A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed an issue of Spidey Super Stories. It was a series that ran in the 70s based on the live-action exploits of Spider-Man from the PBS series The Electric Company. In that issue, the web-slinger battled the terrifying Lizard.
Not willing to let a great idea die, Marvel brought back Spidey for a 12-issue run in 2016. I, of course, remembered the 70s version fondly. Naturally, I wanted for the series to be collected to see if the reboot was as good as the original.
Spidey covers Peter Parker's first days as a super hero. This coincides with his freshman year of high school. During this time, Parker is the best friend of Harry Osborn, the number one target of school bully Flash Thompson and he might be the love interest of one Gwen Stacy- if he can get the courage to ask her out sometime. But above all- this story is about the troubles Parker has balancing being a superhero with responsibilities as a student and teenager.
This series screams Stan Lee. It's so similar in feel to that of Lee and Ditko's run on Spider-Man, it's scary. Yet, I didn't feel that any of these stories had been told over and over to the point of being stale. Plus, I didn't have any problem with Gwen being a fellow classmate and not a college co-ed unlike some Marvel traditionalists.
Since Marvel didn't have the rights to The Electric Company, you won't see Easy Reader or Paul the Gorilla. Though it would have been neat to have seen a cameo or two. (There might have been some characters from the 70s popping up in the background and I just didn't recognize them. But alas, no simians in trench coats...) However, the writers to this series do happen to subtlety mention some of the exploits that did occur in Spidey Super Stories, including what happened that last time Spider-Man meet the Lizard in the streets of New York.
I absolutely loved the artwork of the first 4 issues. Nick Bradshaw (Guardians of the Galaxy) did this amazing job of rendering every last tiny detail. It was so much like that of another personal favorite of mine, Frank Quitely. When the art duties switched over later to Andre Araujo (Avengers A.I.), the art was bad. It just wasn't as magnificently detailed. It's like when your mom goes all out the first day of school with making you a fantastic lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches, potato chips and a banana. Then by the last day of school, you're lucky if she puts a raw potato in the lunch bag. You start off with great expectations and end with mediocrity at best.
Okay- again Araujo's art was good. It was mediocre compared to Bradshaw!
At least the quality of the stories didn't change. Too bad Marvel didn't invest in a series 2. Spidey is definitely an awesome read for the whole family that deserves more attention from the House of Ideas.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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