The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man

Summary

It is impossible to imagine American popular culture without Marvel Comics. For decades, Marvel has published groundbreaking visual narratives that sustain attention on multiple levels: as metaphors for the experience of difference and otherness; as meditations on the fluid nature of identity; and as high-water marks in the artistic tradition of American cartooning, to name a few.

This anthology contains twelve key stories from the first two years of Spider-Man's publication history (from 1962 to 1964). These influential adventures not only transformed the super hero fantasy into an allegory for the pain of adolescence but also brought a new ethical complexity to the genre-by insisting that with great power there must also come great responsibility.

A foreword by Jason Reynolds and scholarly introductions and apparatus by Ben Saunders offer further insight into the enduring significance of The Amazing Spider-Man and classic Marvel comics.

The Penguin Classics black spine paperback features full-colour art throughout.

About the authors

Stan Lee

Stan Lee (1922- 2018) and artist Jack Kirby made comic book history in 1961 with The Fantastic Four #1. Lee oversaw the adventures of many super hero creations for over a decade before handing over the editorial reins at Marvel to others. For the remainder of his long life, he continued to serve as a creative figurehead at Marvel and an ambassador for the comics medium.
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Steve Ditko

Steve Ditko (1927- 2018) was recruited in 1958 to join Stan Lee's Atlas Comics, which was later transformed into Marvel. In 1962, Ditko and Lee brought to life the Amazing Spider-Man, changing the industry forever. Ditko left Marvel in 1966 for Charlton Comics and DC Comics. He returned to
Marvel during the late 1970s and remained there for much of the 1980s.
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