A good set of stories, relating the history of the black costume, right after Secret Wars. One of the things that is so likable about Spiderman (Peter Parker), is that the great Spiderman comics are about Peter Parker, with Spiderman playing a feature role. He seems real because he has real problems, that being a superhero haven't solved, just complicated. ( )

The Amazing Spider-Man: The Saga of the Alien Costume collects issues 252 through 259 of The Amazing Spider-Man, picking up after the events of The Secret Wars in which Spider-Man received the black costume and concluding with him re-donning the classic red and blue duds. It's a pity that Marvel does not include the Secret Wars story that featured the first appearance of the black costume as well as the Spectacular Spider-Man issues that were on the stands at the same time as these Amazing Spider-Man issues, but Marvel's editorial notes in the margins make it easy enough to track down the issues and stories necessary to fill in the gaps. While the over-arcing story deals with the alien costume, there are also appearances from the Rose, the Puma, Hobgoblin, Black Cat, and Mary Jane's revelation that she knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man, along with MJ's backstory. It's a nice volume of classic stories about the Webhead and, coupled with the Birth of Venom book Marvel released in 2007, works as a good introduction to Venom for new readers. ( )