Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks Vol. 7 Regular Edition Cover

Vol. 44: Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks Variant Edition Cover

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SPIDER-MAN AT SONY PICTURES
The official site of the Spider-Man movie franchise!

SPIDER-MAN HYPE
A fan site devoted to the Spider-Man movies.

SPIDER-FAN
This is the ultimate site for fans of the Spider-Man comic book! More info than you can shake a web at!

STEVE DITKO: LOOKED UP
This is an awesome site dedicated to legendary comics artist and co-creator of Spider-Man, Mr. Steve Ditko!

SPIDER-MAN THE MOVIE ON DVD
Buy the widescreen DVD edition of the all-time box office smash starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst!

SPIDER-MAN 2 ON DVD
Buy the widescreen DVD edition of the sequel to Spider-Man blockbuster!

SPIDER-MAN: The '67 Collection
This 6-disc DVD set collects the whole run of the 60s Spider-Man cartoon!

On Sale: MASTERWORKS LIST

Not just AMAZING...now he's SPECTACULAR!!!

This new volume of Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks may only include six issues of the regular title, but in addition to the giant-sized Annual, Vol. 7 in the wondrous wall-crawler's Masterworks line includes the two triple-sized issues of Spectacular Spider-Man magazine...which all adds up to over 300 pages of Spider-Man action!

The two magazines were a real departure for the way Marvel was doing business at the time. Wanting to offer a product with a different slant than their regular comic line, Stan and company first expanded into the magazine market with Spectacular Spider-Man. Did it work? Well, after only two issues, the Spider-Man magazine initiative was shut down. According to Publisher Martin Goodman, the timing just wasn't right for that kind of material in that kind of format at that kind of price. But editorially, the comic art produced in those pages is just as timeless as the classic comics that were being turned out on the spinner racks!

Spectacular Spider-Man #1 is a rock solid, 64-page extravaganza, including a painted cover and 53-page feature story done in black and white tones by ace artist John Romita! The story pitted Spider-Man against a wicked candidate for high office, Richard Raleigh, who would stop at nothing to get total power! Normally, this would mean stuffing the ballot box or recruiting dead people to vote for you, but in Raleigh's case, it meant employing a mad scientist to create a giant, lumbering Frankenstein-like monster to destroy all his foes! (And if you think that Raleigh's foes will eventually include Spider-Man, no need to renew that MMMS membership card!!!)

This magazine, in particular, is a wonderful showcase of a different side of Jazzy John's repertoire. The black and white tones really add a sense of depth and moodiness that is rarely seen in the more sunny, bright color comics. His girls are still as gorgeous as ever, though, with some tremendous panels of Gwen and MJ included in the mix. This story was later refashioned into the regular continuity of Spider-Man in 1973's Amazing Spider-Man #116-118, with John's art colored for the first time and some story elements adapted by writer Gerry Conway. (Look for this story arc to show up in Spider-Man Masterworks 12-13 or thereabouts!)

Spectacular Spider-Man #2 was an even more amped up tale, and this time in full-color! An out-and-out classic, it is a pinnacle moment in the long history between Peter Parker, Norman Osborn and their super-powered alter egos! Many grace notes from the first Spider-Man movie have their origin in this story, including the time that Norman Osborn invites Peter and his friends over for dinner - not sure what the kids dined on that night, but Norman sure did serve up some weird suspense for desert! This issue is adorned with another gorgeous painted cover, and the comic concludes with a neat little bit of trivia: a next issue advertisement for a next issue that never came!

As for the Amazing Spider-Man stories reprinted within, they're no slouches either! ASM #62 features a romp through the city streets with Spider-Man chasing down a righteusly angry Medusa! Seems she has been done wrong by a hair spray company....No, I'm not joking!

ASM #63-64 features the return of the original Vulture, Adrian Toomes, and he isn't happy about the way Blackie Drago has sullied the name of the Vulture in his stead...and of course, he takes out his anger on Spider-Man! The resultant battle culminates in one of the most dramatic moments in Spider-Man history!

ASM #65 finds Capt. George Stacy and Spider-Man in a sticky situation, trapped inside a prison during a full-scale riot! With stories like this, the characterization of Capt. Stacy gets to grow even more, and his influence on Peter becomes even more resonant. And the last regular issues reprinted in this volume, ASM #66-67 is a comeback by the mysterious Mysterio! Ol' Quentin Beck is as unhappy as the Vulture, and wants revenge on Spider-Man, his greatest foe. Anytime a capable artist like Steve Ditko or John Romita has Mysterio squaring off against Spidey, it's gonna be a fun time reading comics - and this two-parter is no different! The set piece John established for the fight is pretty clever, and something he had to convince Stan to do, according to his introduction!

ASM Annual #5 is another classic, as Peter travels the world to reconcile the true facts of the life and death of his parents. It's got everything: exotic locales, a mystery villain, secrets shrouded within secrets, and Larry Lieber! Ol' Larr turns in his usual solid work, and with John Romita's assistance in laying out the issue, is a much more confident work than the previous Annual. And along with extensive pin-ups and featurettes, this annual contains the classic "Here We Go-A-Plotting!" by Mad Marie Severin!

This far into the series of Spider-Man Masterworks, it's really nice to see a bona fide classic volume to stack up against all the previous ones, and Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks Vol. 7 can hold its own against any of them!

-- by Gormuu

Issues Reprinted
Amazing Spider-Man #62-67, Annual #5, Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1-2

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.

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