Rating:  -
All right, now for a little "voice of reason" after a few five star reviews. Spectacular Spider-Man was always the "runner up" Spidey title and this volume showcases that well. Although it does focus more on Pete and his college teaching career, the supporting cast of characters are none of the familiars--Mary Jane, Flash Thompson, Liz Allen and the like. They are all relative unknowns who fell away into obscurity when this cycle of stories were over. Anybody out there remember Debra Whitman or Philip Chang? Didn't think so. The stories are also second tier with a gaggle of villains that border on the ridiculous. The Iguana. The Schizoid Man. The Vulture as a mob boss. Madame Belladonna, the fashion designer turned super villain who attacks with a deadly perfume gas (she is the main villain in 3 of these stories). Come on! Oh, and let's not forget when Spidey was transformed into the terrible Spider-Lizard (I guess that's what happens when you are Curt Connor's teaching assistant). The inconsistent art is passable in some places and outright bad in others with way too many artists represented. Even the stories by folks that later turned out some fabulous comic art like Mike Zeck, John Romita Jr. and Rick Leonardi really look like green rookies in the art presented here. In comparison, the best issues in this collection are the two that were NOT part of the series--Amazing Spider-Man Annual #13 and Fantastic Four #218. The writing is much better and both sport cool John Byrne art so you see how deficient the Spectacular stuff really is. You need to buy this anyway to keep the collection complete but don't expect to be bowled over by the comics presented here. The good news is that Volume #3 gets much better with more "important" stories, better characters (Black Cat, Cloak and Dagger, The Kingpin) and more consistent art (Frank Miller covers and some nice experimental Ed Hannigan pencil work). Slough through this one to get to that one.
Rating:  -
THIS ESSENTIAL PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN WAS ONE OF THE BETTER VOL. OF STORYS THAT I HAVE READ IN SO TIME. WHEN WAS YOUNGER I HAD STOP READING SPIDER-MAN STORYS, THIS KIND OF BRING ME BACK TO THE 80'S.
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