because of the similarities of their animal totems. Also includes in these issues are Spider-Man visiting Ka-Zar in the Savage Land and the first appearance of Morbius the Living Vampire (a character that I could never take seriously). But then there is the Gibbon, a "villain" so bad even Spider-Man laughs at him.
It looks like Volume 5 might be the last of the "Essential Spider-Man" series, although this is just a bad hunch on my part. After all, Stan Lee stopped writing the comic at this point and the key issues of what would be the next volume are currently available as "The Death of Gwen Stacy." I have to admit that I do not mind that these comics are in black & white; certainly this helps to keep this a remarkably inexpensive series and the strengths of some of these artists (most notably Steve Ditko) actually stand out more without the color being added. There is also something to be said for not having to take your comics out of their bags to read them (or for having to pay big bucks to go out and buy all these back issues). I am looking forward to picking up some more of the classic Marvel comics from the Sixties in this format.
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