Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man by Peter David: The Complete Collection by Peter David

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Peter David's entire run of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man (Issues 5-23, and Annual #1) prior to the infamous One More Day. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man was very much a subordinate series that would be constantly tying in to larger stories in Amazing Spider-man or the companywide crossover Civil War. Thankfully, the collection does keep you filled in on what you've missed.


Web Log (#5): This reads like a leftover story from the early 2000's Spider-man's Tangled Web, which is about a woman who thinks Spider-man is harassing her because she's been around for three different fights. Its actually a good character story and really keeps the reader's attention.

Masks (#6 and #7): A masked superpowered wrestler is blackmailed into a match with Spider-man. This is a decent story and it does help to set up Spider-man decision to unmask.

Jumping the Tracks (#8-10): David returns to an old playground with Spider-man 2099 (or Spider-man 2211) and the new Hobgoblin. It's a fun story though it feels like you'd get more out of it, if you knew more about Spider-man 2099.

I Hate a Mystery (#11-13): Peter has revealed his identity as part of Civil War and is being pushed out of his teaching job, but as he deals with that Mysterio comes to school, and not just one. Overall, a really nice story and a highlight for the villian.

Taking Wing (#14-16): After Spidey's break with the registration side, he's wanted by the law and not safe in his own secret identity. This is bad new because Deborah Whitman is writing a tell-all book and the Vulture comes to battle. We also have Peter talking to Betty Brandt now that the secret' sout. This is decent, but not spectacular.

Sandblasted (#17-19): The first part of, "Back in the Black" which finds Spidey donning a Black costume after Aunt May was shot. The Sandman comes to Spidey for help as his father's been framed for Murder and Uncle Ben is the corpse. This is a solid story with a mystery that ties back into earlier issues.

Running out of Time/Consuming Passions/Predator/Prey (#20-22): Essentially a three part story where Spidey races to save Flash Thompson and the truth about Miss Ero is revealed. This one is okay, but a bit padded.

Fighting Words (#23): After Peter Parker revealed his identity, J. Jonah Jameson was furious as he realized he's been paying to take pictures of himself. He sued Parker, and when Robbie Robinson called out his overzealous attacks, Jameson fired him. This leads to Peter inviting him to a meeting where the two have it out in an epic fashion that's just not possible with the construct of the secret identity. It's a fun and satisfying issue but with dark overtones about Peter's overall feelings. This would stand up a lot better if it wasn't done totally undone. But enough about that....

Sandhman; Year One (Annual): the Three part Sandman story set up this Annual, which examines the Sandman's origin. It's a solid story. It won't blow you away, but there's some nice phrases, and the art has some really nice touches that make it worth reading.

Overall, this is a good book. Peter David comes off as a pro, even though his ability to stare this ship was quite limited, he manages to tell some real solid stories in this run.







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