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Marvel Comics Library. Spider-Man. Vol. 1. 1962–1964
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 co-creator and artist Steve Ditko, who had a knack for portraying teenagers and their problems. His artwork infused Spider-Man with loose-limbed energy, and, while maybe everyone was scared of spiders, Ditko made swinging through New York seem like the coolest adventure ever.
This XXL-sized collector’s dream, close in size to the original artworks, 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 of a world-class 1960s printing press. Three different paper stocks, including an uncoated and woodfree paper, were exclusively developed for this series to simulate the feel of the original comics.
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, these 698 pages of wall-crawling wonder will make anyone’s spider-sense tingle with anticipation.
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 co-creator and artist Steve Ditko, who had a knack for portraying teenagers and their problems. His artwork infused Spider-Man with loose-limbed energy, and, while maybe everyone was scared of spiders, Ditko made swinging through New York seem like the coolest adventure ever.
This XXL-sized collector’s dream, close in size to the original artworks, 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 of a world-class 1960s printing press. Three different paper stocks, including an uncoated and woodfree paper, were exclusively developed for this series to simulate the feel of the original comics.
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, these 698 pages of wall-crawling wonder will make anyone’s spider-sense tingle with anticipation.
698 pages, Hardcover
First published December 28, 2021
7 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Ralph Macchio
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For the Karate Kid actor, click here:
Ralph Macchio
Ralph Macchio is an American comic book editor and writer, who has held many positions at Marvel Comics, including executive editor. Macchio is commonly associated with Daredevil, the Spider-Man line of comics and the popular Ultimate Marvel line. In Macchio's words, he "made probably the longest run on Daredevil of anyone."
Macchio is not related to the actor Ralph Macchio, but is nicknamed "Karate Kid" after that actor's famous role.
Ralph Macchio is an American comic book editor and writer, who has held many positions at Marvel Comics, including executive editor. Macchio is commonly associated with Daredevil, the Spider-Man line of comics and the popular Ultimate Marvel line. In Macchio's words, he "made probably the longest run on Daredevil of anyone."
Macchio is not related to the actor Ralph Macchio, but is nicknamed "Karate Kid" after that actor's famous role.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 29, 2023
This is the most beautiful and lovingly compiled collection of the first twenty issues of The Amazing Spider-Man as well as his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15. Excellent essays and historical information. Although pricey, it's a massive book (not kidding, it's MASSIVE) well-worth the investment if you are a Spider-Man fan and a Stan Lee / Steve Ditko fan.
Above all, one of my favorite features of this compilation is that the pages from the actual comic books are scanned in all their high-resolution glory including the advertisements. So, unlike Marvel Masterworks compilations of these issues which were recolored and without the ads, you get to read the entire comic books in this compilation as they originally were published with the ads and the color dots and the printing errors and all. They're glorious! The covers are on glossy paper and the interior pages are on a heavy-duty newsprint. I can't say enough about this book. Magnificent job, Taschen!
Above all, one of my favorite features of this compilation is that the pages from the actual comic books are scanned in all their high-resolution glory including the advertisements. So, unlike Marvel Masterworks compilations of these issues which were recolored and without the ads, you get to read the entire comic books in this compilation as they originally were published with the ads and the color dots and the printing errors and all. They're glorious! The covers are on glossy paper and the interior pages are on a heavy-duty newsprint. I can't say enough about this book. Magnificent job, Taschen!
February 24, 2024
The first 19 issues of Spider-Man and the First Annual in a giant format, and in a presentation that mimics the original comics with reproductions of some ads and the letter pages/house ads. Maybe not the easiest format to read, and it's not an exact reproduction of the original pages because it is still recolored, but I think this is a much better presentation of the material than the typical marvel trade/omnibus edition. As for the comics-a lot of comics take a while to get their footing, but spider-man is mostly what we think of spider-man nearly from the beginning, the angst, the soap opera, the quips and notable villains are all here. Stan Lee's scripting is a little repetitive so i didn't race through this book, but I still enjoyed my time with it. Read Annual #1 this morning and it's still an absolute banger!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews