"The Amazing Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six" by Charles Vess and David Michelinie

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “The Amazing Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six” written by Charles Vess and David Michelinie.

            So my regulars know the drill, but for the newbies, an explanation of how one of my reviews work is in order. This is a review of a Marvel Epic Collection. An Epic Collection is a graphic novel containing a large number of individual Marvel comics, focusing on a particular storyline and the issues around that storyline ranging from a particular timespan. So in this review, the first thing I’ll do (well, this is the introduction, so I guess it’s the second thing I’ll do) is give a description of the key characters in the book. Then I’ll talk about the synopsis of the book containing as few spoilers as possible. After that, I’ll give my own personal thoughts on the book. Following that, I’ll talk about the accessibility to casual or non-readers to prior stories. Then I’ll give the ever important numerical score. Then I’ll tell you if I recommend the book to others and who I’d recommend it to. Then I’ll wrap up the piece with the traditional Tim Cubbin sign off. So, let’s start.

            Okay, first we’ll talk about our cast of characters in depth. First is Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Peter was orphaned as a child and was raised by his loving Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Peter was bullied in school for being a bookworm. One day, he went to a demonstration in radiology. A spider got irradiated by the radioactive rays, then as it died, it bit Peter. Peter found he had the proportional strength and agility of a spider, adhesive fingertips and toes, and a precognitive warning or imminent personal danger he calls “spider-sense.” He created web shooters that fire adhesives. He kept his powers a secret from everyone by designing a costume. He started a career in show business. One day, he allowed a robber to escape past him, caring only about number one: himself. This robber went on to murder his Uncle Ben. Peter brought the crook to justice, and took Uncle Ben’s wise words to heart: “with great power there must also come great responsibility.” He decided to use his powers to help others, but still kept his identity a secret. He went on to become a super hero, fighting a variety of super villains to protect innocent people. He became a photographer for the tabloid The Daily Bugle, mostly shots of his adventures as Spider-Man. Now he is a college student at Empire State University.

            Okay, we’re going to go past the next characters with just minor details because giving all the history would take forever. It’s just essential to know Spidey’s background to understand this review.

            Mary Jane Watson-Parker: Peter’s wife, and actress on the soap opera “Secret Hospital.”

            May Parker: Peter’s elderly, doting Aunt.

            Nathan Lubinsky: Aunt May’s fiancé.

            Flash Thompson: Peter’s former high school bully now best friend.

            Felicia Hardy: Spider-Man’s ex-girlfriend, former super thief the Black Cat, now Flash Thompson’s girlfriend.

            J. Jonah Jameson: Publisher of The Daily Bugle, a Spidey hater who sells papers on an anti-Spider-Man platform, Peter’s boss.

            Next we’ll talk about the villains, their names and powers.

            Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus: Able to control a contraption of four metal arms that respond to his thoughts.

            Max Dillon/Electro: Able to control and generate electricity.

            Quentin Beck/Mysterio: A stunt coordinator, with all kinds of special effect gimmicks.

            William Baker/Sandman: Able to turn his entire body into sand, and can solidify his body into rock.

            Adrian Toomes/Vulture: Has a contraption that gives his wings and the ability to fly.

            Hobgoblin: A demonic creature. Has devices such as pumpkin bombs, razor bats, electric gloves, and a goblin glider.

            These six form the villain team: The Sinister Six.

            Eddie Brock/Venom: Has a symbiote suit that gives him powers similar to Spider-Man and then some.

            Mac Gargan/Scorpion: Mechanical armor with a stinging tail that can fire acid.

            Aleksei Systevich/Rhino: Has a rhino suit that grants his super strength and invulnerability.

            Dr. Elias Wirtham/Cardiac: Mechanical heart, vibranium armor, energy-firing staff.

            Dmitri Smerdyakov/Chameleon: Can change appearance at will.

            Anton Miguel Rodriguez/Tarantula: Enhanced reflexes and venomous boot spikes.

            Black Fox: Master cat burglar.

            Herman Schultz/Shocker: Vibration causing gauntlets.

            Nicholas Powell/Chance: Gambling mercenary.

            Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom: Ruler of the country of Latveria.

            Cletus Kasady: Eddie Brock’s cellmate, serving eleven consecutive life sentences.

            Yeah, I know, quite a cast. So now let’s talk about the major stories in brief since there is a lot in the book.

            Spirits of the Earth: Mary Jane inherits property in Scotland and she and Peter take a second honeymoon.

            Return of the Sinister Six: Doctor Octopus reforms the Sinister Six in a plan to hold the earth hostage. Unbeknownst to the other five, Doc Ock plans to double-cross them and rule the earth by himself.

            Powerless: The Chameleon in disguise tricks Spider-Man into giving up his powers.

            Venom Returns: Eddie Brock’s Venom symbiote breaks Eddie out of prison. Venom then battles Spidey and takes him to an abandoned mining colony island.

            Also in this book is the underlying story of Cardiac’s attempt to take down Sapirdyne Chemicals whom he feels wronged him, confrontations with the Black Fox and Doctor Doom, and a hint at the birth of Carnage.

            Okay, now it’s time for my thoughts. Okay, I LOVED this book. I didn’t want to put it down and finished it in just over twenty-four hours. BUT! I have two major complaints. First, I disliked the Spirits of the Earth Graphic Novel. I mean, I didn’t hate it, but the book would have been fine without it, and the only reason it was even in this book was due to the time proximity of the main stories. My other complaint is two of the details in the artwork. Nothing truly against Erik Larsen, I thought he did an excellent job, but I felt like he made Peter Parker look too young. He’s supposed to be in college but looks like a sophomore in high school. And I thought he gave the male characters WAY TOO MUCH body hair. I honestly don’t know if women are really into it these days. But then again, I’m a nineties brat, so I don’t know if it was popular back in 1991.

            Okay, next is my accessibility rating. Now, I don’t actually give it a score, I just assess how much background knowledge I feel is appropriate to get optimal reading enjoyment of the book. So, again being a nineties brat, I didn’t read Spider-Man comics back in 1991, so there was history I was unfamiliar with. I didn’t know Aunt May actually had Nathan Lubinsky as a fiancé. I didn’t know Flash Thompson dated Felicia Hardy. I don’t know who Hobgoblin was at the time (there have been several over the years). There were several other background threads I didn’t know. So as a Spider-Man fan, not being privy to some of these details, I feel that there is a slight deal of background knowledge about the characters needed to fully grasp the story tightly. We’ll get back to that in a few paragraphs as to my recommendation.

            Now, all said and done: my numeric score. For those who don’t know how I score, I go on a scale of one to ten. One means I totally hated this book, ten means it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. Again, I loved the book, and it had the potential for a nine, even with Spirits of the Earth, but due to the artwork, I have to lower it to an eight.

            Now, as I said before, I’d get back to my recommendation, and I’m keeping that promise. If you love Spider-Man, I would totally tell you that I feel as if this book is worth a read. If you’re a fan of the Sinister Six or any of the members I said in my character introductions, again, I feel this book is worth a read. I thought it was a great Sinister Six book, as well as a great Venom book. When I bought this book, I wasn’t aware that it had a Venom story, so that was a pleasant surprise for me. Now, if you only know Spider-Man from the movies or television shows, I feel you might enjoy this book. In all the Spidey film franchises, almost all of the Sinister Six members in this book have appeared in the films, as well as other villains from this book appeared in the films. Cardiac was a character I had never heard of, but as this book contains his origin story, it isn’t detrimental to casual fans. If you’ve never actually read or seen ANYTHING Spider-Man and want to get into it, this book is a difficult start, as all the villains except for Cardiac and Cletus Kasady have been pretty thoroughly established, have had detailed history and several prior stories. BUT! I’m not saying it’s impossible. The Epic Collections are established to be relatively self-contained, but I can’t in good conscience say every Epic Collection is a jump in. Also, the Epic Collections are not released in chronological order and there are massive gaps in-between the Epic Collections (this book is called Volume 21, but not all of the other 20 volumes have been released). Still, if this review titillates your interest, feel free to visit your library to see if they have it, or if you want, you can try to get a copy in stores or online. My prior readers know I am a very harsh judge on my scores, so an eight (which could have been a nine with another artist) is a pretty good score. So you can do what you will. To read or not to read is all up to you. I can’t GUARANTEE you’ll like it just because I like it, but it has a general recommendation from me.

            Well, you’ve been reading for quite a while if you’re actually still here reading. If you’re still with me, you are (as my prior readers know) THE BEST! I’ve done so many reviews already, but I don’t just do reviews on this blog, so totally feel free to keep looking at my work, and for now, I bid you adieu and everything else I have to say is, Tim Cubbin… out!