The Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1: Back to Basics

The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) (Collected Editions)

by Nick Spencer (Writer), Humberto Ramos, Ryan Ottley (Illustrator)

An alien invasion attacks New York City and the only one who can stop it is...Spider-Man?! But that's far from all you'll find here - a revelation from the past puts Peter Parker's job, relationships and whole life in jeopardy! And if even that's not enough, you'll see a new roommate, new love interests and a new villain!

COLLECTING : AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) 1-5, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2018 (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN STORY)

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Spider Man, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

152 pages, Paperback

First published December 11, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Nick Spencer is a comic book writer known for his creator-owned titles at Image Comics (Existence 2.0/3.0, Forgetless, Shuddertown, Morning Glories), his work at DC Comics (Action Comics, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents), and for his current work at Marvel Comics (Iron Man 2.0, Ultimate Comics: X-Men).

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit. I threw up in my mouth a little when I cracked this open at the thought of Nick Spencer writing Spider-Man, one of my all-time favorite characters. After reading his books of the last few years, especially his poorly executed evil Cap run, I had more than a little trepidation. This was fully what I expected, Ant-Man and Superior Foes of Spider-Man Redux. Spencer focuses way too much on the shenanigans than crafting an interesting story. It's the same bag of tricks he always seems to pull out. Turn the character into a punching bag of ineptness and misery before having them eke out a win in the end more through luck than skill. With a story equal parts wacky and hapless, Spencer is the guy you know who thinks he is much more clever and funny than he really is. The jokes here fell flat for me and having Pete and MJ get back together for the gazillionth time felt really uninspired. Pete would be much better off with a Lois Lane type who didn't live in fear of him dying all the time, instead having no fear of danger herself. Ryan Ottley's art was the saving grace for me. Fresh off an epic run pencilling Invincible, he brought those same skills of drawing dynamic action scenes and expressive characters over to Spider-Man.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Good news, people . . . It's your 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'! Please don't be thrown off by the kicking -- still friendly!" -- The Amazing Spider-Man, cracking wise w/ the Avengers while in battle

Back to Basics is an apropos title - Peter Parker's (and, by extension, Spider-Man's) life is put through its typical paces with bad luck and complications around nearly every corner. Fortunately, Mary Jane and Aunt May are present for their usual supporting turns to provide comfort, and all sorts of A- and B-list villains (even Spidey snidely remarks about the unexpected sighting of Big Wheel - anyone else remember him?) make appearances. While the pseudo-split personality / body storyline was not outstanding it was still reasonably entertaining and funny, but - like other reviewers have already mentioned - it was Ryan Ottley's illustrations that were the big draw (ha-ha) for this volume.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

For over ten years when Dan Slott was writing The Amazing Spider-Man, a lot has happened towards Peter Parker as he went through “Brand New Day” and “Big Time”, he swapped bodies with Doctor Octopus who took over as the Superior Spider-Man and when Peter reclaimed his title, he ran Parker Industries where he became a successful businessman operating "Worldwide". Some might say that Dan Slott was throwing too many ideas in Peter’s double life as throughout his ten year-plus run, Slott was constantly changing up the mythos, for better or worse.

Now that Slott is no longer writing the further adventures of Peter Parker, although he co-written Spider-Geddon alongside Christos Gage last year, Nick Spencer is now writing the main bi-monthly Amazing Spider-Man series beginning with a new #1 as part of Marvel’s Fresh Start relaunch. Following Slott’s globe-trotting adventures, Spencer is going “Back to Basics” where Peter has to start from scratch due to a revelation from the past puts his job, relationships and whole life in jeopardy.

What makes Peter’s current status even more complicated, is that he has to share an apartment with not only his best friend Randy Robertson – the son of Peter’s former boss at the Daily Bugle – but also Fred Myers AKA the super villain Boomerang. From both the Free Comic Book Day issue and issue #1, Spencer knows how to write Peter Parker and his alter-ego, in terms of both characterisation and how the “Parker luck” wreaks havoc in his private life.

One can say that Spencer is giving the middle finger to his predecessor in scrapping every aspect that Slott established in his long run and to seal the deal, Spencer brings back a welcoming part of Peter’s past, which is him rekindling his romance with Mary Jane Watson, something that has been negated since 2007’s controversial “One More Day” storyline. Although it gives Peter a purpose in his life that he felt something was missing and hopefully this sweet romance will continue to blossom, Spencer doesn’t quite know how to handle MJ other than being the shoulder to cry on.

Having previously written The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, Spencer has a sense of humour that fits well with Spidey’s quips, which often includes pop culture references. It may not elaborate on the sitcom premise of the superhero living with the super villain as at times it feels like Spencer just forgets it until it’s used to progress the plot to humorous effect. No doubt the writer has a fondness of showing the funny side of villains and even the appearance of the Lizard teaching a class much to Peter’s initial horror is both strange and funny.

With this run bringing back elements of Peter’s past, it goes back to the origin in Amazing Fantasy #15 as Peter rediscovers the Isotope Genome Accelerator, the very machine that made the radioactive spider that bit the teenage Peter, whose life would be changed forever. Upon revisiting this machine, things go Superman III as Peter Parker and Spider-Man are split into two separate entities as the former is powerless but responsible whilst the latter is all power and no responsibility. For taking such a hokey premise from one of the worst comic book movies ever, Spencer uses it to good effect in how it gives a fresh perspective in the “Spider-Man No More” scenario and why the spider-persona is a significant part of who Peter really is as opposed to being an additional baggage that gets in the way of the people who are significant in his life.

Best known for his art on Robert Kirkman’s Invincible, a violent comic that played against the tropes of the superhero genre, Ryan Ottley is not the most obvious choice to illustrate Spider-Man. However, he ends up being a natural fit in drawing the Marvel universe with expressive figure work and dynamic fight scenes as proven in the initial issue showcasing Spidey and his fellow Avengers are trying to prevent a supposed alien invasion.

Considering the many naysayers towards Dan Slott’s long run of The Amazing Spider-Man, Nick Spencer is bringing back pleasurable aspects of Spidey’s history and apply them to the web-slinger's current status. He may not know how to use everything displayed in this initial arc, it is a fun start that will please lifelong fans of Spidey’s adventures and will hopefully introduce newbies to the domesticity of Marvel’s Everyman hero.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was pretty good!

It starts off with the usual team-up with Marvel heroes fighting Mysterio and there are some great jokes in between and then we find the whole Infringement thing which means Pete has to go to school again and this time with Lizard and well somethings happen which leads to splitting of Peter and Spidey so now it falls on the two of them to have their own journeys and we realize how one is incomplete without the other and while that happens Mendel Stromm and Trisentinel are here and Pete has to fight them and also enemies old and new in the background?!

This was a cool volume and builds up from the last run and introduces new and old things like his new status quo, my fav was him and MJ getting back together and also loving some new villains sort of and showing how Peter is incomplete without Spidey, power meets responsibility and the usual Spidey Jokes were a blast and the constant pop culture references are amazing haha. The art was pretty good too!
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Reread: 10/01/2022

I quite enjoyed this read!

It focuses on Peter as he is trying to get his life together and plagiarism and all and when things happen that lead to him splitting with Spidey and well the drama there and as I stated above about the conflict with Power and responsibility and also how he has to face off against Tri-sentinel and Mendel Stromm and all, its gonna take everything for him to dodge them and save everyone plus the setting of future threats to come with Kraven and Kindred. Excellent volume and I love how Spencer puts so many things here like to come and then also shows the biggest thing in Pete's life: Power and responsibility. The art is excellent throughout and compliments the writing really well and loved seeing MJ and Pete together again!
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Reread: 09/09/2024

Its always fun to read this volume, I love how is back to basics and it does so much in one volume and has so many villains and after reading the run after Spencers this ages better and the writer does well to lay out all that is to come be it the villains or the challenges and I love the reunion with MJ, she is the foil to Pete and it just feels complete when they are together and then the thing with the art.. Ryan's art is incredible and it kinda reminds me of invincible and that makes this volume just epic! One of the best Spidey runs and volumes that gets down to the basics as the name says!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story: Pete is back to having no luck and a shitty life. All the great things he was given, a company, a good job, his degree from college, it is ALL ripped away within moments. But it isn't all bad, Peter gets to get back with MJ. There is a silver lining. However, what happens when Spider-man and Peter Parker split up? What happens when a new bug villain makes a entrance and knows Spider-man's true identity? What is Kraven up to?

Art: Probably the strongest part. I fucking love Ottlys art. He did great on invincible and no different here. Some awesome action scenes, funny reactions, emotional moments, all displayed wonderfully.

Enjoyment: Loved the heck out of Peter and MJ. It felt really well done. I also am really intrigued with this new villain, and the power is scary. I think the art is great and makes this a really uplifting and fun title to read. Spider-man is funny again!

What didn't work: I like Spencer's work most of the time but my god, we don't need 15 speech bubbles every page. Let this shit breath man! Too wordy and also too much all in one page. It's just paced weirdly.

Overall, fun and exciting. Not amazing but a pretty good start. Hoping it continues to improve. A 3 out of 5.

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't really click with me. It spent way too much time setting up silly jokes and shenanigans than it did with interesting villains or exciting plots.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Spidey story with some good ideas, but so-so when it comes to execution. The plot doesn't flow very well, with several parts feeling out of place and hastily cobbled together. It jumps from one point to another, leaving some threads unresolved. I'm also not overly invested with the cliffhanger. No complaints about Ottley's art, although it did keep reminding me of Invincible and how much better that series is...Not a Spider-Man story I would recommend to newbies, perhaps something I'd suggest Spidey fans try, even if it's just the first volume.

[Makrand · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too funny, jumpy plot and scores of Villians, the first part comprises of a unique theme which would surprise the reader
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Vol 1 Back to Basics is about the fall of Peter Parker in his professional life thereby affecting his personal life but also is about wierd science experiments that somehow works flawlessly without testing :/

The comic is funny but at times it tries to be desperately funny which could have been avoided. Most jokes landed well however what i felt a bit misleading was that even the villains cracked jokes in Spider-Man style. Urban refrences to "googling" and "Netflix" seemed quirky.

Otto Octavius taking over Spiderman's body and fulfilling his ambitions by finishing his graduation seemed hilariously stupid to me which forms the base of the plot - Plagiarism! Why would someone do that.

Uncle Ben being called a brand of Rice was also one of the many stupid jokes yet funny!

The volume has a fair share of Villains right from Rhyno, Boomerang, Kingpin, Taskmaster, Mysterio to Sentinel.

The plot twist of the disintegration of Peter and Spidey was unique however it seemed too easy in the comic world!

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was far too much self-narration, so it felt like a bit of a slog to get through this. However, the art is nice and Spencer tries his best to make this a fun version of Spider-man rather than the sad and burdened Spider-man that we often see these days.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Spencer trying a little too hard to be funny and irreverent. Although there are several good ideas and references for these Spidey stories, ultimately he doesn't pull it off.

Every few years Spider-Man becomes too congested, this time after the great Dan Slott sagas, and we go "back to the basics" all over again. Peter Parker for the millionth time is down on his luck, has no money, and now with the roommate jokes. The plagiarism scandal is an interesting way for him to lose his job, though it does require some knowledge of the Dr. Octopus "Superior Spider-Man" era. And even though it isn't a clone situation, having another Spider-Man interact with Peter still doesn't quite work for me.

Still, a good starting point for new readers. A Marvel novice may enjoy, so lend this one to your friend curious about superheroes, but high concept comics literature this ain't.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writer's The Superior Foes of Spider-Man so I was interested to see what he could do with the actual Spidey, and it was pretty on brand. Fortunately Ottley's expressive art helps keep the humour from becoming too one note, in my view.

I've never been too much of a Web-Head fan, if I'm being honest, but I do enjoy dipping into his adventures from time to time, and it seems like this soft reboot (it still makes mention of how Peter Parker used to run his own company, his estrangement from MJ, how Otto Octavius took over his body for a while, etc., but for the most part it's Peter back to being a schlubb in a crappy apartment scrambling to make ends meet) is as good an entry point as any.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I had high hopes for this one.. I like Spencer, I loved Superior Foes of Spider-Man, I actually bought that shit thrice, the digital, the trade, and then the oversized HC edition. So.. yeah.. I liked it.

BUT, this one was ok, fun I guess, but nothing to get excited about, the fun thing was that Parker got a roommate and it's Boomerang, who you'd care about reading because of Spencer's Foe's book which you should definitely read if you haven't yet.

Other than that, the plot is ok, the dialogue is ok, the artwork is great! That's about it. Hope it gets better from now on.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although only three starred Nick Spencer's ASM is the real deal... this is the book that will pick up the legacy from Slott. Back to basics indeed, we're talking MJ, college, Lizard... doing it old school. Virtually every character used in this volume is from Lee & Kirby's run. In this first installment Spider-Man is no more,. hey wait-a-minute there's Spider-Man! Cryptic? Well trying to do this spoiler free... this is a very promising start to Spencers' run, with all the parts in place, including at least three interesting new sub-plots.

[I.Shayan · Rating 3 out of 5]

نویسنده ی جدید داره با سرعت جت تمام اتفاق هایی که تو ۷ سال گذشته واسه اسپایدرمن افتاده رو پاک میکنه و همه چیز رو به قول خودشون دارن به حالت بیسیک در میارن و حتی پیتر پارکر رو دوباره فقیر و دانشجو کرد
من این وسط حس میکنم هرچی تو ۷ سال گذشته خوندم ذره ای اهمیت نداشته...

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not going to beat around the bush. I had a lot of reservations about Nick Spencer taking over Spider-man. I was one of the folks who thought he had a great idea for Captain America. His run with that character started out great and the Hydra Cap story arc sounded good on paper but ultimately was not executed very well. In fact now Captain America's whole origin is a muddled and confusing. Not to mention a large bit of the Marvel fan base were outrage by the changes with many not reading Marvel comics any longer. Let's just say I am a bit worried about what Spencer might do with the character of Spider-man. I picked up the free comic book day of the first issue in this new story arc and was not impress. In my review of the first issue I express how I am just bit sick and tired of the whole superhero gets turned to evil, the superhero gets a doppelganger, or superhero gets altered somehow formula. I just at this time in my comic book reading want simple good vs. evil story lines. I just want to read an old fashion Spidey has a villain to stop quest. Because of positive word of mouth I decided to wait for this trade paper to be release and finally give this series another try. I can thankfully say I enjoyed reading this first arc. Spencer did an okay job of getting this story to feel like an old school Spider-man tale. Some of Spider-man's quips came across cheesy or just not funny at all but overall this felt like a Spider-man book. Ryan Ottley's artwork was not bad but in some places it could have been better. The colors were bright and really what I have come to expect from a Spider-man series. I really enjoyed the relationships in the book especially the one Spencer is developing with Peter and Mary Jane. This book was not boring at all. In was a nice easy to jump onto Spider-man comic. I hope Nick and Ryan will keep up the momentum.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obwohl ich schon die ersten beiden Hefte, die in diesem TPB enthalten sind, bei Erscheinen gelesen hatte und nicht besonders gelungen fand, habe ich das Paperback gekauft, um Spencers Run noch eine zweite Chance zu geben, vor allem auch in der Hoffnung, dass die Story im größeren Zusammenhang gewinnt. Das ist leider nicht der Fall.
Für mich funktioniert Spencers Spider-Man leider nicht. Natürlich ist mir bewusst, dass der Charakter einer Figur nicht über Jahrzehnte identisch bleibt und jeder Autor nicht nur an der Story, sondern auch an den Figuren arbeitet. Aber bei Spencer stimmt zu vieles für mich nicht. Zu sehr setzt er auf witzige Sprüche und Situationskomik, zu wenig auf die Charaktere, die die Leser im Laufe von Jahren und Jahrzehnten liebgewonnen haben.

Es folgen ein paar Spoiler:
Gut und witzig ist zum Beispiel die Idee, dass Peter Parker der Hochschulabschluss aberkannt wird, da ein Computerprogramm die Arbeit als Plagiat entlarvt. Tatsächlich hat Otto Octavius die Arbeit eingereicht, als er im Körper von Peter Parker war. Spencer spielt hier auf witzige Weise mit der Vorgeschichte, die sich aus Slotts Superior Spider-Man ergibt. Als Reaktion auf den Vorwurf des Plagiats wenden sich nun alle möglichen Leute von Peter ab, auch seine Tante May. Nun weiß jeder Spidey-Fan, dass sich May niemals von ihrem Lieblingsneffen abwenden würde, egal, welcher Vorwurf gegen ihn erhoben wird.
Überhaupt nicht nachvollziehbar war für mich unter anderem auch, dass durch ein Gerät, an dem Dr. Connors arbeitet, das Genmaterial von Peter Parker und der radioaktiven Spinne, die ihn einst gebissen hat, getrennt werden kann und plötzlich aus einer Person zwei werden: Ein Spider-Man, der nicht Peter Parker ist, und ein Peter Parker, der nicht Spider-Man ist. Nach Sinn sollte man nie allzu krampfhaft suchen, aber diese Idee hat mich überhaupt nicht überzeugt.
Und die Kämpfe, die Spidey mit seinen Feinden auszufechten hat? Mal lahm, im besseren Fall mal skurril.

Groß sind die Fußstapfen, in die Spencer nach dem ewig langen Run von Dan Slott getreten ist; zu groß, fürchte ich. Es sei denn, Spencer kann noch ordentlich nachlegen.

Gegen Ende findet sich ein Panel, das meine Gesamteindruck exakt wiedergibt:



Merged review:



Spidey, Held meiner Jugend: Auch wenn Nick Spencers Run mich bislang nicht wirklich überzeugt hatte (habe erst einzelne Hefte, dann das erste TPB gelesen), gebe ich nicht auf. Als ich neulich sah, dass Panini die Serie auch als Hardcover herausgibt, habe ich mir die ersten drei Bände (beinhalten die Hefte 1-15) gekauft, weil ich die aktuelle Serie so gerne mögen würde. An der Einschätzung zum ersten Band hat sich allerdings wenig geändert (abgesehen davon, dass ich die Demontage der freundlichen Spinne aus der Nachbarschaft unter dem Aspekt des Neubeginns inzwischen etwas gnädiger betrachte), darum hier meine Review zur TPB=Ausgabe:

Obwohl ich schon die ersten beiden Hefte, die in diesem TPB enthalten sind, bei Erscheinen gelesen hatte und nicht besonders gelungen fand, habe ich das Paperback gekauft, um Spencers Run noch eine zweite Chance zu geben, vor allem auch in der Hoffnung, dass die Story im größeren Zusammenhang gewinnt. Das ist leider nicht der Fall.
Für mich funktioniert Spencers Spider-Man leider nicht. Natürlich ist mir bewusst, dass der Charakter einer Figur nicht über Jahrzehnte identisch bleibt und jeder Autor nicht nur an der Story, sondern auch an den Figuren arbeitet. Aber bei Spencer stimmt zu vieles für mich nicht. Zu sehr setzt er auf witzige Sprüche und Situationskomik, zu wenig auf die Charaktere, die die Leser im Laufe von Jahren und Jahrzehnten liebgewonnen haben.

Es folgen ein paar Spoiler:
Gut und witzig ist zum Beispiel die Idee, dass Peter Parker der Hochschulabschluss aberkannt wird, da ein Computerprogramm die Arbeit als Plagiat entlarvt. Tatsächlich hat Otto Octavius die Arbeit eingereicht, als er im Körper von Peter Parker war. Spencer spielt hier auf witzige Weise mit der Vorgeschichte, die sich aus Slotts Superior Spider-Man ergibt. Als Reaktion auf den Vorwurf des Plagiats wenden sich nun alle möglichen Leute von Peter ab, auch seine Tante May. Nun weiß jeder Spidey-Fan, dass sich May niemals von ihrem Lieblingsneffen abwenden würde, egal, welcher Vorwurf gegen ihn erhoben wird.
Überhaupt nicht nachvollziehbar war für mich unter anderem auch, dass durch ein Gerät, an dem Dr. Connors arbeitet, das Genmaterial von Peter Parker und der radioaktiven Spinne, die ihn einst gebissen hat, getrennt werden kann und plötzlich aus einer Person zwei werden: Ein Spider-Man, der nicht Peter Parker ist, und ein Peter Parker, der nicht Spider-Man ist. Nach Sinn sollte man nie allzu krampfhaft suchen, aber diese Idee hat mich überhaupt nicht überzeugt.
Und die Kämpfe, die Spidey mit seinen Feinden auszufechten hat? Mal lahm, im besseren Fall mal skurril.

Groß sind die Fußstapfen, in die Spencer nach dem ewig langen Run von Dan Slott getreten ist; zu groß, fürchte ich. Es sei denn, Spencer kann noch ordentlich nachlegen.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rough but somewhat entertaining take on the Amazing Spider-Man. There are a lot of characters, especially villains, packed into this one, mostly distractions, with one bigger threat doing his thing in the shadow until it's his time to ruin Spidy. The artwork is super cartoony but it goes well with the unfunny jokes.

[Kyle Berk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a lot of Spider-man. For most of the years that I've been reading comics Dan Slott has been working on the Spider title, whether he was the main writer or in the team of writers. This is the first volume of the era after Dan Slott when Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley, and Ramos are on the book. And I really liked this first volume.

I read them as the issues were releasing and in the wake of the heartfelt issue #801 and that felt like a goodbye to someone who put a lot of time and love into Spider-man. I bring all this up because this volume feels like taking a bat to things left behind by that era of Spider-man.

Spider-man's (Otto's) degree? Gone.
Science editor job? Gone.
Any source of stability? Gone.

Is all that being taken away worth it? I think so yes. I'd love more stories with Peter as a science editor at the Daily Bugle, and I'd love for him to have his degree. But where the story goes in losing those things how it uses that to tell a really good tale of the dichotomy tale between Peter Parker and Spider-man. And how Spider-man needs Peter Parker just like Peter Parker needs Spider-man to be Spider-man I can deal with the lose of status quo that's been there for the last few years.

And he gets back with Mary Jane which is something that's been influx since One More day, and hopefully it'll stick until someone's got an axe to grind again.

So Back to basics as it's titled. Peter is living with two roommates, one a criminal another the son of Robbie from the Daily Bugle/ long time friend to Peter Parker. Peter is also on ice with other superheroes because Mayor Fisk has approved of this one and only superhero. And he lost his degree, then his job, and approval from Aunt May. So Pete is down again getting kicked by life with his old Parker luck. It always happens but here it was tough to read because things looked good for him again.

But he wouldn't be Spider-man if life wasn't kicking the crap out of him every now and then because of Peter's own decisions. With great power comes great responsibility and this story demonstrates that greatly. Because! Peter goes back to college to meet with Curt Conners who in an interrupted demonstration is attacked by Black ant and Taskmaster making a welcome appearance, to stop them Peter uses some gas that causes a distraction and he himself also sets off a machine that splits Spider-man into two beings. One is Spider-man while the other is Peter Parker. Ego and id, power and responsibility. That's the basic setup for the story and I think it leads to a pretty great one. A good debut story for Spencer on the wall crawler.

Ryan Ottley is fantastic on the wallcrawler. The images are so full of life, they pop. And I love it.

4 stars. If you gave up on Amazing Spider-man give it a shot if you didn't then you should still read it. Solid Spider-man story and a good jumping on point.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Peter Parker Versus Spider-Man! Wait, what? A lab accident goes terribly wrong, severing Peter and Spider-Man into two separate people, as well as splitting their sense of power and responsibility. Can they reconcile themselves long enough to defeat the Tri-Sentinel?

Going from the 10 year Slott run that I loved almost every minute of was always going to be a system shock. But Nick Spencer's first story arc on Amazing Spider-Man is actually pretty good. He doesn't attempt to re-invent the wheel, and while he does backtrack on a few plot developments from recent years, he has good justifications for them, and makes the changes organic to the story at the very least.

The Spidey/Peter split story is a good way to re-examine the idea of power and responsibility that hasn't been done before, and while the conclusion is always obvious, the journey to get there feels earned. The stuff in the background with Mysterio and the new bug-themed villain also has me intrigued.

I've loved Ryan Ottley on Invincible for the past however long, and I'm glad he's finally branching out elsewhere now that Invincible is over. His Spider-Man is definitely very Invincible-derived, with some characters literally just transplanted over with hair colour changes, but it works pretty well overall, and his style definitely suits Spidey's world.

An unexpected delight; I had low expectations, but Spencer is doing a good job so far.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh look, our superhero isn’t super. No thanks.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good things and some very bad things written in this mixed bag of reboot...

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick Spencer's Amazing Spider-Man was a fun read. Spencer "gets" the Peter Parker persona, as well as his Spider-Man persona, and this makes for a very good story.

Peter's life is about to change. When Doc Ock was using parker's body, he published Parker's graduate thesis. Now Parker is being charged with plagiarism and must go back to school. Working with Dr. Connors, Spider-Man literally runs into an accelerator which causes him to "split". One version is Peter Parker, the other is Spider-Man (but lacking Peter's inherent sense of responsibility). Now that there are two, will Parker's life improve? Don't bet on it.

A cool story that really understands the humor that is part and parcel of a Spider-Man story. The artwork is also quite good and both add to make this a 4 star volume.

[Alejandro S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book and how it shows how Spider-Man has personal problems and is not perfect. I found it funny how he was bragging about the respect he was getting only to right after that get it taken away because of plagiarism. The book kind of confuses me on how it just switches from one place to another but than that its a pretty good story.

[OliveTree · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to longform comic stuff, I don't ever read spinoffs or single character stuff, I only ever read the main title stuff. This isn't a conscious choice, it's just what interests me. When reading these main title things, I tend to think about comics in two terms: arcs (or single graphic novels) and runs. I'll check out a particular arc if I hear that it's good, and I'll read essentially the whole thing. I generally act the same for a particular author's run -- If im reading any of their stuff, I'm reading all of their stuff, provided there isn't a specific arc that people say you check out above all else. So, for batman, I've read plenty of the original, "classic" arcs, and I've read the entire Snyder & Greg Capullo run from the New 52.

This reading style proved problematic when it came to modern spiderman comics, because, just my luck, the main-title spiderman series has had the same author for about ten years! Yikes! That's one heck of a run to dip my toes into. How does an individual even go about touching that thing? My history with spiderman stops with most recent stuff, because there's about 300 issues waiting for me there. And a divisive 300 issues it was -- far from a golden recommendation from even the most patient of spidey fans. Sure...there are some classic stories in there, ones that've been discussed and recommended to death. But the run as a whole? Dan Slott's writing for the wall-crawler seems to be a bit of a mixed bag, within the community.

So, I just sort of didn't read it. I waited ever longer for them to eventually begin a new run with a new creator, so I could finally read spiderman comics in my preferred way. As luck would have it, Slott eventually moved on to greener pastures in other Marvel lines, and a new author took up the mantel for a more approachable, defined vision in the main Amazing Spiderman title.

As is my general habit, I didn't get around to reading it for about six months.

Enter Nick Spencer, and his first volume of The Amazing Spider-Man, titled "Back to Basics!"

When our beloved web-head gets split into two halves by an experimental laser, a newly decoupled Spider-Man gets all the power, where poor old Pete is stuck with all the responsibility. Worse yet! It seems the ray has deadly side-effects, and the lives of both our protagonists (or is it just one?) are on a timer. Can Peter convince his reckless, but powerful companion to rejoin him before its too late?

Here we have a compelling premise for a story, which unfortunately doesn't exhaust its fullest thematic potential, in the execution. The heart of the Spiderman story is in the conflict between Peter's regular life and his secret identity, between his obligations in the public and his moral acts in the costume, and obviously between power and responsibility. The split story economizes on this and delivers a fresh perspective, by characterizing this duality neatly with a dual-protagonist setup.

The framework is all there, and theoretically what we should have here is a tightly plotted, character-driven story that, when you pull back, is also about deeper themes related to the Spiderman mythos. In practice, though, it doesn't deliver. Although it's message is never confused, it's never given the time to build up or flesh out either. It's a shame because I think it's a very compelling story, and the characterization is here and very well realized, but too little of that is actually on the page, and that's really disappointing to me.

The actual action in this action-packed Spidey-fare is also of a very barebones "half-page-panel-with-spiderman-being-punched-and-then-have-him-defeat-them-in-the-next-page" variety. The escalation of stakes feels lackluster to me and even though in principle the story ends with a great deal going on -- an army of giant robots sent forth by an old foe who's been operating in the backgrounds all along, manipulated by a mysterious, threatening force whose motives and identity we don't yet know -- the plot is resolved just as its coming to a head, and the entire story-arc feels very unaffecting to me.

That being said, it is a very light, fun read with a sense of humor and an excellent grasp on character-based and situational comedy. It's funny but it never cheats the reader, and that was something I appreciated. In general, I'd say the way villains are handles was very tongue-in-cheek without spoiling their menace. Spencer reinterprets Mysterio for a short, but undeniably standout sequence which had me rolling, before quickly shifting to something seemingly very significant and appropriately mysterious.

Long story short: Amidst the long-term plot changes and shifts, new revelations and status-quos, is a humorous, character-driven read with a good handle on pacing and variety. Yet, it only touches on deeper themes without delving particularly deeply into them, and it lacks a punch by the time it wraps itself up.

[Jakub Rabyniuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Konečně jsem dočetl první arc Amazing Spider-Mana od Spencera a Ottleyho. Spencer přebral sérii po Dannu Slottovi, který jí psal řekněme o dva roky déle, než bylo nezbytně nutné.
Spencer se vrací k tradičnějšímu pojetí Spider-Mana, takže Peter Parker už nebude multimilionář, ale klasický neschopný mileniál, takže blíž svému čtenáři 😊 Co mi udělalo jako dlouholetému fanouškovi radost je obnovení romantického vztahu s Mary Jane. Tak snad se nedožiju One More Day 2.0.
Samotný děj prvních pěti čísel, ale žádná velká hitparáda není. Hlavní linka si pohrává s myšlenkou, co by se stalo, kdyby Spider-Man měl velké schopnosti, ale žádnou odpovědnost, což už dnes není nic originálního a viděli jsme to zpracované milionkrát a lépe. Co je sympatické tak celou tu záležitost vyřeší ve stylu Stana Leeho během pár čísel a nerozjíždí žádnou „Rozpolcenou Ságu“ nebo podobnou pitomost. Líbí se mi takové ty pulpové přesahy do reálného světa, např v prvním sešitě hraje roly software n rozpoznávání padělaných diplomových prací, a to i když je za člověka psal skrullský dvojník nebo prodali duši Mephistovi, aby ji udělali.
Zajímavější věci se dějí na pozadí příběhu. Za nitky tahá záhadný nový padouch, což je sice poněkud uhozený, ale v rámci žánru funkční, trik. Mě přijde, že by svými schopnostmi mohl mít něco společného s „totemovým“ tématem, se kterým přišel Straczinsky, za kterého sem začal Spider-Mana pořádně číst, takže by to bylo fajn, ale samozřejmě to může být úplně jinak. Spencer nezapomíná ani na pro něj typickou politickou angažovanost, takže druhá linie, co „běží“ na pozadí o tom, jak Kraven the Hunter loví tlusté bohaté bílé lovce v Africe. Ale příběhy s ním mě vždycky bavili už od dob Last Hunt nebo novějšího Grim Hunt, takže proč ne.
Kresba Ottleyho je v pohodě. Dovedu si představit, že někomu může přijít moc cartoonová, ale kdo zná Invincible, ví, že je schopný i docela drsných výjevů.
Celkově to kvalit nejlepších současných Marvelovek nedosahuje, ale jestli to mělo nalákat na další čtení série, tak to účel splnilo. Jestli chce někdo naskočit na čtení Spider-Mana, tak tohle dobrý moment rozhodně je.

[Rylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I’ve been wanting to read more Spider-Man for quite sometime and this seemed like a perfect jumping on point. I’m glad I did because this is a back to basics approach to the character. I’m gonna be honest seeing Peter and Mary Jane back together made me so happy they are my favorite comic book couple so that definitely made me enjoy the story more. I’m excited to see where this series goes.

[Kinga Demiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr tolle Story. Ich bin immer wieder vom MCU fasziniert und kann nicht genug bekommen.
Werde mir auf jeden Fall die Fortsetzung kaufen!
🤟🏽🕸️

[Книжни Криле · Rating 4 out of 5]

На Питър Паркър никога не му е било лесно… Израства без родителите си, в гимназията е обект на подигравки, а когато късметът му уж се обръща и се сдобива със супер сили, това довежда до смъртта на любимия му чичо. Да не говорим, че всяка седмица се намира по някой костюмиран психар, който да иска да му види сметката. Нищо чудно, че на Питър често му се иска да можеше да води по-прост живот – едва ли някой знае значението на фразата „С голямата сила идва и голямата отговорност“ по-добре от него. И ето, че когато в резултат на лабораторен инцидент, става така, че Питър Паркър и Спайдър-мен най-накрая са две отделни личности, нещата за Пит само се усложняват. Това е и основната сюжетна линия в „Невероятния Спайдър-мен: Назад към началото“, издаден от „Студио Арт Лайн“. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...

[Asraful Shumon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, It's a great relief after the previous dan slot series. Don't get me wrong, I loved Dan, but the series never went anywhere. Spider-man thus needed a reboot. And with one last swing with 'go down swinging', Dan slot showed what he is capable of. To me that saga was one of the best among Spidey sagas.

And then Nick Spenser series came. Read it a year ago, can't remember much. But it was like getting the old classic spidey back with his jokes and bad lucks. It's not epic, but It's great fun to read. The drawing was tooooo good. I am currently on issue #47, and can sense an epic battle looming over the horizon.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m goin’ big 5 stars on this one. I made it through the Dan Slott run and decided to take some time away from Spidey. I was definitely hesitant to get started on this one, but then ended up blazing through this volume. Very easy reading - self effacing, action packed, witty and from the heart. A really solid Spider-Man comic book. We’re in good hands with Nick Spencer & Co.