Product Description

J. Jonah Jameson's spent years making Spider-Man's life difficult - but payback's a switch when he gets shackled to Spidey, who has to rescue the irascible editor from not one but TWO mad scientists! Plus: the introductions of the Fly and Jigsaw! Electro, Mysterio, Calypso, and Mesmero! And a Dr. Octopus saga so big it took two annuals to cover it! The death of a forgotten Golden Age hero and the fate of the burglar who started Spidey's career in the first place! Features first appearances by the Black Cat and Madame Web! Guest-starring Captain America, Dazzler, Dr. Strange, the Punisher, and Spider-Woman! Collects Amazing Spider-Man #186-210, Annual #13-14, and Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #1.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97057 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 600 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780785130741
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

Spidey gets kicked around in this one!
I don't know what the other reviewers where reading, but this a solid run on The Amazing Spider-man, One reviewer said Parker had no girlfriends in his life at the time, this is not true, Betty Brant makes a return (She's separated from Ned Leeds)and wants to hook up with Pete (she here through out the whole book), then there's the Black Cat, she really likes Spider-man, Mary Jane is gone but not totally, she makes an appearance here and there, then there's Debby Whittman from The Spectacular Spider-man comics. the stories are quite good, Spidey get his clock cleaned not once but three times, first by The Fly, then The Kingpin does a number on our hero (Spidey with a broken arm! issue 197, it's one of my all time favorite comics, I have 3 of them, I must have read it 100 times) and Mysterio soundly defeats Spidey. Kieth Pollard with Jim Mooney take up the bulk of the art chores and they do a fantastic job, John Byrne does several issues and so does Sal Buscema. Marv Wolfman writing is great and Roger Stern and Denny O'Neil come in to do the last 5 issues. This Essential Spider-man is better than vol 8 and as good as vol 7. A lot of the book focuses on Peter Parker's personal life, with friends, work and Aunt May, This is my favorite run on Spider-man, it just has so much to offer, victories and defeats, scandals (Pete with a married woman) and loss (John Jameson, Aunt may and Black Cat dies, or so Pete thinks) and finally, dealing with freak J. Johan Jameson is at it best in this installment. Give this one a shot, you can't go wrong, it's less than fourteen dollars on Amazon, maybe cheaper given time. Last, but not least, Jim Starlin does number 187 it is in my opinion his best art that I've seen him do.

The Stories Are Getting Bad
The only two good things about this volume is the number of comics you get and it's Spider-Man.

The 9th volume of Essential Spider-Man is not up to par in storytelling. Most of the villains are newbies. Of the veteran foes, we see Mysterio, Electro, Kingpin, Kraven the Hunter and Chameleon.

The stories are really bad. You can tell they are in desperate need of some new ideas for Spidey. Parker is out of school and has become a teacher at the university.

He also gets fired from The Daily Bugle and decides to work for The Daily Globe.

Here are a few of the titles found within this volume:

Chaos Is The Chameleon!
The Power Of Electro!
The Jigsaw Is Up!
Mayhem By Moonlight!
In Search Of The Man-Wolf!
Wanted For Murder: Spider-Man!
24 Hours Till Doomsday!
The Wings Of The Fearsome Fly!
Never Let The Black Cat Cross Your Path!
Nine Lives Has The Black Cat!
Requiem!
The Kingpin's Midnight Massacre!
Mysterio Is Deadlier By The Dozen!
Now You See Me! Now You Die!
The Spider And The Burglar...A Sequel (200th comic)
Man-Hunt!
One For Those Long Gone!
Bewitched, Bothered And Be-Dazzled!
The Black Cat Always Lands On Her Feet!
...In Love And War!
A Method In His Madness!
Mesmero's Revenge!
Fusion!
To Salvage My Honor!
The Prophecy Of Madame Web!

Everything Old Is Still Old, But Gets Done Again
Trade Talks rating: 3.5 of 5

Essential Spider-Man, v. 9, has a striking similarity to the Brand New Day continuity. In each, there's no MJ or other steady girlfriends, but there is poverty aplenty, Harry Osborn (and the rest of the supporting cast) hanging around, and a non-J. Jonah Jameson boss supporting Peter's photography. Other than a healthier Aunt May and no Black Cat in BND, it almost feels like Marvel gave early copies of Essential Spider-Man 9 to the writers and said, "This is what we're looking for."

Marv Wolfman was in a sweet spot in Spider-Man lore here: after the doldrums following Gwen Stacy's death and leading into the revitalizing run of Roger Stern. The villains are among Spider-Man's best. But this is not an empowering book for any female readers, and the long-term subplots in this book lack a satisfying end.

There's a lot to like in Essential Spider-Man, v. 9, and there's a decent amount that comes across as lacking. Although I enjoyed the book throughout, I couldn't shake a nagging feeling that it just missed being great. So it has to settle for good.

Raoul Raoul from [...]