Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 19

Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #193-202, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #13 and Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #1
Written by Marv Wolfman and Bill Mantlo.
Penciled by Keith Pollard, John Byne, Sal Buscema, Rich Buckler, Al Milgrom 
Inked by Inked by Frank Giacoia, Jim Mooney, M. Hands and Terry Austin.

(Message from your trusted Bronze Age Reprint reviewer: Some of this material has been published in another reprint book that I reviewed here a few years ago. So if some of this review looks slightly familiar...it's not your imagination!)

Summary: Peter Parker's crime fighting career as Spider-Man began when his Uncle Ben was killed in his own home by a criminal known only as "The Burglar." Spider-Man captured the Burglar, but was shocked when he learned he could have apprehended him before Ben was killed. This taught Peter a great lesson about power and responsibility.

In present-day New York, Peter has matured into one of the world's greatest heroes. But now, the Burglar has returned! He believes there's a treasure hidden in the Parkers' house in Queens, which is why he broke into the house and shot Uncle Ben years earlier. The Burglar invades the (now-unoccupied) home and tears it to shreds. After failing to find the treasure that way, he decides that he'll have to get Aunt May to reveal its location. The Burglar makes it known that he will resort to deadly force if necessary. 

At the same time, Spider-Man's enemy the Fly is back in town. The Fly tries to kill Spidey and J. Jonah Jameson. He later attempts to rob New York's Metropolitan Museum Of Art, but Spider-Man intervenes and a slug fest in a blizzard ensues. 

Subsequently, Spider-Man tangles with a new menace who calls herself the Black Cat! This is tough for the ol' webhead, since he's never been comfortable fighting women. Black Cat is attracted to Spidey and isn't shy about it...and he finds himself attracted to her as well! They share a kiss in the middle of a battle, but Spider-Man is determined to bring her to justice.

Black Cat's main objective is to break into prison and free her father, famed cat burglar Walter Hardy.  Spidey tries to prevent this, but ends up with a broken arm. He follows the Cat to her family's house, where she ends up falling to her (apparent) death.

While Spider-Man is fighting crime, Peter Parker's personal life is in shambles. Mary Jane has recently turned down his marriage proposal. When he misses a date because he's busy fighting crime, MJ dumps Parker. Peter later finds himself in a love triangle with his first love Betty Brant and her husband Ned Leeds. J. Jonah Jameson fires Parker from his the Daily Bugle photography job. 

But the most crushing blow hits when his Aunt May dies of a heart attack! 

Things only get worse when the Kingpin of crime decides it's time to exact revenge on the wallcrawler.  It's a knock-down-fight, made tougher for Spider-Man because he's nursing a broken arm! Spidey barely survives his fight with the Kingpin. 

Later, Spidey's old foe Mysterio (who is working with the Burglar) zaps him with a gun that takes away his Spider-powers! The de-powered Parker is later captured by the Burglar.  

He wants Peter to tell him where the treasure is hidden in the old Parker house. The Burglar tortures Peter to get the information, but he never caves. However, the Burglar has one trump card left to play. Will Parker regain his superpowers and defeat the Burglar?

Sometime after that, an underworld criminal named Jimbo Ryan kills secret service agent Kent Blake, while making Blake's death look like a suicide. A friend of Blake reaches out to Spider-Man and asks him to investigate the circumstances of Blake's "suicide." Spider-Man is reluctant but agrees to investigate after meeting Blake's family and learning that his suicide means they won't get any life insurance.  

We also learn that Spider-Man's arch foe Doctor Octopus is looking for Ryan. His plans for a super-weapon have been stolen by Jimbo while he was working for Doc Ock.  

As Peter Parker, Spider-Man infiltrates Ryan's gang and goes undercover, using the alias "Kid Parker." Spidey's plan goes sideways when Doc Ock finds them and recognizes Parker. Octopus takes off with Ryan, planning to kill him.  

After locating Doctor Ock, Spider-Man battles the villain and rips out of his tentacles in the process. Doctor Octopus flees to regroup. Spider-Man later learns that Doc Ock and his minions are planning to raid New York Harbor and steal a top secret nuclear submarine from the Navy. Spidey is the only one who can stop Ock, and it culminates with an underwater slugfest!

Finally, Spider-Man stumbles on a shootout between gangsters and the costumed vigilante known as the Punisher. Spidey joins the fray and knocks out a few of the gunman. Punisher says Spider-Man's interference cost him information and stuns the wallcrawler with one of his "mercy" bullets.  

We learn that Punisher's target is the drug empire of Lorenzo Jacobi. He's currently on trial and his henchmen plan to spring Jacobi, which the Punisher aims to prevent. When the jailbreak happens, neither Spider-Man or Punisher stop Jacobi from getting away.

Punisher investigates a new lead, which takes him to Peter Parker's apartment. Peter is shocked when the Punisher says he knows Parker's secret!  

Has the Punisher figured out that Spider-Man and Peter are one and the same?  

Plus, Peter struggles in his new job as photographer for the Daily Globe newspaper.

And Spidey's greatest detractor, J. Jonah Jameson, has gone insane. He winds up in a mental hospital and loses control of the Daily Bugle!

Review:

Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 19 opens with a good, long arc which is followed by two shorter stories. It's an enjoyable, action-packed, and entertaining book.

In case you don't know, the Burglar's name is never revealed in this story and has not been revealed to this day. And that's how it should be. I don't think I'm spoiling anything here by mentioning that Aunt May is discovered to be alive after all.

Story:
The stories featured in Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 19 are very good. Marv Wolfman does a nice job juggling all the characters that come and go. Wolfman began writing & editing Amazing Spider-Man with issue #182 and this story is the high point of his tenure.  

In addition to the Burglar's return, these stories include the first appearance of the Black Cat, who would go on to be a major character in the 1980s. 

Mysterio is also handled well here. In recent years, Ol' Fishbowl Head has been turned into a bit of a joke, treated like a loser. But he's part of Spider-Man's original rogues gallery. When he strips Spider-Man of his powers, he feels like an A-list villain.

The two-part battle with Doctor Octopus has been a favorite of mine for a while. The first part, written by Wolfman, from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #13 is the best part of this tale. Part two, from Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #1, was written by Bill Mantlo. It's a slight step down from Wolfman's portion, but it's a fun story with one of the better Spidey/Doc Ock battles of the Bronze Age.  

The only problem I have is the way Peter acts in the early part of the story. His old girlfriend Betty Brant Leeds is going through some marital strife and turns to Parker. Peter eventually rejects her in a very cruel manner, something that's very out of character for him. Yes, he immediately regrets the way he handled it and only did it in order to get Betty and Ned to reconcile, but the damage is done.

It ends with a good two-part Punisher story.  

I also enjoyed the scenes at the Daily Globe, Peter's new employer. It's a shame that Wolfman didn't stay with the book. I would've liked to have seen Parker stay at the Globe a bit longer.  

Art:
The art in Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 19 is always good and sometimes spectacular.  

This book doesn't have a "unified" look, since there are multiple artists handling the pencils. But that's okay, when the pencilers are Keith Pollard, Sal Buscema and Al Milgrom, all great artists of the Bronze Age. Jim Mooney (a great penciler in his own right) does most of the inking and he does a good job as well.

The X-Men "dream team" of penciler John Byrne and inker Terry Austin provide art for the first part of the Doc Ock fight and it's some of their best work. Here's a nice example of their art from this book:

Rich Buckler and Jim Mooney provide good solid Marvel house style art for the rest of the Ock tale. 

How Does It Look?:
Here's a scan from an original copy of Amazing Spider-Man #197:

This is how the same pages appear in this book:

Extras:
At the end of the book, you'll find six pages of original art, two alternate covers, two house ads and  the original sketch of Black Cat by Carmine Infantino and Steve Leialoha.

Rating:

Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 19 features a great sequel to Spidey's origin story that gives Peter some closure. In the end, Spider-Man realizes he's lucky to have his powers and his encounter with the Burglar reinvigorates his desire to fight crime and make the world a better place.  The Punisher and Doc Ock stories are also enjoyable and this book is highly recommended.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 Sals!

Blogging about Bronze Age Reprints leads to encounters with interesting people!

Hi again, everyone. I'm working on some reviews that should be ready to publish in the near future. As the title above indicates, I've met some interesting people related to the Bronze Age of comics in recent years, I thought I'd share some stories about these encounters with you.

Last October, my hometown, Richmond, VA hosted the Virginia Comicon. There were multiple Bronze Age creators at this event, so I made sure I was there. I was accompanied on my trip by Melanorrigby, my co-blogger at Holiday Film Reviews and a big fan of comic books in her own right.

Artist Howard Chaykin was the first artist I got to meet. He was very friendly to us, talking with us about politics, his career, and even shirts (after I complimented him on his attire). Chaykin told me he considered his Bronze Age art to be inferior to his later work. I disagree, but I guess most of us are our own toughest critics.

Next up was Ron Wilson, penciler of many great stories in the 70s and 80s, most notably serving as longtime artist on Marvel Two-In-One. Since the Thing was the star of that book, I asked Wilson if he had any particular affinity for Ben Grimm. He said that it started out as just "a gig," but that he grew to love the character.

Wilson said Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7 was the best story he'd penciled. It's a big favorite of mine too, so I was excited to acquire this super-sized poster of its cover!

Lastly, we met Joe Staton, who provided art for DC, Marvel and Charlton Comics during the Bronze Age. I didn't get to talk to Staton very much due to time constraints, but he was very friendly and signed my copy of the E-Man TPB!

Meeting those three creators made for an exciting day. But it also reminded me that I haven't written at this blog about the many other comic book industry giants I've met. So here are some photos of me and other creators taken at earlier cons:

Comics legend Neal Adams, one of the greatest comic book artists of all time and a longtime advocate for rights of creators!

Comics historian Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, granddaughter of Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, who was a co-founder of DC Comics.  Nicky promotes the work of her grandfather, which has been unjustly overlooked by other historians. She was very friendly and told lots of fascinating stories about her grandfather. Check out her official site to learn more about Malcolm.

Marv Wolfman, one of the best writers and creators of the Bronze Age. He wrote lots of great tales and co-created great characters like the Black Cat the New Teen Titans!

Danny Fingeroth, a long-time writer and editor at Marvel Comics. Fingeroth is also the author several books about comics history which you can learn more about and purchase at his official site.

Last but not least, here's a photo of me with Michael Golden, one of my favorite Bronze Age pencilers!

It's been a thrill to meet all these great people at cons over the last few years. If you get a chance to meet some of your favorite comic book writers and artists, please take advantage of that opportunity. I was able to tell them "thank you for all the great work" in person.

Thanks for visiting, please stop by in a few days for some new reviews!

J.A.

Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Volume 1

Reprints Marvel Spotlight #32, Marvel Two-In-One #29-33 and Spider-Woman #1-8
Written by Marv Wolfman and Archie Goodwin.
Penciled by Sal Buscema, Ron Wilson, Carmine Infantino and John Buscema.
Inked by Jim Mooney, Pablo Marcos, Tony De Zuniga, Steve Leialoha, Sam Grainger, Rick Bryant and Al Gordon.

Variant cover.

The criminal organization known as Hydra has a new powerful agent. Her name is Arachne and she possesses spider-powers, such as the ability to climb walls, glide through the air and the power to shoot venom blasts from her fingertips.

Arachne invades a SHIELD base with two objectives: to free her boyfriend Jared (who is also an agent of Hydra) and to eliminate SHIELD's director Nick Fury.

When she attacks Fury, Jared gets in the way and is fatally wounded. Arachne tries to comfort him, but with his final breaths, Jared tells her not to touch him. Jared only professed love for Arachne because Hydra leader Otto Vermis ordered Jared to pretend he cared for her. She confronts Vermis and learns that she was once a spider and was evolved into a human by the High Evolutionary! Arachne is shocked and distraught to learn this and turns on her Hydra bosses.

Vermis is killed during the ensuing battle and Arachne wanders off alone to find answers about her past.

Some months later, Ben Grimm, better known as the Thing of the Fantastic Four, and his girlfriend Alicia Masters are in London seeking to meet Dr. Louis Kort, an expert in cybernetics and bio-genetics. When they arrive at Kort's home, it's been ransacked and Kort is nowhere to be found.

When Shang-Chi, Master Of Kung Fu, hears Alicia's screams emanating from Kort's residence, he mistakenly thinks Ben is responsible for Kort's disappearance. Shang-Chi doesn't recognize the Thing and attacks him.

After a brief battle, Ben and Alicia explain who they are. The two crimefighters agree to collaborate and search for Kort.

They discover Hydra has captured Kort. Hydra forces Kort to use his scientific expertise to revive Arachne, who is now called Spider-Woman, from a state of suspended animation. Through a flashback, we learn that Hydra captured her after she turned on them.

When Spider-Woman is awakened, she is hypnotized by Hydra and ordered to attack Ben Grimm.  During their fight, Spider-Woman captures Alicia and turns her over to Hydra.

Hydra has a formula that will create an army of spider-women that will do their bidding and they want to test it on Alicia. It does not work and Alicia is turned into a strange spider-monster.

Spider-Woman's hypnosis wears off and she joins forces with the Thing. They need to find a way to stop Alicia without hurting her. Thankfully, Sue Storm, the Invisible Girl arrives to lend a hand. Can the three heroes defeat Alicia and restore her humanity?

Later, the Thing visits Stonehenge where he and Spider-Woman are attacked by a quartet of demons. In order to defeat theses monsters, they'll need the assistance of Modred the Mystic, who possesses magical powers taught to him by Merlin himself!

After the battle, Modred informs Spider-Woman that in spite of what Hydra told her, she was born a human being. Modred reaches into her mind and reveals her origins. Her real name is Jessica Drew, her parents were named Meriem and Jonathan.  Her father was an experimental geneticist. Jonathan moved his family to Mount Wundagore where he built a laboratory. He was assisted by Herbert Wyndham, another expert in genetics.

One day, Jessica contracted radiation poisoning and was placed in a cryogenic chamber to save her life. Jonathan injected her with spider extract, hoping it would cure her. But Jessica remained comatose. Jonathan disappeared shortly after his wife Meriem died, but his assistant Herbert stayed in Wundagore and tried to save Jessica. Herbert eventually became the High Evolutionary and succeeded in saving Jessica. After years of incubation, Jessica was saved and was now half-human, half spider.  

Modred reveals Spider-Woman's true origin.

The knowledge of her past does not immediately improve Jessica's life. At times, Spider-Woman is forced to steal food in order to survive. She is pursued by the police and encounters a SHIELD agent named Jerry Hunt. He tries to apprehend Spider-Woman, but accidentally unmasks her. Hunt thinks her face looks familiar.

Jessica meets Jerry Hunt.

With her identity compromised, Jessica dyes her hair black and redesigns her mask. This will hopefully prevent Jerry or anyone else from guessing her identity. Shortly after this change, Jerry Hunt is shot and Spider-Woman provides the blood transfusion that saves his life. Though he barely knows Spider-Woman, Jerry tells a colleague that he's falling in love with her.

Later, a criminal named "Slappy" Struthers tries to steal the sword Excalibur from a London museum. When he touches the sword, he hears the voice of Morgan Le Fay, King Arthur's half-sister. Morgan commands Struthers to pick up the sword and act as her servant on Earth. Struthers is given a steed and a suit of armor and calls himself Excaliber.

Simultaneously, Spider-Woman meets an old man named Magnus. He works as a fortune teller, but it's a cover for his true identity. Magnus is an ancient wizard who battled Morgan Le Fay centuries earlier. Magnus will serve as a friend and mentor to Jessica.

Spider-Woman later decides to depart London for the United States and Magnus accompanies her. She leaves a note, hoping Jerry will search for her in the states. Jessica and Magnus rent an apartment in Los Angeles.

Subsequently, Spider-Woman battles a criminal known as Brother Grimm. At the moment of her victory over Grimm, she is taken captive by a crazed vigilante who calls himself Hangman. He takes Spider-Woman to a mysterious old house and locks her in a basement dungeon.

The basement seems to come to life, with ghostly versions of people she knows flying at her.  It turns out to be the work of Morgan Le Fay, who has followed Spider-Woman to Los Angeles.  Can Spider-Woman defeat Morgan and escape the dungeon?

She will get some assistance in the battle when Magnus summons Werewolf By Night to the dungeon!

Plus, Spider-Woman investigates the death of her father.

Review:
Spider-Woman was originally created by Marvel to prevent another company from owning the name. But she's still around nearly four decades later. Not bad for a character which such a dubious origin.

Story:
I'll admit that most of the stories reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Volume 1 were new to me.

Archie Goodwin wrote the first story in this book, reprinted from Marvel Spotlight #32, which contains Spider-Woman's first appearance and origin. I've always found the bit about Spider-Woman being a spider evolved into a woman to be a bit silly, even for a comic book. It's not a great origin story, but it's a decent introduction for the character. Marvel supposedly had no intention of producing any more Spider-Woman tales.

Marv Wolfman wrote the rest of the stories reprinted here, starting with a four-parter from Marvel Two-In-One. I always enjoyed this series and Ben Grimm was one of my favorite characters during the Bronze Age. A fight between the Thing and Shang-Chi could've been silly, but Wolfman makes it work. He does a nice job of bringing Spider-Woman into the story. She's a reluctant villain who ends up teaming with the Thing to stop Hydra.

After that, Wolfman writes a good retelling of Spider-Woman's origin story, getting rid of the "evolved from a spider" business. I found myself caring about Jessica Drew from the beginning and that's a credit to Wolfman's skills. He also wastes no time trying to build a supporting cast for Spider-Woman's solo tales. Jerry Hunt is a good romantic interest for Jessica. I was happy that Jessica had Magnus to serve as her mentor and confidant.

I'm guessing Wolfman moved Jessica to Los Angeles to keep her as far as possible from Spider-Man. The presence of characters like Modred, Morgan Le Fay (who would become Spider-Woman's arch enemy) and Excaliber also helps make her stories much more magical and mystical than the average Bronze Age Spider-Man adventure. Spider-Woman would not meet Spidey until Spider-Woman #20, published a year after Wolfman's departure from the series.

The weakest portion of the book is the story that features the Hangman. He's introduced with fanfare in the beginning of the tale, seeking Brother Grimm. Hangman kills one of Grimm's accomplices.

Then he shows up during the story's climactic battle, captures Spider-Woman and imprisons her in a dungeon. And then...Hangman disappears while Morgan Le Fay shows up in the dungeon and attacks Spider-Woman. In other words, Hangman has no reason to be in the story. Plus, his capture of Spider-Woman seems a bit too easy.

The book ends with two offbeat short stories that feel a bit like episodes of The Twilight Zone. The first features a man who is over 200 years old who is cursed with immortality. He asks Spider-Woman to help him die. It's followed by "The Suit," which is built around a suit worn by a fallen gangster that may have supernatural powers. Spider-Woman serves as more of a supporting character in both shorts, but they end the book on a high note.

Art:
While the stories are a mixed bag, the art is excellent throughout the book. Sal Buscema, embellished by Jim Mooney, provided the art in Spider-Woman's first appearance and their art looks great. The Marvel Two-In-One portion features pencils by Ron Wilson and John Buscema, both inked by Pablo Marcos.

The story that features Alicia transformed into a spider-monster could have been silly. But Wilson and Marcos make Alicia's metamorphosis look legitimately scary. The London location also gives Wilson and John Buscema a chance to draw Ben Grimm in a different locale. Wilson does some interesting things with panels and layouts, like this two-page spread:

Spider-Woman's solo tales feature pencils by Carmine Infantino embellished by multiple inkers.   Infantino's art here is very similar to his pencils on the Nova and Star Wars series published around the same time.  ony De Zuniga's inks give Infantino's art an almost Ditko-esque look.

Steve Leialoha also provided inks for several issues. His contributions give the Infantino pencils a nice slick, cartoony appearance.

Jerry, Jessica and Magnus during a rare moment of relaxation.

The art is pleasant to look at from beginning to end.

How Does It Look:
Here's a scan from my old copy of Marvel Two-In-One #32:

This is how the same pages look in Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Volume 1:

Extras:
Marv Wolfman wrote a nice new introduction for the book. I get the impression the character means a lot to Wolfman, and he mentions that he named Jessica Drew after his daughter. We also get an editorial from Wolfman that originally appeared in Spider-Woman #1, a 1978 Marvel house ad, and two pages of original art.

Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Volume 1 features mostly good stories, even if none represent the best of the Bronze Age. The art, Wolfman's scripts, and the Marvel-Two-In-One stories make this a book an enjoyable reading experience.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Sals.