40 Years Of The Amazing Spider-Man
Topics Entertainment
(Topics is no longer publishing this title)

Review by Larry Stanley

First, I need to say that my collection had one very MAJOR problem. I didn't get a disc number 3. I got two number two's. And while this was quite a surprise bonus it did not make up for the absence of issues #92 through #139. But, lets at least look at what I do have.
Yes, this is supposed to be every issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, including Amazing Fantasy # 15 on up to number 500. In most of the boxes, this is probably what you get. Now, with this collection you normally get the whole run for about the cost of one Marvel Masterworks book. And while owning the whole run in paper is tough to do for most of us who don't have Bill Gates bank account it is possible to do in one way or another.
You can buy them all in really, really, really bad condition or you can get the new set of CD's from Tropic Entertainment. Here is what all you get on the 11-disc CD-ROM:
Amazing Fantasy #15
All articles and original ads, Spider's-Web column, and Bullpen Bulletins
All the covers to over 40 years of Amazing Spider-Man
The idea of going out and buying each issue of Spider-Man for your collection is generally mind-blowing. For some, the idea of just owning Amazing Fantasy #15 would require selling your house. So when Tropics came out with their first collection of Marvel Comics on CD I was not just happy, I was downright thrilled.
Now however they have gone past that mark and come out with what might be the best collection of Spider-Man ever. On just 11 CD's you get it all. Every issue, every cover, every major happening in the life of the Wondrous Web Slinger all at one time.
See the origin of the Vulture, Dr. Octopus, the Green Goblin, Hobgoblin and even the Punisher (or at least some of you will). See the first appearance of Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane Watson. Hmm. I wonder if my version is the ultra rare version worth thousands of dollars?
Anyway, some fans have never read the really early issues of Spider-Man and a lot are only familiar with his origin through the Ultimates line from Marvel. This is the first time some readers have had the chance to follow the growth and development of Spider-Man and to see how he and the book has changed in the 40 years it has been printed.
Yes, the Marvel Masterworks reprinted these a few years ago; but here you have the complete Comics. The original covers, editorial pages, ads, everything. Now the fan can have the chance to read all of these books with out worrying about tearing the pages or getting a stain on them.
How many times have you been afraid to even open a Mylar bag for fear of dust or dirt getting on a book you just paid a couple of hundred bucks for? I once freaked out a dealer and some other buyers when I opened a copy of Superman #100. And that one had no cover.
Now you can read afford to not only read them but also eat a Meatball sandwich while you do it. And better then that, you get to see the history that is in these stories. See how Comics dealt with racial problems, drug abuse, and something called Viet Nam.
There is a lot more then a desire for a simpler time in these stories. Seeing the toys we used to buy (plastic soldiers, sea monkeys, X-Ray glasses) some of you younger folks might wonder if anyone ever spent their money on this stuff. Well, some of us did. And I am still angry about those lousy glasses.
And you get to read the letters page as well, and do the search for names of people who went on to work in Comics. Also, you get what is probably one of the greatest editorial sections ever in Comic Books, Stan Lee's Soapbox. Stan tried to be the father a lot of us didn't have, and he tried to show us the dangers of dope, racism, and abuse and gave us advice on Comics, life and general attitudes that we had to deal with every day. And he was always honest and caring.
For me, this collection is the next best thing to actually owning a full run of the books. And it does cost a lot less let me tell you.
The color reproductions and transfer quality is amazing, with the inking and shadows perfect. The original charm, love and dedication that went into these books are apparent even here. It is simple to see why this book became such a key title in the history of Comics.
The books can be read with Acrobat Reader, which is free from the Adobe website and also included on the set. With Acrobat, you can resize the image and since they were scanned in at a really fine resolution it never lost its clarity when I kept enlarging the image. That was sort of fun with MJ on the screen. Never mind.
Sure there are a couple of negatives. There are no annuals that I could find, and some of the later stories have cross-over story lines in everything from Spectacular Spider Man to Captain America so you will have a couple of issues that don't have an ending, but on the plus side you will have a few that have no start. Sort of balances out, but it will still make those fans that have to be complete in everything they do will sort of feel left out. But if these are the only problems, I can't see that they should hold the reader back.
Also, the CD's come in those little paper slips. I would suggest you put them in plastic cases at the very least just to take care of them.
What I got, I was very impressed with and reading through them brought back a lot of nice memories. Hopefully I will get the disc problem worked out. If not, I will sell this rare version if I get the right offer.