This is actually a great book, volume 22 variant of Marvel Masterworkst, but i could not give it a good review as it is listed under the wrong ISBN code of 978-0785112945. ( )

A budget-priced trade paperback edition of the hardcover Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 (list price U.S. $49.99; the hardcover edition has had 6 printings), this Barnes & Noble edition features the original appearance of Spider-Man, in the last issue of Amazing Fantasy (Vol. 1, #15, cover dated Aug. 1962; this title was, until its 13th issue, Amazing Adult Fantasy), and the first ten issues of Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1 (cover dated from Mar. 1963 to Oct. 1964; ASM was bi-monthly until #5 [Oct. 1963]), all written by Stan Lee and penciled and inked by Steve Ditko, with the notable exception of the six-paged story in #8 (Jan. 1964), "Spider-Man Tackles the Torch!", which was penciled by Jack Kirby (co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Thor, and many others) and inked by Ditko.

Lee and Ditko were the co-creators of Spider-Man and a goodly portion of his classic roster of villains (the Chameleon, the Vulture, Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, the Lizard, Electro, Mysterio, the Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, the Scorpion, Professor Smythe and his series of Spider-Slayer robots, and the Molten Man; the first six in the aforementioned list appear in this volume, as well as the Tinkerer, the Fantastic Four's arch-nemesis Doctor Doom, a mobile computer called the Living Brain, and the first Big Man and the original team of Enforcers [the Ox, Montana, and Fancy Dan]).

It's probably difficult for many casual readers to realize just how ground-breaking Spider-Man was: he was one of the first teenaged superheroes to be featured in his own comic book (as opposed to being a teenaged sidekick to or buddy of an adult superhero -- as in "Superman's Pal," Jimmy Olsen -- spun off into his own series wherein the adult hero with whom he worked all but replaced him as the star of his own magazine); he was one of the first superheroes to have recognizable, real-world problems (a notable bit in the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man features Spidey's failed attempts to cash a check made out to "Spider-Man" due to a lack of identification in the name of Spider-Man; in keeping with the likely response of most "reg'lar folks," Peter Parker's first use of his super-powers was an attempt to cash in on them as a performer); he was one of the first superheroes to be feared and hated by the general public as much as his enemies were; and Peter Parker went Clark Kent one better in being not merely (apparently) unathletic and a klutz, but an actual social misfit and outcast, barely tolerated by his peer group.

Lee had wanted to write about an anti-hero (before the term had really come into vogue) for quite a while, and finally his cousin/publisher/boss Martin Goodman allowed him to try out his concept in the pages of an anthology magazine that was being canceled due to poor sales. After an abortive bull session with famed illustrator Jack Kirby, Lee turned to fantasy/horror/science fiction artist Steve Ditko, because Kirby made Peter Parker and Spider-Man look too handsome, too muscular, too heroic; as Lee explained in his Origins of Marvel Comics, he wanted a "super-schnook," someone who looked more like an average, regular guy, not a male model or a chiseled athlete. Lee & Ditko's 11-paged story ran in Amazing Fantasy #15, they moved on to other things, and forgot about Spider-Man -- until the mail started coming in. Bag after bag of it, all wildly favorable, all clamoring for more Spidey. Seven months later, Spidey's own comic book debuted, with a guest appearance by the Fantastic Four (whose own magazine that month -- March 1963 -- featured a guest appearance by another Marvel star, the Incredible Hulk, in an attempt to boost the sales of the incredible one's own flagging title; it didn't work: his comic's last issue was that month's issue, Vol. 1, #6 [wherein the Hulk fought the extra-terrestrial Metal Master], and he wouldn't star in a comic of his very own again until 1968, although he was featured in his own ten-paged strip in Tales to Astonish from Oct. 1964 through Mar. 1968 [fr Vol. 1, #60-101; with #102, the title changed to The Incredible Hulk]) -- whom Spider-Man attempts to join in the mistaken belief that by doing so he can earn money to support his widowed Aunt May -- to increase reader interest. The rest is history.

The comics collected here are great fun, as well as being of seminal importance to the history of Spider-Man. We see a normal, nerdy, orphaned, friendless boy named Peter Parker who gains incredible powers through a freak accident, attempts to profit thereby, and doesn't turn to higher things until his own self-absorption inadvertently causes the death of his beloved Uncle Ben (hence the famous, and oft-repeated tag-line, "With great power there must also come great responsibility"); we see Peter slowly gain confidence as he becomes more skilled in the use of his powers (and scientific skills: unlike the wildly successful series of movies, he creates his webbing, which dissolves in an hour, and his web shooters) and profits just a little from them by taking photos of himself in action as Spider-Man and selling them to The Daily Bugle, whose editor-publisher J. Jonah Jameson has a mad-on against Spidey that isn't explained until his stunning soliloquy in #10; we see Peter's confidence earn him the grudging respect, if not quite friendship, of some of his high school peers, as well as the teenaged Human Torch of the Fantastic Four (which doesn't prevent them from roughhousing and nearly fighting in earnest in a back-up story in #8); and we see Peter finally figure out a way to plausibly knock the wind out of the sails of his chief tormentor (and Spidey's number one fan), Flash Thompson, only to have it backfire. (This is also the issue wherein Peter stops wearing his glasses, thanks to Flash breaking them.) And, oh yes, the super-powered fights, always grim and life-or-death, but often lightened by wisecracks from an empowered, liberated boy for all of that. Back in the day, no superhero epitomized the dizzying heights and staggering depths of what would likely be attendant upon a superhero's career better than Spider-Man, and all without the gratuitous "adult" features that infest today's superhero comics (i.e., profanity and violent misogyny, with partial nudity -- always of the female variety -- thrown in for seasoning).

This collection also reproduces the infamous gaffe in Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1, #3, wherein Doctor Octopus calls Spider-Man "Super-Man" (p. 8 of #3); as one Marvel Comics calendar once remarked, it's a good thing that DC Comics' (the publishers and copyright holders of Superman) lawyers were out of town when that issue hit the newsstands... ( )

In my opinion, "The Amazing Spider-Man" was the best of Marvel Comics' groundbreaking new wave of "real" superheroes. I certainly remember being heartbroken, and not just for pecuniary reasons, when my Mom threw this (and other classics) out while I was at college. I'll forgive her someday, but I will never forget. Spider-Man was the hero most imbued with honor and responsibility, a lesson Peter Parker learned the hard way when a fleeing criminal he declined to stop later killed his beloved Uncle Ben. Thus was Spider-Man born, and the classic motto, "With great power there must also come - great responsibility". This book is beautifully reproduced, and includes the origin story in Amazing Fantasy #15. It also introduces some of the most memorable villains in comic book history, such as the Chameleon, the Vulture, Doctor Octopus, The Sandman, the Lizard and Electro. ( )

"Amazing" is right. Such was the opposition to Stan Lee's concept of a hung-up, teenage superhero, he had to resort to introducing the character via a one-off story in the final issue of a magazine due to be cancelled. By way of contrast, The Mighty Thor debuted in his own series the same month as Spider-Man snuck in under everyone's guard.
Handing his outline to Jack Kirby, Lee soon realised that Kirby's heroic style wasn't what the strip required and reassigned it to the quirkier Steve Ditko who gave Peter Parker the required nerdy look. In the end Kirby's contribution would be limited to the first 2 covers although he has been credited with creating Spidey's famous red and blue costume.
But it was Ditko who gave the strip its uncharacteristic look and apart from a run in with alien invaders in issue 2 the Spider-Man approach would eschew the scifi stylings Kirby was exploring with the Fantastic Four.
Here Ditko and Lee create some of the enduring characters of comics: J Jonah Jameson, Aunt May, The Vulture, The Sandman, The Lizard and of course Dr Octopus. With supporting characters like Betty Brant, Flash Thompson and Liz Allen the groundwork was laid for one of the great superhero soap operas ever. ( )