Marvel Comics

Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 3 carries Peter Parker into the early-1970s moment where the series becomes heavier, stranger and more consequential. The Death of Gwen Stacy is the obvious landmark, but the volume also shows the road there: drugs, social pressure, Morbius, the Green Goblin and a Marvel line learning that superhero stories could leave permanent scars. Its value is the end of innocence, not a generic greatest-hits claim.

Spider-Man's golden age under John Romita Sr.'s art. Mary Jane Watson makes her first full appearance and immediately establishes herself as one of the most charismatic characters in Marvel history. The Kingpin enters the scene as a new breed of villain — not a costumed freak but a crime lord. The wall-crawler becomes Marvel's most popular hero during these issues. 992 pages of Silver Age Spider-Man at its absolute best, showing how a B-list character became an icon.