The first volume of Gerry Conway’s Marvel Heroes of Spider-Man line contains the stories of Tombstone, Tarantula, the Wolf Brothers and Carrion in a magnificent edition published by Panini Comics

There are authors who have left their names inevitably linked to some comic book character. In case of Spider-Manwe could talk about several. One of course would be Stan Lee. And equally we should include them in this list Steve Ditko. We cannot forget Giovanni Romita and his son Giovanni Romita Jr.nor of Dan Castello…and obviously we cannot leave it out Jerry Conway. Now thanks to Panini Comics We can enjoy a collection of his stories with the wall-strip in deluxe volumes, the first of which comes to us with the title of Marvel Heroes. Gerry Conway’s Spectacular Spider-Man 1 – Tombstone.

Interesting moments in the life of Peter Parker

When Conway’s long period with the wall crawler begins, at the end of the 1980s, our hero is no longer that young student or that expert photographer from Daily trumpetbut works as a teacher at the institute Midtown of Forest Hills, the same one where he had been a student. His relationship with Mary Jane Watsonalready married, he advances with a determined step (even if with some small ups and downs), wears a black dress (il Secret Wars) which hasn’t caused him any problems yet and looks terrible mullet Now McGyver as was the fashion of the time.

While Todd McFarlane offered something graphically never seen in a superhero comic in the character’s main series, Conway used his issues to enrich the character by developing stories that are part of his DNA. If anything has elevated Spiderman over the years, it hasn’t been those grand stories where he faced big threats, but rather the little adventures where his environment was as important as himself, where all the supporting characters had the their importance. and their own evolution, with their problems, their glories and their failures.

That urban, accessible hero, your friendly neighbor, is what Conway offers. The numbers contained here are not among those most remembered individually by the character’s followers, but together they reflect a moment in his mythology that consolidates his greatness and gives him a recognizable three-dimensional character. Conway didn’t shine in the spotlight, but by grinding it out month after month he managed to get under the skin of Peter Parker and shape his legacy.

Gwen Stacy, anyway

Everyone knows this some time before this long phase begins Spectacular Spiderman Gerry Conway was one of the architects of one of the most famous chapters in the character’s history: the death of Gwen Stacy.

There was a before and after in Peter Parker’s life after this tragedy. The one who had been the love of his life (for many readers he still is, especially Mary Jane) died due to the actions of Norman Osbornand perhaps an accidental mistake on the part of Spiderman himself in saving the young woman could have caused her death, although this would give rise to a long debate over the years…

Since her death, Gwen Stacy has been used again on many occasions. Sometimes it was simply as a memory in Parker’s head, which can work very well, but other times it was to literally bring the character back to life, either through some sort of resurrection or, as happens in this volume, through his clone . And this usually never works very well, and it doesn’t work on this occasion either (although the question of the clone’s return is complicated here), probably becoming the low point of this volume.

Bad, bad, bad!

In this volume we will find as antagonists many villains who did not make history, of whom no film was made, but who adapt very well to the type of stories with which Conway felt comfortable.

The second Tarantula has its incarnation in Luis Álvarezof the army of a certain South American republic, a villain with a fantastic aesthetic. The good of Chameleon will appear here to replace the grumpy Jonah Jameson and protagonist of one of the funniest issues of the volume, which has the particularity of not having the appearance of a wall crawler in its pages. Eduardo Lobo is a member of the Wolf Brothersa gang that comes to town to start a war against itself Pin. And, while it may seem redundant, he’s also a werewolf!

But perhaps what shines most in this volume is precisely this Lonnie Lincolnbetter known as Calculationwho in addition to giving the title to the volume and working as a criminal for the Fixator He presents himself to us as someone from the past Joe Robertson which returns to make this honest journalist live his worst moments (he will also end up going to prison), forcing him to decide between self-preservation and responsibility in a plot that talks about power and responsibility, focusing on someone who does not have the powers to a spider

We will also have the demonic hordes unleashed on the island of Manhattan in the crossover that Spiderman has with the saga Hell of X-Menea Green Goblin in front of the Elf in an issue written by David Michelinie and drawn by McFarlane, but despite the grandeur of these events, they do not end up being a highlight of the series compared to the rest of the episodes with more contained villains, which are the paradigm of the true essence of this phase.

Him tome published by Panini Comics In hard cover it contains 688 color pages with a format of 17 x 26 cm. and includes the translation of the American edition of numbers 35, 36, 47, 48, 50-52 of Spider-Man’s web137-152 and annual 8 The spectacular Spider-Man and 311-313 of The Extraordinary Spider-Man, as well as a large extra section and various articles. The recommended retail price is €60 and it went on sale in October 2024.

Marvel Heroes. Gerry Conway’s Spectacular Spider-Man 1 – Tombstone

ISBN: 9788410513792

The first of three volumes dedicated to collecting the return of the screenwriter who succeeded Stan Lee and wrote The Death of Gwen Stacy. In 1988, Jerry Conway has returned to the world of wall crawling to take care of two of his main collections, Net of y The spectacular Spider-Manbetween whom he created a powerful bond of continuity.

The appearance of a new Tarantula, the origin and connection of the man called Tombstone with Joe Robertson, the debut of the Wolf Brothers, the return of the clone of Gwen Stacy and Carrion or the crossover with “Inferno” in a spider stadium never seen before collected.

Authors: Todd McFarlane, Alex Saviuk, Sal Buscema, Gerry Conway, David Michelinie and Mark Bagley