Art of Spider-Man Classic

by Robert Greenberger

Depending upon which generation you are a part of, your definitive image in your head of Spider-Man could be by Steve Ditko, John Romita, Ross Andru, Todd McFarlane or Mark Bagley. In each case, the art reflects the times and tastes of the buying public but also represents artists at the peak of their abilities. This will be demonstrated in the fall’s The Art of Spider-Man Classic, a 240-page landscape-shaped book spotlight the dynamic visuals.

According to lead writer John Rhett Thomas, “I’ve broken down Spider-Man by decade (‘60s through ’00s), plus special chapters for the rogues gallery and the women: Mary Jane Watson/Gwen Stacy /Black Cat.

“What’s not to love about the art of Spider-Man? He’s not only got one of the most iconic looks – not just his original red and blue togs, but the wildly popular black costume from the ’80s – but his lithe, limber frame and arachnid-like abilities allow him to be articulated in arguably the widest range of possibilities in comics. Artists have had the freedom to draw him as a straight-up super-hero or to give him the slightly creepy undertones that a character named after an icky insect ought to have. My favorites are the bad mamma jammas Ditko and Romita Sr. Steve introduced the character in primal fashion, while John Sr. refined him, “grew him up” into manhood. But there’re really so many artists who’ve done (forgive the pun) amazing things with Spidey that it’s almost too many to count: Andru, Romita Jr., McFarlane, Bagley, Deodato, Marcos Martin… How much more room do you have in this article? Because I can go on!”

Spider-Man was blessed with several fathers, beginning with Stan Lee who envisioned the hapless teen turned guilt-ridden hero. His artistic sensibilities recognized early on that his Go To heroic artist, Jack Kirby, wasn’t the right fit for the tone of the story and switched to the moodier and more subtle Steve Ditko. It was Ditko who set the tone for the series, crafting the iconic looks to the characters that continue to populate the Spidey universe.

When he abruptly left Marvel, Spidey was turned over to the slicker but still more naturalistic John Romita, who needed to learn how to amplify his work in the Mighty Marvel manner. But, because so few artists had drawn the character during the first decade, Ditko and Romita burned their images of Spidey into the collective consciousness.

However, Spider-Man’s eventual global success meant an increased demand in output. Romita had to give up the feature given his work as art director and that opened the door to Gil Kane and then Ross Andru to make their mark. Once the wall-crawler was featured in multiple series, starting with Marvel Team-Up and Spectacular Spider-Man in the 1970s followed by countless titles ever since, the door was opened for multiple visual interpretations. Several hewed close to Ditko or Romita, but others brought their own unique style to the hero.

Perhaps the most dramatic reinterpretation of the character came with the arrival of Todd McFarlane, who owed a lot to Ditko’s angularity and athleticism, but still made it his own. Fans certainly noticed, making his debut on Spider-Man a record-setting sales event. And most followed in Todd’s footsteps until the company gave us the Ultimate line. Even though Mark Bagley was no stranger to the hero, he arrived to put a modern day patina on the heroes and villains, friends and foes, and made Ultimate Spider-Man distinctive from the core Marvel Universe titles. That he returned in time to kill his version seemed fitting.

While preparing this column, I contact Rhett for his quote and apparently the timing was just right because he was preparing to reach out and invite me to the party. After my work coauthoring the Spider-Man Vault (finally available for order), this seems like a natural fit and I look forward to making this book something you most definitely want as a part of your library.

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The Art of Spider-Man Classic

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