I've been reading these Masterworks collections in order and I have to say they keep getting better. This collection features the famous Master Planner story by Lee and Ditko, depicted on the cover, probably one of the most classic Doc Ock tales.

Closing out the book is the sensational debut of John Romita on pencils, replacing original artist Steve Ditko. While Ditko will always be remembered as the innovator who created the visual language of Spider-Man, Romita polishes the style and is ultimately the Spidey artist I prefer. He only gets two issues here (a classic Green Goblin story where the villain learns Spidey's secret identity), but it's brilliant work.

Looking forward to cracking open the next Masterworks collection for some more Romita! ( )

The Ditko era ends here, sadly with a whimper and not a bang. Ditko's peak as Spider-Man's artist ends with issue 37 but issue 38 is his swansong with a half-baked story that shows he was obviously on the way out. Even that issue's original cover was simply a collage of panels from the story itself because Ditko left Marvel before drawing a proper one. Curiously this cover is used as the cover to this volume - with a half dozen classic covers from issues 31-40 why this one was used is anyone's guess. I would have gone for the cover to issue 33.
Ditko manages some significant progress before he bows out though, putting Peter Parker into college with Flash Thompson as a continuing thorn in his side and introducing 2 major new characters, Harry Osborne and the ill-fated Gwen Stacy.
With Ditko gone, the changes come thick and fast. John Romita (Sr) steps into the breech having had a trial run doing a Spider-Man guest appearance in Daredevil and immediately clears the decks of Ditko's ideas by revealing the true identity of the Green Goblin. Controversy rages to this day whether Ditko would have unmasked someone else as the Goblin but Romita's 2 part debut remains a classic. ( )