Volume 09: The Amazing Spider-Man: Birth of Venom

The Amazing Spider-Man: Birth of Venom

Authors: Tom DeFalco / Louise Simonson / David Michelinie  |  Illustrators: Ron Frenz / Greg Lo Rocque / Todd McFarlane

"Sometimes I feel like I have absolutely no control over my own life!"

Peter Parker returned from Battleworld (Vols 06+07: Secret Wars) on a high, thrilled that he survived the ordeal (he only had to live it – we had to read it) and with his newly acquired black costume intact, but it doesn't take long before the reality of being Spider-Man brings him back down to Earth. He's forced to take stock of his situation and his relationship with Felicia Hardy, aka The Black Cat, a woman who understands the importance of having a secret identity.

Getting back to a more traditional one-on-one conflict after the cluster-fuck that was SW was actually welcome. Spider-Man is being hunted by a villain with an ability that can track the hero over long distances, so, no matter how fast or how cunning Peter may be, his avoidance of a final and decisive bout is only a matter of time.

His life continues to have its usual ups and downs for a while before the Venom character gets properly introduced. The slow build is never boring, though, because amid the usual comic-book shenanigans there's some tender times and some hard-hitting moments, the best of which comes courtesy of Mary Jane Watson. Even if you're not a fan of M.J. (I'm not), it can't be denied that Tom DeFalco used her well, splitting our sympathies between the confessor and the shoulder being cried upon. Sterling work, sir.

With that in mind, I feel it's unfair that only Michelinie and McFarlane get their names on the cover. They're responsible for only one of the included issues (The Amazing Spider-Man #300), whereas Louise Simonson scripted one and Tom DeFalco was responsible for five.

When Venom finally appears in all his blackened glory, the stakes are raised even higher. He's not yet been given the sharpened teeth that he sports on the cover, meaning his toothy grin is at times almost comical, but he still manages to be menacing in all the best ways and push Spider-Man to ever greater levels of desperation.

To keep the page count to an acceptable level, and get the reader to the money-shot sooner, there's a lot of 'black-suited' Spider-Man issues omitted, which is a shame because there's some good stuff not included, such as the four-part The Death of Jean DeWolff. But overall, what's present is quality that should please most fans of the original friendly neighbourhood web-slinger.

The book collects together The Amazing Spider-Man #252, 256-259, 300.

Verdict:

Volume 01: Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle

Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle

Authors: David Michelinie / Bob Layton  |  Illustrators: John Romita, Jr. / Carmine Infantino

"I'd grown up in a small town that'd grown up into a big city. They called it 'progress'. I called it a shame."

If you read the books in their final numbered order, as opposed to the strange order they were released to shops and subscribers, then the collection kicks off with a 'Bronze Age' Iron Man tale exploring Tony Stark's alcoholism. Damn billionaire first world problems, eh, Stark?

Lightly incorporating real-world problems into fictional settings had proved beneficial to the stories of other Marvel heroes, but it was time to take it to another level. That goal was achieved with Iron Man.

It helped the man who could buy an island if he chose to seem a little more relatable. All it required of the reader was a putting aside of external trappings and a focus on the underlying fragility of the man beneath the impenetrable suit. In short, an understanding that the suit protects Tony from harm but in no way protects Tony from Tony.

Before it can get to the heart of the topic, however, it has to satisfy the story-telling devices and expectations of the era, which it does in exaggerated comic-book style with action that's fast-paced and at the upper end of the 'super heroics' scale (i.e. ridiculous but fun).

The spoken dialogue and thought bubbles are standard stuff for the most part, but Michelinie and Layton occasionally put more effort into what's placed in the text boxes; at times they're like something you'd expect to find in a novel, not a mass market off-the-shelf comic from 1979, which was the year it was first published.

The chapter from which the collection takes its name doesn't appear until the end, but, in hindsight, much of what happens prior to it is affected by the root cause, i.e. the 'demon' of the title, and even allows for both it and the 'bottle' to be interpreted in different ways.

The book collects together Invincible Iron Man #120-128.

Verdict: