Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe took over the entertainment world, Spider-Man lived in a comic book—an old comic book. This fourth volume of the ASM Epic collection covers our favourite web-head’s adventures in 1967 and 1968.

As the title suggests, the Goblin plays an important role in this era. The specter of Norman Osborne’s lost memories haunts the pages of these comics, before he make his nefarious return as in Spectacular Spider-Man 2, “The Goblin Lives!”

These comics continue the love triangle between Peter, Gwen, and MJ with Miss Stacey—“Gorgeous Gwendolyn”—having the upper hand. For a 1990s Spider-Man aficionado, it was strange to return to a world where the tiger hadn’t been claimed!

As with all the Epic Collections, this volume features interesting extras including two “Not Brand Echh” satire comics featuring Spider-Man along with a number of original art panels.

The Goblin Lives is a significant era in Spidey’s development and makes for great quarantine reading!

Lee, Stan and John Romita. Amazing Spider-Man: The Goblin Lives. New York: Marvel, 2019. Epic Collection 4.