Spider-Man: Clone Saga Omnibus, Vol. 1

Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga #1-3

by Terry Kavanagh, J.M. DeMatteis

One of the most explosive sagas in comics history! Peter Parker's world is rocked like never before by the return of his clone, long thought dead. For years, the clone has lived in peace as "Ben Reilly," but now he will be drawn back into wall-crawling action as the Scarlet Spider! But who or what is Kaine? Both Peter and Ben will be caught in a web of death spun by the Jackal, and their power and responsibility will be tested to the limits as the villain's game of smoke and mirrors raises the question: just who is the real Amazing Spider-Man?

COLLECTING: WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) 117-125, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) 394-401, SPIDER-MAN (1990) 51-58, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (1976) 217-224, SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED (1993) 7-9

Genres: Spider Man, Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

1240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2016

About the author

Terrence "Terry" Kavanagh is an American comic book editor and writer. Kavanagh's last new comics project was the Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms limited series in 2000–2001.

Reviews

[Ryan Solski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! A must read for anyone interested in Spider-Man or mid nineties comic books. Lots of supplemental material, faithfully reproduced pages, and correct order of reading. Marvel printed more than 22 pages of story each week of Spider-Man, and roughly 8 months of it are contained here. When I finished reading it, I wanted volume 2 to be available, no announcements from Marvel yet.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the time I could definitely see how this event was as controversial as it was logistics-wise. An event running through four different monthly Spider-Man comics (meaning you needed to buy one every week to keep up) plus specials on top of that? Jeez. And then the event was stretched for 2 years so Marvel could rake in that glorious Spider-money? Double jeez. And the entire event can't be collected in one omnibus but takes four instead (164 issues!!!)??? Triple jeez + a yikes. Even with that I enjoyed the first omnibus a lot. The beginning is a little slow and hard to get into but it does start to really get going. Ben Reilly is very likable, and I do like Kaine even though I have the knowledge of modern day Spider-Man to go off of. I'm steeling myself for what I can tell is going to be the event going off the rails though. Hard to recommend due to the time sink involved with the event, but I'm enjoying the ride so far.
3.5/5

[Shevek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aquí un loco que defiende esta etapa. Lo que viene después reconozco que es un delirio, pero aquí realmente creo que hay mucho que se puede rescatar. Al fin y al cabo, las colecciones principales tienen a DeMatteis, Bagley, DeFalco y Sal Buscema, que de hacer cómics de Spiderman algo saben. La llegada de Ben Reilly, el rollo arácnido de Spiderman (¿precedente de lo de Straczyinski?)... es que compro hasta lo de Judas Traveller, Scrier y el resto de esa tropa. No se explica nada de las motivaciones de esa gente, que, por otra parte, no pinta nada con Spiderman, pero de alguna forma sirven para mostrar las flaquezas e inseguridades de Peter y Ben y desarrollarlos en este nuevo escenario. Mención aparte al diseño de la Araña Escarlata. No se puede molar más. De Kaine no se puede decir lo mismo, aunque a mí el personaje y su trasfondo trágico me encantan.

[Noah Valdez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see why a lot of fans in the 90’s didn’t like this storyline. The beginning is way too slow and it’s really boring. I wish I had the context that led up to this, why Peter is so withdrawn/wants to only be spiderman and how Aunt May went into a coma. The first half is actually god awful I contemplated to stop reading but I’m glad I kept going. After doc oc saves Peter and dies, and the when the two Peter and Ben start to work together that’s what I enjoyed the most and I would say the best panel/scene of the entire omnibus was when aunt may told Peter she knew he was spider-man, only part that moved me, the rest after that was cool. Just a big fan of the scarlet spider suit fr. Shout out to Bagleys art

[Manuel Alanís · Rating 4 out of 5]

75/100! Como historia en su totalidad introduce muchos conceptos interesantes y hace un trabajo decente de explorarlos, pero algunos capítulos aislados son algo lentos o aburridos. El arte es genial; tengo mis preferencias pero en general es bastante agradable visualmente y complementa el ritmo y tono.

[Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
It’s had its moments so far, but if I thought Carnage dragged on too long…wow. Mostly I just wish the storyline would find its focus. I’m enjoying it more than the last 20-30 issues though so there’s that.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After researching the clone saga and finding out which stories I was interested in - I took a risk and decided to buy the first omnibus. I’d heard a lot of bad things, but I was pleased that I did enjoy majority of the book. Most of the artwork is really good, but there were a few issues that had poor art and awkward dialogue. But I did like reading a lot of these stories, particularly: the first 5-7 issues, Web of Death, Scarlet Spider vs Venom, Funeral for an Octopus and The Mark of Kaine.
There were a few times where I got a little confused at who was Peter and who was the clone, as well as other occasions where characters constantly change there declarations of the “truth” of who is the real Spiderman and who is the clone. I did get a bit fed up with a couple of these moments.
But overall, I really did enjoy reading this book. It can be kinda tricky reading it due to its weight and size - but the quality of the build is perfect.
I’d recommend to a clone saga fan and maybe a hardcore Spider-Man fan, but from research I have done, I would suggest not getting the 2nd omnibus….

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 3 out of 5]

It sure is the clone saga. Overlong, melodramatic, repetitive…. But that 90’s charm is there, even if its effectiveness comes and goes as you read more.