Review by Ian Keogh

Roger Stern’s spell on Spider-Man is highly regarded, latterly recognised with an Omnibus compilation of the stories he wrote, most drawn by John Romita Jr, but until that Omnibus this was the gold standard.

It’s a hardcover compilation of the first seven issues of Stern’s two year run on Amazing Spider-Man, and the opening chapter is bursting with ideas. There’s a cathartic outing for Spider-Man dealing with some inept masked robbers, and the return of the Vulture, now treated as aged and needing therapy, but not so senile he hasn’t got an escape plan. The following meeting with the Foolkiller is more ordinary, but hardly poor, and there’s an immediate return to form with the return of the Black Cat and an upswing in Peter Parker’s dating life. Stern also makes good use of police captain Jean DeWolff.

The art will be a surprise to anyone who’s not followed Romita Jr.’s career from the start as it differs greatly from the distinctive blocky figures he’s known for. A look at any page reveals imaginative layouts maximising the impact of any action, and solidly delivered conversation scenes, but the style is relatively anonymous and resolutely squashed into six panels per page with few big images. Jim Mooney isn’t the most sympathetic choice of inker, further contributing to an old-fashioned appearance, but the quality shines through with the proviso that younger readers may find it too dated.

Rick Leonardi draws a fill-in, and is surprisingly lacklustre on Jan Strnad’s going through the motions story, perhaps commissioned at short notice. One wonders why it’s here. Did no-one check the credits when paginating the book?

It’s the title story that’s most fondly remembered, the two chapters combined in 1989 for a card-covered reprint when such projects were almost unheard of. The premise is simple. Provided he keeps his helmet on, the Juggernaut is an unstoppable force, and he’s on a mission to abduct the psychic Madame Web. He emerges from the sea on the southern tip of Manhattan and intends to rampage the five miles to her home. How will Spider-Man stop an unstoppable force? Stern has him try assorted methods, every single one a failure, with the situation becoming ever more desperate. The second chapter features the return journey, and Stern is equally inventive all the way to a clever solution.

Most of this collection still reads very well, although the lack of a paperback edition could price the selection out of the casual reader market. The same applies to the stories being reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 22. They are available in black and white, though, in Essential Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 10. In paperback the reprinting of Stern’s run continues in Mark of the Tarantula. Alternatively, for the wealthy all Stern’s Spider-Man work is gathered in the oversized hardback Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus.