Amazing Spider-Man from the beginning

[Schmed]

,while #40 gets a C+.

C+?!?! It was the first appearance of the Retro-Scope helmet!

[Chris N]

I'm not sure how to describe it better, but you know, Ditko may not be the best artist around, but he had great visions for the characters, while Romita could translate the writer's words into images better. Hope it's not more confusing.

I think the problem with your phrasing is that Ditko may be the best artist around.

[matthewaos]

I think the problem with your phrasing is that Ditko may be the best artist around.

Let me put this this way: Romita needs a writer to work with him, while Ditko is a one man band. Ditko can create characters and envision their looks. But Romita's style is better.

C+?!?! It was the first appearance of the Retro-Scope helmet!

That dude is lost, the Retro - scope helmet alone makes the issue an instant classic!

But enough talking!!

[matthewaos]

Amazing Spider-Man #41


"The Horns Of The Rhino!"

(Art Simek is doing the lettering once again)

At Peter Parker's house, Aunt May is talking with Anna Watson. She asks May, now that her niece is moved into her own house, to live together. Aunt MAy is not sure cause she plays the "Peter is so fragile" card.

Peter though wants to buy a motorcycle. The guy from the store tells him that he has seen him looking at the bike for a month now. Peter wants a loan to get the bike so he calls Jameson to give credit reference. Jameson is ok with it, cause that way, he thinks, Peter will deliver more photos with less money.

Jameson had a conversation with his son, John, who we haven't seen him since issue #1! John describes his last trip on space, in which some space spors were attached to his body. The spors after a while looked that they had no reaction, but many abroad countries (especially the Russians) will want to examine him, so he is always accompanied by federal agents.

Somewhere around Mexico, I guess a huge figure in a Rhino costume walks. Some cops try to stop him, but bullets cannot harm him. He just brings a building down easy and continues walking.

Back at NYC, Peter sees a familiar figure, Betty Brand. Betty is back in town and the two decide to go for a coffee. Peter realizes that he feels like they are two strangers, there is no connection between them. Ned Leeds enter the coffee store and Peter finds an excuse to leave.

He sees in a TV store that the Rhino is coming closer to NY. Back at home Peter sences that Aunt May wants to talk to him about something (moving with Anna Watson). He studies but a bulletin from the radio is saying that the Rhino is in NY so he goes out as Spider-Man.

The JAmesons are in a hotel with the NASA agents, when the Rhino enters and takes John as hostage. Spider-Man arrives a little late but he finds the Rhino. The two start fighting. The Rhino is way too powerful for Spider-Man, he hurts when he is punching him. So he trows webs and tries to avoid him. The Rhino eventually is tired and after a powerful hit in the head, in the pavement, the Rhino falls down.

The next day Peter is driving his bike and flirts with Gwen. Both seem very attracted to each other. He goes home to Aunt May where Anna Watson reminds them that next Sunday they will go to her home for diner, and to meet MJ.

[matthewaos]

Semms like after some low issues with Ditko, and the major issues with the Green Goblin, Stan is back on moving foreword the character and the cast. This issue is really not one of the best there is but a very enjoyable one. I like the fact that the Rhino is not sump as a rock here, and I think that that way he has potential to bit Spider-Man very easily, though this might be why he was portrayed as dump in later appearences.

[matthewaos]

Amazing Spider-Man annual #3


"...To Become An Avenger!"


Writer - Stan Lee
Layouts - John Romita
Art and cover - Don Heck
Inker - Mickey Demeo
Lettering - Artie Simek

Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Giant Man, Hawkeye, and the Wasp have a meeting in the Avengers HQ. The meeting is to decide if Spider-Man should be an avenger or no. They decide to call Daredevil to tell them if he is ok or not.

Daredevil tells them about their two adventures and ensures them that he is ok. Hawkeye is really exxcited about this, cause he was in the same position as the wall crawler, who is usually hunted by the cops etc.

The avengers split up tp find him. Thor manages to and tells him that he should come to their HQ to discuss the matter though Spider-Man is telling him that he is not sure he wants to be an avenger.

Back at his home Peter thinks this a little more and decides to go and accept the proposal.

At avengers HQ Spider-Man meets the other avengers, and they try to decide which should be the proper test for Spider-Man. They seem pretty unorganized, and Spider-Man is stressed with Aunt May's helth so he loses his temper. They all go into a fight.

After the fight stops, Iron Man proposes that the test should be to capture the Hulk. Spider-Man easily accepts without hearing everything the avengers have to say.

He goes to Jameson to learn where he might be. Foswell enters the office telling him that Hulk has sighted in the downtown Gamma Ray Research Center and Spidey goes there to investigate.

He really finds the Hulk and the two without questions go into a fight. The Hulk is extremely powerful. He punches a gamma ray shielding wall witch frees some gamma rays that transform the Hulk into Bruce Banner. Banner tells his sad story to Spider-Man, a while before he transforms back into Hulk.

Spider-Man now pittys him and he does not want to deliver the Hulk to the avengers, in case they want to harm him, or just imprison him, cause he is just a victim. So he lets him go.

He goes to the avengers telling them full of joy that he cannot find the Hulk, and he will not be a part of the team. At home he is dissapointed that he ditsed the opportunity to become a member of a team he wanted to be a part of.

[matthewaos]

The problem with that story is that the avengers seem very unirganized for such a group. You would think that a group like that would know which tests a new member should go through. Also, up until Spidey meets the Hulk is pretty uninteresting.

The good stuff though are not few: I like Spidey when he acts very unconfortable when he is around super people. I really like it! I think also that Spidey learning that Hulk is Bruce Banner is kind of a landmark moment. Spidey knew who Banner was and thought that the avengers were considering him a bad guy, that's why they made him bring him to them, whille they wanted to help him. Spider-Man decides that he prefers to let him go, and don't become an avenger. That's one powerful moment!

Also, the reprints are issues #11 - 12, both with Doc Ock, maybe the best doc ock stories so far (I don't consider the master planner saga a Doc OCk story).

A very nice annual that I think if I was reading comics back then I would feeling like an idiot if I had missed it. That issue did not made me think any better of the avengers though. Especially considering their other (unofficial) meeting with spider-Man.

Oh! And Stan Lee informs us that Spidey and the Hulk met for the first time in issue #10... while the truth is, they met in #14!

[jedichris]

Re:ASM# 41
I've always liked the Rhino as a villain.It's great to see Spidey take on a foe whose much stronger than he is and has to use his brains as well as his strength.
Pg. 17 Panel 4:"Uh Uh no fair,Kikies don't count"!Who else but the Amazing Spider-Man could come up with such clever lines in the heat of battle?
Jameson's two page tirade was worth the price of admission.
I'll give it an A.

[AJBopp]

My guess is that Stan wanted a powerful issue that will grap the readers who were going to drop the title if they realize Ditko had left.

I find this unlikely. Even today when you have boards such as this, it's rare to find people really leave a title over the change of an artist, or even the dramatic change in direction of a storyline. Indeed, changes like this, even at the time, were known to cause a likely swell in sales in the long term.

In those days (trust me, I lived in those days) people read comics because they enjoyed the medium and were far less concerned about who was doing what for how long in terms of the creative team. Today the slightest alterations brings cries of bloody murder, but such was not the case in those days.

[AJBopp]

Let me put this this way: Romita needs a writer to work with him

Rumor has it that Romita plotted and wrote many issues between #50 and #100 despite Stan getting the credit, though to my knowledge it's never been verified.

[Jim Thompson]

Today the slightest alterations brings cries of bloody murder, but such was not the case in those days.

Well -- it might have brought on cries of bloody murder back then, too, but we didn't have the same methods to voice those cries.

[matthewaos]

Since Ditko admited that Norman was going to be the Green Goblin, maybe those issues were meant to be published at the time they were published, even though it was a little rush decision to for the reveal. But considering how the identity of the master planner was revealed, I think it is not unlikely that how they ended up being published was how they were originally planned to be published.

Though it feels a little like "we have a new artist, AND they identity of the goblin here. You MUST buy this!"

[matthewaos]

Amazing Spider-Man #42


"The Birth Of A Super-Hero!"

( Lettering - Sam Rosen)

In the splash page we see Spider-Man robbing a bank and the editor telling us that this is not an impostor, or a dream sequence. Spider-Man throughs the bag on the water. He is leaving the scene, as we go to see the JAmesons who are at the airport.

John Jameson feels a little wierd, and then he realizes that the spors have given him great strength. Foswell, at the daily bugle is searching for Jameson to tell him about Spider-Man, on a special suit designed by Tony Stark in a matter of hours.

Peter is at ESU talking to the buys and Gwen who invites him to a party. Everything seems great until he realizes that he has dinner to meet MJ. Gwen is dissapointed.

At the hotel where NASA is watching John Jameson, JJJ learns about the robbery. He realizes that the people will finally listen to him, now that Spider-Man was witnessed stealing. He sends his son to get him.

Somewhere else, some doctors try to find the source of his power. Ultimatly he wakes up, smashes the place and leaves.

He indeeds finds him and the two fight. Spider-Man tries to explain but he does not let him. Spider-Man explains that he senced there was danger in one of the bags of the bag, most propably a bomb, he goes as Spider-Man and troughs the bomb.

At the daily bugle, Spider-Man is telling Jameson to call the bank and see if everthing is fine, and the banks tells him that no money is missing. JJJ realizes that everyone will laugh at him again.

He tells John not to go and get Spider-Man, though he wants to go, and he seems a little more bitter and rough.

Spider-Man and Jameson fight. Spider-Man manages to duck when Jameson punches, and unltimatly his punch hit on an electric generator, so the spors are destroyed and Jameson loses his powers.

At Peter's house, he is thinking Gwen, trying to just end with the whole Mary JAme as wuick as possible. The door bell rings Peter goes to the door and... "Face it, Tiger...You just hit the Jackpot!"

[matthewaos]

Nothing great, nothing really fantastic. Except from the appearence of MJ! She sure looks so gorgeous.

[matthewaos]

I am currious to see how her appearence will change the mythos. Peter sure look stunned. I guess Ditko was not able to make her so beautiful. I think the story is good so far, I enjoy it.