I never thought I'd get so caught up in these classic comics, but I can't get over how fun this was. Between Spider-Man finding his voice as a wiseass, Stan Lee's unbridled enthusiasm and fourth-wall breaking, and Art Simek's POW! THWAP! FWOOSH!, this was a great time. This issue has both a great villain and great cameos, though Ditko’s version of the Fantastic Four is a little jarring for me. I love that Peter thinks of becoming a member of the Fantastic Four (that will take awhile), and their fight is really fun. Spider sense is introduced rather inconsistently, and people calling Spidey through his Spidey sense is rather dumb, but I’ll give it a pass. The Chameleon fight section is expertly crafted as an intelligent battle of minds. This is everything I want in a Spider-man story. After not liking the previous Morbius outing, I do like his team-up with Man-Wolf. I think that John Jameson’s relationship with his girlfriend should have been a larger part of the story, but the resolution was fairly clever, and Man-Wolf’s strengths are still relevant.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Omnibus Volume 2 New Printing THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Omnibus Volume 2 New Printing

Lee gets a lot of credit for his sharp take and themes but Ditko I feel is the real powerhouse, churning out classic costume after costume, visually representing an entire world, all while creeping everyone out with his weird figures and dynamic compositions. He set the tone for everything since and is rarely bettered. What else was great? Well the art naturally. Steve Ditko's work here is incredible. Ditko didn't go for realism, but rather a unique and inimitable style. Nowhere, before or since (sorry McFarland) was Spidey's unnatural athleticism captured so completely. Simply wonderful. You need this book, in other words, if you really want to have a kid to grasp the complexities and nuances of one of the greatest superhero archetypes we still have today. I hope to, myself, some day.Honestly, this is a solid issue. Now I’ve hated a Torch issue and liked a Goblin issue! What is happening? This episode has a little of the jealousy plague, but the Goblin’s plan is great as is Spider-Man’s call to Aunt May. This is the kind of Gobby I like. THE GRIZZLY! I’ll admit. I’m bringing some love for the character forward from the future, but he’s a good threat here with a better connection to Jameson. After I watched Spider-Man: No Way Home in cinemas last year, I decided to read this omnibus as I wanted to read the original comics to see how the character of Spider-Man started. By coincidence, this year also marks Spider-Man's 60th anniversary since his 1962 debut. On the subject of the art, I found Steve Ditko's classic art style to be simple yet never dull. I consider the mark of a great comic book or graphic novel to be one whose art is never poor enough to detract from the story being told, nor goes so overboard as to derail the reader's attention from the story at hand. Steve Ditko's art never infringed on either precept, which is something I cannot say for newer comics. Today, you will either find most comics to be bland and colorless to the point of losing all personality, or too stylized and out of touch with the characters of the comic (or just plain ugly). I like my comics, especially for Spider-Man, to be colorful and vibrant yet not overly busy, and Ditko achieved this balance beautifully. His artwork set the precedent for how Spider-Man should generally look and flow in comics, and for that he has my admiration.

Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus - Volume 1 (New Printing)

The Looter continues the generic Science Fiction villain theme while Gwen re-enacts the early Peter Parker coward comments! This has a bunch of typical Spider-man stuff, like Jameson hiring someone to kill Spider-man and Spidey fighting a hero. However, the residual anger and remorse over Gwen’s death adds some much needed feeling. Also, despite the questionable 70s characterization of Luke Cage, the resolution of their fight is quite good. I’ll give a small boost for Strange and a finally named Sha Shan, but overall, Stan can’t write Strange well. Dr. Strange screaming Bible verses at Vietnamese people is just… wrong.There’s the nonsense ending I didn’t really remember, but just disliked enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Ugh, what a waste of three issues before we lose someone.

The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Volume 4 - Goodreads The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Volume 4 - Goodreads

This issue has a lot of good Flash, Liz, and Betty stuff, though Peter continues to be kind of a creep. He has his reasons, but still... I’ve bemoaned some of the melodrama, but the Betty-Peter breakup is pretty intense and more real than many of their interactions. Also, love that last panel. Lee and Ditko changed the face of comics with Spider-Man and this complete Ditko run is phenomenal. Everything is there from the beginning, starting with the concise and perfect origin story then building up Pete and his world, the fantastic supporting cast, the pathos and teenage spirit, the (to me) best rogues gallery in the history of comics and the sheer vibrant joy. It's all right off the bat.Ditko and Lee created many of the classic villains, and this collection contains many of them. While the collection tapers off some, the art remains great throughout. Chvilku jsem váhal zda tomu přeci jen nevystřelit "jen" 4, ale to prostě nejde. K takhle starým kouskům se nemůže přistupovat bez nějakých ohledů.