nostalgic memories

Reading was a nostelegic remembering of actually reading these as a boy way back fresh off the candy store racks in 1960s ( )

I have thought a fair amount about what I am going to rate this. Spider-Man is my favorite super hero. The primary reason that many relate to him is that much of the story is based upon the life of Peter Parker. These first issues establish "the life of Peter Parker" as how the story will be told.

The art was top notch for the time, and still looks good. The writing is gonzo, which some people just can't tolerate. I find it fun, if silly and sometimes convoluted. The establishment of super powers and their extensions are leaps of logic and illogic, but the sheer fun of it all trumps that for me.

If we measure this book by modern standards, it looks pretty ordinary, and even garish. However, this is the establishment of a long lasting story. It was received very well, and resonates with many people. It resonates with me, so I give it top marks. ( )

Although rough and still overly bombastic, as was his style at the time, the thing that sets the first ten or so issues of The Amazing Spider-Man apart is a combination of how Stan Lee introduced complexity to the super-hero story, not from the dangers of super-powered villains, although there are plenty of those, but from the dangers of Peter Parker’s home and school life. In one issue, his Aunt May needs an operation and Peter is asked to donate blood, so he worries that something in his bloodstream might give him away—not to mention what it might do to his aunt. At school, he is constantly picked on by Flash Thompson, and even enters into a boxing ring with him, but has to be careful not to throw too hard of a punch, given his spider-strength. It was these everyday challenges that made this comic interesting, and in contrast with the Avengers volume, a lot more engaging. The other thing that this comic had going for it is the constant dialogue from Spider-Man, a banter that would prove to also set him apart in the crowded comic marketplace. ( )

4/

I pine for the earlier days. Things were so *dense* back then. ( )