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Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus
by Robert Greenberger
Spider-Man debuted in 1962 as well as since then he has had a few of the most innovative people in the comics field chronicle his escapades. A while back, Comic book resources determined the top 10 Spidey writers as well as coming in at #3, after Stan Lee as well as Steve Ditko naturally, was Roger Stern. His run during the 1980s was overshadowed by the subsequent creative renaissance the character experienced under Todd McFarlane’s pencils however that slight is lastly being corrected.
Coming in at a whopping 1296 pages is Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus as well as while that seems quite spiffy, it’s even much better when you recognize the artists who worked together with him on those unforgettable stories: John Romita, Jr., Marie Severin, Jim Mooney, Ron Frenz, Mike Zeck, John Byrne, Steve Leialoha, Rick Leonardi, Denys Cowan, Luke McDonnell, Ed Hannigan, Al Milgrom, as well as Bob Hall.
Stern, who still composes the occasional Webslinger tale every now as well as then, just recently recalled that when he took over the flagship series, his goal was “first, to do no harm. [Laughs] I saw my task as trying to compose the very best Spider-Man stories I could, to do it every month, as well as to do it well sufficient that visitors would want to pick up the next issue. That was always task One.
“Beyond that, I wished to compose the kind of stories that had drawn in me to Spider-Man when I was a teenager, the kind that Stan Lee had told with Steve Ditko as well as with John Romita Sr.
“Not that any type of of the skilled writers who succeeded Stan as well as preceded me were doing it wrong — far from it. You don’t get to compose Spider-Man unless marvel believes you’re qualified. Roy Thomas as well as Gerry Conway as well as Len Wein as well as Archie Goodwin as well as Marv Wolfman — everybody truly — added their own spins to the mix, as well as lord understands they were all much more experienced writers than I was. I believe I was about the eighth or ninth person to compose Spider-Man, as well as there were differences in the method all of us approached the series. I did my finest not to ignore any type of stories that had come before mine — I’d collected as well as checked out them all – however I tried to steer a program that was as close to the spirit of the Lee/Ditko/Romita stories as I might get.”
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #58
In looking back over the lots of stories, he feels “we were at least partly successful on that score. Of course, I’m not Stan Lee, as well as my artists weren’t Ditko … however one of them was a Romita!
“Over the program of my tenure, I discovered my own method to compose Spider-Man. I would hesitate to phone call it uniquely my own, since it’s truly just a matter of being faithful to the character. The Lee/Ditko/Romita template was always there in the back of my mind.”
He admits that in rereading the material, there are some scenes he would handle in a different way today however overall, he is material with exactly how they stand the test of time. On the other hand, he is surprised that the book bears his name “and not Spider-Man by John Romita Jr. After all, John had drawn eleven problems of amazing Spider-Man as well as an problem of Spectacular, before I get the amazing assignment.
“I never pictured that marvel would gather four years’ worth of my stories under one cover. I’m told that — at 1296 pages — it’s the largest Omnibus that marvel has published so far. That’s just incredibly flattering.”
Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus Variant Cover
CBR noted “he clearly turned his work on to a whole other level…he was now in the driving seat for the Spider-Man books as a whole as well as he was a fantastic driver.
“Stern’s early problems re-introduced the Black feline into the Spider-books, where he assisted to make her the essential of the Spider-Man books she stays today. An fascinating element of Stern’s books, also, is after a number of writers who tended to downplay Spider-Man’s powers, Stern went the other direction, highlighting just exactly how powerful Spider-Man can be.
“One of the most acclaimed problems in Stern’s run came early on when he had Spider-Man fight against the unstoppable Juggernaut in a two-issue story that did not produce the “superhero battles against a much more powerful foe,” however definitely put a twist on the style that later writers have complied with frequently.
Stern brought Mary Jane Watson back into the Spider-books as well as did great work with Spider-Man’s supporting cast.”
Amazing Spider-Man #248
During that stretch, two events stand out: the introduction as well as secret of the Hobgoblin as well as “The youngster who Collects Spider-Man,” a short story that packed a wallop for the readers. In reading with the brick of a book, Stern promises visitors will discover, “clues to the identity of the Hobgoblin scattered throughout my last twelve issues, however you have to look difficult for them. I’m sure that different individuals will discover different things.
“As I scripted these issues, concepts for future stories would frequently happen to me, as well as I would compose a line to foreshadow something I organized to establish later. much later, in some cases. halfway with amazing Spider-Man #238, for example, an interrupted believed of may Parker’s foreshadowed a story I wound up composing over twenty-five years later for amazing Spider-Man household #7. (That last story falls as well late to be included in this Omnibus, however for the completists out there, it is offered in the Spider-Man: died in Your Arms Tonight book.).”
Clearly, Stern has more stories to be collected however his book, collecting Spectacular Spider-Man #43-61 & 85, amazing Spider-Man #206, 224-252, amazing Spider-Man annual #16-17 plus material from amazing Spider-Man annual #15, Spectacular Spider-Man annual #3, web of Spider-Man annual #3 as well as What If…? #34, makes for fine reading as well as an excellent introduction to Stern as an underrated writer.
Classic comic covers from the Grand Comics Database.
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Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus