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Thursday, September 13, 2007

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man

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The Amazing Spider-Man is a comics series. For other uses see The Amazing Spider-Man disambiguation.


The Amazing Spider-Man is the title of a comic book published by Marvel Comics, a television program and a daily newspaper comic strip featuring the adventures of the superhero Spider-Man.


Comic book

Spider-Man first appeared in issue #15 of the comic book Amazing Fantasy Aug. 1962. The series was cancelled with that issue, but response to the character was so positive that a solo title, The Amazing Spider-Man was launched in March 1963.

The character was created by writer/or Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, and the pair produced 38 issues of Amazing from 1963 to 1966. Since then, many writers and artists have taken over the monthly comic over the years chronicling the adventures of Marvel's most identifiable hero.

The Amazing Spider-Man is considered to be the “lead” Spider-Man title, as it was the first and for many years, the only regular Spider-Man comic, and it has been in print since 1963. Most of the major characters and villains of the Spider-Man saga were introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man, and many but not all of the key events occurred in the title too. The title was published continuously until 1998 when Marvel Comics decided to begin it anew by renumbering the title with a new issue #1 published in January, 1999. In 2003, Spider-Man's 40th anniversary, this new title reverted to using the numbering of the original series, at issue #500.

The 1960s

The initial years of the book, under Lee and Ditko, chronicled Spider-Man’s nascent career with his civilian life as hard-luck yet perpetually good-humoured teenager Peter Parker. Peter balanced his career as Spider-Man with his job as a freelance photographer for The Daily Bugle under the bombastic J. Jonah Jameson to help support himself and his frail Aunt May. At the same time, Peter dealt with public hostility towards Spider-Man, the antagonism of his classmates Flash Thompson and Liz Allan at Midtown High School, as well as embarking on a tentative, ill-fated romance with Jameson’s secretary, Betty Brant.

By focusing on Peter’s everyday problems and hard-luck crime-fighting career, Lee and Ditko created a flawed, self-doubting superhero readers could more readily identify with. Ditko’s quirky, woodcut-like art provided a stark contrast to the more cleanly dynamic stylings of Marvel’s most prominent artist, Jack Kirby. Ditko’s Spider-Man, slightly sinister yet affectionately cartoony, combined with the humour and pathos of Lee’s writing, laid the foundation for the entire Spider-Man saga. Most of Spider-Man’s key villains and supporting characters were introduced during this time. Issue # 1 Mar. 1963 featured the first appearances of J. Jonah Jameson, John Jameson and The Chameleon, as well as Spidey’s first encounter with The Fantastic Four. # 2 May 1963 featured the first appearance of The Vulture, and it was in this issue that Peter began his career with The Daily Bugle.

The Lee/Ditko era continued to usher in a significant number of villains and supporting characters:

Peter began attending Empire State University, in # 31 Dec. 1965, the issue which also featured the first appearances of Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn Harry’s father, Norman Osborn, first appeared in # 23 in Apr. 1965 as a m

ember of J. Joah Jameson's country club but is not named nor revealed as Harry's father until # 37 in Jun. 1966, This issue also introduced Mendel Stromm. Probably the most celebrated issue of the Lee/Ditko run is # 33 Feb. 1966, the third part of the “If This Be My Destiny” arc this issue featured the dramatic scene of Spidey escaping from being pinned by machinery and is still cited by many fans as one of the best Spider-Man stories of all time.

Although cred only as artist for most of his run, Steve Ditko would eventually plot the stories as well as draw them, leaving Stan Lee to script the dialogue some would argue that it was Lee's dialogue that put the heart into Spider-Man and Peter Parker. However, a rift between Ditko and Lee developed, and the two men were not on speaking terms long before Ditko completed his last issue of Amazing Spider-Man # 38 in Jul. 1966. The exact reasons for the Ditko/Lee split have been a source of controversy for forty years. Stan Lee was perhaps so fearful of readership of Amazing Spider-Man decreasing with the departure of Ditko, that he wrote into the first post-Ditko issue two

bombshell plot developments guaranteed to galvanise fans. In # 39 Aug. 1966, the Green Goblin discovers Spider-Man’s secret identity, before revealing his own Norman Osborn to the captive webslinger. This issue was drawn by Steve Ditko’s replacement, John Romita, Sr. Romita’s smoother, more aesthetically-pleasing artwork brought a very different look to Amazing Spider-Man. Romita drew a more mature and confident Peter Parker, and it was Romita’s Spider-Man – more muscular and heroic-looking than Ditko’s – that became the model for two decades. Romita’s background in romance comics was clear in the way he handled drawing the female characters, especially Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy, and although Gwen and Harry Osborn were introduced in the Lee/Ditko era, it was in the Lee/Romita era that they became an important part of the book’s supporting cast. Also, it was the Lee/Romita era that saw the introduction of characters such as Joseph "Robbie" Robertson # 52, Sep. 1967 and Gwen Stacy’s father, Capt. George Stacy # 56, Jan. 1968. The most important supporting character to be introduced during the Romita era was Mary Jane Watson, who made her first full appearance in # 42, Nov. 1966, although she first appeared in the Ditko-era # 25 Jun. 1965 with her face obscured and had been mentioned since #15 Aug. 1964.

Some fans feel that the quality of the stories dropped during the Lee/Romita era 1966-1971, despite the fact that the book became more popular during this time. Lee and Romita toned down the prevalent sense of antagonism Steve Ditko imbued in Peter Parker’s world: by improving Peter’s relationship with the supporting characters, and having stories focusing just as much on the social and college lives of Peter/Gwen/Harry/MJ/Flash Thompson as they did on Spider-Man’s adventures, Lee and Romita gave Amazing Spider-Man a more soap-operatic feel that contributed to the increasing popularity of the book with readers. The stories also became more topical, addressing issues such as civil rights, racism, Prisoners' rights, the Vietnam War, and political elections. Arguably, the most famous issue of the Lee/Romita era was #50 Jun. 1967: the “Spider-Man No More!” story featured the first appearance of The Kingpin, as well as serving as the basis of the movie Spider-Man 2 2004. Other notable first appearances in the Lee/Romita era include The Rhino in # 41 Oct. 1966, The Shocker in # 46 Mar. 1967, Silvermane in # 73 Jun. 1969, The Prowler in # 78 Nov. 1969 and the Kingpin’s son, Richard Fisk, in # 83 Apr. 1970.

The 1970s

Two new Spider-Man titles debuted in the 1970s: Marvel Team-Up in 1972, and The Spectacular Spider-Man in 1976, but Amazing Spider-Man would remain the lead Spider-Man title. The book’s second decade took a grim turn with the # 89-90 arc of Oct.-Nov. 1970, featuring the death of Capt. George Stacy which impacted on the serious relationship that had developed between Gwen Stacy and Peter. This was also the first Spider-Man story to be penciled by Gil Kane, who would alternate drawing duties for the next year and a half with John Romita, and who would draw some of the most memorable Spider-Man stories of all time.

One such story took place in the controversial issues #96-98 May-Jul. 1971. Stan Lee defied the Comics Code Authority with this story, in which the Green Goblin’s son, Harry Osborn, was hospitalized after tripping on LSD. Lee wrote this story as a response to a request from The US Department of Health, Education and Welfare for a story about the dangers of drugs. The Comics Code Authority refused to put their seal on these issues because they depicted drug use despite the anti-drugs context of the story. With the approval of Marvel publisher Martin Goodman, Lee had the comics published without the CCA seal. The comics sold well and Marvel won praise for its socially-conscious efforts. The CCA subsequently loosened the Code to permit negative depictions of drugs, among other new freedoms.

Several issues later, the memorable “Six-Arm Saga” of #100-102 Sep.-Nov. 1971, as well as introducing Morbius, the Living Vampire, was notable in that only the first installment of the story was written by Stan Lee. Roy Thomas scripted the second two parts, and he would continue writing the book for several more months before Stan Lee returned to write #105-110 Feb.-July 1972. Lee then turned writing duties on Amazing Spider-Man over to Gerry Conway. Conway was 19 years old when he became the writer of Amazing Spider-Man, a position he held for a little over three years, from 1972 to 1975. For his first half-year on the title, Conway’s stories were penciled by John Romita the most notable issue of the Conway/Romita run was #113 Oct. 1972, which introduced the gangster Hammerhead. Gil Kane succeeded Romita as regular artist, although Romita would continue inking over Kane’s artwork for a time. The most memorable work of the Conway/Kane/Romita team was # 121-122 Jun-Jul. 1973. The death of Gwen Stacy at the hands of The Green Goblin in The Night Gwen Stacy Died #121 shocked comic book readers: previously, it had been unthinkable to kill off such an important character in such a popular series. Some feel that this story arc ended the Silver Age of Comic Books, and started the era of darker and grittier comics. In any case, the deaths of Gwen in #121 the Goblin in #122 formed a story arc that is widely considered one of the best and most defining the history of Spider-Man. The aftermath of the story also deepened both the characterisation of Mary Jane Watson, and her relationship with Peter Parker.

By late 1973, Gil Kane was succeeded by Ross Andru, the most prolific Spidey artist of the 1970s. Andru’s run on Amazing Spider-Man lasted nearly 60 issues, from 1973 to 1978. The most important issue of the Conway/Andru era was undoubtedly #129 Feb. 1974, which featured the first appearance of The Punisher and The Jackal. The Conway/Andru era of Amazing Spider-Man included other classic issues such as:

Archie Goodwin and Gil Kane produced the title’s 150th issue Nov. 1975 before Len Wein became writer for 2½ years. It was during Wein’s tenure as writer that Harry Osborn and Liz Allen dated and became engaged, J. Jonah Jameson was introduced to his eventual second wife, Marla Madison, and Aunt May suffered a heart attack. Wein’s last story on Amazing was a 5-part arc #176-180, Jan.-May 1978 featuring a third Green Goblin Harry Osborn’s psychiatrist, Bart Hamilton. Marv Wolfman Marvel’s or-in-chief from 1975 to 1976 succeeded Len Wein as writer in mid-1978. In Wolfman’s first issue, # 182 Jul. 1978, Peter Parker proposed marriage to Mary Jane Watson who refused, in the following issue. By October 1978, Keith Pollard replaced Ross Andru as artist. Wolfman and Pollard’s most significant contribution to the Spider-Man mythos was the Black Cat, also known as Felicia Hardy, who first appeared in # 194 July 1979. As a love interest for Spider-Man, the Black Cat would go on to be an important supporting character in the Spider-Man comics for the better part of the next decade – arguably, the first decade to begin with Spider-Man established as a worldwide cultural icon.

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