When Stan Lee first pitched the idea of Spider-Man in 1962 his boss was full of objections:
People hate spiders. Teenagers aren't lead characters they're sidekicks. He should be
glamorous and successful not a friendless loser. But Stan persisted and Martin Goodman let him
give the unlikely hero a tryout in Amazing Fantasy which was already slated for cancellation.
With Spider-Man on the cover No. 15 shot to the top of Marvel's best-seller list for the year
and the rest is history.Amazing Spider-Man which debuted seven months later broke the comics
mold. Peter Parker lived in uncool Queens was always broke continually worried about his Aunt
May was unlucky in love and was constantly getting yelled at by his boss Daily Bugle
publisher J. Jonah Jameson. Spider-Man had the quips and confidence that Parker lacked but
learning to use his powers wasn't always easy. He often seemed on the verge of defeat against
the rogue's gallery of classic foes that debuted in the first couple of years: Vulture Doctor
Octopus Sandman Lizard Electro Kraven the Hunter Mysterio and the Green Goblin. Much of
the credit for Spider-Man's greatness goes to cocreator and artist Steve Ditko who had a knack
for portraying teenagers and their problems. His artwork infused Spider-Man with a loose-limbed
energy and while maybe everyone was scared of spiders Ditko made swinging through New York
seem like the coolest adventure ever.First available as an XXL-sized collector's dream close
in size to the original artworks this compact edition features the first 21 stories of the
world's favorite web slinger from 1962?1964. Rather than recolor the original artwork (as has
been done in previous decades' reprints of classic comics) TASCHEN has attempted to create an
ideal representation of these books as they were produced at the time of publication. The most
pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close
collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed
as printed more than half a century ago then digitally remastered using modern retouching
techniques to correct problems with the era's inexpensive imperfect printing?as if hot off a
world-class 1960s printing press.With an in-depth historical essay by Marvel editor Ralph
Macchio an introduction by uber-collector David Mandel and original art rare photographs
and other gems this robust collection of wall-crawling wonder will make anyone's spider-sense
tingle with anticipation.(c) 2024 MARVEL
