Happy 85, Steve Ditko

I want to take a moment from our regular reviews of Amazing Spider-Man to wish a very happy birthday to the co-creator of Spider-Man, Steve Ditko! I've been loving his artwork and dynamic poses as we've gone through these early issues of ASM, and it is absolutely a pleasure to know that we live in a world that has Steve Ditko in it.

He has been very reclusive in recent history, focusing on living a much quieter life than the bombastic Stan Lee, but his work is so legendary that he won't be forgotten either way. As the creator or co-creator of such characters as The Creeper, Spider-Man, Captain Atom, Hawk and Dove, and many many others.

For all of the years of enjoyment I've gotten from so many of his creations and artwork, I wish a personal and sincere thank you and happy birthday to Steve Ditko! Here's to many more years, sir!

Amazing Spider-Man #8

Oh, boy. I can't help but think we have our very first ASM stinker here today, ladies and gents! It's time to take a look at Amazing Spider-Man #8, featuring Pete Parker fighting Flash Thompson, The Living Brain, and a guest appearance by the Human Torch. What's that? You don't know who the Living Brain is? Well, there's probably a pretty good reason for it. This is once again brought to us by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, with letters from Art Simek. It's been a classic combination so far, so here's hoping it continues! Considering the only other classic thing that happens in this issue is Pete losing his glasses,  I'm hoping at least Steve Ditko's art will take the edge off.

Amazing Spider-Man #7

After an introduction to the all-new, all-dangerous Lizard last issue, this time around Lee and Ditko are answering the requests of the fans and bringing us another exciting adventure of the Vulture. Where he only had half a comic before, now he has a full adventure of his own spanning an entire 22 pages. Will the character be compelling enough to make it work? Spoiler Alert: Yes. Still, the fun is in the details, so let's take a look at the adventure for ourselves and see if Vulture's crimes can't be stopped! Also, who knew that the Spider Parachute tag would make a second appearance?? Bizarre.

Amazing Spider-Man #6

Time for yet another Amazing Spider-Man review! Welcome back, everyone. Today, we're taking a look at Amazing Spider-Man #6, which is the first appearance of The Lizard! This issue also takes us out of New York for the first time, letting Peter find his way to the generic Florida Everglades in pursuit of a terrifying menace that only he can stop because, uhm, I'm pretty sure he's the only one that really cares or believes it.

Amazing Spider-Man #5

After a really, really, really long hiatus, Every Amazing Spider-Man Reviewed is back and fresher than ever! Striving to be the only online repository for detailed reviews of every Amazing Spider-Man issue, we figure it's going to be at least five years before we are even close. Maybe after that we'll start Every Action Comics Reviewed, which should see me safely to retirement. The images on the site are not mine, but are used in accordance with Fair Use in the United States, and the opinions are strictly mine. After for straight issues of world building and brand new villains, things are shaken up with Issue #5 as the Marvel Universe is tied neatly together. Yes, the villain for this issue is Doctor Doom, a man both hilarious and frightening at the same time. A man whose ego knows no bounds. How does he do against the quips of the ol' Webhead? Let's find out, and see if we finally break our four issue streak of perfect issues!

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark is Finally Open!

Yes, true believers, today is the opening day (finally) of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark! While this has absolutely nothing at all to do with reviewing issues of Amazing Spider-Man, I do want to work in the occasional news item or review of other Spider-Man issues, and this one seems appropriate. The Julie Taymor/Bono/Edge collaboration, which in turn became completely overhauled several months into preview shows, is finally, officially open. Will it be a hit? A total bomb? Will it ever make its money back? More than likely, yes. U2 is a big draw, and Spider-Man is certainly well known. Tourism and curiosity alone will keep it running a long time, whether it deserves it or not. So congrats to Reeve Carney and Patrick Page for sticking out the VERY long preview and reworking process and finally having a show that you can be proud of and give your very best to!

Amazing Spider-Man #4!

Welcome once again to Every Amazing Spider-Man Reviewed! This time around we're featuring issue number four, the debut of the Stupendous Sandman! Acting almost as a combination of The Thing and Mr. Fantastic, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko present the Sandman as another radioactive villain, but this time he can control the grains of sand that make up his body! Will Spider-Man be able to adapt and save the day, or will Sandman successfully terrorize an innocent high school principal? The stakes have never been.. er.. stranger!