Spider-Man: The Complete Ben Reilly Epic Vol. 2

Spider-Man: The Complete Ben Reilly Epic

by Tom DeFalco, Dan Jurgens (Contributor), Todd Dezago (Contributor)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1962) #407-408, New Warriors (1990) #67, Sensational Spider-Man (1996) #1, Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #230, Spider-Man (1990) #64-65, Spider Man/Punisher: Family Plot #1-2, Web Of Scarlet Spider #3-4, and material From Spider-Man Holiday Special And Venom: Along Came A Spider #1-4.

There's a new Spider-Man in town: Ben Reilly! But a new web-slinger doesn't mean fewer problems - or any less danger! Just ask the Punisher, Mysterio, the New Warriors, the Black Cat, Tombstone, Poison, Silver Sable, the Human Torch, the Sandman and Venom! It's the continuing adventures of the clone of Spider-Man!?

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

424 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2011

About the author

Tom DeFalco is an American comics writer and editor, well-known for his association with Marvel Comics and Spider-Man.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Then first half of this edition was not the interesting. Once the Punisher, Venom, She-Venom and Mysterio were introduced it got much better. The number of 90's culture references to OJ, Martha Stewart and addictive TV were funny if a bit dated. Overall this is an OK book if you start with the Punisher mini-series and read from there. The Christmas special was good as well.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not only a time capsule to Marvel Comics of the mid-90's, it's also an encapsulation of the many comics missteps of that time period. Ben Reilly, an incredibly interesting character concept that could have worked, turned out to be another unnecessary shakeup of the character roster with an unnecessary costume change and a lack of faith right out the gate. There's so little faith they have him second billing in the introductory text of each issue (he was *Peter Parker* words-words-words but now is *Ben Reilly*) and made him doubt himself every step of the way. This was an attempt to reboot a character before reboots were a thing, and they actually made a lesser version of the character.

The comics included in this volume also show off the transitionary period of the 90's from the one-shots of the golden era to the decompressed dramas of today. There's so much story they want to tell but refuse to let breathe, even in the multiparters. So many panels are bogged down by text instead of letting the art do any lifting, which is a personal peeve of mine about many comics.

And if I may get petty, Ben Reilly's official Spider-Man costume has always looked bad. It was change for the sake of change. It's just funny that his Scarlet Spider costume, purposefully designed to look more amateur and less "spectacular," looks so much better and iconic in comparison.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was on sabbatical from this hobby when these issues were originally published, so this was all new to me. The problem is that some of these issues are not very good. There are a few clear winners (the lead story in the Spider-Man Holiday Special springs to mind), but the craptastic Image-influenced '90s artwork makes much of this book a chore to sift through.

Bad writing can be salvaged by good artwork, but good writing sinks like a stone when coupled with bad artwork. The completist in me is thrilled that they are compiling these 400+ page monster trade paperbacks, while the reader in me has mixed emotions about this material.

[Rory Toohey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a mixed bag in this collection, but there are some positives here - little clone saga drama, solid contributions from Dan Jurgens, Mark Bagley, and John Romita Jr., an absolutely batshit crazy "90s EXTREME!" looking version of the Punisher, and Venom uses the word "vertiginous". While I'd barely recommend this to even die-hard Spider-Man fans, I enjoyed it.

[Jodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't believe it took seven whole volumes of 90s Spider-Man for Tom Defalco to make an OJ reference. And then he made three in a single issue. Ben Reilly references MTV's The Real World twice. The preoccupation with the media and subsequent moral panic of the time seeps into all these stories (especially poor Mysterio's) like a poison to the detriment of all the actually solid plots within.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Mysterio and Christmas stories plus some John Romita art save it from being a 1/5. There's just nothing going on here.

[Jeremiah Salyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decent

A strange period in spidey lore. I've enjoyed it though. Lots more to read. Six volumes. Keep on trucking through.

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is just all over the place in bad. There are racist tropes. There are absurd female body types. There is cheesy dialogue that feels stilted as hell.

And yet, I keep reading. I want to know how far down the rabbit hole of crazy this can go.

The Punisher is working for the Mob. What the hell were people thinking in the nineties? That ponytail is just awful. Frank Castle should never have a ponytail.

The Venom story wasn't too bad. There were aspects that if rewritten would actually make a compelling comic. Unfortunately it's pretty well buried.

Highlight: Spider-Man calls his costume "underoos".

[Matthew Price · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite the rating, this book isn't completely charmless. The "Amazing" issues and Dan Jurgens "Sensational" issues have their moments, as does a Christmas tale drawn by Kevin Maguire. But there's just so much in these 400 pages that's tough to get through, I have to say overall it was a bit unpleasant - like choking down an entire bag of candy. There are some good bits in the Ben Reilly story, and I'm intrigued enough by the overall concept to push through, but several of the extended miniseries included here were tough sledding.

[Brandt · Rating 2 out of 5]

As is becoming the case with this "groundbreaking" (their words, not mine) saga, this is typical super hero fare, featuring a completely different version of Peter Parker with BLONDE hair instead of BROWN hair. Of course, unlike G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel or Dan Slott's The Superior Spider-Man there isn't much differentiating one white dude from another white dude so nothing much has changed.