Comics:Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1/Further Information

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: Doctor Octopus in #3 (Jul. 1963), The Sandman and Betty Brant in #4 (Sep. 1963), The Lizard in #7 (Nov. 1963), Electro in #9 (Mar. 1964), Mysterio in #13 (Jun. 1964), The Green Goblin in #14 (Jul. 1964), Kraven The Hunter in #15 (Aug. 1964), Ned Leeds in #18 (Nov. 1964), The Scorpion in #20 (Jan. 1965), Spencer Smythe in #25 (Jun. 1965), and Molten Man in #28 (Sep. 1965). #28 also featured Peter Parker’s graduation from high school; 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 #37 in Jun. 1966). 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 the best Spider-Man comic of all time). Although credited only as artist for most of his run, Steve Ditko would eventually plot the stories as well as draw them, leaving Stan Lee to merely fill in the dialogue. 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 devolopments. 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. 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).

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 #100-101 (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:

• 124-125 (Sep.-Oct 1973): first appearance of The Man-Wolf
• 131 (Apr. 1974): the near-marriage of Doctor Octopus and Aunt May
• 134 (Jul. 1974): first appearance of The Tarantula
• 135-137 (Aug.-Oct. 1974): Harry Osborn becomes The Green Goblin for the first time
• 147-149 (Aug. 1975-Oct. 1975): the original Clone Saga, with the first appearance of Spidey’s clone and the death of The Jackal in #149

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 Editor-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, a.k.a. 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.

The 200th issue of Amazing Spider-Man (featuring the return and death of the burglar who killed Spidey’s Uncle Ben) was cover-dated January 1980. Marv Wolfman and Keith Pollard both left Amazing by mid-year. Dennis O'Neil (best-known for his work with Neal Adams for a run on Batman in the 1970s) became writer, and John Romita, Jr. took over as artist. After a largely unmemorable run which lasted a little over a year, O’Neil was succeeded in late 1981 by Roger Stern. Having previously written nearly 20 issues of Spectacular Spider-Man, Stern revitalized the writing on Amazing Spider-Man, after a period of inconsistent quality which characterized the book since the end of Gerry Conway’s run in the mid-70s. During his two years on the title, Stern augmented the backgrounds of long-established Spider-Man villains, but arguably, his most important contribution to the Spider-Man saga was a new villain, The Hobgoblin. Co-created by Stern and John Romita, Jr., the Hobgoblin first appeared in a 2-part arc in #238-239 (Mar.-Apr. 1983). Fans engaged with the mystery of the Hobgoblin’s secret identity, which continued throughout #244-245 and 249-251 (Sep.-Oct.1983 & Feb.-Apr. 1984). Other highlights of the Stern/Romita Jr. run on Amazing included Spidey’s confrontation with The Juggernaut in #229-230 (Jun.-Jul. 1982), and the Brand Corporation arc which included the mutation and death of The Tarantula in #233-236 (Oct. 1982-Jan. 1983). Stern’s most celebrated Spider-Man story is the tear-jerking “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man” in #248 (Jan.1984).

By mid-1984, Roger Stern left Amazing Spider-Man to write West Coast Avengers, and John Romita, Jr. left to concentrate on penciling Uncanny X-Men. Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz took over scripting and penciling duties respectively on Amazing Spider-Man, immediately carrying on with the Hobgoblin arc which Stern and Romita, Jr. created. Frenz's lean, quirky rendition of Spider-Man/Peter Parker was closer to the stylings of original Spidey artist Steve Ditko than most of the post-Ditko artists (who followed the Spidey model of John Romita, Sr.). Jim Owsley, who edited the Spider-Man titles at the time, later remarked that “The DeFalco/Frenz run on AMAZING was the crown jewel, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. Frenz was "passionate" about Spider-Man, verging on fanatical, and nobody knew Spider-Man better than former Spider-editor DeFalco.” DeFalco was also an advocate of Peter Parker marrying Mary Jane Watson – although the event would not occur for several years after his run, DeFalco helped establish the maturation in Peter and Mary Jane’s relationship that laid the foundation for their eventual wedding, in notable issues such as #257 (Oct. 1984), in which Mary Jane tells Peter she knows he’s Spider-Man, and #259 (Dec. 1984), in which Mary Jane reveals to Peter the extent of her troubled childhood (#259-261 also featured the return of The Hobgoblin). Other notable issues of the DeFalco/Frenz era include:

• 252 (May 1984): first appearance of Spider-Man’s black costume, which Spidey would wear almost exclusively for the next four years’ worth of comics
• 253 (Jun. 1984): first appearance of The Rose
• 256 (Sep. 1984): first appearance of The Puma
• 258 (Nov. 1984): Spidey’s black costume is revealed to be a symbiote
• 265 (Jun. 1985): first appearance of Silver Sable
• 269-270 (Oct.-Nov. 1985): Spidey’s epic battle with Firelord
• 275-278 (Apr.-Jul. 1986): Flash Thompson is framed by The Hobgoblin

Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz were both removed from Amazing Spider-Man in 1986 by Jim Owsley, under circumstances which were acrimonious, to say the least (Owsley candidly discussed them in 2002 on website in 2002). A succession of various artists (including Alan Kupperberg, John Romita, Jr. and Alex Saviuk) penciled the book from 1987 to 1988; Jim Owsley wrote the book for the first half of 1987, scripting the 5-part “Gang War” story (#284-288) that DeFalco plotted. Owsley commissioned former Spectacular Spider-Man writer Peter David to script #289 (June 1987), which revealed the late Ned Leeds as being the Hobgoblin (although this was retconned in 1996 by Roger Stern into Ned not being the original Hobgoblin after all). David Michelinie (then best known for a run on Iron Man in the 70s-80s) took over as writer in the next issue, for a story arc in #290-292 (July-Sep. 1987) that led to the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. Issue #298 (Mar. 1988) was the first Spider-Man comic to be drawn by Todd McFarlane, the first regular artist on Amazing Spider-Man since the departure of Ron Frenz. McFarlane revolutionised Spider-Man’s look. His Spider-Man – large-eyed, with wiry, contorted limbs, and “messier” webbing – influenced the way many subsequent artists would draw the character, and made McFarlane himself an industry superstar. Aside from a new look for Spidey, McFarlane’s most significant contribution to the Spider-Man saga was the designs for the character Venom, a wildly popular (if subsequently over-used) villain, created by Michelinie. #299 (Apr. 1988) featured Venom’s first appearance (a last-page cameo) before his first full appearance in #300 (May 1988). #300 also featured Spider-Man reverting back to his original red-and-blue costume. Other notable issues of the Michelinie/McFarlane era include #312 (Feb. 1989), featuring The Green Goblin vs. The Hobgoblin, #315-317 (May-July 1989), with the return of Venom, and #320-325 (Sep. 1989-Nov. 1989), “The Assassin Nation Plot.” After the editorial and creative turmoil that beset Amazing Spider-Man in 1987, the Michelinie/McFarlane team at the tail-end of the 1980s restored a sense of creative consistency and quality to the book – as well as setting the tone for all the Spider-Man books of the next decade.

With a civilian life as a married man, and a re-vamped and re-energised artistic look, the Spider-Man of the 90s was a different superhero than the Spider-Man of the previous three decades. The rise of the comic-book speculation craze of the 90s also impacted on the Spider-Man books. Controversial times lay ahead for Spider-Man, midway through the decade. Following his 1988-1989 run on Amazing Spider-Man, Todd McFarlane left the title to write and draw a new Spidey book, Spider-Man, in 1990. McFarlane’s successor on Amazing Spider-Man was Erik Larsen, who penciled the book from early 1990 to mid 1991. At first, many fans resented the idea of anybody replacing the immensely popular McFarlane. Some objected to Larsen’s “cartoony” style; others labeled him a McFarlane clone. However, Larsen went on to win the readers over, and the book experienced a significant sale increase during his time as artist. Notable issues of the Michelinie/Larsen era include Spidey vs. Venom in #332-333 and 345-347 (May-Jun. 1990 and Mar.-May 1991), the “Return Of The Sinister Six” arc in #334-339 (Jul.-Sep. 1990), and Spidey vs. Doctor Doom in #349-350 (Jul.-Aug. 1991).

After issue #350, Erik Larsen was succeeded by Mark Bagley. Bagley won The 1986 Marvel Tryout Contest, after which he was assigned a number of low-profile penciling jobs, followed by an acclaimed run on New Warriors in 1990. Bagley hit his stride on Amazing Spider-Man, which he penciled from 1991 to 1999, and is considered to be the definitive Spider-Man artist of the 1990s, due in no small part to his rendition of Spider-Man being used extensively for most Spider-Man licensed merchandise of the 1990s onwards. The first notable story arc of the Michelinie/Bagley era on Amazing was the first appearance of a second symbiote nemesis for Spider-Man: the “spawn of Venom,” Carnage, in #361-363 (Apr.-Jun. 1992). #365, commemorating Spidey’s 30th anniversary (Aug. 1992) was a double-sized, hologram-cover issue with the cliffhanger ending of Peter Parker’s parents, long-believed to be dead, showing up alive. It would be close to two years before they were revealed to be imposters, and killed off, in #388 (Apr. 1994). This was David Michelinie’s last issue as writer of Amazing Spider-Man. His 1987-1994 stint gave him the record of having the second-longest run as writer on the title, behind Stan Lee. In retrospect, the David Michelinie era of Amazing Spider-Man was a mixed bag. It undoubtedly contained many highlights, but at the same time, it ushered in and fostered an era characterised by a noticeable proliferation of hype over substance: specifically, too many appearances by Venom (and Carnage), more splashy battles than solid storytelling, and a dearth of multiple-part stories with guest stars/crossovers with other Marvel books. Additionally, the protracted development, and contrived resolution, of the saga of Spider-Man’s parents would also prove to be a harbinger of the controversial "Clone Saga".

With #389, J.M. DeMatteis took over as writer (his previous Spider-Man credits included the controversial Kraven's Last Hunt story arc in 1987, and a 1991-1993 run on The Spectacular Spider-Man). DeMatteis immediately imbued a grim pyschological tone into Amazing Spider-Man, with the conclusion of the “Pursuit” crossover in #389 (May 1994) and the “Shrieking” story arc of #390-393 (Jun.-Sep. 1994). Spider-Man, at this point, was a noticeably darker and more brooding character than he had ever been before (it is possible that the creative team behind the Spider-Man books wanted readers to feel more sympathy for Peter’s recently re-introduced clone, Ben Reilly, than for Peter, so they could more readily accept the idea of Ben replacing Peter as Spider-Man). From October 1994 to June 1996, Amazing stopped running stories exclusive to the title and merely ran installments of multi-part stories that crossed over into all the Spider-Man books. One of the few self-contained stories during this period was #400 (Apr. 1995), which featured the death of Aunt May (although the death was later revealed to have been faked). The Clone Saga culminated with the revelation that the Spider-Man who had appeared in the previous 20 years of comics was a clone of the real Spider-Man (this plot twist was massively unpopular with readers, and was later reversed in the “Revelations” story arc that crossed over the Spider-Man books in Dec. 1996). The Clone Saga tied into a publishing gap after #406 (Oct. 1995), when the title was temporarily replaced by The Amazing Scarlet Spider #1-2 (Nov.-Dec. 1995), featuring Ben Reilly. The series picked up again with #407 (Jan. 1996), with Tom DeFalco returning as the book’s writer (for a run which, by his own admission, did not compare to his 1984-1986 stint). By September 1996, Mark Bagley had completed his 5½-year run as artist on Amazing Spider-Man. A succession of artists (including Ron Garney, Steve Skroce, Joe Bennett and Rafael Kayanan) penciled the book until November 1998, by which time Marvel had decided to bring the curtain down on Amazing Spider-Man and “reboot” the title. The “last” issue of Amazing Spider-Man was #441, cover-dated Nov. 1998.

Marvel began Amazing Spider-Man anew with issue #1 in January 1999. Howard Mackie wrote the first 29 issues; with #30 (Jun. 2001), J. Michael Straczynski took over as writer. In October 2000, John Romita, Jr. had succeeded John Byrne as artist. Issue #58 (Dec. 2003) was the final issue of “Volume 2” of Amazing Spider-Man; the title reverted back to its original numbering for #500 (Dec. 2003). Mike Deodato, Jr. penciled the book from mid-2004 until 2006.