As Perfect as Comics Can Be

Spider-Man Classics #5 (Marvel, August 1993, $1.25)
"Nothing Can Stop the Sandman!" By: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Coloring: Andy Yanchus.

This comic reprints Amazing Spider-Man #4, a 29-page story that introduces the Sandman. After being frustrated by a handful of hoodlums who've "got larceny written all over you" but don't actually commit a crime, Spider-Man approaches a man climbing up a fire escape ladder—only to meet the Sandman. His mask torn in the scuffle, Peter Parker has to get away so he isn't recognized.



The Sandman robs a bank, and a news announcer recounts his origin on the TV news. On the run from the police, the villain hides in a nearby high school, where he again meets Spider-Man, who tricks and traps the criminal.

Lee and Ditko's early Spider-Man issues are about as perfect as comics can be. They've been reprinted widely over the years, and this series—while worth reading—is no better than the Marvel Tales reprints. Chris Marrinan contributed a new cover for the newsstand, and the original cover is reproduced after the story. The new cover doesn't make the comic any better, and the color-paper combination is not as strong as Marvel Tales.

Regardless, what a comic!