Still Old Spidey

Although I bought a bunch of new comics on Friday, I'm going to continue re-reading my Spider-man collection for a bit as it's been some time since I got stuck in to the issues. I also know there's some really good stuff coming up...

Thus...

Amazing Spider-man # 210 by Denny O'Neil, John Romita Jr. and Joe Sinnott.

Firstly, what a great cover! I've always been partial to covers which depict Spidey, with his back to the reader, swinging towards or facing his enemy. This is a fine example by Jr. Jr.

Speaking of JR. Jr. the credits describe him and Joe Sinnott as the "newest art team supreme" which implies that they were going to be the regular art team on the book. It is a cracking job and so it's a shame that this was actually Sinnott's only issue.

The story itself by O'Neil shows an improvement on previous issues an he seems to be getting into his stride. It ties up the whole Pete working for the Daily Globe storyline and also, more interestingly, introduces Madame Web. She was a good character and its a pity that she's not around today. Pete could have needed her advice before making some silly mistakes during the Civil War.

M Web is a clairvoyant and reveals at the end of the issue that she knows that Pete is Spider-man. A plot device that is used in future issues....

All-in-all, a good read. Rating 8/10

Amazing Spider-man Annual #14 (1980)

by Denny O'Neil, Frank Miller and Tom Palmer

That's right, Famous Frank draws a 40 page Spidey story.

This is an odd issue.

When I first read this back in 1980 I remember being really disappointed. It was my first ever American Marvel Annual and although it had forty page story, it didn't feature any of Spidey's main villains, the art was quirky and the story a bit boring.

Well as a 39 year comic reader I think I can appreciate different things to a 13 year old. I can now see that FMs art is great and the story interesting if not action packed. It's a story involving magic and features Dr Strange and Doctor Doom although Doom isn't in it enough for my tastes. I like the fact that Doom gets double crossed but still ends on top - a sign of a great villain.

Its nice to see that my comic reading tastes have grown-up a bit.

Rating now - 8/10.