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Amazing Adventures (1961) #1-6
Amazing Fantasy Omnibus
The magazine that respects your intelligence.
399 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2007
About the author
Stan Lee
7,581 books2,362 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 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 3, 2019
If you loved the monster comics from Marvel as a kid then here is the collection for ya. You can't beat Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko art and Stan Lee writing for classic 1960s over-the-top monster stories. Great reads Recommended
June 7, 2017
Estas historietas tienen su aquel. Los monstruos de Kirby, las ideas que después darían lugar a iconos del universo Marvel (un primer Doctor Extraño, mutantes, los panteones de dioses de la antigüedad viniendo a nuestro mundo...) y, sobre todo, varias de las ilustradas por Ditko, excelente narrador entregado a hacer su versión de los tebeos de la EC para los tiempos del Comic Code. Entre ellas hay algunas, pocas, muy buenas, plagadas de seres normales enfrentados a los misterios de un universo donde todo es posible.
Mi distancia frente a ellas emerge de las limitaciones de las que parte el guión. Las concesiones para ajustarse a un patrón tan constreñido como la normativa del Code les quitan la gracia y, dentro de su ingenuidad, me cuesta encontrarles su encanto. Si a esto le sumas que Lee ¿termina? muchas de ellas de aquella manera, la sensación que me deja es el de haber leído un cómic más antiguo que clásico.
Mi distancia frente a ellas emerge de las limitaciones de las que parte el guión. Las concesiones para ajustarse a un patrón tan constreñido como la normativa del Code les quitan la gracia y, dentro de su ingenuidad, me cuesta encontrarles su encanto. Si a esto le sumas que Lee ¿termina? muchas de ellas de aquella manera, la sensación que me deja es el de haber leído un cómic más antiguo que clásico.
March 29, 2022
I’m not a huge fan of the Omnibus format. I think it’s a major money-grab on the part of both Marvel and DC, and I find the books unwieldy and difficult to read. But occasionally there’s a small one that interests me (and is on sale on eBay), and that’s the case with the Amazing Fantasy Omnibus, a reasonably compact (less than 500 pages) compilation of the last of the Marvel monster books. This collection contains Amazing Adventures 1-6, Amazing Adult Fantasy 7-14, and Amazing Fantasy 15, the latter being the most-valued Marvel comic of all, featuring the debut of the Amazing Spider-Man (that’s a lot of Amazings!).
The first six issues are just forgettable giant monster tales, in the Marvel manner of the late 1950s/60s. I’m not quite sure why they did yet another monster book; they were already publishing Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, and Tales to Astonish. But Marvel (which wasn’t quite Marvel at this point in time) was restricted to just eight books per month by their distributor (owned by DC Comics), which Stan Lee metered out as 16 bi-monthly books. Amazing Adventures, though, debuted as a monthly, and while the Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers monster tales are great to look at (and horrible to read), it’s the Steve Ditko five-pagers that have a totally different feel to them. Lee recognized this and with issue #7 devoted the entire book to stories drawn by Ditko, usually four five-page stories and one three-pager in each issue. Amazing Adult Fantasy,—debuting with the December 1961 issue, just one month after Fantastic Four #1—has a totally different feel to it, unlike any other comic on the newsstands at that time. These short, punchy stories remind you of the hit TV series, The Twilight Zone, which was airing at the time. The stories have a kind of EC/O’Henry vibe to them, but they’re short and quick to read, unlike EC’s very dense (but wonderfully drawn) tales. I remember this series fondly from when I was very young (we bought every issue off the newsstands as they came out). As a kid I hated Ditko’s art, but now I love it. Looking at the stories in this collection, they look great, pretty much the best I’ve ever seen any Marvel reprint look (and they’ve looked pretty bad in some of the Masterworks volumes).
Each issue of AAF was drawn entirely by Ditko, and included a Contents page and a one-page sneak peek at the next issue. Eventually, Lee added a letters page, too. But the book was never the hit Lee hoped it to be, and that may be because of the addition of the word “Adult” in the title (the tag line for the book was “The magazine that respects your intelligence!”). I think Lee and Ditko did some of their best work with this series, and the fans who took the time to write in obviously loved it. But by issue #15 (cover-dated September 1962), publisher Martin Goodman was ready to pull the plug. With the success of the Fantastic Four, Lee and Ditko came up with Spider-Man for the final issue (now titled simply Amazing Fantasy). That feature clicked with readers and the word Amazing was carried over to the new Amazing Spider-Man ongoing series in late 1962, with a cover date of March 1963.
This volume also includes all of Amazing Fantasy #15 (including the non-Spidey back-up stories), all the original art for the Spidey story, an introduction by comic artist Steve Bissette (which focuses on the giant monster aspect of Amazing Adventures 1-6) and some historical perspective on Amazing Adult Fantasy 6-14 by Ditko expert Blake Bell.
The first six issues are just forgettable giant monster tales, in the Marvel manner of the late 1950s/60s. I’m not quite sure why they did yet another monster book; they were already publishing Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, and Tales to Astonish. But Marvel (which wasn’t quite Marvel at this point in time) was restricted to just eight books per month by their distributor (owned by DC Comics), which Stan Lee metered out as 16 bi-monthly books. Amazing Adventures, though, debuted as a monthly, and while the Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers monster tales are great to look at (and horrible to read), it’s the Steve Ditko five-pagers that have a totally different feel to them. Lee recognized this and with issue #7 devoted the entire book to stories drawn by Ditko, usually four five-page stories and one three-pager in each issue. Amazing Adult Fantasy,—debuting with the December 1961 issue, just one month after Fantastic Four #1—has a totally different feel to it, unlike any other comic on the newsstands at that time. These short, punchy stories remind you of the hit TV series, The Twilight Zone, which was airing at the time. The stories have a kind of EC/O’Henry vibe to them, but they’re short and quick to read, unlike EC’s very dense (but wonderfully drawn) tales. I remember this series fondly from when I was very young (we bought every issue off the newsstands as they came out). As a kid I hated Ditko’s art, but now I love it. Looking at the stories in this collection, they look great, pretty much the best I’ve ever seen any Marvel reprint look (and they’ve looked pretty bad in some of the Masterworks volumes).
Each issue of AAF was drawn entirely by Ditko, and included a Contents page and a one-page sneak peek at the next issue. Eventually, Lee added a letters page, too. But the book was never the hit Lee hoped it to be, and that may be because of the addition of the word “Adult” in the title (the tag line for the book was “The magazine that respects your intelligence!”). I think Lee and Ditko did some of their best work with this series, and the fans who took the time to write in obviously loved it. But by issue #15 (cover-dated September 1962), publisher Martin Goodman was ready to pull the plug. With the success of the Fantastic Four, Lee and Ditko came up with Spider-Man for the final issue (now titled simply Amazing Fantasy). That feature clicked with readers and the word Amazing was carried over to the new Amazing Spider-Man ongoing series in late 1962, with a cover date of March 1963.
This volume also includes all of Amazing Fantasy #15 (including the non-Spidey back-up stories), all the original art for the Spidey story, an introduction by comic artist Steve Bissette (which focuses on the giant monster aspect of Amazing Adventures 1-6) and some historical perspective on Amazing Adult Fantasy 6-14 by Ditko expert Blake Bell.
January 5, 2022
This is a wonderful hardcover collection - about 300 pages - of 15 reproduced comic books from 1961-62. The 15 comic books were of one series that changed its name three times: Amazing Adventures, Amazing Adult Fantasy ("the magazine that respects your intelligence!" is the tagline), and then Amazing Fantasy. Also they have nothing to do with fantasy or pornography despite the title names, they are all about monsters and Twilight Zone/sci fi stuff.
The only famous comic is Amazing Fantasy #15, which is the first appearance of Spider Man. This is very cool of course, but I found the "Amazing Adult Fantasy" issues the best. Each issue has five very short stories, and they all have a twist at the end. Sometimes you can predict them but often you cannot, and they are extremely well done. The early 1960s is captured on every panel with the fashions and vocabulary at the time and the whole experience was very enjoyable.
Finally, this series is Marvel Comics' bridge to their famous superhero age - a guy named Doctor Droom is basically Doctor Strange, this one story featured a guy born as a mutant with powers and faced discrimination (like the X-Men), some of the monsters look like the Thing from the Fantastic Four, and more. Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby - some masters at work here and I highly recommend this!
The only famous comic is Amazing Fantasy #15, which is the first appearance of Spider Man. This is very cool of course, but I found the "Amazing Adult Fantasy" issues the best. Each issue has five very short stories, and they all have a twist at the end. Sometimes you can predict them but often you cannot, and they are extremely well done. The early 1960s is captured on every panel with the fashions and vocabulary at the time and the whole experience was very enjoyable.
Finally, this series is Marvel Comics' bridge to their famous superhero age - a guy named Doctor Droom is basically Doctor Strange, this one story featured a guy born as a mutant with powers and faced discrimination (like the X-Men), some of the monsters look like the Thing from the Fantastic Four, and more. Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby - some masters at work here and I highly recommend this!
December 20, 2024
An amazing disappointment. The artwork is good, but the stories are brief and not fully developed. The "twist" endings are often lame. Much of the series reads like a rip-off of the classic EC comics from the early 1950s. Stan Lee would, of course, go on to become one of the greatest writers of all time in any genre, but not much genius is evident in this collection. Most people will buy this to see where the Amazing Spider-Man came from. That origin story is in the first Amazing Spider-Man omnibus as well - essential reading for any comic collector. Save yourself the money and buy that and the first 6 ASM omnibus collections instead. And buy the EC Archives collections for truly chilling stories of fantasy, sci-fi, horror and suspense.
May 28, 2023
"The magazine that respects your intelligence" indeed! Yes, #15 is the most prominent issue of Amazing Fantasy today because of Spidey, but my god does it overshadow some of the genuinely cool stories embedded in other issues like a spectrum of precious stones on a tapestry of gold! Barring a few bleh stories, these short stories really do show how you can do so much in just 4 pages. A fantastic pick-up for any reader, regardless of their familiarity with Marvel.
August 27, 2019
Marvelous Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby art makes this a real treat for the eyes, the stories are pretty much what you would expect from this period, but if your an old codger like me you might just remember them from the first time round !
Classic stuff, well worth a look
Classic stuff, well worth a look
September 12, 2020
It’s basically a bunch of science fiction short stories in the vein of the Twilight Zone. I’ve never really read much of Steve Ditko’s art and after reading this, I get why he was so well regarded. His facial expressions are the best.
July 1, 2021
Ditko es la estrella en estos 15 números reunidos.
Está lleno de moustruos, ciencia ficción y fantasía. Todo lo que era Marvel antes de ser lo que conocemos ahora.
¿Bueno o Malo? Ni una ni otra: Historia.
Está lleno de moustruos, ciencia ficción y fantasía. Todo lo que era Marvel antes de ser lo que conocemos ahora.
¿Bueno o Malo? Ni una ni otra: Historia.
December 31, 2021
These classic stories may not be for everyone but they're chock full of space age monster stories with a sci-fi bent. Great stuff. And of course, the last issue id this series introduced the one and only Amazing Spider-Man, so there's that, too.
May 5, 2023
Imperdible colección de historias de Stan Lee, dibujadas por Steve Ditko. Generalmente historias sobre mounstros o extraterrestres, con giros sorprendentes al final de la trama. En el último número de esta colección aparece por primera vez spiderman.
April 8, 2021
Mira que los argumentos son de traca y tiran de giros de guión muchas veces previsibles, y que Kirby y Ditko no lo dan todo... pero lo he disfrutado como cuando era un niño.
January 20, 2011
This is a beautifully produced hardcover. Just as nice as Jack Kirby's The Demon one that I read about the same time. It's got some classic Jack Kirby monster comics, and it's got the first appearance of Spider-Man. And it's all pretty good, really. But I was going back through these looking for Kirby monster comics, and while this one delivered a better package than the Atlas Era Tales to Astonish that I recently finished up, the Kirby stories petered out about halfway through, and the stories that were left didn't really hold my interest. Not that the art (almost all of it by Steve Ditko) was bad, just that the stories were incredibly short (two to four pages) and not really what I was looking for.
Still, as far as presentation goes, you couldn't ask for much better.
Still, as far as presentation goes, you couldn't ask for much better.
October 13, 2012
I love the work Steve Ditko did in late 50s and early 60s for Marvel's anthology comics: Amazing Fantasy, Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish and some of their lesser known titles.
This volume collects all 15 issues of the comic book mostly known as Amazing Fantasy (although only the last issue was actually called that). Amazing Fantasy started out as Amazing Adventures (issues 1-6) and was just like Marvel's other anthology titles: the stories drawn by various artists (including Ditko and Jack Kirby). But with issue 7, the title became Amazing Adult Fantasy with all the stories illustrated by Ditko.
I enjoyed the Marvel Masterworks reprints of the early non-superhero stories from Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense, and I'm looking forward to the later volumes of Journey into Mystery and Strange Tales (where I hope to get a bit more Ditko).
But for sheer volume of Ditko this volume can't be beat. Each Masterworks volume has 9 to 11 issues usually with no more than 9 to 11 stories drawn by Ditko.
But this volume contains nine issues of nothing but Ditko plus his stories in first six issues. The only thing better would be a hardback series that collected all of his non-superhero Marvel work from that period.
This volume collects all 15 issues of the comic book mostly known as Amazing Fantasy (although only the last issue was actually called that). Amazing Fantasy started out as Amazing Adventures (issues 1-6) and was just like Marvel's other anthology titles: the stories drawn by various artists (including Ditko and Jack Kirby). But with issue 7, the title became Amazing Adult Fantasy with all the stories illustrated by Ditko.
I enjoyed the Marvel Masterworks reprints of the early non-superhero stories from Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense, and I'm looking forward to the later volumes of Journey into Mystery and Strange Tales (where I hope to get a bit more Ditko).
But for sheer volume of Ditko this volume can't be beat. Each Masterworks volume has 9 to 11 issues usually with no more than 9 to 11 stories drawn by Ditko.
But this volume contains nine issues of nothing but Ditko plus his stories in first six issues. The only thing better would be a hardback series that collected all of his non-superhero Marvel work from that period.
October 5, 2008
Beautifully reproduced collection of sci-fi/horror omnibus sleaze in the EC comics tradition which was all the rage way back in the Fifties, all written Marvel-lously by Swingin' Stan Lee. You'll see one gnarly, tweakered looking monster after another, each one looking more deformed and fucked than the one before it (like fat plumbers), all with names like Manoo, Torr, Sserpo, Krogg, and of course Monsteroso!
Jack Kirby is totally in his element here, not to be out-done by the mind bending morality plays illustrated by Steve Ditko. The "Teddy Bear" story by him is unforgettable and bizarrely sweet. The street price is $75 but e-tailers sell it for 50% off, check it out! Love the comic book's tagline: "The Magazine That Respects Your Intelligence!"
Jack Kirby is totally in his element here, not to be out-done by the mind bending morality plays illustrated by Steve Ditko. The "Teddy Bear" story by him is unforgettable and bizarrely sweet. The street price is $75 but e-tailers sell it for 50% off, check it out! Love the comic book's tagline: "The Magazine That Respects Your Intelligence!"
April 14, 2009
What is interesting about this collection is how disappointed you are when the fifteenth (and final) issue introduces Spider-Man. Issues 7-14 (when the book was titled Amazing Adult Fantasy) suggest an intriguing place comics might have gone had their creators not been interested in making a living. Admittedly, one can sense Lee's well of inspiration running dry toward the end of that run and the transition to superheroic uniformity seems damnably inevitable, hindsight or no.
April 26, 2023
The book best known for spawning Spider-Man. This is a collection of mostly monster stories, and none of them are all that great. Ditko's art waffles between rushed and crappy to brilliant, and Lee never does seem comfortable in the writing dept. You'd be much better off reading the EC line of Weird Science/Weird Fantasy.
December 30, 2015
Raccoglie l'intera serie mensile coi suoi cambiamenti, di nome e struttura.
Certo sono storielle ingenue, che dopo un poco si ripetono. C'è un certo moralismo di fondo, specie in quelle di Steve Ditko. Però è una gran lettura, piena di fantasia e di idee.
Certo sono storielle ingenue, che dopo un poco si ripetono. C'è un certo moralismo di fondo, specie in quelle di Steve Ditko. Però è una gran lettura, piena di fantasia e di idee.
April 3, 2014
I like
November 12, 2020
I love the Kirby monsters and Ditko atmospherics. Excellent paper quality for the pages. great reproductions.
October 13, 2017
La raccolta dei 15 numeri di Amazing Adventures/Amazing Adult Fantasy/Amazing Fantasy, usciti nel 1961/1962. Attraverso i due cambiamenti di registro della rivista, dai "mostri" stile Godzilla e i racconti brevi stile Twlight Zone alla prima apparizione di Spidermann, s'individua l'evoluzione della cultura popolare Usa di quegli anni. Disegni di Jack Kirby e Steve Ditko. I raccontini di Stan Lee e, appunto, Ditko sono meravigliosi. Conservano un'ingenuità vivace e colorata che affascina perché già moderna, comprendente la consapevolezza del candore perduto che inseguono nella pagina.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews