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Amazing Spider-Man Classic Newspaper Comics - 1977
160 pages, Paperback
Published April 28, 2026
3 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,580 books2,365 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 9, 2026
Amazing Spider-Man Classic Newspaper Comics - 1977
One thing I miss about newspapers are the comics. From 1977 to 1980, there was a Spider-Man strip in the papers. This first volume collected the first year's worth, the black and white Monday-Saturday strips, and the color Sunday strip.
The first storyline featured Doctor Doom being invited to speak to the United Nations about letting him crush crime in America. It's amazing how much Dr. Doom of 1977 sounded like Donald Trump of today - he's all "only I can fix this," and "only the strong can conquer crime! The power is mine, the skill is mine, the resolve is mine!" He also refers to himself in the third person... Anyway, one other thing I noticed is how clear and clean the artwork is. I really like the older style of drawing comics. There are some comics today that are unreadable by me because I can barely figure out the order to read them in, or the artwork is so vague or super-stylized to the point that I just can't enjoy it.
After Doctor Doom was defeated, Doctor Octopus arrived. So many Marvel villains have advanced degrees. Maybe I should become Doctor Accountant or something (I have a PhD and am an accountant), but that doesn't sound terribly villainous. This was a fun storyline. Then Spidey has to face the Rattler. I wasn't familiar with him, so I looked him up, and discovered he's unique to the newspaper strips. In a way the Rattler defeated himself, but he was actually a pretty cool villain.
After the Rattler, Spider-Man was approached by the Kingpin, who offered to hire Spidey to help him get elected mayor. Spidey is cuffed with a tracker, which means he can't go home or Kingpin would discover who he really is, but Vanessa frees him when the Kingpin goes on a rampage, threatening to kill J. Jonah Jameson. The Kingpin tries to shoot Spider-Man, but accidentally shoots his wife (Vanessa), and that ends the Kingpin's mayoral run.
Next, Spider-Man recounts his origin for us. At this point, I doubt many people need his origin retold, but maybe in 1977, for comic strip readers unfamiliar with the comic book, it was more necessary. Then Spider-Man has to fight Kraven the Hunter. I've always wondered why Kraven was named that, since "craven" means cowardly. I've never read many Kraven stories, so I am not particularly knowledgeable about this villain. Jameson hires Kraven to hunt down and defeat Spider-Man. He gets close. J.J. Jameson decides to help, and Kraven feels this spoiled the hunt, so he quits and Spider-Man goes Christmas shopping.
Throughout all of this, we get glimpses of Peter Parker's relationships with Aunt May and Mary Jane Watson, and his rivalry with Flash Thompson, who wants to date MJ. MJ even goes on a Florida vacation with Flash!
Nowhere as deep as a comic book or a movie, these were simple and enjoyable strips, offering adventures and some pleasant amusement. I enjoyed these a lot.
One thing I miss about newspapers are the comics. From 1977 to 1980, there was a Spider-Man strip in the papers. This first volume collected the first year's worth, the black and white Monday-Saturday strips, and the color Sunday strip.
The first storyline featured Doctor Doom being invited to speak to the United Nations about letting him crush crime in America. It's amazing how much Dr. Doom of 1977 sounded like Donald Trump of today - he's all "only I can fix this," and "only the strong can conquer crime! The power is mine, the skill is mine, the resolve is mine!" He also refers to himself in the third person... Anyway, one other thing I noticed is how clear and clean the artwork is. I really like the older style of drawing comics. There are some comics today that are unreadable by me because I can barely figure out the order to read them in, or the artwork is so vague or super-stylized to the point that I just can't enjoy it.
After Doctor Doom was defeated, Doctor Octopus arrived. So many Marvel villains have advanced degrees. Maybe I should become Doctor Accountant or something (I have a PhD and am an accountant), but that doesn't sound terribly villainous. This was a fun storyline. Then Spidey has to face the Rattler. I wasn't familiar with him, so I looked him up, and discovered he's unique to the newspaper strips. In a way the Rattler defeated himself, but he was actually a pretty cool villain.
After the Rattler, Spider-Man was approached by the Kingpin, who offered to hire Spidey to help him get elected mayor. Spidey is cuffed with a tracker, which means he can't go home or Kingpin would discover who he really is, but Vanessa frees him when the Kingpin goes on a rampage, threatening to kill J. Jonah Jameson. The Kingpin tries to shoot Spider-Man, but accidentally shoots his wife (Vanessa), and that ends the Kingpin's mayoral run.
Next, Spider-Man recounts his origin for us. At this point, I doubt many people need his origin retold, but maybe in 1977, for comic strip readers unfamiliar with the comic book, it was more necessary. Then Spider-Man has to fight Kraven the Hunter. I've always wondered why Kraven was named that, since "craven" means cowardly. I've never read many Kraven stories, so I am not particularly knowledgeable about this villain. Jameson hires Kraven to hunt down and defeat Spider-Man. He gets close. J.J. Jameson decides to help, and Kraven feels this spoiled the hunt, so he quits and Spider-Man goes Christmas shopping.
Throughout all of this, we get glimpses of Peter Parker's relationships with Aunt May and Mary Jane Watson, and his rivalry with Flash Thompson, who wants to date MJ. MJ even goes on a Florida vacation with Flash!
Nowhere as deep as a comic book or a movie, these were simple and enjoyable strips, offering adventures and some pleasant amusement. I enjoyed these a lot.
Review of advance copy
The Spider-Man strip was a fixture of my newspaper reading when I was a kid but I never read the earliest strips until now. I saw Clover Press was doing a kickstarter to make softcover editions of the first four years and jumped at it.
The Spider-Man newspaper strip is an odd animal, familiar but different. Drawn by Jazzy John Romita and allegedly written by Stan Lee, some of it feels like retellings of early Spider-Man adventures and some of it feels like new material. Spidey goes up against Dr. Doom, Dr. Octopus, some mort named The Rattler, the Kingpin, and Kraven the Hunter, but his most dangerous opponents are his relationship with Mary Jane Watson and Aunt May. It's fun stuff. Has Spider-Man ever gone a year with interacting with another hero since he was created? Apart from the newspaper strip, I doubt it.
The Spider-Man newspaper strip is an odd animal, familiar but different. Drawn by Jazzy John Romita and allegedly written by Stan Lee, some of it feels like retellings of early Spider-Man adventures and some of it feels like new material. Spidey goes up against Dr. Doom, Dr. Octopus, some mort named The Rattler, the Kingpin, and Kraven the Hunter, but his most dangerous opponents are his relationship with Mary Jane Watson and Aunt May. It's fun stuff. Has Spider-Man ever gone a year with interacting with another hero since he was created? Apart from the newspaper strip, I doubt it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews