Rating:  -
While many of the second volumes of the Marvel Essentials have been disappointing, since it seemed Stan Lee got bored and redundant with many of his titles, Spider-Man is an exception. The stories are still very good, and it probably helped that Steve Ditko was plotting many of them. There are some lame characters in here, but also some good storylines. When the art switches to John Romita, it is still excellent. He may have the definitive Spider-Man in my mind.
Rating:  -
Essential is right. This is 20 plus issues from the early days of Peter Parker's adventures as Spider-Man and some of the best. The storytelling by Stan Lee, the art by Steve Ditko...it's all here and it's all great. Memorable villians, fun stories, great artwork. This is a must-read for any Spidey-fan. I had a great time reliving old memories of the days I read these as re-prints in Marvel Tales.
Rating: -
I purchased this as a present for my grandson and ended up reading and enjoying it myself. This book brought back many childhood memories for me of carefree afternoons of reading adventures and comic book swapping with friends.
What a great and inexpensive way to regain your old comic book collection. I thought the black and white illistrations might take something away but it really doesn't. This is the second book in the series that I have purchased and would difinately recommend it to anyone looking for some nostalgia.
Rating: -
Stan Lee's, Steve Ditko's, and John Romita's "Essential Spider-Man, Vol. 2" is an awesome graphic novel of Spider-Man's original comic book series! This volume contains the exciting issues #21-43 and Annuals #2 & 3! This book introduces lots of new changes for Peter Parker. His love for Betty Brant changes to Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. It also brings lots of different villains to light for Spidey to battle, like:
- The Beetle
- The Clown, and his Masters of Menace
- The Green Goblin
- Mysterio
- The Crime-Master
- The Molten Man
- Xandu
- The Scorpian
- The Cat
- Kraven the Hunter
- Doc Ock
- The Looter
- The Rampaging Robots of Dr. Stromm
- The Rhino
What's really cool about this book is when you read the 3-part series of Spider-Man battling Doc Ock for the very life of his Aunt May, and when Spidey and the Green Goblin are both unmasked to each other! Another cool thing is the guest-appearances of The Human Torch, Dr. Strange, The Hulk, and the Avengers!
Even though the pages are all in black and white, I was still able to greatly appreciate Steve Ditko's and John Romita's art of drawing Spider-Man and his villains. I sped through this novel faster than I thought, wishing it wouldn't end! If you're a fan of Spider-Man, you'll love this great volume!
Rating: -
As great as this graphic novel was by itself, I know of one helluva great companion piece in the form of a book entitled "The Adventures of Darkeye: Cyber Hunter" whose odd manner of having log-entries over chapters seems almost like the script for a graphic novel, even though it is in the science fiction/high-tech and cyberpunk genre along with books like "Cryptonomicon", "Snow Crash", "Prey", and "Altered Carbon". Very fast-paced and visual as well as being very exciting due to its action-packed pages.
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