Book Review: Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 by S. Lee et al.

Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 3 written by Stan Lee and art by Steve Ditko

Spider-man has more adventures as the original Lee/Ditko run continues. The stories are okay but are starting to blend together. Peter Parker still has a lot of drama around his relationships with Liz Allen, a fellow high school student who is also pursued by Flash Thompson, and Betty Brant, a fellow employee at The Daily Bugle who is also pursued by Ned Leeds. MJ Watson, the actual girl next door, is hinted at a lot but doesn't not make her famous appearance here. Aunt May has started her campaign to get Peter to meet her. Those dramas are interesting and play off against his obligations as Spider-man. He fights the usual rogues' gallery, a less compelling part of the stories. 

The writing style is still very hyperbolic and has a lot of dialogue bubbles. The fights don't have a lot of distinctness (though Spidey still does a lot of wisecracking as he's fighting) and Peter's problems keep repeating themselves (no money, girl trouble, Aunt May overly protective and secretly sick, etc.). I thought this volume was okay but my interest is waning. I was hoping to make it to the famous one-liner by MJ but it wasn't in this issue. I guess I keep going but it's not as fun as it was at the beginning.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 by S. Lee et al.

Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 written by Stan Lee and art by Steve Ditko

More early adventures of Spider-Man find him fighting "old" enemies like coverboy Doctor Octopus along with new enemies like Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter. The Green Goblin also makes his first appearance though his identity is hidden from readers. This book contains issues 11 through 19 and the initial double-sized annual with the first appearance of The Sinister Six, a villain team-up. Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Vulture, Kraven, Electro, and Sandman gang up on the teen-aged hero, though of course it doesn't work out for them. The annual includes a lot of "pin-up" one-page images of Spider-Man fighting each villain. It also has a bunch of info on the villains and Spider-Man's abilities (back in the time when you could not easily find past issues or possibly read up on things online), along with all other sort of trivia now relegated to fan web pages. 

The narrative emphasis is still on Peter Parker/Spider-Man's personal problems. Aunt May gets seriously ill, forcing Spider-Man on the sidelines while Peter takes care of her, plummeting the reputation of Spider-Man to Jameson's delight and Flash Thompson's chagrin. Thompson tries to start a Spidey-fan club, which only causes more trouble for Peter and for Spider-Man. These issues start the hinting of Mary Jane with Aunt May promising to set up Peter even though he is more interested in J. Jonah Jameson's secretary Betty Brant. These stories are still fun to read even with the over-the-top antics and self-promotion.

Recommended, highly for Spidey-fans.

Book Review: Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 by S. Lee et al.

Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 written by Stan Lee and art by Steve Ditko

The origin story of Spider-man first appeared in the final issue of Amazing Fantasy. He was so popular that Marvel started his own comic book. The first ten issues are printed here along with Spider-man's origin story. It is amazing to see how many iconic villains were created right at the start--The Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, The Lizard, and Electro. Spidey even goes up against Doctor Doom! Stan Lee's writing style is quite hyperbolic, claiming his new hero is the greatest invention ever and each issue is even better than what went before. As a hero, Spider-man is quite different from what went before. He's a nerdy teen who is bullied at school and can't get dates with any girl he likes. He has a lot of personal problems that other heroes never seem to deal with. His plight is endearing and makes his swagger and joking as Spider-man a nice contrast. The art by Ditko is action-packed and catches all the fun nuances of the story (even if J. Jonah Jameson looks too much like Hitler early on). The old stories have a lot of dialogue and text, delivering a lot of story along with action scenes that Lee can't help but overpraise in his text. 

Overall, this trip to Spider-man's first adventures is fun and a must for fans!

Recommended, highly for web-heads.

TV Review: The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008-2009)

The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008-2009) developed for television by Victor Cook based on the character by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko 

Spider-man has had plenty of television incarnations (mostly animated with one live-action show back in the 1970s). This particular version at first glance looks a little too kiddie-friendly, with a semi-anime visual style and simple art that looks more like the comics aimed at the under-ten crowd. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does lower expectations.

The show starts with Peter Parker already swinging around and fighting crime as Spider-man, with an eventual flashback to the origin story. He is a high-school student by day, an amateur photographer for the Daily Bugle after school, and a crime-fighting superhero as often as he's needed. He has the usual teenager complications, dealing with girlfriends and other classmates while trying to help Aunt May make the ends meet in their small home. His efforts as Spider-man often cost him time and credibility with his aunt and his friends. He has plenty of villains to fight, from organized crime bosses to an ever-increasing wave of supervillains (since the crime bosses have deep enough pockets to finance the creation of supervillains). 

The show sets itself apart by the quality of the writing. In addition to fighting a "problem/villain of the week," Peter has to deal with on-going issues. At one point, he has a lab job with Doctor Curt Conners, a man who has lost an arm. In an attempt to fix himself, he crosses reptile DNA with his and winds up as the villain The Lizard. Peter winds up fighting his boss, who is more of a tragic villain than a scheming one. His Spider-man activities keep him from having regular hours, annoying is workmates and his boss. When the Venom symbiote first shows up, it is brought to the lab, leading into a multi-episode story arc where Peter deals with the alter-ego created by the black suit and eventually with Venom when fellow lab-mate Eddie Brock bonds with the symbiote. All the while, Peter is confused as to whether Norman Osborne, head of Oscorp, or Harry Osborne, best friend and high-school pal, is the Green Goblin. Norman seems like the villain type but Harry has been secretly taking the "Green Globulin" formula to enhance his mental and physical performance. Peter also struggles with his feelings for Gwen Stacey and Liz Allen. The show does a great job having multiple narratives and recurring characters strung throughout the series.

The character of Peter Parker/Spider-man is well realized. He is a teenager with familiar problems and a naive optimism about life. Even so, he gets the short end of the stick so many times. He has fun and creative combat with his villains, sometimes using clever tactics to take down foes. His wise-cracking banter from the comics comes across as natural and funny. Spider-man is an easy character to root for and the creators build on the best parts of his personality.

Recommended, highly for Marvel fans.

Book Review: Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way to Dusty Death by S. Lee et al.

Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way to Dusty Death written by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Chris Claremont, et al., with art by Steve Ditko, Frank Miller, et al.

This anthology of team-up tales featuring Spider-Man and Doctor Strange ranges from 1965 to 1999. The stories start with Spidey and Strange fighting the sorcerer Xandu, who gathers powerful mystical artifacts (and steals them from Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum) in a effort to bring his beloved Melinda back from death. In later stories, they face foes famous (Doctor Doom, Dormammu) and not so famous (Silver Dagger, The Wraith).

An anthology like this has lots of advantages. The thematic core, Spider-Man helping out Doctor Strange, makes a great blend of contrasts--Spidey's wisecracking street smarts and brawn with Strange's esoteric magical abilities. Many battles happen in a mystical dimension, putting Spider-Man out of his comfort zone and enabling exposition about the bizarre mystical mumbo-jumbo that the writers make up. The anthology also cherry-picks stories from thirty years' worth of comics, so the reader gets the best ones.

Recommended.

Parental Advisory--the book is rated T+ on the Marvel Rating System, which may be for the occultish elements of Doctor Strange's life or also for an unusual amount of scantily-clad women (Melinda's outfit gets skimpier and skimpier from story to story, eventually down to a Princess Leia bikini). The violence is pretty standard and not particularly gory.

Book Review: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and the Great Lakes Avengers by D. Slott et al.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and the Great Lakes Avengers written by Dan Slott, Fabian Nicieza, Alex Zalben, Steve Ditko, and various artists

This book is a compilation of various adventures for Squirrel Girl, mostly involving the Great Lakes Avengers. The Great Lakes Avengers is a team of super-powered people in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They aren't officially affiliated with the Avengers. They decide to name themselves as Avengers to get more name recognition and respect. The only problem is their powers are a bit lame--Mr. Immortal can't die but otherwise has no powers; Flatman is paper thin and is acknowledged as a Mr. Fantastic rip-off; Doorman is a living portal but can only transport himself or others into the next room; Dinah Saur is a female flying dinosaur humanoid; Big Bertha is a supermodel who can add mass at will to make herself huge. Their lameness is used for comedy. They hardly ever win any battle (except when Squirrel Girl joins because she is, as the title says, unbeatable). There is a serious story about the end of the world (because that's where the big drama in comics comes from, right?) but the GLA's role is mostly comic and tragic. Members die in every issue, which is a running gag for the comic. The humor isn't as dark as Kick-Ass and the message isn't as cynical as Watchmen but it's in the neighborhood. The tone is the big difference. The GLA are depicted as a fun bunch of screw-ups.

The book contains a very charming story with the Thing, who has a minor team-up with Squirrel Girl but mostly it's the story of his Bar Mitzvah and the party, with a great big superhero poker tournament. In another couple of stories, Deadpool fights with and eventually joins the GLA, which doesn't work out well for anyone (Squirrel Girl keeps calling Deadpool, "you evil, evil man!"). In addition to making fun of the GLA, readers get the Deadpool humor too (self-aware and a bit crass, if you haven't read any Deadpool stories or seen the movie). I laughed but felt guilty afterwards, just like the Deadpool movie.

The best story is with the Thing. The other stories depend a lot on your sense of humor. I enjoyed them but do not think they are great. And they don't have enough Squirrel Girl, if you ask me.