Volume Five of the Ultimate Collection, Spiderman Newspaper comics 1985-1986 brings us back to the daily comic section.
Today, of course, newspapers are slimmer and have lost their ‘glimmer’. A pale reminder of life even as recent as the mid-Eighties. This collection will lift your spirits, lift your sights, and entertain you all over again.
The stories, written by Stan Lee, are illustrated by Fred Kida, Dan Barry, and Floro Dery. Some strips are filled in by veteran Marvel artist George Tuska.
Daily and Sunday (colour) comic strip creation is a special thing, and along with its ‘specialness’ comes the challenge of continuity. To write a dramatic continuing story featuring Spiderman and its gang of supporting characters, have the story progress in daily increments, and satisfy readers is a tough assignment. What if the reader misses a week, then comes back to the strip wanting to resume reading it? Well, that’s where the writer must creatively and subtly repeat key plot points to allow the reader to get back in. (Something that modern comic book writers could take to heart, actually)
The illustrations are nicely handled throughout the transition among artists, there are variations but there is no jarring impact when a new artist takes over…
There are some heavy topics in this volume: Spider-Man is accused of selling drugs! There’s a story about child abuse! It’s all a sign of the times and well explained in the foreword by Bruce Canwell.
IDW, Amazing Spider-man Ultimate Newspaper Comics, Volume 5, $49.99 for 330 pages of content, Hard Cover.
Newsdesk