August 1st celebrates Spider-Man Day, the arrival of our favorite web-head on the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15 back in 1962. Today marks the character's 64th birthday!
Previously, we have covered the character as he appears in films produced by Marvel Comics. You can read more about those blogs here, opens a new window.
Like most early comic book superheroes, Spider-man has relatively humble origins. In 1962, Marvel Comics was still a relatively new, independent publisher, having reorganized out of Atlas Comics, and before that Timely Comics. Though many of the original staff remained, 1961 marked the birth of the modern brand, which remains to this day. The particular comic book, Amazing Fantasy, is also a curious item. The title only existed for the one issue, #15, in August 1962, having been previously named Amazing Adult Fantasy prior. The comic up until that point was a collection of short graphic stories, largely written by Stan Lee and penciled by Steve Ditko or Jack Kirby. The title was due for cancellation when Lee and Kirby pitched their final, biggest idea for a character yet: the amazing Spider-man! That final issue proved so popular and successful, Marvel decided to start a whole new publication just for the character, which released properly the following year.
Since 1963, The Amazing Spider-man has been the flagship title of Marvel Comics, one of the most popular comic book series in the world, and catapulted the title character to the top of popularity charts, where he comfortably sits alongside Superman and Batman of DC Comics. With few interruptions, The Amazing Spider-man has been published effectively nonstop since then.
Spider-man was a notable character for numerous reasons. From his inception, Spider-man was the first teenage superhero, a character with an almost juvenile civilian life who struggled with school, romantic attempts, angst, and even getting his first job. Moreso than any superhero before, and possibly since, Spider-man, or rather Peter Parker, was an imminently relatable character for Marvel's audience. Peter, who received his powers from a bite by a radioactive spider, was a nerdy outcast struggling to fit in and find his way through life. The vast majority of Spidey's narrative history revolve around that dynamic, and his struggle between maintaining his life while also being a superhero crime fighter.
Over the years, Spider-man's heroics brought him into conflict with numerous villains. Several of these bad guys are nearly as infamous as he is, and have followed the character into both television and film. Notable villains include his nemesis The Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, The Lizard, Venom, and countless others. Some, like Venom, have formed brief alliances with Spidey, and even got their own comic series, fleshing their characters out. For a brief time, Dr. Octopus even took over as the title character as the Superior Spider-man from issues 700 to 731. Notably, most of Spider-man's villains are themed after animals and reliant on advanced technology or suits of some kind.
In recent years, Spider-man is mostly famous for his numerous cartoons and films featuring the character. We've already discussed that at length in our Marvel Cinematic Retrospective, and he remains hugely popular. In fact, since publication, he's come out with yet another movie, Spider-man: Brand New Day, which released yesterday! You can catch him in theaters right now! No spoilers for that though, and we'll eventually cover him in the return of the Marvel Cinematic Retrospective series.
Feel free to check out these Spider-man related items from your local library! Thwip!
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