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Published on September 1st, 1983
I'm not sure if every comic book back in the good old days felt like a soap opera...but this book certainly does. When I say "soap opera" I don't mean love and romance...I mean a slow drip storyline that takes time to develop while introducing a plethora of characters each with their own storyline. These days it seems that the big superhero comics are all fast paced and they never take the time to develop anything long term. That's just evolution, sadly. Everything these days, thanks to the internet and everyone being instantly connected, is short and fast. Kids would rather watch a short Youtube video then sit down and watch a 2 hour movie. Short attention span is the norm, and thus a great book like 1983's The Amazing Spider-Man probably wouldn't fly these days. I'm not saying it wouldn't be as great, I'm just saying that it might not be as popular. Who knows, though? Great comic books are usually great whenever you end up reading them. And while this issue isn't fantastic or anything, it's totally engrossing. You really get wrapped up in the story. Since comic book writers don't last long writing the same book these days, this old-school, world-building, long-form storytelling is pretty rare. Saga from Image is one of the few, current comic books that still subscribes to this. That's one of the most popular and talked about books out there. In this issue, Peter Parker quits grad school. Mary Jane goes on a date with some guy. Spider-Man kisses the Black Cat in the hospital. Hobgoblin hires a criminal to steal Osbourne chemicals for him. And there's a fight at a warehouse between Spider-Man and the criminals trying to steal the chemicals. The art by John Romita, Jr. is great. Roger Stern's writing is pedestrian but it works. Just reading these old books keeps making me realize how fucking God-awful Spider-Man books have been lately. I wonder if that'll ever change. **1/2
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