Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, Vol. 4: The Goblin Lives

Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection

by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr. (Artist)

It's horror on the home front when Peter Parker becomes the third wheel to comics' oddest couple! Yes, Aunt May has found a new special friend: Dr. Otto Octavius! While a klonk on the head may help Spidey forget that one, teaming up with Doc Ock isn't going to improve his image as Public Enemy No. 1! Spidey battles his way through Ka-Zar, the Vulture and Mysterio, but his deadliest battle is yet to come: Norman Osborn has regained his memory — and the Green Goblin has returned! Spider-Man's most dangerous foe, the only villain to uncover his identity as Peter Parker, is back with a vengeance — and the two will face off in a gigantic, 58-page magazine masterpiece! Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #53-67, Spectacular Spider-Man (1968) #1-2, Marvel Super-Heroes (1967) #14 And Material From Not Brand Echh #6 And #11.

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

496 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 2019

About the author

Stan 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.

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stan Lee’s work on Spider-Man is a masterclass in superhero comics. While I loved Steve Ditko’s art—I mean, the guy defined the look of my all-time favorite spandex-clad do-gooder—the pacing of Spidey stories picks up considerably after Romita’s arrival. The balance of action and soap opera is perfect; it’s the comic book equivalent of Oreos: once you stuff one in your mouth, you just want to keep stuffing yourself with them (though I recommend against doing that with comic books because the end result is, um, well, we’ll just call them bathroom issues).

Also, seeing Aunt May call Peter “such a pussywillow” (instead of “such a pussycate”) will never, ever get old (unlike Aunt May, who looks like she’s about 9,483 years old all the time).

[Ravenous Raven of Mordor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read any of Spidey’s comics prior to these epic collections and needless to say I am hooked.
With Stan ‘the man’ Lee & John ‘ring-a-ding’ Romita what could go wrong.
This volume is most definitely the best one thus far and by jolly it flew by quick.
It opened with a 3 part monster Doc Oc storyline, then went on to included a deadly flight of the Vulture’s face off, mysterious Mysterio and the shocking return of the Green Goblin in a 60 page epic.
So hook, line and sinker. I’m fishing for Vol. 5!

As always...
5 Stars.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spider-Man deepens his relationship with Gwen, joins the bad guys a few times (both through amnesia and through deception), and mixes it up with the Green Goblin once again (which is probably the highlight of this collection, Spectacular Spider-Man #2). No major first appearances that I can recall unless you count Randolph Robertson showing up for two seconds, but we get some fun returning villains in Doctor Octopus, the Vulture, Kingpin, the Spider Slayer, and Mysterio.

Also, whenever Peter doesn't check in with Aunt May every few hours she has a panic attack and goes into a coma. I don't know how he deals with that without going insane. At this point I'm wishing they would have just killed her off.

[Eric W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This, along with the prior volume, is peak Spidey. So many legendary villains make an appearance that it's almost amusing when a forgotten opponent shows up (the fiendish Kangaroo!). They don't make 'em like this anymore.

[Darik · Rating 4 out of 5]

More delightfully wholesome adventures of the webbed wallcrawler from the dream team of Stan Lee and John Romita!

This volume is meat-and-potatoes superhero adventuring, cycling through Spidey's impressive rogues gallery with occasional guest stars like Ka-Zar and Medusa popping up for an issue or two to spice things up. But not a whole lot of noteworthy stuff actually HAPPENS in this volume, except for a fantastic multi-part Doctor Octopus storyline (in which Ock meets Aunt May for the very first time, and then later Spider-Man loses his memory and Ock convinces him that they should team up for an issue), and the titular return of the Green Goblin... which plays out in a single oversized issue and resolves rather easily.

Still, even for a string of episodic Spidey adventures, this is a wonderful collection-- showing off Lee and Romita's sparkling creative chemistry in its prime!

[James Bengiovanni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Alone? Join the Spider-Man Bookclub.

On the surface, the fourth epic collection might not be as strong as it's predecessors but John Romita's art, battles with Doc Ock, The Kingpin and the Green Goblin make this an exciting book and a must own.

We recently did a free podcast on this entire book, covering all the issues (except the Not Brand Echh filler issues). If you would like to follow along as you read, you can check us out at letsreadspiderman.podbean.com where we cover most issues in approximately 10 minute reviews. It's like being in your own book club with people from over 40 countries!

[Bill Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spidey,Gwendy,Harry, Mary Jane early years,with Stan still writing. In graphic novel form. These kept came interested through these years Collections. The Usual plots of angush, ax Aunt may gets put in the mix and. Is always health ckncerns.. Peter gets his love life together with Gwen,has road bumps, but gets past it. The usual Spider secrets of identity and fear that Norman Is onto his name as Green Goblin.
Still, STAN writing at top of his gsme.

[Paulo Coelho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter's secret identity leads to moral and existential questions, both in his relationship with Gwen and particularly with the return of the green goblin and the dilemma between fighting his best friend's father or giving up the secret. Dinner at Osborn's house is delicious. Also, Peter finally finds out something about his parents. The script is good, but the drawings by the GOAT, J. Romita Sr., are what take the stories to the next level.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gems include Dock Ock boards w/ Aunt May 4parter, Zabu pounces on JJJ, Spidey v. Spider Slayer Mark 2, Brainwasher hires MJ as a dancer, Peter decks Capt. Stacy, Spidey & Norman v. Kingpin, Spidey v. Medusa, Vulture v. Vulture, Vulture & JJJ v. Spidey, JJJ v. Capt. Stacy, Mysterio 2parter, & Goblin’s psychedelic pumpkin bomb

[Federico Kereki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stan Lee, John Romita, and a host of other artists like Heck, Andru, Mooney - a very good time in Spider-Man!

[Kieran Westphal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is where the Lee/Romita partnership really started to hit its stride, especially with the Spectacular Spider-Man magazines. A wonderful period of Spider-History

[Mark Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spiderman was my first introduction to comics. Fortunately, I had an older brother who collected, so I was able to read these in the original form about 5 years after they were printed.

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of classic Spider-Man stories.

[Anj2099 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Steve Ditko,
great story overall ol Doc ock ends up in Peter's house funny.
theres a bit too much of Archie vibe going on with MJ, Gwen harry and peter but I ignore that bit.

[Jimbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this set of comics. Peter is older in his shared apartment with Haary. He finally admits he's in love with Gwen and the goblin returns.
What more can you ask?

[Mikayla Yoder · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s always a pleasure reading the original comics.

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consistently John Romita Sr. art at his peak output. Includes the two epic length Spectacular Spider-Man stories as well as Ross Andru’s very first Spider-Man story.

[Bruno Poço · Rating 3 out of 5]

-doc okc vai morar na casa da tia may
-crossover com kazar , Medusa
- tia may passa história sim história não no hospital
-alguns viloes genéricos aparecem

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best Spidey Epic Collection books. Great stories and the final issue is so exciting to read!

[Doug Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've continued to really enjoy this run on Spider-Man, in this book I really enjoyed the artwork and I thought a few of the stories were really good too. A very enjoyable read throughout, capitalized with my favorite story of the series so far with the title volume.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is all mostly solid, and there’s a lot more decompression here so the pacing feels a mite less bogged down. But this volume lacks a bit in terms of introducing much of anything novel; the villains are all returning, the scenarios a touch more ridiculous, the underlying story threads not moving much.

So you end up with an overall good collection of stories that doesn’t hit nearly as hard as a volume with something like If This Be My Destiny or No More, and let down a little by the intrinsic storytelling degradation of the medium. Still worth reading, but nothing quite so groundbreaking or subversive.

(Also, I wanted to note: the Marvel Super-Heroes story collected here is really dumb and an absolute slog. Aside from the historical aspect, I’d really rather it weren’t even in the collection).