Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1277334 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

Customer Reviews

Fun Stuff From Miller's Early Days
First off: This is NOT The Dark Knight Returns starring Spider-Man. A lot of people semm to be expecting a huge new Frank Miller Spidey tale, and are bummed out over getting some really old reprints from Miller's early days, before his style was fully formed. For those that know what they're getting, The Complete Frank Miller Spider-Man is a fun trip down memory lane. The stories, with one exception, aren't written by Miller, and the one he wrote was drawn by Herb Trimpe; You won't be getting the Miller writing/art combo that made him famous, but the stories are fun, if somewhat standard. The production values for the book are great- It's a really beautiful package, and the colors look awesome. In addition to the reprinted stories (Guest starring The Punisher, Moon Knight, Power Man & Iron Fist, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, and Doctor Doom, among others), there is also an extensive cover gallery, featuring ALL the Spider-Man covers Miller ever did, and the dust-jacket features a brand-new Miller illustration. For a long-time fan of both Spidey AND Miller, like me, this was money well-spent. Loads of fun!

Historically useful
Until recently, most of the hardcover reprint collections from both Marvel (the Marvel Masterworks series) and DC (the Archives series) have focused on either the "Golden Age" or the beginning of the "Silver Age" of comics publishing. The success of both the X-Men and Spider-Man movies, and the increasing market for graphic novels in traditional bookstores (rather than just the direct-to-market specialty stores) has both of the large publishers looking to see what they can repackage and gain some "found" money (i.e., don't have to pay for production, just publish and rake in the dough).

I'd decry such simple-minded money-grubbing except that along the way the art department of both companies must have gotten involved, because some of the most recent repacks have been providing comics scholars like myself some much-needed works that were previously only available to a few people (e.g., the Spirit archives) or forgotten by many, such as this collection of Frank Miller's earliest comics work. Sure, Marvel is pushing this not only on Miller's name (and the furor over his Dark Knight Returns 2) but also because it's Spider-Man, for gosh sakes. But if you want to see where Miller's style (both writing and artistic) evolved from, this is the book.

I remember owning a couple of these comics in their original form, but never connected them with Miller, whom I later admired for Ronin and his work on Daredevil and Batman. If anything, the stories here are the weak points, because they typically come from stand-alone "annuals" or team-up books, where Marvel often had a revolving door policy for writers and artists. The two best comics here are those that reveal Miller's work with cross-hatching (Spider-Man Annual #14) and the unique panel arrangements and interest in Eastern themes (Marvel Team-Up #100).

I'm not sure this is worth [the price], for the originals don't have the complex color separations that benefit from this nice paper. But as an archive resource, and for Miller fans, it's easier than hunting down the originals in dusty bins.

Good for Frank Miller enthusiasts
These are not the stories that made Frank Miller famous, and if his creative output over his career had been limited to what is countained here, he never would have become famous. These are some very early stories in the career of a man who would eventually (elsewhere) come to redefine the comic book medium. Thus these stories are not the timeless classics on the level of (or even close to) "Dark Knight Returns," "Batman Year One," "Sin City," or "300." In fact, in one case, you don't even get to read the entire story. The first story arc in this compilation only gives you 2 parts of what appears to be a 4- or 5-part story, because Miller only drew 2 of the issues. Also, Miller's artwork here is much more conventional that one might expect, as he hadn't yet fully developed the unusual style which characterizes his later works. (I thought the art was similar to that of the 1982 "Wolverine" miniseries which he penciled)
Furthermore, the one issue which he writes does not bear the gritty, realistic quality which made the above-mentioned works so good.

On the positive side, you do get to see here all the work that Frank Miller ever did for Spider-Man, which includes 5 issues as penciller, one as writer, and 22 comic book covers. Also included are 2 more recent pictures which do appear more "Milleresque" (one of which is the cover to the book, so you can see it on this website, the other a beautiful shadow-portrait of Spider-Man and Daredevil).

The stories themselves are entertaining, as long as you aren't expecting "classics" which redefined Spider-Man's character. The issue written by Chris Claremont has a well-developed villain/anti-hero (as is typical for Claremont's writing), and the final story, written by Denny O'Neil, also is quite a good read. In addition, astute Miller fans will notice some of the qualities that would become even more prominent in his later art -- particularly the large, well-defined eyes and lips, and the creative use of shadow. And you get to see Miller's early artistic take on such characters as the Punisher, Dr. Doom, and Daredevil (before he began penciling DD's monthly titles).

In short, if you are a Frank Miller fan (like me), you will undoubtably find something to enjoy in this book and you'll be glad you bought it. But if you are just looking for some good Spider-Man back issues, and don't have a particular appeciation for Frank Miller himself, then you should look elsewhere. You can find other, better stories at a cheaper price. This book was published because Frank Miller's name was on it, and it is probably best suited for his fans.