For today’s comic book review, I read Amazing Spider Man #8 from January 1964, a book crammed packed with Spider-man excitement, in fact two stories featuring our hero. This is a review of the first story. Titled. “The Terrible Threat Of The Living Brain”  But worry not, a review of the second story where Spider-Man faces The Human Torch, will shortly follow.

In this tale, we have everything we could hope for issues, promised to us from page one, that’s right in this issue, one of the three things we are promised it so   “See Pete Parker Fight Flash Thompson”!  But how can he accomplish this without ruining his identity as Spider-Man?

Story

This story, like so many good ones makes the conflict the backdrop to a strong bit of character development,  In this case, the real conflict is between Peter Parker and Flash Thompson,  as they finely put their fist up to each other.   The backdrop is a the living brain, a computer gone mad and bent on causing havoc throughout the school.

This story shows me that Stan Lee & Steve Ditko understood where they needed to take Spider-Man, and what would make him a success.   being a more human super hero. For its time, this is quite an impressive story.

Artwork

I feel that the art of this issue surpassed what I have seen lately for spider-man, letting us see in the teenagers the human qualities we so love. As well as giving us some great action panels of Spider-Man.

Included to the right is a great panel showing the students running as Spider-Man approaches the living brain at the start of their confrontation.  it shows great promise that is lived up to as the action progresses.

Originality & Continuity

Lets face it, we been waiting for Peter-Parker, and flash to fight for issues now, if not from the beginning, and now we get to see them fight, in the school gym with boxing gloves.

I will have to say I don’t know enough about 1960’s schools to know if this would be the type of thing to take place, but I would love to find out if anyone has any insight into this.  But it seems to me like this is a great way for us to see what we wanted, while maintaining the illusion of Parker following the rules.

But I won’t tell you how the fight goes, you will just have to read this great issue to find out,  you can get it in reprint in Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1.  So be it from amazon or your local comic shop, pick up your copy.

Characters & Development

Peter Parker has developed over the issues, and continues too,   and one of the greatest things about our hero, is just how much we continue to see how he thinks, and even how Peter and Spider-man are not always in exact line with each other.

Watch for it as you read the comics, where peter wants to do something but knows as spider-man he shouldn’t.   it shows us just how he lives with “with great power, comes great responsibility”  saying that we all know.

Spider-Man is not the only one to develop in this story though,  as we get to see his classmates also gain some development, perhaps none more than Flash.