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Title: Spider-Man: Return of the Goblin (Peter Parker, Spider-Man) by Paul Jenkins, Humberto Ramos ISBN: 0-7851-1019-4 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: January, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Don't listen to the guys who downplay this book.
Comment: Look, this is really quite simple. If you want an entertaining romp through the Spider-Man/Green Goblin history, read the Death of Gwen Stacy, then read Spider-Man: Blue, and finish your reading off with this book.
When I was a kid, Spider-Man was always my favorite super hero because he had the coolest powers, that and he was human... Not human like Batman, but he was a real guy with real problems. That's the beauty of the character. And now that I'm older, what keeps me coming back are the ways in which the good writers tell a story of a real person, who just happens to be a hero... That's why this book is good... Forget about the "Spider-Man continuum" that "purists" will blab about. If comics were meant to be that pure, there wouldn't be half a dozen different Spider-Man serials running at the same time. These are stories about good and bad, and this happens to be a very entertaining one. And before I forget, Ramos does an excellent job as usual.
Don't listen to the other readers who downplay this book, give it a chance, it's worth every penny.
Rating: 4
Summary: Norman Osborn versus Peter Parker in a battle of wills
Comment: In issue #39 of "The Amazing Spider-Man" the web-head's arch enemy the Green Goblin learned Spider-Man's secret identity and captured Peter Parker. At the end of that stunning issue, the first drawn by John Romita, Sr., he took over as the artist for the comic book from Steve Ditko, the Goblin unmasked himself and was revealed to be Norman Osborn. Clearly this was the greatest "to be continued" moment in the history of the character, and when Spider-Man defeated the Goblin and Norman Osborn conveniently ended up with amnesia, it was only delaying the inevitable. However, it was not until the Green Goblin killed Gwen Stacy that the secret of Spider-Man's true identity would die with Norman Osborn. Every Green Goblin encounter after this one has only been a shadow of the original, although the twin deaths of Gwen and Norman Osborn was rather significant. Peter Parker carries the scars of Gwen's death to this day, but with the death of the Green Goblin the "Spider-Man" comic had killed off its prime villain, something that as a general rule comic books try to avoid doing.
"Return of the Goblin" presents the four-part story "A Death in the Family" from "Peter Parker: Spider-Man" issues #44-47 from 2002. Yes, on one level this was certainly a marketing ploy, designed to take advantage of the summer blockbuster "Spider-Man" film last summer. But there are also some strong echoes from the classic Green Goblin stories of the past and even if you have not been keeping up to date on either Spider-Man comic book during the Volume 2 era as long as you know the key elements of the Spider-Man mythos you can appreciate this story. Written by Paul Jenkins with the distinctive pencils of Humberto Ramos inked by Wayne Faucher, the story begins with Norman Osborn expressing some harsh words at the grave of his son Harry and then going off to confront Spider-Man during a driving rainstorm. The initial battle is inconclusive: Spider-Man refuses to play Osborn's game, but he insists that he will get the web head's undivided attention. The Goblin does this by going on television and claiming it was Spider-Man who was responsible for the death of Gwen Stacy. However, that lie is only the first of several buttons Osborn starts pushing on Peter. Osborn's hirelings grab Flash Thompson, get him drunk, and put him behind the wheel of a tanker truck that is driven right through Peter Parker's classroom at school. Flash survives, but as sustained permanent and irreversible brain damage. Spider-Man has gotten the message loud and clear.
Clearly the importance of this story line is that it provides a fresh new tragedy for Peter Parker to feel guilty about. However Jenkins is also trying to make this more a contest between Norman Osborn and Peter Parker, which means it is more of a psychological duel for most of the story. But the end game still begins once the Goblin has pushed Spider-Man over the line. The ending might strike you as being a bit unbelievable, but then we have endured almost four decades of the Green Goblin remembering, forgetting, re-remembering, re-forgetting, etc., so at least Jenkins gets point for being creative and coming up with something different. Given that he was redefining the contest as more of a psychological battle of wills, you have to admit there is a logic to the outcome. The art by Ramos is perfect for the fights between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, especially the initial contest in the downpour. Actually, I really like the way Ramos draws the Goblin, who has never looked more like a psychotic killer. Not a great story, but certainly an intriguing one and a better battle between the two arch enemies than the "Spider-Man" flick.
Rating: 2
Summary: cheap attempt to cash in on the movie
Comment: In an attempt to gain readers that liked the movie, Marvel made sure that the Green Goblin would be featured in this story arc, which began in the pages of Peter Parker in May 2002, the same month as the movie's release.
The whole thing feels like it was really forced upon them. The story seems to be a major turning point in the relationship of Peter and Norman, but then it doesn't go anywhere. The promise of this being a truly climactic confrontation is never delivered upon. In the end, it feels like there wasn't really a story to tell here, just an attempt to include the villain that audiences would want to read about, after seeing him in the movie.
This isn't the worst Spider-Man material in recent years. Later issues of Peter Parker would deliver that. It's just not up to the high standards of fun storytelling that Jenkins and Ramos had established in the earlier part of their run on the book.
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Title: Peter Parker: Spider-man by Paul Jenkins, Mark Buckingham, J. G. Jones, Sean Phillips ISBN: 0785107770 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Peter Parker, Spider Man: One Small Break by Paul Jenkins, Mark Buckingham, Wayne Faucher ISBN: 0785108246 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Spider-Man: Peter Parker: Trials & Tribulations by Paul Jenkins, Mark Buckingham ISBN: 0785111506 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.99 |
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Title: The Amazing Spider-Man: Until the Stars Turn Cold by J. Michael Straczynski, John, Jr. Romita, Scott Hanna ISBN: 0785110755 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: December, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: The Amazing Spider-Man Revelations by J. Michael Straczynski, John, Jr. Romita, Scott Hanna ISBN: 0785108777 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: August, 2002 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
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