sonotadream

Amazing Fantasy (1995) #16-18 - Kurt Busiek/Paul Lee/Terese Nielsen/Alexi Taylor/Greg Loudon/Ken Meyers Jr

Another fill-in-the-gaps series, this one meant to bridge the gap between Spider-Man’s first appearance and his solo series. It follows Peter’s growth from “kid trying to do the right thing” to “maybe I am a superhero” and it works quite well.

He first figures out he can use his powers to help people when he busts a scamming operation that targeted Aunt May and other recent widowers. He makes a new super-powered friend - after his middle school friend group was basically hijacked by Flash Thompson - but she’s using her powers for evil (the Kingpin is paying her to cause mayhem in a construction site, for reasons) and Spider-Man hands her over to the authorities. Now, she hates him, and Peter is alone again.

He decides to go back to his agent, needing to make some money. Said agent had been desperate to get Spider-Man back and booked him a TV gig right away, along with another super-powered act. However, this guy only wanted to demonstrate that people like him are actually a public danger and proceeds to take the audience hostage. Peter’s first instinct is to get some real super-heroes, like the Fantastic Four, but time is running out and he’s the one who saves the day.

He also convinces his agent to refuse payment, since the studio was destroyed. J. Jonah Jameson overhears them and an one-sided rivalry is born (he was already feeling salty because the show bumped an interview with his astronaut son; John Jameson thinks his father is overreacting to, well, everything).

There's lots of little world building details sprinkled throughout that reference other comics: the Hulk rampaging over the Southwest, Thor helping the military test new missiles, the Human Torch flying over Manhattan. There's even the time Cyclops disintegrated a crate on free fall - although in this version he gets chased by a mob; in X-Men #2, the guy who has about to be smashed was actually very grateful for the save.

The art is very good, reminiscent of the style in Marvels, and it gives the book a strong nostalgic feel.