The run that made Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. famous starts here!One of the greatest eras in Spider-Man history begins in this Amazing Epic Collection! Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. joined the Spidey-creator hall of fame with their run, taking the web- spinner to new heights while recapturing the compelling tone and character-driven focus that made Spider-Man world famous. Together they brought classic villains like the Vulture to the fore, explored a disturbing fate for the Tarantula, told the definitive Juggernaut tale and made J. Jonah Jameson an even bigger pain that ever before. Arguably their paramount achievement was introducing the thrilling mystery of the Hobgoblin, showing in these pages how he’s one of the most threatening villains Spider-Man would ever face. All this and the first appearance of Monica Rambeau, A.K.A. Captain Marvel!COLLECTING: Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #224-241, Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) #16Written by Roger Stern With Jan Strnad & Bill MantloPenciled by John Romita Jr. With Rick Leonardi & Bob Hall
Contributors: (W) Roger Stern; Jan Strnad (A) John Romita Jr.; Rick Leonardi (CA) John Romita Jr.
Bill Mantlo began his Marvel career on Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, in which he introduced White Tiger, one of the industry’s earliest Hispanic super heroes. Eventually writing stories for almost every Marvel title, he did some of his most fondly remembered work on Incredible Hulk and Spectacular Spider-Man. He also created Rocket Raccoon, launched Cloak & Dagger in a pair of miniseries and guided Alpha Flight through some of its most harrowing ordeals. Mantlo excelled at integrating licensed properties into the Marvel Universe, as demonstrated by Micronauts and Rom, both of which he wrote from start to finish. At DC, he wrote the Invasion miniseries for one of the company’s biggest crossover events.Roger Stern enjoyed well-regarded runs on Amazing Spider-Man, in which he introduced Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) and the Hobgoblin; Avengers; and Captain America. He launched West Coast Avengers and wrote numerous tie-in miniseries starring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. At DC, he relaunched Atom and co-created Starman (Will Payton) before participating in one of comics’ most shocking events: the 1992 “Death of Superman.” He later returned to Marvel to write Amazing Spider-Man and related titles.John Romita Jr. is a modern-day comic-art master, following in his legendary father’s footsteps. Timeless runs on Iron Man, Uncanny X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil established him as his own man artistically, and his work on Wolverine and World War Hulk is among the most explosive comic art of the 21st century. In addition to Eternals with writer Neil Gaiman, JRJR teamed with Mark Millar on the creator-owned Kick-Ass, later developed into a blockbuster feature film starring Nicolas Cage. Spidey fans rejoiced at the artist’s return to Amazing Spider-Man with the “Brand New Day” storylines “New Ways To Die” and “Character Assassination.” He later helped relaunch Avengers with writer Brian Michael Bendis and Captain America with Rick Remender, and contributed to the blockbuster crossover Avengers vs. X-Men. For DC Comics, he drew big-name characters such as Superman, Batman and the Suicide Squad before making a welcome return home to Marvel and Amazing Spider-Man.West Coast Avengers artist Bob Hall also penciled Avengers, Champions, Defenders, Marvel Team-Up, Super-Villain Team-Up and other Marvel titles. He was a major art contributor to Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition. At Valiant Comics, he worked on Shadowman and Timewalker.