John Romita, Sr.Rezensionen

A comprehensive and well printed compendium of CA's early stories.

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Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin features three of the best Spider-Man stories featuring his arch-nemesis. This trade paperback collects Amazing Spider-Man no. 17 (written by Stan Lee, art by Steve Ditko), Amazing Spider-Man no. 96 (written by Stan Lee, art by Gil Kane and John Romita),Amazing Spider-Man nos. 97 and 98 (written by Stan Lee, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Frank Glacola), Amazing Spider-Man nos. 121 and 122 (written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by John Romita and Tony Mortellaro), and Spectacular Spider-Man no. 200 (written by J.M. DeMatteis, art by Sal Buscema).

Amazing Spider-Man no. 17 tells the story “The Return of the Green Goblin,” in which Lee at Ditko portray Spider-Man battling the eponymous villain. It includes many of the classic elements of that era’s Spidey stories, with Parker trying to find time for a love life, looking out for his ever-sick Aunt May, putting up with Flash Thompson, and even a cameo from the Human Torch. It’s fun, though the Goblin appears less threatening in this early tale than in the later stories.

In Amazing Spider-Man nos. 96-98, Lee and Kane tell the story “Green Goblin Reborn!” In the story, Norman Osborn recovers his suppressed memories and once again becomes the villainous Goblin, setting out to attack Spidey in both his costumed crimefighter identity and as Peter Parker. The story arc itself is most notable for its portrayal of drug use, with Spider-Man saving a man who’s about to jump off a roof while under the influence of hallucinogens. Randy Robertson challenges the media’s portrayal of drug use as an inner-city or African-American problem, pointing out that this narrative allows rich white men like Norman Osborn to ignore the suffering of others. Later, Harry Osborn begins abusing drugs to ease his depression, leading to him nearly dying of an overdose. Even though the story was clearly anti-drug and Lee wrote it at the behest of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Comics Code Authority refused to approve it. Marvel’s decision to publish the story without approval coupled with the ensuing public debate helped change the industry-wide censorship guidelines for comic books.

Amazing Spider-Man nos. 121-122 tell the story “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” in which Spider-Man faces his greatest battle to date with the Green Goblin. The combination of Harry’s drug relapse and his failing business lead Norman Osborn to once again don the mask of the Green Goblin. He blames Peter for his troubles and seeks to hurt him, kidnapping Gwen Stacy and luring Spider-Man to the Brooklyn Bridge. Spidey attempts to save Gwen when the Goblin throws her over the ledge, but his webline creates a whiplash that snaps her neck (though the Goblin claims she was already dead). The story also features what was, at the time, Peter’s final battle with Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin in an iconic death for the villain before he began the cycle of returning from the dead. Many comic book historians consider this story the end of the Silver Age of comics and the beginning of the grittier Bronze Age.

In Spectacular Spider-Man no. 300, DeMatteis and Buscema tell the story, “Best of Enemies!” Harry Osborn, the new Green Goblin, returns to his life after his release from the supervillain prison called the Raft. He takes Mary Jane to the Brooklyn Bridge, promising her that she won’t face the fate his father crafted for Gwen. While Harry wants revenge against Peter, whom he blames both for his father’s death and for tarnishing his father’s reputation, he will confine his attacks to Peter alone. DeMatteis explains how Harry’s years of drug use combined with his underlying psychological issues led to him becoming the Green Goblin. The story offers a great ending to the Green Goblin saga, though retcons in the late 1990s largely undid most of the finality in these stories. This remains a good read for those looking for an introduction to Spider-Man’s greatest foe.

This Fireside Book from 1979 reprints The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1, nos. 42, 43, 82, and 96-98. Stan Lee, as curator of this volume, chose classic stories such as "The Birth of a Superhero!" and "Rhino on the Rampage!", both about the Rhino, "And then Came Electro!", about the titular character, and a three-part storyarc about the Green Goblin and the dangers of drug abuse. Interestingly, while the Office of Health, Education, and Welfare asked Marvel to write an anti-drug story, which Marvel delivered in a manner to avoid appearing overly preachy, the Comics Code Authority refused to sign off on the story. So Marvel published it anyway. It was so well-received that all subsequent reprints received the Comics Code Authority's seal of approval. The art by John Romita and Gil Kane is classic Spidey guaranteed to enthrall fans. While this book from the late 1970s does not feature some of the contents as modern trade paperbacks, such as a cover gallery, it will still appeal to fans and collectors alike, especially with the gorgeous cover art by Bob Larkin.½

Some great stories, from comics I had as a boy.

This trade paperback reprints seminal (and a couple of not-so seminal, IMHO), recolored issues from the first, ground-breaking series of The Amazing Spider-Man; the comic books included here are: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1, #39-42 (#39 & 40 featuring the wrap-up of the original Green Goblin saga, with the revelation of the first Green Goblin's true identity; this two-part story arc also features the first time that a super-villain learned Spider-Man's true identity, and didn't laugh it off as a hoax, as Doctor Octopus did in TASP Vol. 1, #12), #50 (the second time that Spider-Man gave up being Spider-Man; the first was in TASM Vol. 1, #18), #68-69 (comprising part of the Stone Tablet/Kingpin/Silvermane epic), and #108-09, the penultimate Stan Lee/John Romita issues of TASM, and Romita's personal favorites of the issues that he drew, apparently due to their being influenced by Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates newspaper comic strip.

John Romita (styled "Sr." here, due to his eponymous offspring having become a renowned artist -- primarily on Iron Man and The Uncanny X-Men, but also on The Amazing Spider-Man -- in the intervening years) is one of the two artists most closely associated with Spider-Man, despite having done yeoman work on Captain America (even on the 1950s-come-lately version, before graduating to the revived real thing in the 1960s) and Daredevil ('twas in the pages of Daredevil [Vol. 1, #16-7] that "JR" drew his first Spider-Man; rumor has it that it was this that convinced writer-editor Stan Lee to tap Romita for the job of drawing Spider-Man after co-creator Steve Ditko left in high dudgeon over a disagreement with co-creator Stan Lee, reportedly over the resolution of the Green Goblin's identity); Romita later went on to a distinguished, if brief, run on Marvel Comics' first modern superhero title, The Fantastic Four (Vol. 1, #103-06). Romita served as Marvel Comics' art director for a number of years, and any aficionado of early-to-mid-1970s Marvels will have or recall numerous issues of various comics whose covers were retouched, uncredited, by him. (Usually the faces of certain characters.) Other artists have left their mark on Spidey -- Gil Kane, Ross Andru, Sal Buscema, Todd McFarlane, even John Byrne -- but no one else "says" Spider-Man like John Romita and his predecessor, Steve Ditko.

Stan Lee wrote all of the issues reprinted here; it's rather depressing to see his writing get less polished, less attentive to detail, as the years progressed. Yes, by the time that #108 and #109 came out (early 1972: the issues are cover dated May and June 1972, respectively) his duties were far too varied and pressing for him to have remained the scripter on more than one or two titles, but one suspects that the fault lay with his refusal to give up the titles that he loved best -- such as The Amazing Spider-Man -- rather than due to a lack of talent in the Marvel bullpen.

Readers whose first introduction to Spider-Man is from the Sam Raimi-directed movies (3 at this writing) or the long-running newspaper comic strip are likely to be a bit surprised and confused as to the level of sub-plots in the earlier issues; in particular, fans of the movies will be dismayed at the lack of lethal violence, at Spidey's unwillingness to kill and the fact that "dumb luck" doesn't 86 his opponents at the end of every fight, while fans of the newspaper strip will be perplexed by the higher level of strength that is Spidey's birthright in his original, comic book incarnation. Long-time Spider-Man collectors will be pleased to get copies of these issues that are mostly handsomely re-colored; hopefully they've already got the originals or reprints of same to fill out the back story of the original ongoing clashes with the Green Goblin (TASM Vol. 1, #14, 17, 23, 26 & 27, 35, and 37), the conclusion to his first encounter with the Rhino (#43), the rest of his first struggle with the Kingpin (#51-2), and the rest of the eight month-long Stone Tablet/Kingpin/Silvermane epic (#70-5, with a two-part coda featuring a fight with Dr. Curt Conners [a.k.a. The Lizard] and the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four in #76-77).

For my taste, the best inker of John Romita's pencils is either Mike Esposito (credited as "Mickey Demeo" in the issues included here) or Romita himself; Jim Mooney's inks (here on #68-9) are too soft to do his pencils justice.

And despite the solemn finality of the "Flash Thompson's Vietnam Story" (in #108-09), some of the characters featured in this plot would be resurrected in the pages of Spider-Man's third "all new" title (the second being Marvel Team-Up), Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man. (This title was eventually shortened to The Spectacular Spider-Man, perhaps in recognition that most people bought it to see Spider-Man, not Peter Parker.)

While this volume contains only 7 issues of the monthly Spider-Man comic, it's an essential item because it also contains perhaps the best 3 extended Spider-Man stories ever.

The 7 regular tales are great enough with the strong characterisation and imaginative plotting of Stan Lee and John Romita seen here at its peak but the real story is how well they and Larry Lieber up the ante when given room to move.

The introduction by Romita tells the story of the abortive first Spider-Man spin-off title The Spectacular Spider-Man. Initially intended as a more mature approach with monochrome art recalling the golden age of film noir, the second issue reverted to standard colour art before the title was abandoned with a third issue not progressing beyond a story title.

SS#1 would be substantially revamped in the monthly title in 1972 but the 1968 original is easily superior. Taking its cue from the U.S. election year, the story involves an ambitious politician Richard Raleigh and a man-monster who seems to have a vendetta against him. George Stacy stands out as one of Marvel's strongest supporting characters here (the 1972 remake would cast Joe Robertson in the role since Stacy by that stage had died). The Spectacular Spider-Man #1 is a great idea that never reached its potential apparently due to publisher Marty Goodman.

SS#2 is more in the style of a Spider-Man annual, simply an extended form of the monthly title. The gradual breakdown of Norman Osborne is depicted in the monthly stories in this volume but this is where the Green Goblin lives again. A classic but one wonders how much better it would have been in the more adult style of SS#1. The story from SS#2 would not be reprinted until years later (73 or 74) and for many fans became the Great Lost Spidey Tale.

As those 2 epics weren't enough, there's Annual #5 to round out proceedings as we finally learn the secret of Peter Parker's parents. One of Marvel's most legendary baddies appears here but it's not one of Spidey's regular opponents.

Classic 60s Spider-Man all the way.

Just as it says, this is a collection of the reprinted greatest superhero battles in Marvel comics. Here we have two battles between the Hulk and the Thing, Daredevil versus Submariner, the X-Men versus the Blob, Thor versus the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange versus Dormammu, and Spiderman versus the Kingpin. These are rattling good stories, and they feed the nostalgic joy of a grown-up fan who remembers when these stories first came out.½

Issue 12 of Daredevil The Man Without Fear! is something of a turning point in the Marvel Age of Comics as it is with this issue that John Romita (Sr that is) returns to superhero comic art after an absence of over ten years (he drew Captain America in the mid '50s). After a decade of drawing romance comics exclusively for DC, the splash page of his first issue back in the heroics genre is a homage to that period.

Working from layouts by Jack Kirby for his first 2 issues, Romita quickly establishes himself as a major talent and his 8 issue stint on DD would steady the ship somewhat after the unevenness of the Everett/Orlando/Wood phase.

A two part story features Spider-Man almost on equal terms as DD, one of the better conceived hero partnerships of the era, and it would be no surprise that Romita would be chosen to replace Steve Ditko in Spider-Man's own mag a few months later.

The plots and characterisations are better conceived here too than in the first 11 issues but DD's real glory days were still to come.

With Romita having moved onto Spider-Man, Gene Colan takes over DD with issue 20. This would provide a crucial piece of the creative team required to push Daredevil into the upper echelon of Marvel heroes. Colan's moody, shadowy style would provide a grittier, nocturnal feel to the stories and a darker edge to Daredevil's character. Under Colan's visual direction, Daredevil would realise his potential at last.