{"id":33707,"date":"2025-09-05T09:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T09:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=33707"},"modified":"2025-09-04T10:36:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T10:36:38","slug":"the-amazing-spider-man-epic-collection-volume-11-nine-lives-has-the-black-cat-1978-1980","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/09\/05\/the-amazing-spider-man-epic-collection-volume-11-nine-lives-has-the-black-cat-1978-1980\/","title":{"rendered":"The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection volume 11: Nine Lives Has the Black Cat (1978-1980)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Marv Wolfman<\/strong>, Bill Mantlo<\/strong>, Roger Stern<\/strong>, David Michelinie<\/strong>, Jim Starlin<\/strong>, Keith Pollard<\/strong>, John Byrne<\/strong>, Rich Buckler<\/strong>, Sal Buscema<\/strong>, Al Milgrom<\/strong>, Jim Mooney<\/strong>, Mike Esposito<\/strong>, Frank Giacoia<\/strong>, Terry Austin<\/strong>, Gene Day<\/strong>, Pablo Marcos<\/strong>, Bob McLeod<\/strong>, Frank Springer<\/strong>, Marie Severin<\/strong>, Alan Kupperberg<\/strong> & various (MARVEL)
\nISBN: 978-1-3029-5641-7 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Spectacular Seasonal Spider Sensationalism \u2026 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong>\u00a0produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Peter Parker<\/em> was a smart yet alienated kid when he was bitten by a radioactive spider during a school science trip. Developing astonishing arachnid abilities – which he augmented with his own natural chemistry, physics and engineering genius – the boy did what any lonely, geeky nerd would do with such newfound prowess: he tried to cash in for girls, fame and money.<\/p>\n

Making a costume to hide his identity in case he made a fool of himself, Parker became a minor media celebrity – and a criminally self-important one. To his eternal regret, when a thief fled past him one night, the cocky teen didn\u2019t lift a finger to stop him. When Parker returned home he learned that his beloved guardian uncle Ben Parker<\/em> had been murdered.<\/p>\n

Crazed with a need for vengeance, Peter hunted the assailant who had made his beloved Aunt May<\/em> a widow and killed the only father he had ever known, finding, to his horror, that it was the self-same felon he had neglected to stop. His irresponsibility had resulted in the death of the man who raised him, and the traumatised boy swore to forevermore use his powers to help others\u2026<\/p>\n

Since that night he has tirelessly battled miscreants, monsters and madmen, with a fickle, ungrateful public usually baying for his blood even as he perpetually saves them, and by the time of the tales in this full-colour compendium of web-spinning adventures the wondrous wallcrawler was a global figure and prime contender for the title of the World\u2019s Most Misunderstood Hero. Spanning November 1978 to July 1980, chronologically re-presenting Amazing Spider-Man<\/strong> #186-206, Annual <\/strong>#13 & Spectacular Spider-Man Annual<\/strong> #1 the transformative tales are an attempt to reconcile the tragic, ill-fated young man with the changing world of the fast-approaching, take-no-prisoners 1980s; and regrettably they don\u2019t always succeed in our hindsight-equipped 21st<\/sup> century eyes…<\/p>\n

Previously:<\/em> old girlfriend and current neurotic stranger Betty Brant-Leeds<\/em> returned after fleeing a dying marriage. She was absorbed with nostalgic notions to rekindle old flames with first love Peter Parker, but that mature-&-moved-on, almost-college-graduate\u2019s social life was already deeply out of control. For his arachnid alter ego life involved constant attacks especially from increasing out-of-whack J. Jonah Jameson<\/em> who funds yet another fringe science secret scheme to trap Spider-Man…<\/p>\n

At this time a star of (1970s) television, the webslinger\u2019s adventures were downplaying traditional fantasy elements as Keith Pollard became penciller for #186. Now, \u2018Chaos is\u2026 the Chameleon!\u2019<\/em> sees the devious disguise artist seeking to discredit the webslinger, even as District Attorney Blake Tower<\/em> works to dismiss all charges against him, and is followed by a moody tale of lockdowns and plague as Spider-Man and Captain America<\/strong> unite to stop a voltaic villain inadvertently using \u2018The Power of Electro!\u2019<\/em> (Marv Wolfman, Jim Starlin & Bob McLeod) to trigger a biological time bomb\u2026
\n\"\"
\nRuthlessly violent thugs are on the rampage next as ASM<\/strong> #188 depicts \u2018The Jigsaw is Up!\u2019<\/em> (illustrated by Pollard & Mike Esposito) after the river party cruise Peter, his pals and increasingly insistent Betty are enjoying is hijacked. Jameson\u2019s secret then gets out to inflict \u2018Mayhem by Moonlight!\u2019<\/em> in a sharp two-part shocker limned by John Byrne & Jim Mooney. Exploited by malign and dying science rogue Spencer Smythe<\/em>, Jonah is abducted by his own monster-marked son John <\/em>leaving the wallcrawler \u2018In Search of the Man-Wolf!\u2019<\/em> Forced to witness the (presumed) death of his child at his worst enemy\u2019s hands leads to a savage confrontation with Smythe\u2019s Spider-Slayer robots in \u2018Wanted for Murder: Spider-Man!\u2019<\/em> (#191 by Pollard & Esposito) before all Jonah\u2019s debts are paid and another death results after Spidey & Jonah are bound to the same bomb and given \u201824 hours Till Doomsday!\u2019<\/em> \u2026<\/p>\n

Eluding doom by the skin of their shackled wrists, a new phase in the Jonah\u2019s psychotic enmity begins in ASM<\/strong> #193\u2019s \u2018The Wings of the Fearsome Fly!\u2019<\/em> with Wolfman, penciller Keith Pollard and inker Jim Mooney recapping how would-be Spider-Slayer Spencer Smythe had handcuffed JJJ to his despised b\u00eate noir<\/em> Spider-Man in an explosive deathtrap and how that drew mutual old enemy The Fly<\/em> as well as causing the death of John Jameson<\/em> in his monster form of the ferociously feral Man-Wolf<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

Peter is most disturbed by a half-remembered moment. In that clash Jonah might<\/em> have peeked under the arachnid\u2019s mask whilst the wallcrawler was briefly unconscious, and not knowing is driving Parker crazy. The loss of his son has absolutely unhinged the publisher, however, and, after firing Peter, Jonah swears to destroy Spider-Man, even as Peter dutifully hunts down the Fly. He finally finds him robbing the Metropolitan Museum of Art and succumbs to an opportunity to release his pent-up anger. It ends badly\u2026<\/p>\n

In the aftermath, another plot strand resurfaces as Ned Leeds<\/em> show up and punches Parker out. The incensed reporter thinks its justifiable as his (recently estranged) wife Betty has been nostalgically and aggressively pursuing old flame Peter. Meanwhile at May Parker\u2019s empty house, a strangely familiar figure is tearing walls down hunting for something. After eventually giving up, he moves on to the Restwell Nursing Home where the widow Parker currently resides\u2026 and finds a situation he can readily exploit\u2026<\/p>\n

With life in turmoil Peter is poorly prepared for the major change that begins in #194, painfully learning \u2018Never Let the Black Cat Cross Your Path!\u2019<\/em> after encountering a svelte femme fatale costumed jewel thief with luck always on her side. However, she seems to have forsaken profit for a new, darker agenda. Inked by Frank Giacoia, the tale sees her recruit a crew to break someone out of jail, and – despite an obvious (and mutual) attraction to sexy Spidey – she will let nothing stop her\u2026<\/p>\n

Now working as a photographer for rival paper the Daily Globe where he immediately sparks the curiosity of reporter April Maye<\/em>, Peter continues to pursue the feline felon in a chase to disaster, quickly realising \u2018Nine Lives Has the Black Cat!\u2019<\/em> (collectively inked by \u201cM. Hands\u201d Mooney, Mike Esposito & Al Milgrom). This affords an origin for the curvaceous crook and culminates in shocking news for Peter\u2026<\/p>\n

I\u2019d normally give lip service here to \u201cspoilers\u201d and indeed back then, the death of Aunt May was – for a brief moment – a big deal, but it wasn\u2019t real and didn\u2019t last long. In-world though, Peter is crushed by the loss of his last relative and only family, with \u2018Requiem!\u2019<\/em> – limned by Milgrom, Mooney & Frank Giacoia – seeing him shattered by her \u201cpeaceful passing\u201d whilst he was elsewhere, and at this moment still blithely unaware of a plot by unctuous home director Dr. Rinehart<\/em>. Many older fans had already clocked who he really was\u2026
\n\"\"
\nDazed and reeling, the hero is just starting to suspect something isn\u2019t right as he\u2019s ambushed by thugs and dragged to \u2018The Kingpin\u2019s Midnight Massacre!\u2019<\/em> in ASM<\/strong> #197. Here Wolfman, Pollard & Mooney show the soon-to-be-retired crime lord packing to leave and up against an immovable deadline. To please his beloved wife Vanessa<\/em>, the villain will cease his illegal activities at the witching hour. All that\u2019s left on his to-do list is to kill Spider-Man, but the clock\u2019s ticking and the wallcrawler just won\u2019t die\u2026<\/p>\n

Building up to the anniversary spectacular and illustrated by Sal Buscema & Mooney, most dangling plot threads start cleaving together when Peter realises who Rinehart actually is and bursts into the Restwell Home in \u2018Mysterio is Deadlier by the Dozen!\u2019<\/em> to find the master of illusion preying on sundowning oldsters and teamed up with the burglar who shot Uncle Ben. Out of jail and desperate to retrieve something long hidden in the Parker house, the long-discarded thug has hijacked Mysterio\u2019s comfortably risk-free scam and attracted the wrath of a really, really angry Spider-Man\u2026<\/p>\n

Despite fighting back fiercely in \u2018Now You See Me! Now You Die!\u2019<\/em> the writing is truly on the wall for the now-at-odds bad guys who meet their fates in The Amazing Spider-Man<\/strong> #200\u2019s extra-length conclusion \u2018The Spider and the Burglar\u2026 A Sequel!\u2019<\/em> – cover dated January 1980 and courtesy of Wolfman, Pollard & Mooney.<\/p>\n

With the truth out and May restored, Peter is ready for whatever the future holds as we segue into The Amazing Spider-Man Annual<\/strong> #13 where Wolfman, Byrne & Terry Austin occupy \u2018The Arms of Doctor Octopus\u2019<\/em> with a murderous scheme to regain his underworld reputation and dominance. The plot is brought to Spider-Man\u2019s attention by murdered federal agent Kent Blake<\/em>, who blackmails the hero into going undercover in the gang to recover stolen plans and ends with a catastrophic clash that sees the villain maimed\u2026<\/p>\n

Although momentarily defeated, Ock isn\u2019t finished with New York or Spider-Man, and the saga continues and concludes in the first annual of a companion Spider-title. Before that, though, Annual traditions are upheld by additions to ongoing feature \u2018A Gallery of Spider-Man\u2019s Most Famous Foes\u2019<\/em>. Rendered by Pollard, the roster expands for The Molten Man<\/em>, The Looter<\/em>, The Rhino<\/em>, The Shocker<\/em>, The Kingpin<\/em>, Silverman and Man-Mountain Marko<\/em>, The Prowler <\/em>and The Kangaroo <\/em>before ending on \u2018A Mighty Marvel Bonus\u2019 <\/em>offering updated locations and floorplans for \u2018Peter Parker\u2019s Pad!\u2019<\/em>, The Daily Bugle & Daily Globe offices<\/em> and Empire State University Campus – <\/em>and Peter\u2019s colleagues.<\/p>\n

The Spectacular<\/strong> Spider-Man Annual<\/strong> #1 details the denouement in \u2018And Men Shall Call Him\u2026 Octopus!\u2019 <\/em>as Bill Mantlo, Rich Buckler & Mooney follow a furious and confused webslinger who uses Ock\u2019s severed metal tentacle to lure the near-insane-with-pain-&-shock villain into a cataclysmic showdown aboard a ship\u2019s graveyard in the East River and apparently final clash in an undersea base\u2026
\n\"\"
\nDried out and back to business basics, the hero\u2019s journey resumes in ASM<\/strong> 201\u2019s \u2018Man-Hunt!\u2019<\/em> as Wolfman, Pollard & Mooney reunite the hero with The Punisher<\/strong>, whose hunt for a gang boss turns up a suspicious connection between photo seller Parker and his star subject Spider-Man\u2026<\/p>\n

Further muddying the waters is the latest woe to befall Jonah, whose nervous collapse devolves into pure mania, prompting his escape into delusion and the city\u2019s back alleys. Guilt-ridden Parker can\u2019t do much for his favourite gadfly, but can send Frank Castle<\/em> on an identity-saving wild goose chase, before helping to deal with his latest target in concluding chapter \u2018One For Those Long Gone!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

More infomercial than adventure – and probably a deadline-busting fill-in – Amazing Spider-Man <\/strong>#203 is one huge plug for Marvel\u2019s disco sensation as Wolfman, Pollard, Esposito & Friends introduce Spider-Man to mutant musician Dazzler<\/strong>. The siren songstress is being hunted by old arachnid foe Lightmaster<\/em> who needs her energies to bust him free of the light dimension that holds him captive but fails again in \u2018Bewitched, Bothered and B-Dazzled!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Another strong independent woman (re)appears in Pablo Marcos inked #204, as Wolfman signs off with \u2018The Black Cat Always Lands on her Feet!\u2019<\/em> Here the presumed-dead super thief returns to steal a selection of romance-themed art, and Spidey\u2019s pursuit is the bandit\u2019s actual goal. As seen in #205\u2019s David Michelinie, Pollard & Mooney conclusion \u2018…In Love and War!\u2019<\/em>, second generation purloiner Felicia Hardy<\/em> has become fixated on the enigmatic masked man and stealing these items is her way of wooing the wallcrawler. Just for a change, this is a challenge requiring Parker\u2019s mind and empathy, not Spider-Man\u2019s might…
\n\"\"
\nWith an increasingly angry and unstable Joe Robertson<\/em> replacing a lost amnesiac Jameson at the Daily Bugle, ASM<\/strong> #206 sees Roger Stern, John Byrne & Gene Day resolve the saga of his breakdown in closing inclusion \u2018A Method in his Madness!\u2019<\/em> Here it\u2019s revealed that rogue scientist Dr. Jonas Harrow<\/em> (who remade sundry second-rate thugs into super-foes like Will-O\u2019the-Wisp<\/em>, Kangaroo and Hammerhead<\/em>) had turned the publisher\u2019s office into a testing ground for his fringe science. Now that his Mental Attitude-Response Variator ray has driven Jonah to the edge of madness, Harrow plans to turn it on Spider-Man himself, but one last test on the entire Bugle staff gives our hero a heads-up and leads to the devil doctor\u2019s defeat…<\/p>\n

With covers throughout from Milgrom, Pollard, John Romita Sr., Buckler, McLeod & Josef Rubinstein, this tome also offers a selection of original art by Pollard with Mooney, Frank Giacoia and Byrne & Austin; Carmine Infantino & Steve Leialoha\u2019s unused cover to Spider-Woman<\/strong> #9 where Wolfman originally intended Black Cat to debut, and Dave Cockrum\u2019s revamped design for her as well as an unused Pollard & McLeod cover for ASM<\/strong> #194 and Cockrum\u2019s rough for the cover they finally used. Completing the extras are House ads for forthcoming landmark ASM<\/strong> #200.<\/p>\n

These yarns confirmed Spider-Man\u2019s growth into a global multi-media brand. Blending cultural veracity with superb art, and making a dramatic virtue of the awkwardness, confusion and imputed powerlessness most of the readership experienced daily, resulted in an irresistibly intoxicating read, especially when delivered in addictive soap-styled instalments, but none of that would be relevant if Spider-Man\u2019s stories weren\u2019t so utterly entertaining. This action-packed collection relives many momentous and crucial periods in the wallcrawler\u2019s astounding life and is one all Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights fanatics must see\u2026
\n\u00a9 2025 MARVEL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Marv Wolfman, Bill Mantlo, Roger Stern, David Michelinie, Jim Starlin, Keith Pollard, John Byrne, Rich Buckler, Sal Buscema, Al Milgrom, Jim Mooney, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Terry Austin, Gene Day, Pablo Marcos, Bob McLeod, Frank Springer, Marie Severin, Alan Kupperberg & various (MARVEL) ISBN: 978-1-3029-5641-7 (TPB\/Digital edition) Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Spectacular Seasonal Spider … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection volume 11: Nine Lives Has the Black Cat (1978-1980)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[94,398,74,75,399,239,146,79,225,136,107,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-avengers","category-black-cat","category-captain-america","category-crime-comics","category-dazzler","category-drama","category-marvel-horror","category-marvel-superheroes","category-mystery","category-punisher","category-science-fiction","category-spider-man"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8LF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33707"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33714,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33707\/revisions\/33714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}