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Spiderman - The Ultimate Guide is a very thorough and informative book. New fans of comics and people who know little about Peter Parker and his alter-ego Spiderman will find this an enjoyable read and will leave it with a strong knowledge of the 30+ year history of the character.

The book covers everything from Spidey's origin and powers to his supporting cast including Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane, and plenty more. Key points in Spiderman's adventures are also covered including: the Death of Gwen Stacy, the Alien Costume, the mystery of the Hoblgoblin, and the Clone Saga. Villains and vigilantes are also reviewed like: Green Goblin, The Vulture, Sandman, Electro, Venom, Carnage, and several minor characters that you might not expect to see included in a 170 page book.

The Ultimate Guide also mentions alternate creations of Spiderman like Spiderman 2099 and The Ultimate Spiderman (my personal favorite).

If DeFalco's Guide does have a weak spot it's that many entries have captions and paragraphs that simply reiterate the same material. With two pages of information on a character this can become annoying to read the same fact three times in such a short space. Also a personal gripe of mine is that sometimes laughable characters like The Rocket Racer were included while a more common classic villain like The Shocker was overlooked. Instead of pages devoted to Will O The Wisp and Silvermane, I would have much rather preferred a more indepth look at some of the runs of Spiderman stories and the various plots they dealt with...alas maybe in Ultimate Guide #2 (hint).

All in all I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about the incredible character of Spiderman before the movie premieres on May 3, 2002.

"Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide," by Tom DeFalco, is full of information and colorful illustrations. The book covers the history of Spider-Man as the character and his world have developed in the comic books. Included in the book's artwork are reproductions of many comic book covers spanning decades of Spider-Man's history.

The book includes information about Peter Parker, his family and friends, Spider-Man's origin and fantastic abilities, and Spider-Man's allies. Topics such as Spider-Girl and Spider-Man 2099 are also covered. A great deal of space is devoted to the many supervillains faced by Spidey over the decades: the Vulture, Doctor Octopus, the Lizard, Mysterio, Silver Sable, Venom, Carnage, and many more. Also fascinating is the book's coverage of important storylines such as the history of Spider-man's clone.

The book includes a foreword by Spider-Man creator Stan Lee, an index, and a gazetteer that lists the first appearances of many characters. This is a really enjoyable and informative book. The illustrations give the book tremendous visual appeal. DeFalco really gives you a sense of the epic sweep of the Spider-Man mythos--I felt I was getting a comprehensive look at a richly peopled saga that is full of drama, tragedy, and hope.

"The Ultimate Guide to Spider-Man" by Tom Defalco is an amazing book! If your a lifetime Spider-Man fan or just an amatuer, I highly reccomend this book. Gloriously filled with spectacular illustrations and highly detailed text, this is the book for you.

I instantly got hooked, and became a Spider-Man after reading this book.