The Amazing Spider-Man (comic strip)
| The Amazing Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | ghost writer) |
| Illustrator(s) | John Romita Sr. (1977–1981) Fred Kida (1981–1986) Larry Lieber (1986–2018) Alex Saviuk (2018–2019) |
| Current status/schedule | Ended |
| Launch date | January 3, 1977 |
| End date | March 23, 2019 |
| Syndicate(s) | Register and Tribune Syndicate (1977–1985) Cowles Media Company (1986) King Features Syndicate (1987–2019) |
| Publisher(s) | Marvel Comics |
| Genre(s) | Superhero |
The Amazing Spider-Man is a daily comic strip featuring the character Spider-Man which has been syndicated for more than 40 years.[1] It is a dramatic, soap opera-style strip with story arcs which typically run for 8 to 12 weeks. While the strip uses many of the same characters as the Spider-Man comic book, the storylines are nearly all originals and do not share the same continuity. A consistently popular strip, new material was published from 1977 to 2019, with the strip going into reruns afterwards.
History
A Spider-Man comic strip was first proposed in 1970. Two weeks' worth of strips were written by Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee and illustrated by John Romita Sr., but the series was never picked up.[2] These strips later saw publication of a sort in the program for the 1975 Mighty Marvel Comic Convention.[3]
Years later Spider-Man publisher
Stan Lee's brother,
Story arcs in the newspaper strip have varied in length (one storyline ran for seven months), but most last eight to 12 weeks. While the strip mostly features the same characters as the comic book, the storylines were nearly all originals and did not share the same
Guest stars in the newspaper strip have included
Following the death of Stan Lee in November 2018, the strip continued to be published with his name still credited. (Long-time Marvel comics writer Roy Thomas had been plotting and/or ghost writing the strip under Lee's supervision since 2000.)[7] In March 2019 it was announced the strip would be undergoing creative changes; ostensibly, new content was "temporarily" being put on hold, to be replaced with reprints of previous adventures. Saviuk and Thomas both announced their departures from the strip, and no announcement was made about any new writer or artist taking over the production of new material.[8]
On March 23, 2019, the final original newspaper Amazing Spider-Man strip was published. All subsequently published strips have been reprints. Distribution of the reprints ended on October 21, 2023, replaced by a revival of Flash Gordon.[9]
Reprints
Pocket Books released two paperbacks reprinting stories from the strip, with color added, in 1980.[3]
In 1991, the story arc "The Wedding!" was reprinted in a trade paperback which also includes the comic book version of the story.[3]
Panini Publishing UK published The Daily Adventures of the Amazing Spider-Man in the United Kingdom in 2007. The black-and-white trade paperback collection reprints the first two years of the newspaper strip.[10]
Marvel has published two hardcover volumes of newspaper strips, reprinting stories from 1977-1980. The first, Spider-Man Newspaper Strips Volume 1, was published in 2009, reprinting stories by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr.[3] Spider-Man Newspaper Strips Volume 2 was published in 2011, reprinting stories by Lee, Romita, and Larry Lieber.[11] In 2014, both volumes were published in softcover editions.
Starting in 2015, Marvel and IDW Publishing began co-publishing hardcover reprints from the strip's beginning in a series called The Amazing Spider-Man: The Ultimate Newspaper Comics Collection, published by the IDW imprint, The Library of American Comics. Each volume (1-5) is subtitled for the years covered in the individual book.
The comic strip world is designated as its own universe within Marvel's multiverse, Earth-77013, and is featured in the "Spider-Verse" comic storyline.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Cronin, Brian. "See You in the Funnies: Comic Books That Became Newspaper Strips," Comic Book Resources(Mar 19, 2017).
- ^ a b c d Cassell, Dewey (October 2010). "One Day at a Time: The Amazing Spider-Man Newspaper Strips". Back Issue! (44). TwoMorrows Publishing: 63–67.
- ^ a b c d Cassell, Dewey (October 2010). "A Collector's Challenge - Finding the Strips". Back Issue! (44). TwoMorrows Publishing: 67.
- ISBN 978-1-84576-324-4.
On Monday January 3, 1977, The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip made its debut in newspapers nationwide, reuniting writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita.
- ^ Keefe, Jim; Mietus, John (n.d.). "Interview: John Romita". Keefe Studios. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0756692360.
- Johnston, Rich (March 23, 2019). "The Last Spider-Man Newspaper Strip Runs Today – Its Writer, Roy Thomas Looks Back". Bleeding Cool(March 23, 2019).
- ^ Degg, D.D. (March 18, 2019). "THE FUTURE OF THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN COMIC STRIP – UPDATED WITH JOE SINNOTT AND MIKE KELLY REMARKS". The Daily Cartoonist.
- ^ Cavna, Michael (October 20, 2023). "Flash Gordon, American icon, returns to comics after a 20-year break". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1905239320.
- ISBN 9780785149422.
- ^ Slott, Dan (w), Grummett, Tom (p), Palmer, Tom (i). Spider-Verse, no. 1 (January 2015).
External links
- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN at Comics Kingdom
- Bails, Jerry; Ware, Hames. "Lieber, Larry". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
