The Spectacular Spider-Man
Cover to The Spectacular Spider-Man magazine #1 (July 1968),
painted art by Harry Rosenbaum
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatStandard
GenreSuperhero
Publication date
List
  • magazine:
    July 1968 – November 1968
    (vol. 1):
    December 1976 – December 1987 (as Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man)
    January 1988 – November 1998 (as The Spectacular Spider-Man)
    (vol. 2):
    September 2003 – June 2005
    (vol. 3):
    June 2017 — December 2018 (as Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man)
No. of issues
List
  • magazine: 2
    (vol. 1): 264 (#1–263, plus −1) and 14 Annuals
    (vol. 2): 27
    (vol. 3): 23 (#1–6 and 297–313) and 1 Annual
Creative team
Written by
List
Penciller(s)
List
Inker(s)
List

The Spectacular Spider-Man is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics.

Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, The Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel felt the character could support more than one title. This led the company in 1968 to launch a short-lived magazine, the first to bear the Spectacular name. In 1972, Marvel more successfully launched a second Spider-Man ongoing series, Marvel Team-Up, in which he was paired with other Marvel heroes. A third monthly ongoing series, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, debuted in 1976.

Magazine (1968)

The Spectacular Spider-Man was initially a two-issue magazine published by Marvel in 1968,[1] as an experiment in entering the black-and-white comic-magazine market[2] successfully pioneered by Warren Publishing and others. It sold for 35 cents when standard comic books cost 12 cents and Annuals and Giants 25 cents. It represented the first Spider-Man spin-off publication aside from the original series' summer Annuals, begun in 1964.

The first issue (cover-dated July 1968) featured a painted, color cover by men's adventure-magazine artist Harry Rosenbaum, in acrylic paint on illustration board, over layouts by The Amazing Spider-Man artist John Romita Sr.[3] The 52-page black-and-white Spider-Man story, "Lo, This Monster!", was by writer Stan Lee, penciler Romita Sr. and inker Jim Mooney. A 10-page origin story, "In The Beginning!", was by Lee, penciler Larry Lieber and inker Bill Everett.

The feature story was reprinted in color, with some small alterations and bridging material by Gerry Conway, in The Amazing Spider-Man #116–118 (Jan.–March 1973) as "Suddenly...the Smasher!", "The Deadly Designs of the Disruptor!", and "Countdown to Chaos!" (with additional inking by Tony Mortellaro on the latter two). These versions were themselves reprinted in Marvel Tales #95–97 (Sept.-Oct. 1978).

The second and final issue (Nov. 1968) also sported a painted cover and the interior was in color as well. Lee, Romita and Mooney again collaborated on its single story, "The Goblin Lives!", featuring the Green Goblin. A next-issue box at the end promoted the planned contents of the unrealized issue #3, "The Mystery of the TV Terror". A version of the Goblin story, trimmed by 18 pages, was reprinted in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #9 (1973), and portions of the "TV Terror" costume were reused for the costume of the Prowler.[2]

Both issues of the magazine were reprinted in their entirety (albeit reduced to comic size) in the collection Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #7 (ISBN 0-7851-1636-2), then again in Marvel Epic Collections: The Amazing Spider-Man #4 in 2019. The first issue was reprinted again in 2002 as The Spectacular Spider-Man Facsimile, exactly as it was originally presented.[4]

Volume 1 (1976–98)

Cover of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #1 (December 1976), art by Sal Buscema

Titled Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man on its December 1976 debut, and shortened to simply The Spectacular Spider-Man with #134 (Jan. 1988), this was the second Amazing Spider-Man monthly comic-book spin-off series, after Marvel Team-Up, which also featured Spider-Man. The monthly title ran 264 issues (including a #−1 issue) and 14 Annuals until November 1998.[5]

The series was launched by writer/editor Gerry Conway and artist Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito.[6][7] Conway explained the concept and origin of the series:

[Spectacular Spider-Man] was in response to the fact that I had a deal to script several ongoing [series] for Marvel at the time. Stan [Lee] wanted me back on Spider-Man, in particular, but I didn't want to take Amazing Spider-Man from Len Wein, who was by this time the regular writer, so Stan saw it as an opportunity to launch a second Spider-Man title, which was something he'd wanted to do for a while. ... the full, original title was "Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man." The notion was we'd focus more on the supporting characters and Peter's social life, but before we could really develop that I left Marvel again, not long after that.[8]

Buscema drew the title until mid-1978. After Buscema's departure, a succession of artists (including Mike Zeck, Jim Mooney, Ed Hannigan, Marie Severin and Greg LaRocque) penciled the series for approximately five years. Frank Miller, who would later become the artist on Daredevil, first drew the character in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #27.[9] Scripting initially alternated between Conway and Archie Goodwin until mid-1977, when Bill Mantlo took over. During this era of Spectacular, the stories focused more on Parker's campus life as an undergraduate student/teacher's assistant at Empire State University and giving more attention to his colleagues than to the more long-running supporting characters in Amazing. Mantlo's first run on the title featured frequent appearances by the White Tiger, Marvel's first Hispanic superhero,[10] and the first appearance of the supervillain Carrion. He used the series to wrap up unresolved plot elements from The Champions comic book series[11] and concluded his first run with a crossover with Fantastic Four #218 (May 1980).[12][13][14] Mantlo was succeeded by Roger Stern, who wrote for the title from #43 (June 1980)[15] to 61 (December 1981). When Stern departed to write for The Amazing Spider-Man, Mantlo returned to scripting Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man; Mantlo's second tenure at the title lasted until April 1984. Mantlo's second run introduced the superhero duo Cloak and Dagger, created by Mantlo and Hannigan in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #64 (March 1982),[16] and included a story arc which took place from issues #73–79 (Dec. 1982 – June 1983), in which Doctor Octopus and the Owl competed for control of the New York underworld, Octopus almost destroys New York with a nuclear device and the Black Cat is critically injured.[17] Issue #86 (January 1984) was part of the "Assistant Editors Month" event and featured a story drawn by Fred Hembeck.[18]

Al Milgrom took over scripting as well as art on the title with issue #90 (May 1984) and worked on it through issue #100 (March 1985).[19] Milgrom imbued the book with a more whimsical tone, for example, pitting Spider-Man against the Spot, a supervillain who was so ridiculous that he gave Spider-Man fits of laughter. Jim Owsley, then-editor of the Spider-Man books, disapproved of this approach and had Milgrom replaced as writer by newcomer Peter David in 1985. David and artist Rich Buckler, said Owsley, had the series "focusing on stories with a serious, 'grown-up' tone and more complex themes".[20] The most notable story arc of the David/Buckler era is "The Death of Jean DeWolff" (#107–110 (Oct. 1985–Jan. 1986)),[21] in which Spider-Man's ally, NYC Police Captain Jean DeWolff – a supporting character in the Spider-Man comics since 1976 – is murdered by the vigilante/serial killer the Sin-Eater. This multi-part story guest-starred Daredevil. The storyline "Fearful Symmetry: Kraven's Last Hunt" by writer J.M. DeMatteis and artists Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod crossed over into Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #131 and 132.[22]

With issue #134 (Jan. 1988), the "Peter Parker" part of the title was removed and the series became simply The Spectacular Spider-Man. The logo changed from a distinctive design to using the same design as that of The Amazing Spider-Man and the 1968 Spectacular Spider-Man magazine; this logo did not change until issue #218 (Nov. 1994). Sal Buscema returned as the regular artist, staying with the title from early 1988 to late 1996; throughout the series' run, Buscema drew over 100 issues, making him by far the series' most frequent contributor.[23]

After his story arc "Return of the Sin-Eater" (#134–136 (Jan.–March 1988)), Peter David was removed as writer. Editor Owsley said editor-in-chief Jim Shooter "disliked Peter's work intensely".[24] David, in a 2005 interview, believed, "I was fired off Spider-Man because it was felt at the upper editorial level that a novice comic-book writer shouldn't be handling the adventures of Marvel's flagship character".[25] Former series writer Gerry Conway, who additionally wrote Web of Spider-Man from 1988 to 1990, returned to Spectacular, after which he left both books to become a story editor on the TV series Father Dowling Mysteries. Conway stated in 1991 that "I understand the character a lot better now than I did when I was nineteen. And one of the nice things about the Marvel characters is that you can keep them fresh by changing them just a bit."[26] His 1988–1991 run on Spectacular included such story arcs as the "Lobo Brothers Gang War",[27] and the conflict between Daily Bugle editor Joe Robertson and his former friend, the albino criminal Tombstone. He used his joint duty as Web of Spider-Man writer to tie together storylines in the two separate titles and strengthen the continuity between them.[28] Throughout their run, Conway and Buscema collaborated using the Marvel method, occasionally working out details of the plot over the phone.[28]

J. M. DeMatteis became the regular writer in mid-1991, injecting a grim, psychological tone into the series. DeMatteis began his run with the story arc "The Child Within" (#178–184 (July 1991–Jan. 1992)), featuring the return of the Harry Osborn version of the Green Goblin. As written by DeMatteis, Harry sank further into insanity and gained the same super-strength possessed by his father, battling Spider-Man again in #189 (June 1992), before being killed in #200 (May 1993).[29] In an undated 2000s interview, DeMatteis said, "I really loved the two years on Spectacular Spider-Man that I wrote with Sal Buscema drawing. Talk about underrated! Sal is one of the best storytellers and a wonderful collaborator. I loved that run."[30] During this period, Spider-Man editor Danny Fingeroth would hold conferences in New York with all the Spider-Man creative staff, allowing them to brainstorm ideas and discuss future storylines.[28]

DeMatteis left the book in mid-1993 to write The Amazing Spider-Man. Steven Grant had a brief run before the book was set adrift with a succession of fill-in issues which ran through late 1994, when former Amazing Spider-Man writer Tom DeFalco took over. By this time, all the Spider-books were being affected by the controversial "Clone Saga" that culminated with Spectacular Spider-Man #226 (July 1995), and Fingeroth convinced DeFalco that the series needed a regular writer to help guide the crossover story.[28] This story revealed (though it was later reversed) that the Spider-Man who had appeared in the previous 20 years of comics was a clone of the real Spider-Man. This tied into a publishing gap after #229 (Oct. 1995), when the title was temporarily replaced by The Spectacular Scarlet Spider #1–2 (Nov.–Dec. 1995), featuring the "original" Peter Parker. The series picked up again with #230 (Jan. 1996). Initially newcomer Todd Dezago wrote the scripts for DeFalco's plots, since DeFalco was already writing two other series and wanted to groom DeZago to be the long-term writer on Spectacular Spider-Man.[28]

Todd Dezago then wrote for a year before DeMatteis returned through May 1998. DeMatteis later commented, "We did some nice stories, like the one about Flash Thompson's childhood. But, in general, I don't hold that last run...very dear to my heart."[28] Luke Ross succeeded Sal Buscema as the artist and remained until the series ended, but there was no regular writer for the last half-year with Glenn Greenberg, Roger Stern, John Byrne and Howard Mackie all contributing during this time. The final issue was #263 (Nov. 1998).

Volume 2 (2003–05)

Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) titled without the definite article "The", is a 27-issue monthly series published from September 2003 to June 2005.[31] Each issue was written by Paul Jenkins[32] (except #23–26, by Samm Barnes). The book's primary pencillers were Humberto Ramos and Mark Buckingham.

The comic included the storyline Spider-Man: Disassembled in which Spider-Man met a new enemy called the Queen who wanted him as her mate. Her kiss caused him to slowly mutate into a giant spider who metamorphosed into human form with enhanced strength and agility, along with organic webbing and a psychic link with insects and arachnids.

This comic also included the sequel to "Sins Past", "Sins Remembered", in which Peter went to Paris to meet Sarah Stacy and resolved the issues between them.

Spectacular Spider-Man Adventures

Spectacular Spider-Man Adventures was a title published by Panini Comics in the United Kingdom from November 1995 to September 2005, although the Adventures portion of the title was often dropped from the cover page. It featured a mix of reprinted American material, as well as originally produced British material, including a guest appearance from Captain Britain.[33] Spectacular was aimed at a younger audience than Panini's other Spider-Man reprint title Astonishing Spider-Man, and was loosely based on the continuity of the 1990s animated series[citation needed].

Volume 3 (2017–18)

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 3) was published from June 2017 to December 2018. After the first six issues, the series reverted to legacy numbering with issue #297 as part of the line-wide Marvel Legacy relaunch. The series' original creative team had Chip Zdarsky as writer, with Adam Kubert providing the artwork.[34] Notable recurring characters included Teresa Durand, J. Jonah Jameson, Johnny Storm, and original character Rebecca London.

Various issues, as well as the one Annual, were illustrated by guest artists; Kubert's final issue as artist was #307, excluding covers. Zdarsky left the series with issue #310. The series ended with issue #313, the final three issues being a tie-in to the Spider-Geddon crossover event written by Sean Ryan.

The Spectacular Spider-Men

The Spectacular Spider-Men is a currently ongoing series that was published beginning March 2024. The series is written by Greg Weisman (who also created The Spectacular Spider-Man television series) with Ramos returning for art. The Spectacular Spider-Men stars both versions of Spider-Man (Peter Parker and Miles Morales) and focuses on the relationship between the two Spider-Men.[35][36] The series' supporting cast featured characters who previously appeared the television series and Weisman's Starbrand & Nightmask comic series, including Kenny Kong, Shelly Conklin, Cedric Harrison, Sha Shan Nguyen, and Professor Raymond Warren.[37][38]

Collected editions

See also

References

  1. ^ The Spectacular Spider-Man (magazine)' at the Grand Comics Database
  2. ^ a b Saffel, Steve (2007). "A Not-So-Spectacular Experiment". Spider-Man the Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon. London, United Kingdom: Titan Books. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-84576-324-4.
  3. ^ "John Romita Sr. and Harry Rosenbaum – The Spectacular Spider-Man #1 Cover Original Art (Marvel, 1968)". Heritage Auctions. July 29, 2004. Archived from the original on January 30, 2012.
  4. ^ Lee, Stan; Romita, John Sr. (March 2002). The Spectacular Spider-Man Facsimile. Marvel Comics. p. 64. ISBN 978-0785108320.
  5. ^ The Spectacular Spider-Man at the Grand Comics Database
  6. ^ David, Peter; Greenberger, Robert (2010). The Spider-Man Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles Spun from Marvel's Web. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0762437726.
  7. ^ Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1970s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 177. ISBN 978-0756641238. Spider-Man already starred in two monthly series: The Amazing Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up. Now Marvel added a third, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, initially written by Gerry Conway with art by Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito. ((cite book)): |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Williams, Scott E. (October 2010). "Gerry Conway: Everything but the Gwen Stacy Sink". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (#44): 16.
  9. ^ Saffel "Weaving a Broader Web", p. 73: "Frank Miller was the guest penciler for The Spectacular Spider-Man #27, February 1979, written by Bill Mantlo. [The issue's] splash page was the first time Miller's [rendition of] Daredevil appeared in a Marvel story."
  10. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "1970s". Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 96. ISBN 978-0756692360. Hector Ayala, aka the White Tiger, had already made history as Marvel Comics' first Hispanic super hero. In [Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #9's] tale, by writer Bill Mantlo and penciler Sal Buscema, he would join Spider-Man's cast of recurring characters in both his identities. ((cite book)): |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 101: "Bill Mantlo was the regular scribe of both Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man and The Champions...The Champions had recently been cancelled, and Mantlo decided to tie up a few of the title's loose ends in his other comic."
  12. ^ Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 113: "In the conclusion to a tale that had begun in the pages of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #42 (May), writer [Bill] Mantlo and artist John Byrne had the latest incarnation of the Frightful Four face off against their Fantastic Four counterparts.
  13. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Zeck, Mike (p), Mooney, Jim (i). "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death!" Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, no. 42 (May 1980).
  14. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Byrne, John (p), Sinnott, Joe (i). "When A Spider-Man Comes Calling!" Fantastic Four, no. 218 (May 1980).
  15. ^ Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 114: "Writer Roger Stern would begin his long tenure as a Spider-scribe with an impressive run on Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, beginning with this issue illustrated by Mike Zeck."
  16. ^ DeFalco, Tom "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 207: "Cloak and Dagger's first appearance was written by Bill Mantlo and illustrated by Ed Hannigan. A socially conscious writer, Mantlo used the characters to address the problems of teenage runaways and the dangers of illegal drugs."
  17. ^ Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 133: "Shot and stabbed and at death's door, the Black Cat truly needed her nine lives, but luckily began the long road to recovery thanks to the hard work of local hospital staff."
  18. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Hembeck, Fred; Milgrom, Al (p), Milgrom, Al; Albelo, Joe; Mooney, Jim (i). "Bugs!" Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, no. 86 (January 1984).
  19. ^ Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 147: "In the final issue of Al Milgrom's stint as writer on Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, which had begun with issue #90 (May 1984), Milgrom once again served as both author and artist in a tale that wrapped up the Spider-Man/Black Cat romance."
  20. ^ Priest, Christopher J. (James Owsley) (May 2002). "Adventures in the Funny Book Game: Chapter Two Oswald: Why I Never Discuss Spider-Man". Digital-Priest.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012.
  21. ^ Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 150: "Revered as one of the finest Spider-Man stories ever told, this four-part saga, written by Peter David and penciled by Rich Buckler, was a decidedly dark tale for the usually lighthearted web-slinger."
  22. ^ DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 231: "The six-issue story arc...ran through all the Spider-Man titles for two months."
  23. ^ Amash, Jim (2010). Sal Buscema: Comics' Fast & Furious Artist. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 68–71. ISBN 978-1605490212.
  24. ^ Priest, "Ball Game" (requires scrolldown).
  25. ^ Douglas, Brad, ed. (October 9, 2005). "Peter David interview". Spider-ManCrawlSpace.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011.
  26. ^ Daniels, Les (1991). Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics. New York, New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 222. ISBN 9780810938212.
  27. ^ DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 238: Created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Sal Buscema, Carlos and Eduardo Lobo possessed the mutant ability to transform into werewolves.
  28. ^ a b c d e f Aushenker, Michael (October 2010). "Not Amazing, but Spectacular". Back Issue!. TwoMorrows Publishing (#44): 53–62.
  29. ^ Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 263: "The 200th issue of The Spectacular Spider-Man, written by J. M. DeMatteis and with art by Sal Buscema, featured the shocking death of Spider-Man's close friend, Harry Osborn."
  30. ^ Epstein, Dan (June 24, 2002). "Interview: J.M. DeMatteis". SlushFactory.com. p. 3. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005.
  31. ^ Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 2' at the Grand Comics Database
  32. ^ Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 316: "With Peter Parker: Spider-Man coming to a close in August [2003], writer Paul Jenkins once again took up his seat behind the computer to document Spider-Man's life."
  33. ^ Lowrey, Nigel (August 2008). "The Saga of Captain Britain". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (29): 35–43.
  34. ^ Stevens, Tim (February 15, 2017). "Spider-Man Goes Spectacular". Marvel.com. Marvel Comics. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  35. ^ "'Spectacular Spider-Men' Proves Two Webheads Are Better Than One". www.marvel.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  36. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (November 14, 2023). "The Spectacular Spider-Men: Marvel Comics Reveals New Series From Greg Weisman". IGN. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  37. ^ Corley, Shaun (March 6, 2024). "Spectacular Spider-Men #1 Begins a Joyous New Era of Peter & Miles' Relationship (Review)". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  38. ^ Brooke, David (March 6, 2024). "'Spectacular Spider-Men' #1 is a visual feast for the eyes". AIPT. Retrieved March 7, 2024.

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