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Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #13
Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 13
Amazing art in a seminal Spider-Man storyline
221 pages, Hardcover
First published March 23, 2011
About the author
Gerry Conway
2,089 books89 followersGerard Francis Conway (Gerard F. Conway) is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics' vigilante the Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. At DC Comics, he is known for co-creating the superhero Firestorm and others, and for writing the Justice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-day intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 11, 2017
Collecting a dozen or so issues of the original run of The Amazing Spider-Man, this may represent the most memorable stories of the Gerry Conway era. Starting off with the epic two-part story that "changed comics forever," "The Night Gwen Stacey Died" set a new tone for the Peter Parker and his secret identity. It's one of the few comic book deaths (outside of Uncle Ben) that has really stuck, though Marvel has certainly tried to mess with this by having clones of Gwen come back and then later revelations that Gwen and Norman Osborne were hooking up while she was off in London.
The two part story that features the end of Gwen and the original Green Goblin has been retold and given homage in multiple re-tellings of the Spider-Man story. But few are better than what Conway does in these two issues. Knowing the ending allows you to sit back and really examine how Conway and the creative team on ASM toyed with readers of the day, building up and foreshadowing the two major deaths to come.
As if that monumental two-part saga weren't enough, we also get the introduction of the Punisher to the Marvel-verse and the Jackal to the Spider-verse. And both of these introductions occur in the same issue. The sad part is that said issue isn't necessarily much to write home about. The Punisher is an interesting force to be reckoned with, but in his debut, he's pretty much a one-note character. The backstory that we associate with the character comes later.
And in between a battle between Doc Ock and the return of Hammerhead, both of whom need Aunt May because (wait for it), she is the owner of an island with a nuclear facility on it, there's a lot of crazy bananas stuff happening in these dozen or so issues.
But that doesn't even cover what are, for me, two memorable installments of the Spider-lore. And while issues 124 and 125 don't have the same impact on the Spider-verse that the "Death of Gwen Stacey" story does, issues 124 and 125 had a huge impact on my becoming a Spider-Man fan. If you're a certain age, you may recall a series of records released under the Power Records label. While DC offered new stories with new artwork, Marvel instead offered up re-tellings of certain stories (at least on the first release wave!). This meant we got some incredibly dark, bleak and depressing stories hitting the pages, many ending on a cliffhanger of sorts in which our heroes are in a less positive place than when we started.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Spider-Man offering, "The Mark of the Man-Wolf." Still reeling from the death of Gwen, Peter isn't happy that J. Jonah Jameson is hounding the wall crawler and blaming him for the death of Norman Osborne. Determined to set JJJ straight, Spidey head to Jonah's place, itching for a fight. But instead of the publisher, he gets to tangle with his son, former astronaut John Jameson who thanks to a moon rock pendant, transforms into a werewolf every 30 days.
It's this bleak, dark storyline that Marvel thought would be just perfect for the kiddos to listen to over and over again as a book and record set. Sure the Power Record set drops all references to Gwen and her death and wipes away any subplots that don't directly involve Peter, JJJ or the Man-Wolf. But if you listen to the record, it ain't exactly the most fun Spidey story to adapt for young listeners. (The Incredible Hulk one is just as bad, ending up with the Hulk defeating his two enemies, only to be captured by General Ross!).
I have vivid memories of listening and listening and listening to the "Mark of the Man Wolf" on record as a kid. And thanks to the power of the Internet, the entire Power Records catalog can be experienced by modern readers, including "Mark of the Man Wolf."
A depressed, bitter and angry Peter Parker and a pretty much non-quippy Spider-Man. I can only guess that Marvel decided the death of Gwen Stacey storyline was too much for younger readers and went with this instead.
I'll admit it was fascinating to see the original material and see what made the cut and what didn't.
This collection is chock full of memorable moments like that. And, quite frankly, it feels like the stories in here are more written to create a sensational cover than in actually having a storyline that makes a lick of sense. Did I mention Aunt May owns an island with a high concentration of uranium and that she nearly marries Doc Ock?!? I clearly recall my younger self, begging my parents to buy a copy of the "My Uncle, My Enemy" issue in a reprint form simply because the cover image is pretty amazing. Seriously, how could any young Spidey fan resist it?!?
And I haven't even got around to Spidey building the Spider-Buggy with the Human Torch. Or how these issues set up the Harry becomes the Green Goblin storyline with all the subtletely of a two-by-four to the noggin.
Memorable, bananas and completely over the top. This isn't the heights of sublime that we got in the Lee/Ditko era. But I'd argue that it's completely memorable in its own unique, end of an era type of way.
The two part story that features the end of Gwen and the original Green Goblin has been retold and given homage in multiple re-tellings of the Spider-Man story. But few are better than what Conway does in these two issues. Knowing the ending allows you to sit back and really examine how Conway and the creative team on ASM toyed with readers of the day, building up and foreshadowing the two major deaths to come.
As if that monumental two-part saga weren't enough, we also get the introduction of the Punisher to the Marvel-verse and the Jackal to the Spider-verse. And both of these introductions occur in the same issue. The sad part is that said issue isn't necessarily much to write home about. The Punisher is an interesting force to be reckoned with, but in his debut, he's pretty much a one-note character. The backstory that we associate with the character comes later.
And in between a battle between Doc Ock and the return of Hammerhead, both of whom need Aunt May because (wait for it), she is the owner of an island with a nuclear facility on it, there's a lot of crazy bananas stuff happening in these dozen or so issues.
But that doesn't even cover what are, for me, two memorable installments of the Spider-lore. And while issues 124 and 125 don't have the same impact on the Spider-verse that the "Death of Gwen Stacey" story does, issues 124 and 125 had a huge impact on my becoming a Spider-Man fan. If you're a certain age, you may recall a series of records released under the Power Records label. While DC offered new stories with new artwork, Marvel instead offered up re-tellings of certain stories (at least on the first release wave!). This meant we got some incredibly dark, bleak and depressing stories hitting the pages, many ending on a cliffhanger of sorts in which our heroes are in a less positive place than when we started.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Spider-Man offering, "The Mark of the Man-Wolf." Still reeling from the death of Gwen, Peter isn't happy that J. Jonah Jameson is hounding the wall crawler and blaming him for the death of Norman Osborne. Determined to set JJJ straight, Spidey head to Jonah's place, itching for a fight. But instead of the publisher, he gets to tangle with his son, former astronaut John Jameson who thanks to a moon rock pendant, transforms into a werewolf every 30 days.
It's this bleak, dark storyline that Marvel thought would be just perfect for the kiddos to listen to over and over again as a book and record set. Sure the Power Record set drops all references to Gwen and her death and wipes away any subplots that don't directly involve Peter, JJJ or the Man-Wolf. But if you listen to the record, it ain't exactly the most fun Spidey story to adapt for young listeners. (The Incredible Hulk one is just as bad, ending up with the Hulk defeating his two enemies, only to be captured by General Ross!).
I have vivid memories of listening and listening and listening to the "Mark of the Man Wolf" on record as a kid. And thanks to the power of the Internet, the entire Power Records catalog can be experienced by modern readers, including "Mark of the Man Wolf."
A depressed, bitter and angry Peter Parker and a pretty much non-quippy Spider-Man. I can only guess that Marvel decided the death of Gwen Stacey storyline was too much for younger readers and went with this instead.
I'll admit it was fascinating to see the original material and see what made the cut and what didn't.
This collection is chock full of memorable moments like that. And, quite frankly, it feels like the stories in here are more written to create a sensational cover than in actually having a storyline that makes a lick of sense. Did I mention Aunt May owns an island with a high concentration of uranium and that she nearly marries Doc Ock?!? I clearly recall my younger self, begging my parents to buy a copy of the "My Uncle, My Enemy" issue in a reprint form simply because the cover image is pretty amazing. Seriously, how could any young Spidey fan resist it?!?
And I haven't even got around to Spidey building the Spider-Buggy with the Human Torch. Or how these issues set up the Harry becomes the Green Goblin storyline with all the subtletely of a two-by-four to the noggin.
Memorable, bananas and completely over the top. This isn't the heights of sublime that we got in the Lee/Ditko era. But I'd argue that it's completely memorable in its own unique, end of an era type of way.
May 21, 2022
Collects the death of Gwen Stacy and the first appearance of the Punisher- and the Jackal too but who actually cares? Harry is really starting to lose it too and we all know what’s gonna happen next, right? Oh, and would there be a thing between mourning Petey and MJ?
So yes, it’s a milestone in Spidey’s long line of miseries. Most of Conway’s plots are decent-with the exception of Doc Ock/Aunt May’s wedding maybe-and he quietly starts future important arcs but some character’s concepts are sometimes way off- the Jackal is simply ridiculous and looks like some poor man’s (totally) green goblin without the elf cap- and Ross Andru isn’t up to par with Romita, Buscema and Kane. And even Kane is not at his best here and the infamous death issue isn’t as stunning as it could have been.
Still, a must-read to all Spidey’s fans
So yes, it’s a milestone in Spidey’s long line of miseries. Most of Conway’s plots are decent-with the exception of Doc Ock/Aunt May’s wedding maybe-and he quietly starts future important arcs but some character’s concepts are sometimes way off- the Jackal is simply ridiculous and looks like some poor man’s (totally) green goblin without the elf cap- and Ross Andru isn’t up to par with Romita, Buscema and Kane. And even Kane is not at his best here and the infamous death issue isn’t as stunning as it could have been.
Still, a must-read to all Spidey’s fans
May 30, 2019
What a great collection. So many big stories. First off the death of Gwen Stacy. Flash me back to 1973 and I am reliving this huge event. Plus the "death" of the Green Goblin (Norman Osborne). Big events that set in motion many other factors and storylines.
Spider-Man meets Luke Cage for the first time. And the intro of the Hobgoblin and his assassin: the Punisher! All this in one collection: timeless! Throw in Doc Ock as well. Not every story is a winner. I can see Marvel had to buy some time after the twin deaths of Gwen and Norman. Aunt May was old then and that was 46 years ago.
Spider-Man meets Luke Cage for the first time. And the intro of the Hobgoblin and his assassin: the Punisher! All this in one collection: timeless! Throw in Doc Ock as well. Not every story is a winner. I can see Marvel had to buy some time after the twin deaths of Gwen and Norman. Aunt May was old then and that was 46 years ago.
January 10, 2025
Even though everyone knows it's coming at this point, Gwen Stacy's death is still shocking and heartbreaking. However, it is absolutely what the comic needed and there's a notable uptick in quality afterwards.
October 3, 2021
It was fun to read! Great art!
I think it was the first vol. that was fun to read since 5 volumes ago.
I think it was the first vol. that was fun to read since 5 volumes ago.
June 27, 2024
If the status of Marvel in 1972 was the illusion of change, then 1973 is the year when those illusions were shattered and Marvel was changed forever. The death of Gwen Stacy in issue 121 signified the true end of the Silver Age of comics, ushering in an era of dark and gritty storytelling. The reverberations of issue 121 and 122 are still felt today, albeit for all of the wrong reasons. Death is a cheap, over-hyped sales gimmick in today's market. In 1973, it was used as a vehicle for storytelling. Gerry Conway showed a bitter, defeated, morose Peter Parker in the issues following the death of Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin). The strife of the era had bled onto the pages of comic books with spectacular results. It's a pity that Gil Kane left the book, as he is a master artist. The Postal Service lost some of his artwork for issue 123, and the recovered pages are shown as extras in the back. Kane was a first rate storyteller as well as an artist, and his pages had a dynamism rarely matched since.
I never minded Ross Andru's Spider-Man as a kid when I read these as cheap-o back issues. It's only when going from Gil Kane's superb rendition of the Man-Wolf in issue 124 to Andru's workmanlike art in issue 125 that you realize how inferior he is. Andru is a competent penciler in his own right, but when you jump from one issue to the next you really notice it.
I had many of these issues during my original collecting phase. Issues 121 and 122 were bought with paper route money (I got 122 in Good/ Very Good or better for like $6 back then), 124 for .50, 129 (the first appearance of the Punisher) for $1.50 in Fine condition. I found Issue 131 in a quarter box circa 1983 and can still almost recite every panel, so it was a treat to see it in “high def” Masterworks format. So this era of Spider-Man has a strong nostalgia factor for me, even if the issues post 122 are not considered high marks in most fan's minds.
The introduction of the Punisher was yet another “zeitgeist” moment for comic books. Gerry Conway stated in the introduction that he was intended to be a cross between Dirty Harry and the subway shooter vigilantes that had been rocking headlines back in 1973. He would continue to reappear as a quasi-villain/ anti-hero, and by the mid-'80s he was a star. By the '90s he was one of Marvel's top selling heroes.
I never minded Ross Andru's Spider-Man as a kid when I read these as cheap-o back issues. It's only when going from Gil Kane's superb rendition of the Man-Wolf in issue 124 to Andru's workmanlike art in issue 125 that you realize how inferior he is. Andru is a competent penciler in his own right, but when you jump from one issue to the next you really notice it.
I had many of these issues during my original collecting phase. Issues 121 and 122 were bought with paper route money (I got 122 in Good/ Very Good or better for like $6 back then), 124 for .50, 129 (the first appearance of the Punisher) for $1.50 in Fine condition. I found Issue 131 in a quarter box circa 1983 and can still almost recite every panel, so it was a treat to see it in “high def” Masterworks format. So this era of Spider-Man has a strong nostalgia factor for me, even if the issues post 122 are not considered high marks in most fan's minds.
The introduction of the Punisher was yet another “zeitgeist” moment for comic books. Gerry Conway stated in the introduction that he was intended to be a cross between Dirty Harry and the subway shooter vigilantes that had been rocking headlines back in 1973. He would continue to reappear as a quasi-villain/ anti-hero, and by the mid-'80s he was a star. By the '90s he was one of Marvel's top selling heroes.
June 11, 2022
Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 13 by Gerry Conway is a very important book in terms of the Spiderman legacy. This book features Spiderman's second biggest loss with Uncle Ben being the first, the death of Spiderman's first villain where he was directly involved in it, and the introduction of the Punisher (Frank Castle). It has some moments of infamy like the Spidermobile that Johnny Storm of the fantastic Four invented, and the weeding of Aunt May to Doctor Octopus. We see the beginnings of Peter Parker and Mary Jane, the start of Harry Osborn starting to go insane like father, like son.. Here's the list of hero's and villains in this volume, Johnny Storm, Luke Cage (Powerman), The Punisher, Doctor Octopus, The Jackal, Hammerhead, Man-Wolf, Kangaroo, The Vulture, and Green Goblin. This volume had lots of action and really good art work. There was only one bad story and it wasn't that bad. This volume had the most throwbacks to previous works. The stories really Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 13 collects The Amazing Spider-Man issues 121-131.
The Plot Summaries: Norman Osborn needs someone to blame for his son's drug abuse and Peter Parker/ Spiderman gets the blame, now he wants to take something from peter. After Peter fails in stopping the Green Goblin he knows he must not fail again. Spiderman is labeled a killer and Jamison hires a ,Hero for Hire, Luke Cage to bring him in. After a woman is killed in Mary Jane's building, peter fears but when he finds out who the killer is he gets even. Kangaroo wants a rematch against Spiderman, but he must get super powers to do it. The Punisher and The Jackal team up to rid the world of Spiderman, Who's the true villain in this story? The Jackal and Hammerhead try to team up but one ends up going after Doc Ock and his bride to be... Aunt May.
What I Liked: how many milestone issues were in this volume. The pace of the stories was rapid fast. I liked the intensity and that villain has the stakes for poor Spiderman. When the villain say kill they mean it in this volume. The loved the way the fight scenes were drawn some of my favorite in the series, theres one move where Spiderman does a flip to drop kick to bad guys that was spectacular. I liked the Punisher's intro to marvel, you definitely want to know more about his character and what makes him tick, this is definitely the PG version of the character that does not want to kill only stun. I liked how the narrative flowed from issue to issue. There was some good classic Spiderman quips in this volume. I was surprised how much I liked the Jackal a character I have never really heard of.
What I Disliked: The death of a certain character I built it up in mind to be so epic, I had never read the issue but knew it and it was not epic at all and it so could have been, big missed potential.
Recommendation: This is a can't miss if you care about the lore of Spiderman, so much happens, there's stuff in this volume that elevated comics of the time. Maybe it was not as epic as I would of liked or imagined, but these issues broke so much ground for the time. I rated Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 13 by Gerry Conway 5 out of 5 stars.
The Plot Summaries: Norman Osborn needs someone to blame for his son's drug abuse and Peter Parker/ Spiderman gets the blame, now he wants to take something from peter. After Peter fails in stopping the Green Goblin he knows he must not fail again. Spiderman is labeled a killer and Jamison hires a ,Hero for Hire, Luke Cage to bring him in. After a woman is killed in Mary Jane's building, peter fears but when he finds out who the killer is he gets even. Kangaroo wants a rematch against Spiderman, but he must get super powers to do it. The Punisher and The Jackal team up to rid the world of Spiderman, Who's the true villain in this story? The Jackal and Hammerhead try to team up but one ends up going after Doc Ock and his bride to be... Aunt May.
What I Liked: how many milestone issues were in this volume. The pace of the stories was rapid fast. I liked the intensity and that villain has the stakes for poor Spiderman. When the villain say kill they mean it in this volume. The loved the way the fight scenes were drawn some of my favorite in the series, theres one move where Spiderman does a flip to drop kick to bad guys that was spectacular. I liked the Punisher's intro to marvel, you definitely want to know more about his character and what makes him tick, this is definitely the PG version of the character that does not want to kill only stun. I liked how the narrative flowed from issue to issue. There was some good classic Spiderman quips in this volume. I was surprised how much I liked the Jackal a character I have never really heard of.
What I Disliked: The death of a certain character I built it up in mind to be so epic, I had never read the issue but knew it and it was not epic at all and it so could have been, big missed potential.
Recommendation: This is a can't miss if you care about the lore of Spiderman, so much happens, there's stuff in this volume that elevated comics of the time. Maybe it was not as epic as I would of liked or imagined, but these issues broke so much ground for the time. I rated Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 13 by Gerry Conway 5 out of 5 stars.
November 7, 2021
This turned out to be a seriously loaded volume of Spider-Man stories and it was probably a good idea that I had delayed reading this until I could focus more. This set includes major story arcs like the death of Gwen Stacy, the marriage of Doctor Octopus to Aunt May and...THE SPIDER-MOBILE.
The decision to kill off a major character is never an easy one and they made sure that Peter Parker's life would be changed significantly by this event. Beyond the return of the Green Goblin himself, Gwen's death and the belief that Spider-Man had killed Norman Osborn would continue to have long--term effects on everyone. New York police now had a valid reason to pursue Spider-Man because of Osborne and Peter is basically an emotional wreck after having his girlfriend essentially die in his arms (I know the fall had already killed here, but you get what I mean).
I don't know why they thought the Spider-Mobile sub-plot was a good idea as a follow-up to Gwen, and was ultimately less interesting than how Harry took his father's death. I hadn't realized that his transition into the Green Goblin would happen so quickly, although we never see him don the costume just yet in these volumes.
I had also thought that the marriage of Doctor Octopus and Aunt May would have been a somewhat bigger event instead of a single-issue storyline. But hey, gotta sell comics I guess. And how many Amazing Spider-Man covers have involved a wedding? Not as many as you think, but it's still an interesting thing to note over the years.
The decision to kill off a major character is never an easy one and they made sure that Peter Parker's life would be changed significantly by this event. Beyond the return of the Green Goblin himself, Gwen's death and the belief that Spider-Man had killed Norman Osborn would continue to have long--term effects on everyone. New York police now had a valid reason to pursue Spider-Man because of Osborne and Peter is basically an emotional wreck after having his girlfriend essentially die in his arms (I know the fall had already killed here, but you get what I mean).
I don't know why they thought the Spider-Mobile sub-plot was a good idea as a follow-up to Gwen, and was ultimately less interesting than how Harry took his father's death. I hadn't realized that his transition into the Green Goblin would happen so quickly, although we never see him don the costume just yet in these volumes.
I had also thought that the marriage of Doctor Octopus and Aunt May would have been a somewhat bigger event instead of a single-issue storyline. But hey, gotta sell comics I guess. And how many Amazing Spider-Man covers have involved a wedding? Not as many as you think, but it's still an interesting thing to note over the years.
November 4, 2025
yeah this is real good stuff.
when you picture Spider-Man, this run is probably what you're thinking of. everything from the introduction of such characters as the punisher and jackal to the iconic death of gwen stacy storyline is all contained in these eleven issues. absurd how the team, most consistently conway, was firing on all cylinders month after month, issue after issue.
the work-life balance of peter parker is depicted here like no other. all of the side characters, the people in his life, feel as fully realized as a 1970s comic book side character couls possibly get. i was especially charmed by joe "robbie" robertson, who rarely sticks around longer than a page or two but has such an interesting back-and-forth dynamic with every character he ever speaks to. harry osborn has fully lost it and is such a cartoonishly bad roommate that i can only believe peter doesn't just kick him out because he's too busy bleeding in the streets every night. of course there is also mary jane who is a delight and so much more full of personality than gwen (or any of the film adaptations of MJ for that matter).
truly this IS classic Spider-Man. it's all here fully formed in 1973. wild
when you picture Spider-Man, this run is probably what you're thinking of. everything from the introduction of such characters as the punisher and jackal to the iconic death of gwen stacy storyline is all contained in these eleven issues. absurd how the team, most consistently conway, was firing on all cylinders month after month, issue after issue.
the work-life balance of peter parker is depicted here like no other. all of the side characters, the people in his life, feel as fully realized as a 1970s comic book side character couls possibly get. i was especially charmed by joe "robbie" robertson, who rarely sticks around longer than a page or two but has such an interesting back-and-forth dynamic with every character he ever speaks to. harry osborn has fully lost it and is such a cartoonishly bad roommate that i can only believe peter doesn't just kick him out because he's too busy bleeding in the streets every night. of course there is also mary jane who is a delight and so much more full of personality than gwen (or any of the film adaptations of MJ for that matter).
truly this IS classic Spider-Man. it's all here fully formed in 1973. wild
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2022
Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #121-131
This is a pivotal collection because it features the death of Gwen Stacy and the introduction of the Spider-Mobile!
SPOILERS:
Here is the breakdown of the importance of each issue:
#121 - The death of Gwen Stacy!
#122 - The "death" of Norman Osborn!
#123 - Spider-Man meets Luke Cage for the first time!
#124 - Man-Wolf debuts!
#125 - More Man-Wolf!
#126 - The Kangaroo bounces again!
#127 - The Vulture attacks!
#128 - More "Vulture!"
#129 - The Punisher debuts! Plus, first appearance of The Jackal (non-human identity)!
#130 - The Spider-Mobile debuts and Hammerhead attacks!
#131 - The Marriage of Doc Ock to Aunt May!
This is a pivotal collection because it features the death of Gwen Stacy and the introduction of the Spider-Mobile!
SPOILERS:
Here is the breakdown of the importance of each issue:
#121 - The death of Gwen Stacy!
#122 - The "death" of Norman Osborn!
#123 - Spider-Man meets Luke Cage for the first time!
#124 - Man-Wolf debuts!
#125 - More Man-Wolf!
#126 - The Kangaroo bounces again!
#127 - The Vulture attacks!
#128 - More "Vulture!"
#129 - The Punisher debuts! Plus, first appearance of The Jackal (non-human identity)!
#130 - The Spider-Mobile debuts and Hammerhead attacks!
#131 - The Marriage of Doc Ock to Aunt May!
June 11, 2020
This is a big one.
The Death of Gwen Stacy.
Mary Jane begins to struggle with her selfishness.
The introduction of Man-Wolf, the Jackal, and the Punisher.
The Spidey-Mobile.
The Wedding of Aunt May and Doctor Octopus.
There are some weird adventures like the cybernetically enhanced Kangaroo and a mutated scientist who pretends to be the Vulture, but mostly Volume 13 is packed full of legendary Spider-Man stories.
The Death of Gwen Stacy.
Mary Jane begins to struggle with her selfishness.
The introduction of Man-Wolf, the Jackal, and the Punisher.
The Spidey-Mobile.
The Wedding of Aunt May and Doctor Octopus.
There are some weird adventures like the cybernetically enhanced Kangaroo and a mutated scientist who pretends to be the Vulture, but mostly Volume 13 is packed full of legendary Spider-Man stories.
November 7, 2017
This is it, the death of Gwen Stacy, the catalyst for so much of Spider-Man's grief and evolving character. For a few volumes now, Spider-Man has been great but samey, a villain of the week, Peter has problems but nothing debilitating, but this changes everything
November 11, 2017
The death of Gwen Stacy and the first appearance of the Punisher make this volume important, but it's also pretty good. Gerry Conway has obviously become more comfortable with the book and is spinning plots fast and furious. Its solid, confident work and the art compliments it well.
July 29, 2019
A lot of momentus Spider-Man stories in here, and a marked turn in Peter Parker after Gwen Stacey's death. The writing here is fantastic, bringing Peter's story to life. The best thing about this is probably Peter's evolvement over time. Can't wait to read more!
January 4, 2019
Gerry Conway stepping in and taking over the writing from Stan Lee was the best thing to happen to this comic in probably 50 issues.
September 17, 2023
The Amazing Spider-Man #121-131
July 5, 2024
Reminds me all the much of losing someone. The grieving process is different for everyone, and I like that this Masterwork talks about that.
March 9, 2014
Some absolute classics in this volume, notably involving Ms. Gwen Stacy, but there are also a range of issues demonstrating how the series has shifted toward autopilot at this late date.
The Gwen issues still pack a punch today, and I can only imagine how they must have been received at the time of publication. The associated violence--and the pure malevolence of the Green Goblin--are delivered so quickly that Spider-man and the reader barely have time to react. That's effective, and it doesn't quite feel rushed, especially since Spidey spends the rest of the volume dealing, as well as he can, with the aftermath.
The other stories, while done well enough, don't show too much inspiration. There's J. Jonah Jameson's son turning into some space werewolf, a situation that's resolved too easily. The return of the Vulture is pretty much an old creature-feature story. Spidey and the Human Torch team up to build a street buggy for some reason (I imagine projected toy sales were involved). And things get pretty ridiculous in the last arc, where it turns out Aunt May inherited a uranium mine and breeder reaction on an island in Canada (!) that Dr. Octopus and Hammerhead fight over. Spider-man doesn't even need to be part of that story, and it doesn't give him much to do aside from hanging onto a plane for hours at a time.
On the non-superhero side of things, Peter Parker isn't the most pleasant person. He's dealing with what happened to Gwen, sure, but throughout the series he's always dealt with anger issues and a lack of impulse control, and that's present here as well. Mary Jane rightfully calls him out. By all rights he should be bottoming out in his personal life, but he just seems to be hanging on, which is a little unrealistic as well. We'll see how long that lasts.
Ultimately, these comics are decent, but the creative team has developed a formula, and they seem to be struggling a bit with how to move outside it. If these comics came out today, there'd be a lot of eye-rolling.
Read digital issues--except ASM 129, which isn't online for some reason.
The Gwen issues still pack a punch today, and I can only imagine how they must have been received at the time of publication. The associated violence--and the pure malevolence of the Green Goblin--are delivered so quickly that Spider-man and the reader barely have time to react. That's effective, and it doesn't quite feel rushed, especially since Spidey spends the rest of the volume dealing, as well as he can, with the aftermath.
The other stories, while done well enough, don't show too much inspiration. There's J. Jonah Jameson's son turning into some space werewolf, a situation that's resolved too easily. The return of the Vulture is pretty much an old creature-feature story. Spidey and the Human Torch team up to build a street buggy for some reason (I imagine projected toy sales were involved). And things get pretty ridiculous in the last arc, where it turns out Aunt May inherited a uranium mine and breeder reaction on an island in Canada (!) that Dr. Octopus and Hammerhead fight over. Spider-man doesn't even need to be part of that story, and it doesn't give him much to do aside from hanging onto a plane for hours at a time.
On the non-superhero side of things, Peter Parker isn't the most pleasant person. He's dealing with what happened to Gwen, sure, but throughout the series he's always dealt with anger issues and a lack of impulse control, and that's present here as well. Mary Jane rightfully calls him out. By all rights he should be bottoming out in his personal life, but he just seems to be hanging on, which is a little unrealistic as well. We'll see how long that lasts.
Ultimately, these comics are decent, but the creative team has developed a formula, and they seem to be struggling a bit with how to move outside it. If these comics came out today, there'd be a lot of eye-rolling.
Read digital issues--except ASM 129, which isn't online for some reason.
September 6, 2014
This book begins with the infamous death of Gwen Stacy. Most of the rest of the stories is Spiderman coming to terms with this, and trying to escape a murder charge. There's some good character stuff here, and some decent cameos from other super heroes including Luke Cage and ~Human Torch. This is one book that most Spiderman fans should read just because its a major game changer, and has effects for years to come. A very good read.
February 14, 2016
The Marvel Masterworks volumes are fantastic reprints of the early years of Marvel comics. A fantastic resource to allow these hard to find issues to be read by everyone. Very recommended to everyone and Highly recommended to any comic fan.
June 28, 2011
Keeps getting better and better!
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