Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, Vol. 21: Return of the Sinister Six

Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection

by David Michelinie (Writer), Charles Vess (Writer), Erik Larsen (Cover Art)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #334-350, Spirits of the Earth OGN. Doctor Octopus is putting the band back together! But who will join master planner Otto Octavius in the most Sinister Six of all? Spidey is about to find out, but defeating this sextet of his most ruthless foes will test him like never before - and in the aftermath, Peter's tremendous sense of responsibility will lead him to give up his powers! Is this Spider-Man no more? Normal life isn't so great when the Scorpion attacks, and the Black Cat must leap to the rescue. Fingers crossed that the web-slinger will be back in action by the time Venom returns, the Avengers assemble and Doctor Doom arrives in town! Peter and Mary Jane's romantic getaway in Scotland turns into a haunted second honeymoon!

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

504 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2016

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

On balance, this is an entertaining collection with solid storytelling by David Michelinie and great art by Eric Larson. But, we need to talk about that Doc Ock plot…

Here’s how I imagine things went down during Ock’s brainstorming session:

“Okay, hmmm…I need a new plan for world domination. Maybe if I took away something people REALLY like…yeah, that’s good. What do people love? Puppies? Yeah, they love puppies. And chocolate—the plebes all love chocolate. And cat memes. What about reality television? Oh, oh—there’s also vehemently disagreeing about things regardless of facts or science. They really, really love that. But, hard to take that away. Hmmm. What do they love MORE than any of those things?”

*Maniacal laughter*

“Cocaine! EVERYONE loves cocaine, but you know who needs that sweet nose candy the most? RICH WHITE PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF BUSINESS AND POLITICAL POWER! Ahahahahaha! YESSSSSSSS!”

*Furrows his brow in concentration*

“But how can I take it away from them? AH! Yes—I know exactly what I will do. Develop a cure for addiction and release it into the atmosphere with the help of those dolts I deign to deem the Sinister Six! Mwaahahahaha! Patsies. Yes, they’ll help me. And then no one on Earth will be able to use cocaine – or any other drug or alcohol – without becoming violently ill!”

*Pauses, stares off into distance*

“Wait, though. How does taking cocaine away from everyone help me rule the world? Maybe this isn’t such a good…oh. Oh, wait.”

*Thrusts index finger high into the air*

“Of course! I’ve got it—I’m such a GENIUS. I will develop an antidote for the cure—something that will enable people to become readily hooked on their drug of choice once more!”

*Scratches chin, looks unsure*

“I still don’t see how this is going to help me gain dominion over…no, no, Otto—how many times do I have to tell you: trust your superior brain. Just give it a moment to…YES.”

*Cackles*

“I will force those rich, white people in positions of business and political power to let ME pull the strings in exchange for giving them the antidote and a ready supply of the Devil’s Dandruff. They’ll do ANYTHING for to plow through that Florida Snow once more! And then…then the world shall be MINE! And no one, not even that accursed arachnid, can stop me!”

*More enthusiastic maniacal laughter”

“Otto Octavious, you magnificent bastard. You haven’t lost your fastball.”

Like, seriously. That was his plan. And it almost worked (except for interference by that accursed arachnid).

You can’t make this stuff up. Unless you’re David Michelinie, I guess.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about half of this book, on the recommendation of War Rocket Ajax’ Chris Sims who couldn’t shut up about how bananas Doc Ock’s latest Sinister Six evil scheme is. And it IS nuts - something something “powdered substance placed in the atmosphere that makes it impossible for anyone to consume COCAINE anymore?!?”

And it’s kinda awesome to see the full expression of 80s-to-90’s hair on MJ - my GOD did she keep the Aquanet corporation in business.

So much of the rest of the book is fine - yet again Spidey hangs up the webs, Aunt May experiences another romantic interest dying (does May have the Maggie O’Connell curse? Must look deeper), and MJ has another stalker. I’m sure if I was still collecting comics in university, I’d have been grabbing this up.

But I think ten consecutive issues is plenty to scratch that saccharine itch. DNF.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection of stories. Basically Doc Ock wants revenge on Peter so he plans to bring a new sinister six to the front line. On top of that Peter and MJ are working through life trying to be together but also working on themselves. A slice of life spidy story, nothing grand or big, but always enjoyable with a bit of cheese.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

You gotta love the 90s.

I do enjoy these Epic Collections, they tend to collect a year or two of comics in one go so it's nice to see how comics were faring in certain time periods. I just hope Marvel bridge the gaps between them rather than just doing random ones all over the place then getting bored and never finishing the series off.

This volume begins with an original graphic novel written and painted by Charles Vess; the story is nothing to write home about and tries to be both supernatural and serious at the same time without committing to either, but the art is so pretty that I couldn't care less.

The titular Return of the Sinister Six story is pretty good, being one of Marvel's old fortnightly Spider-events (like Round Robin in the following trade, but worse), and it actually has some lasting effects with regards to Pete's supporting cast. With a concept like the Sinister Six, it's interesting that this is the first time they've been back since their original appearance in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 way back when.

There are a few little stories next, like Peter losing his powers and fighting a load of D list villains, as well as the introduction of Cardiac, one of my least favourite characters ever, but then everything picks up again near the end as Venom returns (although I've read this story numerous times in other trades), and then Spidey fights Doctor Doom to round the volume off.

There's ups and downs, as you'd expect in 2 years worth of comics; the art is fairly consistent, if a little overly exaggerated. Most of the book is drawn by Erik Larsen, also known as Diet Todd McFarlane, and Mark Bagley pops up for a bit in the middle too before taking over as regular penciller in the following trade.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spirits of the Earth is absolutely gorgeous, if a bit ill-fitted plot-wise.

The rest of the volume sees Larsen really polishing his work, and Michelinie continuing to be somewhat hit-or-miss as a plotter. It ends up overall being a pretty fun (if a tad milquetoast) ride.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's ok. It's fun sometimes, and sometimes boring. Kinda chore to read throughout the dialogue.

[Dusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spiderman is one of my favorites and I'm loving these Epics!!! Doc Oc is getting the gang back together... Spidey gives up his powers... lame Cardiac is introduced... Venom pops up... my boy Doom is in here being a boss... and my new favorite is Black Cat, I love her!!! Great book!!! Heavy hitter!

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints Spider-Man: Spirits of Earth and Amazing Spider-Man (1) #334-350 (January 1990-August 1991). A trip to Scotland with Mary Jane lands Peter right in the middle of a supernatural mystery. Doctor Octopus’s attempt to reform the Sinister Six leads to a plot to blackmail the world for his own nefarious plans. Venom returns to Peter’s life and his own plans to end his battle with the Wall-Crawler. The Black Fox is back in town and Peter finds himself in a life-or-death battle with Doctor Doom as a result…it is all just another day for Spider-Man!

Written by Charles Vess and David Michelinie, Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection—Volume 21: Return of the Sinister Six is a Marvel Comics superhero comic book collection. Following Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection—Volume 20: Cosmic Adventures, the collection features art by Charles Vess, Erik Larsen, and Mark Bagley. Issues in this collection were also featured in Spider-Man vs. Venom Omnibus, Venom Epic Collection—Volume 1: Symbiosis, Spider-Man: Sinister Six, and others.

This collection was peak 1990s Spider-Man. You have the classic Sinister Six and a big Venom storyline. It came at a point where I would get comics where I could and ended up with random issues in the collection. While the title of the collection comes from the Sinister Six storyline, the meat of the collection falls after that story.

The book starts out with a weird fluke. It is a stand-alone graphic novel by Charles Vess set in Scotland. I like Charles Vess art, but this is definitely not his best outing. The art is mostly solid (some of the people he illustrates are questionable), but I do like the wispy-fantasy style he brings to Spider-Man and his webslinging…but for the most part the long format story is pretty missable.

The second chunk of the book is the Sinister Six story which also is rather ho-hum. What is interesting about the story is that it falls when the Sandman was a hero (a role I kind of liked him in). This has Octopus plotting against him to get him to work with him and also has the strange goal of Doctor Octopus: eliminating cocaine users. The plot circles around what appears to be a normal supervillains threaten the world story but it turns into a supervillains are blackmailing rich drug users. It is an odd switch up.

The best part of the book however falls the Sinister Six (and has been collected multiple times). It features Venom seeking revenge on Spider-Man (again), but has him battling Spider-Man on a desert island. The book also serves to introduce Cletus Kasady as Venom’s cellmate and later Carnage…it is this part of the book that feels far more significant even if it is titled after the Sinister Six.

While I enjoy this Epic Collection entry, I can admit it is largely nostalgia. The comics are rather typical comic book fodder (cackling super-villains and over-the-top schemes) and that is something that doesn’t seem as prevalent in today’s comics. The Epic Collection editions goal is to collect a period of the title character and thematic stories don’t generally pan out in this sense. Still, if you are a fan of Spider-Man or read comics in the 1990s, this is a solid entry for the series. Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection—Volume 21: Return of the Sinister Six is followed by Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection—Volume 22: Round Robin.

[Marcelo Soares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuamos com o Aranha do David Micheline, dessa vez com a arte do Eik Larsen - aquele do Hulk com barbatana na cabeça.
Mas antes, temos uma edição especial com o Aranha e a MJ na Escócia escrita e desenhada pelo gigante esquecido Charles Vess. E meu amigo, o Charles Vess põe todo mundo no bolso, o cara é foda na ilustração, tem algo muito próximo de uma aquarela, de uma pintura, de algo que lembra o "outro mundo" que existe além do nosso mundo. A história é meia boca e do nada aparece o Clube do Inferno.
Já as histórias principais se dividem em três arcos:
-O Retorno do Sexteto Sinistro: Obviamente, fala sobre a volta do super grupo vilanesco - Doutor Octopus, Abutre, Homem Areia, Misterio, Electro e Duende Macabro - que quer dominar o mundo e se vingar do Aranha, claro que isso envolve um plano completamente rocambolesco do Ottinho que envolve deixar toda cocaína do mundo inerte e dominar o mundo porque os viciados iriam querer a cura para a cocaína inerte que só ele teria. Não faz o menor sentido, mas é bem divertido naquele entretenimento mais simples;
-Sem Poderes: Depois da ideia de girico do Ottinho, é hora do Parker fazer uma grande cagada; ficar sem poderes. Claro que lá pelo meio do caminho, sem poderes, o Aranha enfrenta o Tarântula, e apanha mais que tapete em dia de faxina. Eventualmente, ele recupera os poderes e enfrenta o Tarântula, as Fêmeas Fatais, o Camaleão e mais alguém que eu não lembro.
-Venom Voltou: Como o nome diz, Venom Voltou com Vontade de Vingança. O Aranha, obviamente, apanha mais ainda e tudo termina num praia tropical em uma ilha deserta - algo que também não faz muito sentido.
Ainda temos umas edições com os Vingadores, nos quinze minutos em que o Homem Areia foi um vingador e, a melhor história da edição, o Raposa Negra - um dos meus personagens favoritos da época - rouba umas joias, mas a esmeralda era da mãe do Doutor Destino.
Imagina.
Tanta coisa para roubar, né Raposão?
Claro que acontece todo tipo de confusão, até o tio Ben aparece, mas a cara do Raposa quando ele se dá conta da cagada é fenomenal.
É entretenimento quadrinístico da melhor qualidade.
Ah, eu gostei mais da arte do Larsen que da do MestreFarlanne.

[Zack! Empire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I even begin this review, I want to say one thing: This book really doesn't feel like it came out in "THE 90's!!!!", so if that era of comics turns you away, don't worry about it.
This book is pretty good, but kind of dull in places. the storyline it gets its namesake from, Return of the Sinister Six, is a bit of a let-down. Doctor Octopus has a plan to Blackmail the world by not releasing a poison. or that's what people think his plan is. he actually wanted to keep people from getting hooked on cocaine? it's kind of confusing. it's also kind of dull when you consider this is the first meet up of the Sinister Six since the 60s. you really want them to have some kind of Epic plan, but they're just going to Blackmail people, to not do cocaine, or something?
the storyline with Venom is also kind of boring too. it's just a story where Venom wants to kill Spider-Man. it's such a basic and simple idea, there's nothing for you to really sink your teeth into.
there is another story line to where Spider-Man loses his powers again. honestly I find those kinds of stories boring. especially when you know he's going to get them back during some moment of crisis, which is exactly what happens.
the other story lines in the book are more of the same. they aren't bad necessarily, they're just sort of middle of the road.
it was really cool to see Eric Larson provide the artwork for most of this book. in junior high and high school I loved the Savage dragon comic book. looking through some of his older work, I could definitely see how his style evolved into what I would know it to be during Savage dragon. his Venom is also so cool. yes, it's very much a 90s Venom, but it's taken to such an exaggerated detail that you can't help but like it. I also really like Eric's design for cardiac, even though the leg pouches make no sense!
overall, a really nice addition to the Epic collection. I'm only about two collections away from when I started reading comics, and more importantly, when I started reading Spider-Man. So I'm really looking forward to that.

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another giant book of ten million spider stories, most of them not really helping my Venom read through.

There's more variety in this collection than previous ones, as it begin with a beautiful Charles Vess standalone story before plunging us back into the Michelinie/Larsen Dear God There Are So Many Villains In This Storyline era. The six part Sinister Six storyline should satisfy fans of classic Spidey villains as you get your Doc Ock, your Green Goblin, your Hobgoblin, your Sandman, your Vulture, and your Mysterio. We see the death of a long-term minor Spider-Man character, and then Even More villains show up during a time where Spidey loses his powers. It's A Lot.

The Venom story is near the back. Once again, you really learn nothing new about Brock or Venom in this storyline, it's just a three issue brawl where Spidey has to think of a New Way to outsmart his foe. The ending is satisfying once again, but there's no character growth, it's just punch, run, web, run, punch, run, last minute solution. While the solutions have been different every time, the storytelling beats have been pretty much the same.

Still, Michilinie's run continues to be mostly quality Spider-stories with a depth of characters (even if some of the characters themeselves don't have a ton of depth) and enough action to keep long-time Spider-Man fans enthralled.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine.

It covers about a year or two in the 90's when I stopped reading ASM so I've never read these stories before but it reminds me of why I stopped reading comics in the 90's - lack of good storytelling and a focus on flashy but vapid and hollow art.

I've always had a hard time articulating the art of the 90's in comics but I'll try again: if you take any single panel, the art looks really good but if you take a step back and look at the art of a complete comic as a whole it just seems busy, cluttered and doesn't tell me anything.

So the art is typical 90's comic art.
The storytelling was average. The stories worked fine but nothing I would ever read again.
The plotting, the characters, the story, the art - meh.
Glad I read it because these were new to me and I enjoyed it but would never recommend it (there are so many better stories out there) unless you were a completionist and you had not read these before.

[James Gwinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge Erik Larsen fan, this book was a fun, though brainless, read. The main things to highlight here include the bevy of classic villains all given the stellar Larsen treatment (example: the titular Sinister Six, Shocker, Chameleon, Rhino, Tarantula, Venom, etc), as well as the borderline pornographic depictions of Mary Jane Parker and Black Cat. Again, I list that as a highlight. Aside from those high points, Michelinie's plots are paper-thin and there's nothing here to stick to the bones. Doc Ock's reasoning behind the titular 6-part story is one of the dumbest villain plots ever conceived, and the Charles Vess graphic novel in the beginning is misguidedly self-indulgent. Still, great art.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 rounded down (because it's not a 5...)
I love Larsen's artwork, and this is no exception. He draws a fun Spidey, who contorts in interesting ways. He draws a great MJ. He draws top-notch villains, and his Venom is a unique take (with a huge jawline...) I don't love his doe-eyed Peter Parker or Black Fox, but that is about it, the rest is stellar!
The storytelling and pacing is great throughout, too.
The gallery at the end of this collection is great, and contains one of my favorite pictures (Larsen/McFarlane).
A must-read for any Spidey fan, and something I'd recommend to even the remotest of fringe readers, definitely worth checking out!

[Terrance · Rating 3 out of 5]

The popular Marvel artists of the 90s (most of whom went on to found Image) were not particularly good writers or creators of original characters. Erik Larsen was one of the better artists, and he didn't write ASM, so he fared a bit better than some. He and Todd McFarlane are the only ones to have their original works still going for Image (Savage Dragon; Spawn), and I wonder how much the ASM boot camp had to do with their training.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gems include Spidey v. Scot ghosts, Ock blackmails Sandman, Ock threatens Hobgoblin, Vulture kills Nathan, Ock holds a cigarette w/ one of his tentacles, Sandman defends Spidey, Ock’s cocaine rocket, Spidey v. Femmes Fatales, Flash shots an Uzi at Tarantula, Black Cat & powerless Spidey v. Scorpion, Black Cat insults MJ’s lemonade, Cardiac v. Rhino, Boomerang, vile-vengeance-Venom, Venom does Hamlet, Sandman quits Avengers, Black Fox burgles Doom, & Doom dusts a diamond

[Garrett Roney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun collection of stories. I think the writing is a little all over the place, and the number of villains they cram into these pages is insane, but man I am nostalgic for the Spider-Man art of the 90’s.

[Daniel Cebrián Calvo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Realmente, la parte de los Seis Siniestros dura poquísimo.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of early '90s Spidey that wraps up Erik Larsen's run on the Amazing title. The stories are fast-paced and entertaining (even if writer David Michelinie's Peter Parker gets ultra-whiny at times) and the art is terrific. A whole lot of fun.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great issues in this collection - with engaging storylines and good artwork!