The Best of Spider-Man: Volume 1

The Amazing Spider-Man (1999) (Single Issues) #30-36

by J. Michael Straczynski, John Romita Jr. (Illustrator)

As Spider-Man swings into theaters in the big-budget motion-picture event of the decade, rediscover the most acclaimed Spidey stories of the year... collected for the first time in one action-packed volume!

J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr. introduce an enigmatic stranger who forever will change the way Peter Parker views himself... and the origins of his amazing alter ego! Plus, the web-slinger struggles to cope with the most horrific tragedy ever to befall his city: the events of Sept. 11.

Paul Jenkins and Staz Johnson join an investigation in progress as a particularly resourceful private eye attempts to track down the most elusive quarry of all: Spider-Man!

Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso chronicle the last hours of a mob lieutenant marked for termination by the infamous Kingpin of Crime!

Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo get under the rock-hard hide of the tortured soul that is the rampaging Rhino!

Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Sienkiewicz reinterpret a classic Spider-Man team-up when the web-slinger finds himself caught in the crossfire of a clash between Daredevil and the Punisher!

Reprinting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (Vol. 2) #30-36, SPIDER-MAN'S TANGLED WEB #4-6, PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN (Vol. 2) #35 and ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP #6-8!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Spider Man, Marvel, Comic Book

336 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Joseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Best-Of series a lot. While I was obviously coming in to a story that had been ongoing for 30 years or so, I didn't feel confused or left behind. Straczynski did a nice job here.

It's a character centered story, which I like. And there's a surprising amount of subtlety in the storytelling, with time taken for beautiful digressions. I really liked the entire issue devoted to Rhino, and told from his point of view.

Given that he's a character that's dumb as a hammer who mostly specializes in running through walls, you wouldn't think it would be a particularly compelling story. But it was.

[Graeme Small · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although at first glance this oversized hard cover appears to contain a compilation of 'the best', as the name would imply, Spider-Man stories this is not correct at all. Quite the contrary, this book actually collects Spider-Man #30-#36, Spider-Man's Tangled Web #4-#6, Peter Parker: Spider-Man #36 and Ultimate Team-Up #6-#8. Fans of this era of Spidey will recognise the majority of these issues are from 2001. The bulk of the content sets up J. Michael Straczynski's ('JMS') run on Spidey

The first part is JMS' first arc of his run (30-35), and features two major changes for Spider-Man. Spoilers!
Spider-Man encounters, for the first time, Ezekiel. Ezekiel is a gentleman in his 50s (I think 58? I can't remember) who has the exact same powers as Parker. He poses the question "Did the radiation enable the spider to give you those powers? Or was the spider trying to give you those powers before the radiation killed it?" prompting Peter Parker to question his very origin. The arc also introduces a new villain, Morlun, who feels like a genuine threat to Spider-Man. The fight between the two feels somewhat rushed, the fight is meant to last many hours but much of it is skipped over. Romita Jr's artwork, though, is sublime. The second 'major change' is by the end of the arc, Aunt May discovers her nephew's secret, in one hell of a cliffhanger.

The second JMS/Romita Jr story is a single issue, #36, addressing the 9/11 attacks and more specifically the attack on the World Trade Centre. The story is an emotional tribute to the 'real heroes' - namely the fire/police/ambulance services, heroic individuals and others. Some fans find the story laughable given how certain evil characters are portrayed but I don't think the story is meant to fit in with the continuity as such. It's very moving and definitely worth reading, if only for the artwork alone.

The rest of the book reprints other stories from the era. Spider-Man's Tangled Web #4-#6 features "Severance Package" by Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso and "Flowers for Rhino" by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo. I found 'Severance Package' to be an interesting read but 'Flowers for Rhino' didn't interest me at all. These two stories are reprinted in Spider-Man's Tangled Web Omnibus which includes the complete series. Tangled Web is a series of ever-rotating talent showcasing an anthology series of which Spider-Man, rather misleadingly, barely appears in cameos and certainly isn't the protagonist. A thoroughly good read, though, as we gets to see various artists and writers' takes on Spider-Man, most of which are not usually associated with the character.

Peter Parker: Spider-Man #36 consists of Billy Fender, an insurance claims investigator, as he utilises detective work attempting to discover Spidey's secret identity.

Ultimate Team-Up #6-#8 is an out-of-continuity story set (loosely) in Marvel's Ultimate Universe imprint and features a teamup of Spider-Man, Punisher and Daredevil by written by Brian Michael Bendis and art by Bill Sienkiewicz. The story is fun but not up to Bendis' usual standard.

Overall I give the bulk this book 5/5 easily. JMS' run on Spidey is renowned for being so ground breaking and interesting, and, with other series including the ones in this book and Marvel Knights Spider-Man (various, but in particular Mark Millar and Terry Dodson), leads up very nicely to the big reveal in Millar's Civil War which is still spoken about in the mainstream media today.

The actual book though, I'd rate 3/5. While this is the best way to read JMS' run so far (Inevitable omnibus edition coming within the next few years, I'm sure...) the other stories don't really fit in all that well and are better collected elsewhere anyway. An oversized collected edition of 'Ultimate Team Up' collects every single issue of the series and the Tangled Web Omnibus due in June 2017 again collects every single issue. I'd only really recommend this book to collect the JMS run, which I feel I must reiterate, is fantastic. Easily the best Spider-Man run I've ever read!

To properly collect this era of Spidey I'd recommend the following:
Best of Spider-Man Volume 1 (this book) (Spider-Man Vol 2 30-36)
Best of Spider-Man Volume 2 (Spider-Man Vol 2 37-47)
Best of Spider-Man Volume 3 (Spider-Man Vol 246-58 and 500 [reverted back to original numbering]
Best of Spider-Man Volume 4 (Spider-Man 501-514)
Best of Spider-Man Volume 5 (Spider-Man 515-524)
Tangled Web Omnibus
Marvel Knights Spider-Man Hardcover (Marvel Knights Spider-Man #1-#12)
Spider-Man: The Other (Spider-Man 525-528, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-4 and Marvel Knights #19-22)
Civil War (Event in its entirety)
Civil War: Spider-Man Hardcover (Spider-Man #529-538, Sensational Spider-Man #28-34, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11-16)
Spider-Man: Back In Black (539-543, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #17-23)
Peter Parker Spider-Man: Back in Black (Companion issues to the above)
One More Day (544-545, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24 and The Sensational Spider-Man#41, this book essentially ended the series and the multiple titles were condensed into one ongoing biweekly production rather than the confusing titles above.)

So all in all 4/5. It's the best way to collect the JMS run for now, but if you're reading this in the future and there's an omnibus edition available, chances are that's better.

Thanks for reading!

[Ben Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note to self, and whoever is reading this (which is no one) I haven’t read this book, I’m using it to log ‘Ultimate Marvel Team Up: Spider-Man, Punisher and Daredevil’ because it was in the Daredevil Bendis Omnibus vol. 2.

Way better than I was imagining! Mainly because it focuses on Daredevil and the Punisher, while insulting Spider-Man.

It’s a really fantastic, short story about revenge, in only a few pages, we learn everything we need to know about Frank, why he is the way he is, his enemies, and Daredevil’s role in the situation. It takes us on a wild journey from prison, to the streets, back to prison, as Frank goes on his crusade against the people who killed his family. The never ending debate of morality between Daredevil and Punisher, is something I love about these guys, and while it could never reach the highs of that one episode from Daredevil season 2, it’s pretty cool, only for that bum Spider-Man to come in and ruin everything! The ending was incredible however, because even though Spider-Man destroyed everything, Frank still got to have his sweet vengeance by sharing a cell with his vile villain, an awesome note to end on.

The art is really beautiful, since this is Punisher’s story more than anything else, it reflects his tortured psyche very well, and shows how messed up his world is, but the style adapts for each hero, keeping it fresh. I’m also glad the story isn’t completely one sided, as it acknowledges the pros of Daredevil’s point of view, but allows Frank to get what he needs.

Overall, really spectacular!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this collection of the "best" of Spider-Man stories from twenty years ago, with some stories earning 4 or 5 stars, but others only 2 or 3.
It was certainly interesting to see Spidey using a pay phone to call Aunt May and to realize that only twenty years ago, cell phones were not the norm - not to mention that hardly anyone even calls them "cell phones" anymore. ;-) It was also quite something to see how Spider-man (and his writers & artists) react to the tragedy of 9/11 in "real time" just after it happened, especially as we're noting the 2oth anniversary this month. Striking images and generally moving (though possibly overly-patriotic) writing.
The first half (ish) of the collection is Straczynski's story of Peter being hunted by Morlun, an ancient and incredibly powerful psychic vampire, who feeds on super-powered beings. Before Morlun begins his hunt, Spidey is warned by an older man who seems to have many of Peter's own powers, Ezekiel Sims, who gained his spider-totem powers through ancient ritual. Spider-Man gets his tuchus handed to him when Morlun decides to attack and eventually Ezekiel helps him battle Morlun until Peter uses his big brain to figure out how to defeat Morlun using some of the source of Spidey's powers.
The Flowers for Rhino story was okay, but predictable, and I didn't care much for the Punisher / Daredevil story.

[Jedi Master Nate Lightray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down, some of the best Spider-Man I’ve ever read. I love the main story, and the back-up pieces are equally welcome. The 9/11 story is heartbreaking, and takes me back to a different age (after all, it was 20 years ago). The Rhino story is funny. My only complaint about the Daredevil-Punisher-Spider-Man story has a new Punisher origin that I didn’t care for, but the story itself is fantastic.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really impressed with this collection. Character-driven story with strong pay-offs. While the whole Spider-totem thing is still more than a little far-fetched to me, I have to say that the writing and characters made any shark-jumping more than forgivable. Just some great classic comic feels and action.
The most notable part of this collection, though, was the issue that was published in reaction to 9/11. I was not emotionally prepared to read that story. It brought back all of the feelings from that horrible, horrific day. Deciding to address a real-life tragedy in a comic book is no easy feat. How do you pay respect to the real heroes with fictional heroes? But the point of the comic was exactly that: It shone a light on the real heroes of that terrible, terrible day. It could have been written in poor taste, but it, to me, felt very honoring. When something terrible happens, everyone wants to help. Those who can, give (and I'm sure many people who worked on this comic did just that), but when it comes to creative people--those who tell stories or write songs or paint portraits--they also want to do something. And what I remember (I was pretty young), is that there were a lot of creative people doing exactly that: Paying homage, raising awareness, and trying to process (and help others process) in the best way they know how. The message of this story was to be stronger together as sources of light and goodness, even when evil strikes in such an impossible way. I will admit that a comic book trying to do that could come across as tasteless, but it was actually handled really well. You could tell the hearts of the writers and artists were in the right place. The shock was evident on the page. And I feel like, if I had been reading comics as a kid, seeing my heroes--Spider-Man, Captain America, the Avengers, and more--asking the same questions I was; feeling the same sadness, and fear, and anger; but ultimately remembering that people are good and we have to remember that and fight for that--I think that would have been healing in many ways. And I think, for kids nowadays who know 9/11 as only a date in a history book, something their parents experienced but that they (thankfully) can't imagine (and hopefully never will), stories like this will hopefully make understanding that tragedy more accessible. This comic was a time capsule of a specific, terrible moment in history. It was fiction, yes, but it used the fiction as a way to highlight what we were all feeling. It included superheroes, yet, but only so that the true heroes of the day could be put on the highest of pedestals.
That was a lot of writing to say one very simple thing: I was not prepared for that comic. I very nearly cried reading it. But it was an issue that was worth reading. It was worth remembering. And if I ever have kids, I could see using that comic as a way to help them understand, not only that day, but about the darkness in the world and our responsibility to always be a light instead.
Phew.
Lots to say... and I'm actually not done talking about this collection. A couple last thoughts that made this book really stand out: (1) Stories that highlighted villains (specifically a failed Kingpin henchman and the Rhino) and who they were as people not just "bad guys;" (2) Daredevil team-up (recently realized I REALLY like Daredevil) and a Punisher story (which was interesting because I've never really read him; too dark for my taste, but it was still interesting).
Final score: 5/5 stars. Solid collection. Great writing. If you're wanting Spidey, this is a great choice.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here we have the very first issues of J. Michael Straczynski's apparently polarizing, incredibly long run at the helm of The Amazing Spider-Man, along with a few other bonus stories thrown in for good measure. I have to say, so far, I'm into it. JMS definitely has a tendency to be long-winded, throwing in too much narration that features too much heavy-handed faux-philosophical rambling, but this isn't constant enough in this volume to really throw me. Basically, he's just a good writer.

There isn't anything wildly original here. No ground is broken. But what we do get is intensely readable, popcorn superheroism that ends up being a blast to read. In this volume, Spider-Man battles a seemingly-immortal, vampire-like guy who feeds on superheroes (or, to be more specific, those chosen by "animal totems"). It's helped quite a bit by Romita Jr.'s excellent pencils (which I'm not used to saying, as I find his art to be pretty lacking sometimes), and just flies by. It's a very solid intro to his run, and I'm looking forward to the rest.

Also included in this volume is JMS's famous 9/11 Spider-Man issue, which was published shortly after the attack on the World Trade Center, and was lauded for being a well-written, emotional response to the disaster. I can only imagine what it must have felt like to read it at the time. I was impressed by JMS's urge for America to deal out justice, but not to become caught up in vengeance to a point that we kill just as many innocents as were lost in New York. This seems particularly apt in hindsight, what with drone strikes and the ongoing battles we still fight leaving many innocents dead. I remember at the time hearing so many of my peers and friends saying how much they wanted to join the army and go wipe out the terrorists, and in such a heated, revenge-fueled time, it's very interesting to see JMS take a more reasoned, peace-leaning approach. Also in hindsight, the issue reads a little heavy, consisting almost completely of florid language and attempts at waxing poetic, but it's a little hard to judge an issue for this when it was written just after such a sea change.

Anyway, on to the lighter stuff. Also in this volume are few short, one- or two-off stories featuring Spider-Man and/or his rogues gallery. And guess what: I enjoyed almost every one of them. Rucka and Risso present a measured, emotional, and incredibly realistic mob story from within Kingpin's organization. Peter Milligan writes an occasionally laugh-out-loud Rhino story inspired by Flowers for Algernon, which may have been my favorite of these shorts. Paul Jenkins' story about a depressed, broken man trying to discover Spider-Man's secret identity is a little forced but ultimately enjoyable.

The only bonus story in this volume I didn't really like was Bendis's Ultimate Team-Up, which felt like a rushed, shoddily-plotted attempt to shove The Punisher, Daredevil, and Spider-Man together all at once. For one, these characters barely interact, kind of defeating the purpose, and it takes almost two entire issue of the 3-issue arc to actually get anywhere.

So, some solid Spidey stuff in here, if nothing that's going to stick with you forever. Definitely worth a read, but you could also skip this big volume and just read the regular JMS trades or hardcovers. Whatever, man, it's your life. Do what you want.

[Randy Lander · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the time he left Amazing Spider-Man, JMS had done some fairly awful things, and I'm not 100% sold on some of his "Spider-Totem" stuff either, but early on, it was interesting, and had gorgeous artwork by John Romita Jr.

However, the JMS/Romita Jr. stuff is a small part of why I bought this book. There's also a great one-off by Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso that shows the day in the life of a mid-level operator for the Kingpin. Then there's a fun two-parter about the Rhino turning smart by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo, one of Paul Jenkins' memorable Spidey stories about a journalist who is trying to crack Spidey's secret identity and a terrific, gritty out-of-continuity Spider-Man/Punisher/Daredevil story by Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Sienkiewicz.

Basically, it's a great sampler of different sides of Spidey (and those in his life, whether he knows it or not) by a wide variety of talented writers and artists. It's not a "Best Of All Time," but it can legitimately be called a Best of 2002 for the character.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book in the comics section at the library. I've been a Spider-Man fan since growing up on the 1990's TV show, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with a book entitled Best of Spider-Man. I was wrong. I liked the first story, "Transformations, Literal & Otherwise", which first appeared as the comics Amazing Spider-Man #30-35 and took up about half of the book. I also liked Amazing Spider-Man #36, a special 9/11 tribute. I skimmed through the rest of the comics, but couldn't find anything that grabbed my attention. These were mostly focused on the Kingpin, Rhino, Punisher, and Daredevil, and Spider-Man seemed to only make small cameos.

I have to believe that there are better Spider-Man comics out there than the ones included in this so-called "Best of" collection.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've tried to follow the work of JMS where I can, having become a big fan of his thanks to Babylon 5. I'd actively avoided Spider-Man comics since the god-awful Spider-Clone Saga. So when I heard that Straczynski was writing Spider-Man, you can imagine how conflicted I was. So much, in fact that I almost passed up the opportunity to read.

Thankfully, I did not.

JMS fundamentally altered the Spidey-verse with his run and that proved to be a good thing.

This collects the start of his run and it should not be missed.

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story was excellent--great plot, difficult villain, interesting character tensions, and some interesting superhero theories. The other stories were more mediocre, though there were some good parts in the story about Rhino, and in the Daredevil/Punisher/Spider-man teamup. The latter needed a lot cut off from the beginning, though, and a lot more added to the actual conflict, since the value conflict had a lot of unused potential. Most of the rating is for the excellent first story; the others were entertaining, but less engaging.

Rating: 3.5-4 Stars (Good).

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. I would have given this book 5 stars but there was one storyline with Rhino that I thought was a bit lame. The other stories in this book were great.