40 Years Of The Amazing Spider-Man Win/Mac

List Price: $49.99 Discount Price: $49.95

Features:

• 11-disc CD-ROM collection of 500+ Spider-Man comic books
• Covers 40+ years of all Amazing Spider-Man comic books printed
• Mind-blowing 10 Milestones of Amazing Spider-Man
• Spider-Man's debut issue: The Amazing Fantasy #15
• All articles and vintage ads, Spider's-Web column, and Bullpen Bulletins

Customer Reviews:

Face it, Tiger, you just hit the jackpot! [Posted on 2005-11-18]
As a long-time Spider-Man fan, I couldn't think of a better way to describe this collection than Mary Jane's immortal opening line.

Personally I think this is one of the best reprint ideas available. For hardcore or casual fans, you are not going to be able to beat this option. The issues, while not in perfect condition, are still clear enough to read and will provide - literally - days of entertainment. 501 issues take a while to read, people. For those that do not like sitting in front of a computer for extended periods of time to do your reading, you may not like this format.

The collection is stored in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF). The software is included if you don't have it. Each Acrobat "page" consists of 1 or 2 scanned comic pages. Some magnification may be necessary, depending on your monitor resolution.

The only minor complaint that I have is the "two page" approach. It can get a little irritating reading top to bottom and then scrolling up and to the right to see its neighboring page. My suggestion would have been to scan each page in individually and give a few more display options, but I digress. I am more than willing to ignore that minor inconvenience for the big picture: I have a full run on Amazing Spider-Man.

I think this a great idea and hope that Marvel will continue reprints in this format with other heroes. Now if DC could start up something similar with Batman, they'd have a monster hit on their hands as well.

Top Buy for Spider-man Fans [Posted on 2005-12-30]
You'll note that this used to be available in CDs. Now the DVD version of Spider-man is available, but not at Amazon. You can get it cheaper at Tales of Wonder.

I have the CDs (maybe the DVDs will be different?). Unlike the FF set, they do not include annuals. The company has scanned in all the pages (including ads, Bullpen page, letter pages, and back cover) from actual issues. Often some of the pages are scanned in slightly crooked--what's the matter, don't you have time to line things up? (The FF version does a better job).

I thought it might be difficult reading the comics on a computer screen, but after a few pages I liked turning a page with the push of a button. If you have a bright monitor or laptop, the colors should look nice.

Make sure that you upgrade to Acrobat Reader 6 (included on the disk) so that the Marvel watermarks don't show on your screen. If you try to print a page the watermarks will (I believe) appear.

Overall, a wonderful addition for those who have the original issues but can't read them because of their value, for those who don't want to buy a bunch of the Masterworks titles, for those who want to see the comics with the original colors and printing quality, and for those who want to read all the issues in color. The cost of the total collection may seem high, but think about buying over 500 comics. That's less than a dime an issue--more than I paid years ago!

As Marvel does more of these (X-Men is out; an Avengers set is coming), they may "crash" the back issue market. People who have the comics may decide to buy these CDs and/or DVDs and sell their back issues.

Highly recommended.

This collection is um.. amazing [Posted on 2006-01-09]
Overview: 501 complete comics(thats amazing spider-man #1-#500 and amazing fantasy #15 spideys debut issue) packed onto 11 cd-roms, so that you can follow the exploits of the web spinner as he fights hoods, super villions, colds, acne,etc.

Pros: I think spidey's the greatest and I love the idea that I can read amazing spider-man from 1963 to 2003 especially because I never would really have a chance to read most of the issues anyway because their expensive now.

Cons: Their are no annuals but other than that this collection is great

Surprisngly good method to revisit comic books [Posted on 2006-02-03]
I just got this last week and am even more pleased than I thought I would be. Despite the small flaws noted by others (primarily the omission of the annuals that are included in the FF collection) this is a terrific way to revist my youth. I started reading buying Spider-man somewhere between issues 10-20 (I was about 11) and have greatly enjoyed revisiting these stories.

Assuming that you have an interest in collecting/reading Spider-man, reaction to this product will largely depend on two questions: whether you are comfortable spening long stretches reading a computer screen (I am) and the size of the that screen. On my 19 inch LCD, choosing full screen presents a two page image almost exactly the size of the original comic books, and without the distracting interface, that is perfect to read. On a smaller screen, constant scrolling up/down and left/right might prove quite irritating.

Aside from the obvious cost effectiveness of this set, the experience (at least for me) is probably better than any of the hard copy reprints. The black and white reprints are just not acceptable to me. And while the Masterworks might present a somewhat higher quality image, the computer presentation--suprisingly--does a better job recreating the experience of reading the original book. The slightly yellowed appearance of the image, as well as the odd stain and tear, almost trick me into thinking I am rereading one of my old comics. And the inclusion of the contemporary ads and letter pages (complete with the trademark Marvel banter of the era) is just wonderful.

Spider-Man [Posted on 2006-02-22]
An awesome detailed history; having to view it in Adobe can be awkward though.

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