Here we have all six issues of the Incredible Hulk's first series. It's a fun series. It holds up pretty well, other than the commie smashing. You can see how they were struggling with how to present the Hulk in the early days. They change his color, his means of transformation, his powers and his personality all within these six issues. The hardcover format with glossy pages is an excellent presentation of this material. If you can afford it, it's a good deal. It's still cheaper than buying the original issues.

My very first encounters with The Incredible Hulk came in my childhood, watching the television series, starring Bill Bixby. As a fan of the show, I thought that the way it was presented, mirrored how Marvel Comics titans Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, had envisioned the character. I had no idea that the comic book origin and mytholgy of the Hulk was completely different. As I started to delve into the world of superheroes, I sought out any book that featured characters I liked, The Hulk was among those heroes. I have to say that as much I liked the show and how it entertained, I prefer the mythology of the comic book, over the show. I see both incarnations as individual entities, very loosely related, like a cousin, 7 times removed.

As the Hulk returns to the spotlight, thanks to the film version, and as an owner of other Marvel Masterworks editions, the Hulk was a natural choice. Volume One reprints the first six issues of the comic book series. Written at a time when fears over nuclear war with the Soviet Union, was an every day reality, the plight of Dr. Bruce Banner struck a chord with readers. Another popular aspect of the character is of course his brute strength, as well as his similarties with Frankenstien-the misunderstood monster. It was great to read these early adventures. It was interesting to see the Hulk as a grey behemouth for the first issue, as opposed to the now famous color green. Stan Lee's stories, in the book, may have a certian 60's feel to them..but they still hold up and are lots of fun to read. The lengendary art from Jack Kirby for issues 1-5 (Spiderman's artist at the time, Steve Ditko, completed the chores on issue #6) is made even bolder, brighter and better (is that even possibe?), thanks to the use of glossy pages in the book

My only real problem with this book is that it's so much shorter than most of the others in the Marvel Masterworks series. What a shame... The book also reprints the original 6 covers, an introduction from Hulk Co-creator Stan Lee, first penned in 1989. The six issue reprint should have been longer though. That said, the 150 page book, is still reommended

This is not the same book as that reviewed below - there is some mistake here.As far as I know it was never released in paperback and was written when Len Wein was a child!

The book is a hardback collection from 1989 featuring the first six issues (the comic was cancelled after that)of the Incredible Hulk in his own magazine from 1962 & 1963. The quality of the reproduction & colors are superb.

The first issue he is grey, but as this did not work well with the printing capabilities of the time, from issue 2 he was depicted as the familiar "jolly green giant!"

With writing by Stan Lee and illustrations by Jack (King) Kirby (Steve - Spider-man - Ditko) took over with the 6th. issue's art), this is essential for anyone collecting the Hulk who can not afford the thousands of $$$ for the original comics (and who of us can!)Great stuff and brings back many memories!

I'm someone who is slowly leaving the superherogenre in comics. Next to that I never was a very big fan of Stan Lee as a writer. My surpirse was big when I started reading this and noticed the actual depth in here.

An enormous spaceship enters earth and the world is in fear. It lands and a creature who calls himself Galactus comes out. At first people are in fear and nobody dares to displease him. Earth is entirely without war or terrorism for a moment. A fake disciple steps up and tells how Galactus is the returning incarnation of the Messiah. Because there has been worldpeace since Galactus landed the disciple is believed. People start worshipping the creature from beyond and follow Galactus' every worth. Questioning nothing. The entire world is soon in chaos. The Silver Surfer decides to step up out of the anonymous mass and tries to convince people to stop listening to Galactus. An 'act against God'...

Although the dialogue is full of cliches it's never bothering here, it reads away fluently. And what's more important, the story itself is interesting and honestly thought-provoking. Not only is a fight between good vs bad presented here, but it also makes you think on what grounds you decide something is good or bad. It emphasizes the importance of one thinking for oneself instead of blindly following something you believe in. To never stop questioning. A free mind is everything.
The art by Moebius, although not his best, is very good as well. His imaging of Silver Surfer is probably the best I'be seen so far. I'd definately recommend this to both superhero fans as non-superhero fans.

Marvel has a real problem with keeping their best works in print. They've been making progress over the past few years, however, and this is one of them.

Written by one of the "founding fathers" of the Marvel Universe, Stan Lee used this book to make a return to one of his most outstanding creations. His Surfer tales of old had a style like none of his others, capturing basic themes in stories of galactic scope, with more than a hint of allegory and religious reference. This story reads like one of his classic tales. The art is provided by Moebius, and the Surfer has never looked better. Moebius' fine-line work, detail, and soft colors beautifully capture the mood of this story. I wish he would turn his attention to more work like this, but with the sorry writing in today's American super-hero comics, I can't blame him for keeping a low profile.

Stories don't come along like this very often, so check it out. It's in a softcover printing, so it's affordable. The only problem I have with the story is some of the Surfer's dialogue, which sounds as if it were lifted from fortune cookies or self-help books.

I haven't read any material from Stan Lee for years. I also haven't read any material from Mobiues in years. So reading this graphic novel was a treat for me.

The story was solid. The art was solid. Everything about the book was solid.

It was not a masterpiece, but still I found it to be a solid 4 star read.

As a great primer to the world of Spider-Man or just a neat collection for fans, The Very Best of Spider-Man shines. From the first story in Amazing Fantasy #15 and running up through the McFarlane era in the early 90's, it provides an interesting and engaging overview of the character and the talents who have developed him.

You get Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, John Romita Sr., Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern, Mark Bagley, McFarlane, and more, really giving the reader a sense of how Spidey (and comics) has evolved.

Being that this book is from 1994, it was current up through that time. I'd LOVE to see an updated version, to include at least one story featuring John Romita Jr., and maybe one of the Ultimate stories with Brian Michael Bendis. Maybe even a couple of the better late 90's stories, before the book got revitalized.

This was also printed before Marvel upped the overall quality of presentation regarding their collections and graphic novels, so the paper quality could be better. However, at less than [price], it's an awesome collection of Spidey stories to get any webhead-follower pumped.

The Very Best of Spider-Man (published in 1994) is a collection of selected stories that really show why Spider-Man is one of the best comic book superheroes ever created. He is one of Marvel Comics' most recognized characters. These were very entertaining stories, but I still wondered if more stories could have been inserted as well. This book only reprinted eight stories in total. I really thought that more stories could have been included. Overall, I was still satisfied with this collection.

Unlike DC, which has several 'best of' compilations under the "Greatest Stories Ever Told" name, Marvel Comics tackles a rare "Best Of" of its own with its flagship hero. 8 Stories are included here beginning with Spidey's famous origin up through the early 90s when this was published. With names like Lee, Ditko, Buscema, Defalco and McFarlane, this is a solid but not-entirely spectacular collection. It seems like a major crietria in picking these stories was to give many of the major villians a chance to shine. There are some touching suprises here, some of the essential Spidey stories and a few that were just ok. All in all, highly recommended.

Here's a recap of the stories:
*Amazing fantasy #15 - the mythic origin(which the movie updates while staying true to); doesn't seem so spectacular 40 years later, but it was the foundation which the franchise was built on( like the Batman) A-

*Amazing Spidey #33 - the quintessential Spidey story. Its the story by which all others are measured and contains all the qualities which define the character -sacrifice, perserverence, caring more for others than for self, resourcefulness, ingenuity, integrity and the inevitable refection incurred by having to keep his identity secret. A+++

*Amazing Spidey #50 - the public persecution of Spider-Man finally gets to Peter Parker and he retires his thankless life of crime-fighting for a 'normal' life as a dorky, angst-ridden guy -will his conscience allow him to? A-

*Amazing Spidey #248 - its interesting to note that for all the different Spidey titles, all but one of these are from Amazing Spider-Man...the premise of this story was borrowed for the 90's animated series (which can be seen on the 'Ultimate Villian Showdown' DVD); short and moving A+

*Amazing Spidey #271 - the only story showing Spidey in his cool 'black' costume; brings back Crusher Hogan (a forerunner of Hulk Hogan, perhaps?!?) from the origin as Spidey displays something rarely seen in modern comics - compassion A+

*Amazing Spidey #317 - The only Venom appearance; I'm not a huge fan of McFarlane art, but it was dinstinctive and hilights one of Spidey's most popular periods B

*Amazing Spidey #365 - 30th Anniversary story featuring the Lizard. Borrows the famous scene from Amazing Spidey #33 where he lifts this huge weight. Pretty standard evil Lizard dad threatens mom and son story. C

*Spectacular Spidey #189 - almost identical to the previous only with the Green Goblin. No one gets under Spidey's skin like an Osbourne and the creepiness makes this a better story than the previous one. Includes a creepy dinner scene reminsicent of 'Haannibal' but without the grossness factor. B

Tony Stark is a man on the brink of deadly obsession over his stolen technology gone awry. This storyline has all the elements you could ask for: action, intrigue, suspense, drama. Iron Man takes on friend and foe alike in his quest to eliminate the product of his genius, and woe be unto anyone who gets in his way! David Michilinie, Mark Bright, Bob Layton, and Barry Windsor-Smith weave a tale that simply shatters the boundaries of comic book fiction, and shows us a side of Iron Man seldom seen. Worth every penny, and then some!

Consistently voted online and off as the best of all Iron Man storylines, this Michelinie/Layton gem details how Tony Stark/Iron Man must attempt to nullify his secret armor technology that has fallen into the wrong hands. The original comics were Iron Man #225-232, and are virtually impossible to find. Nab this TPB whenever you can.

I thought this book was an excellent read as it showed how Tony Stark went off on an action-packed costly quest to get his technology out of over people's hand's after discovering it had been stolen from him and used to harm innocent people, wanting to assure it was never used to harm people again, he caused a few deaths along the way and almost crossed the line beyond redemption.

It shows him hunting down armoured villains and attacking government agents. He goes toe-to-toe with the world foremost secret agency, armoured agents from other countries and one of his oldest friends. Not to mention one hell of a near death experience and a change in Armour.

Basically it has everything you need in a good novel, book or comic.

After DUNN'S CONUNDRUM we're not surprised that Lee doesn't take the Cold Warrior slant of most thrillers, but the step towards SF is an interesting twist. A Presidential assistant with an eidetic memory catches hints of a secret project started by the previous administration; in a good twist, this isn't the reason why the project starts investigating him. Think of Gene Wolfe's "The HORARs of War" as an action novel. A bit formulaic (but without the cliched angst of Le Carre and his imitators), but I found it worth rereading and regret not finding any later work from an author who doesn't fit into a neat category.

From the bonding felt by the robots creator, to the comically failed experiments in machine intelligence, The God Project is a little too believable. Thats what makes it scary. God in this story is Games Of Defense, and not only has the perfect bionic soldier been manufactured, but it has escaped into society, a more than human thingie wandering around out in the great fire of humanity. Then, from the mass, comes a new religious leader, able to captivate audiences with insight and convincing arguments, whose power grows at a fantastic pace so that established government fears him to the point of plotting against his life. It is hypothesized that the Christian Mahdi is in fact the escaped AI soldier, and it is up to the reader to find out the rest. A must for the student of technological conjecture and history, a springboard by which to extrapolate and infer beyond the veil of government classification. Bill

From Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to Peter David, this is a total of several Hulk stories done by various writers and artists on how the Hulk's different personalities have surfaced over the years. From being very intelligent to being very savage. It;s very good work and it shows how shallow the Hulk stories by Paul Jenkins really are.

Never before has the HULK been more visually striking and the story riveting. Never before has the HULK struck our awe and asked us to reconsider his predictament and his incredible plight for fitting in. This graphic novel captures the TRUE essence of the HULK and warrants frequent readings that constantly entertains. This is the definative HULK. Oh yeah, did I mention the fantastic artwork?? Go for it.

Covers the origins of several Marvel classic characters and teams, including the X-Men, Iron Man, The Avengers, Daredevil, and Silver Surfer. Following the reprint of each origin is a reprint of a more recent story involving that character.

this volume brings us the first tales of some of the most popular comic heros today..Iron man ...the invincible golden avenger when he was grey......daredevil....who is enjoying incredible popularity even today due to the writing of kevin (dogma) smith...the strangest super heroes of them all the X-men, who are now the stars of a blockbuster summer movie (which was also pretty good by the way)...the mighty avengers...featuring the hulk, thor, ironman....i enjoyed tracing the origins of these

pop culture icons...and recommend the essential marvel line of books to anyone who would like a better look at these nostalgic tales.

This is not a book that will win a Hugo. It is however, a book that entertains. This book kept me turning pages the same way I trudged to the comic store every month. I feel the author was somewhat heavy-handed in his naming conventions. For example, the story's vapid journalist is named Leslie Ann Nasotrudere. This is a name that conjures visions of a whining, skinny, intrusive woman with a sharp nose, usually upturned. This complaint aside, it's worth the read if you've got some time to kill.

In my opinion. Crossover is a clear example of why so many people love reading Stan Lee's work. From the very begining the reader is mystefied by the mystery of the giants, and most of all that which surrounds John Cameron himself. This book is a perfect mix of comic book storylines with a science fiction novel. Readers will get a kick from seeing references to their favorite creators and characters. Not to mention trying to see which characters are symbolized in this book. In short this is Stan "The Man" Lee at his best

In 1987, Stan Lee, David Michelinie, and a team of writers and artists finally did a series of stories where Peter Parker married Mary Jane Watson, both in the regular comic book series, the newspaper Spidey comic strip, and a live event at Shea Stadium with the New York Mets. featureing artwork by John Romita, this is a funny/romantic story and has been generally regarded as one of the most important Spider-Man stories ever published. I hope film maker Sam Raimi recreates this event on film with the Spider-Man movie or in one of the sequals.

Lee...Kirby... what more can one say? This is the motherlode here, people- the Mighty Avengers in their formative issues! Real life drama and characterization as the Hulk calls it quits... see Thor and Iron Man walk the walk and beat the bad guys! If you like comics (and who doesn't?) you'll like this one.