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Legends of Marvel: Spider-Man
Uncover the hidden gems of the Marvel Universe! From the untold tales of the Sensational Spider-Man in his black suit to the killer spider-stories that will keep you guessing and the beloved Power Pack jumps back into action when the Brood attacks, these action-packed stories reunite some of Marvel's greatest creators with their most beloved characters! COLLECTING: SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN: SELF-IMPROVEMENT 1, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: GOING BIG 1, POWER PACK: GROW UP 1
112 pages, Paperback
Published December 31, 2019
About the author
Peter David
3,701 books1,389 followersPeter Allen David (aka David Peters), often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award, and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award, and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 2, 2020
Marvel produced a bunch of timeless tale one shots for their 80th anniversary bringing back some of the longtime creators for those books. In the Peter David story, David used an unproduced Spider-Man fan story from 1982 where he gets a different black costume before Secret Wars ever started. It's a neat idea. I think the Gerry Conway / Mark Bagley story was probably the best with Spidey fighting Daredevil villain the Coyote. The original Power Pack creative team came back to give us a story where they team up with Kitty Pryde and Wolverine to fight the Brood in a story set in the 80's. It's a bit odd Power Pack ended up in a Spider-Man collection but they had to put it somewhere.
March 10, 2020
A bit of a mixed bag, this one. Billed as legendary creators returning to the characters they were famous for working on, what you get is an odd concoction.
First up is a weird Spidey story written by a fan in the '80s 'reinterpreted' by Peter David. As much as I love PAD's work, I'm afraid to say that this story still reads like bad fan-fiction.
There's also a Spidey/Punisher story by Gerry Conway, a four-pager by Ralph Macchio and much hailed return to Spidey by Eric Larsen... all of which are more than a little bland.
The highlight of this collection is the Power Pack story by Louise Simonson and June Brigman, but even that is marred by an inker who makes Brigman's pencils look mediocre. It also feels a bit weird slapped into a collection that is otherwise mostly Spider-Man.
Overall, this isn't bad but it's not great, either.
First up is a weird Spidey story written by a fan in the '80s 'reinterpreted' by Peter David. As much as I love PAD's work, I'm afraid to say that this story still reads like bad fan-fiction.
There's also a Spidey/Punisher story by Gerry Conway, a four-pager by Ralph Macchio and much hailed return to Spidey by Eric Larsen... all of which are more than a little bland.
The highlight of this collection is the Power Pack story by Louise Simonson and June Brigman, but even that is marred by an inker who makes Brigman's pencils look mediocre. It also feels a bit weird slapped into a collection that is otherwise mostly Spider-Man.
Overall, this isn't bad but it's not great, either.
June 1, 2020
*I have read WAY more books than I've actually reviewed, so this is a knee-jerk reaction. Too many books to read and review... so little time!*
Spidey and Fantastic Four team-up? Quickly becoming one of my favorite pairings in Marvel.
A story originally written by a fan seeing the light of day? Plus the original story and Marvel's notes from the rewrite? Very cool behind the scenes look!
Short, fun stories that celebrate Spidey's legacy? Really enjoyable reads?
The Powers.... not sure why they were in this graphic novel. I read the stories just to say I read the whole book, but... obviously, Marvel's trying to entice interest in them by shoehorning them into the back of this SPIDER-MAN graphic novel. Not cool.
Spidey and Fantastic Four team-up? Quickly becoming one of my favorite pairings in Marvel.
A story originally written by a fan seeing the light of day? Plus the original story and Marvel's notes from the rewrite? Very cool behind the scenes look!
Short, fun stories that celebrate Spidey's legacy? Really enjoyable reads?
The Powers.... not sure why they were in this graphic novel. I read the stories just to say I read the whole book, but... obviously, Marvel's trying to entice interest in them by shoehorning them into the back of this SPIDER-MAN graphic novel. Not cool.
February 9, 2020
COLLECTS SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN: SELF-IMPROVEMENT #1, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: GOING BIG #1, AND POWER PACK: GROW UP #1
The Spider-Man stories in this collection are fine, but the main draw to reading these stories are the legendary creative teams that return to "Spider-Man" for this occasion, Marvel's 80-year anniversary. I skimmed through the Power Pack issue. They basically just needed a place to collect it, so it exists in this Spider-Man book. There is no reason it should be in this collection other than it has to go somewhere.
The Spider-Man stories in this collection are fine, but the main draw to reading these stories are the legendary creative teams that return to "Spider-Man" for this occasion, Marvel's 80-year anniversary. I skimmed through the Power Pack issue. They basically just needed a place to collect it, so it exists in this Spider-Man book. There is no reason it should be in this collection other than it has to go somewhere.
January 23, 2024
Amazing collection of imo, perfect Spidey stories. The return of Erik Larsen is worth the price of admission in itself.
February 19, 2023
Reread: Feb 19, 2023
(4 stars)
This is a quick popcorn read if you want a little inoffensive Spider-Man writing with some genuinely excellent art from classic Spidey artists Ron Frenz, Sal Buscema, Mark Bagley, and Todd Nuack.
Larsen’s story is a nice shot of 90’s nostalgia if a little bland, and the Power Pack story is entirely skippable and ignorable if one is just looking for that quick Spider-Man fix.
Original reading: Jan 7, 2021
(5 stars)
An extremely satisfying collection of evergreen Spider-Man stories, with a cute Power Pack story tacked on.
Legends of Marvel: Spider-Man includes the special one shot issues Spectacular Spider-Man: Self-Improvement, and Amazing Spider-Man: Going Big, which were put together for the 80th Anniversary event at Marvel. Both include multiple short stories done by seriously important Spider-Man creators from throughout his history, including Mark Bagley, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Peter David. There's even an unprecedented Erik Larsen story. These stories display a lot of what I adore about this character, relating to the themes of responsibility, choice, and balance. Those two issues are capped off by a Power Pack story that I suppose had to be collected somewhere. At worst, it's inoffensive and at best is rather cute.
I recommend this to anyone who already loves Spider-Man, or even someone just interested in the character.
(4 stars)
This is a quick popcorn read if you want a little inoffensive Spider-Man writing with some genuinely excellent art from classic Spidey artists Ron Frenz, Sal Buscema, Mark Bagley, and Todd Nuack.
Larsen’s story is a nice shot of 90’s nostalgia if a little bland, and the Power Pack story is entirely skippable and ignorable if one is just looking for that quick Spider-Man fix.
Original reading: Jan 7, 2021
(5 stars)
An extremely satisfying collection of evergreen Spider-Man stories, with a cute Power Pack story tacked on.
Legends of Marvel: Spider-Man includes the special one shot issues Spectacular Spider-Man: Self-Improvement, and Amazing Spider-Man: Going Big, which were put together for the 80th Anniversary event at Marvel. Both include multiple short stories done by seriously important Spider-Man creators from throughout his history, including Mark Bagley, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Peter David. There's even an unprecedented Erik Larsen story. These stories display a lot of what I adore about this character, relating to the themes of responsibility, choice, and balance. Those two issues are capped off by a Power Pack story that I suppose had to be collected somewhere. At worst, it's inoffensive and at best is rather cute.
I recommend this to anyone who already loves Spider-Man, or even someone just interested in the character.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews