The Spectacular Spider-Man is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics.
Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, The Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel felt the character could support more than one title. This led the company in 1968 to launch a short-lived magazine, the first to bear the Spectacular name. In 1972, Marvel more successfully launched a second Spider-Man ongoing series, Marvel Team-Up, in which he was paired with other Marvel heroes. A third monthly ongoing series, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, debuted in 1976.
Magazine (1968) The Spectacular Spider-Man was initially a two-issue magazine published by Marvel in 1968, as an experiment in entering the black-and-white comic-magazine market successfully pioneered by Warren Publishing and others. It sold for 35 cents when standard comic books cost 12 cents and Annuals and Giants 25 cents. It represented the first Spider-Man spin-off publication aside from the original series' summer Annuals, begun in 1964.
The first issue (cover-dated July 1968) featured a painted, color cover by men's adventure-magazine artist Harry Rosenbaum, in acrylic paint on illustration board, over layouts by The Amazing Spider-Man artist John Romita Sr. The 52-page black-and-white Spider-Man story, "Lo, This Monster!", was by writer Stan Lee, penciler Romita Sr. and inker Jim Mooney. A 10-page origin story, "In The Beginning!", was by Lee, penciler Larry Lieber and inker Bill Everett.
The feature story was reprinted in color, with some small alterations and bridging material by Gerry Conway, in The Amazing Spider-Man #116–118 (Jan.–March 1973) as "Suddenly...the Smasher!", "The Deadly Designs of the Disruptor!", and "Countdown to Chaos!" (with additional inking by Tony Mortellaro on the latter two). These versions were themselves reprinted in Marvel Tales #95–97 (Sept.-Oct. 1978).
The second and final issue (Nov. 1968) also sported a painted cover and the interior was in color as well. Lee, Romita and Mooney again collaborated on its single story, "The Goblin Lives!", featuring the Green Goblin. A next-issue box at the end promoted the planned contents of the unrealized issue #3, "The Mystery of the TV Terror". A version of the Goblin story, trimmed by 18 pages, was reprinted in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #9 (1973), and portions of the "TV Terror" costume were reused for the costume of the Prowler.
Both issues of the magazine were reprinted in their entirety (albeit reduced to comic size) in the collection Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #7 (), then again in Marvel Epic Collections: The Amazing Spider-Man #4 in 2019. The first issue was reprinted again in 2002 as The Spectacular Spider-Man Facsimile, exactly as it was originally presented.
Volume 1 (1976–1998)
Titled Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man on its December 1976 debut, and shortened to simply The Spectacular Spider-Man with #134 (Jan. 1988), this was the second Amazing Spider-Man monthly comic-book spin-off series, after Marvel Team-Up, which also featured Spider-Man. The monthly title ran 264 issues (including a #−1 issue) and 14 Annuals until November 1998.
The series was launched by writer/editor Gerry Conway and artist Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito. Conway explained the concept and origin of the series:
Buscema drew the title until mid-1978. After Buscema's departure, a succession of artists (including Mike Zeck, Jim Mooney, Ed Hannigan, Marie Severin and Greg LaRocque) penciled the series for approximately five years. Frank Miller, who would later become the artist on Daredevil, first drew the character in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #27.Saffel "Weaving a Broader Web", p. 73: "Frank Miller was the guest penciler for The Spectacular Spider-Man #27, February 1979, written by Bill Mantlo. [The issue's] splash page was the first time Miller's [rendition of] Daredevil appeared in a Marvel story." Scripting initially alternated between Conway and Archie Goodwin until mid-1977, when Bill Mantlo took over. During this era of Spectacular, the stories focused more on Parker's campus life as an undergraduate student/teacher's assistant at Empire State University and giving more attention to his colleagues than to the more long-running supporting characters in Amazing. Mantlo's first run on the title featured frequent appearances by the White Tiger, Marvel's first Hispanic superhero, and the first appearance of the supervillain Carrion. He used the series to wrap up unresolved plot elements from The Champions comic book seriesManning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 101: "Bill Mantlo was the regular scribe of both Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man and The Champions...The Champions had recently been cancelled, and Mantlo decided to tie up a few of the title's loose ends in his other comic." and concluded his first run with a crossover with Fantastic Four #218 (May 1980).Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 113: "In the conclusion to a tale that had begun in the pages of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #42 (May), writer [Bill] Mantlo and artist John Byrne had the latest incarnation of the Frightful Four face off against their Fantastic Four counterparts. In a notable two-part story scripted by Mantlo and published in The Spectacular Spider-Man #39-40 (February–March 1980), Spider-Man was temporarily transformed into "The Spider-Lizard," a rampaging creature akin to Spider-Man's recurring foe Lizard.
Mantlo was succeeded by Roger Stern, who wrote The Spectacular Spider-Man from #43 (June 1980)Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 114: "Writer Roger Stern would begin his long tenure as a Spider-scribe with an impressive run on Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, beginning with this issue illustrated by Mike Zeck." to 61 (December 1981). When Stern departed to write for The Amazing Spider-Man, Mantlo returned to scripting Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man; Mantlo's second tenure at the title lasted until April 1984. Mantlo's second run introduced the superhero duo Cloak and Dagger, created by Mantlo and Hannigan in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #64 (March 1982),DeFalco, Tom "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 207: "Cloak and Dagger's first appearance was written by Bill Mantlo and illustrated by Ed Hannigan. A socially conscious writer, Mantlo used the characters to address the problems of teenage runaways and the dangers of illegal drugs." and included a story arc which took place from issues #73–79 (Dec. 1982 – June 1983), in which Doctor Octopus and the Owl competed for control of the New York underworld. Doctor Octopus almost destroys New York with a nuclear device, and Black Cat is critically injured.Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 133: "Shot and stabbed and at death's door, the Black Cat truly needed her nine lives, but luckily began the long road to recovery thanks to the hard work of local hospital staff." Issue #86 (January 1984) was part of the "Assistant Editors Month" event and featured a story drawn by Fred Hembeck.
Al Milgrom took over scripting as well as art on the title with issue #90 (May 1984) and worked on it through issue #100 (March 1985).Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 147: "In the final issue of Al Milgrom's stint as writer on Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, which had begun with issue #90 (May 1984), Milgrom once again served as both author and artist in a tale that wrapped up the Spider-Man/Black Cat romance." Milgrom imbued the book with a more whimsical tone, for example, pitting Spider-Man against the Spot, a supervillain who was so ridiculous that he gave Spider-Man fits of laughter. Jim Owsley, then-editor of the Spider-Man books, disapproved of this approach and had Milgrom replaced as writer by newcomer Peter David in 1985. David and artist Rich Buckler, said Owsley, had the series "focusing on stories with a serious, 'grown-up' tone and more complex themes". The most notable story arc of the David/Buckler era is "The Death of Jean DeWolff" (#107–110 (Oct. 1985–Jan. 1986)),Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 150: "Revered as one of the finest Spider-Man stories ever told, this four-part saga, written by Peter David and penciled by Rich Buckler, was a decidedly dark tale for the usually lighthearted web-slinger." in which Spider-Man's ally, NYC Police Captain Jean DeWolff – a supporting character in the Spider-Man comics since 1976 – is murdered by the vigilante/serial killer the Sin-Eater. This multi-part story guest-starred Daredevil. The storyline "Kraven's Last Hunt" by writer J.M. DeMatteis and artists Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod crossed over into Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #131 and 132.DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 231: "The six-issue story arc...ran through all the Spider-Man titles for two months."
With issue #134 (Jan. 1988), the "Peter Parker" part of the title was removed and the series became simply The Spectacular Spider-Man. The logo changed from a distinctive design to using the same design as that of The Amazing Spider-Man and the 1968 Spectacular Spider-Man magazine; this logo did not change until issue #218 (Nov. 1994). The logo of Web of Spider-Man was also changed in 1988 to match that of The Amazing Spider-Man, prompting Owsley to later reflect, "Suddenly, the three books that I had worked for years to give unique identities to were homogenized into a blur of Spider Sameness: same logo style, same basic look, indistinguishable from one another." Sal Buscema returned as the regular artist, staying with the title from early 1988 to late 1996; throughout the series' run, Buscema drew over 100 issues, making him by far the series' most frequent contributor.
After his story arc "Return of the Sin-Eater" (#134–136 (Jan.–March 1988)), Peter David was removed as writer. Editor Owsley said editor-in-chief Jim Shooter "disliked Peter's work intensely".Priest, "Ball Game" (requires scrolldown). David, in a 2005 interview, believed, "I was fired off Spider-Man because it was felt at the upper editorial level that a novice comic-book writer shouldn't be handling the adventures of Marvel's flagship character". Former series writer Gerry Conway, who additionally wrote Web of Spider-Man from 1988 to 1990, returned to Spectacular, after which he left both books to become a story editor on the TV series Father Dowling Mysteries. Conway stated in 1991 that "I understand the character a lot better now than I did when I was nineteen. And one of the nice things about the Marvel characters is that you can keep them fresh by changing them just a bit." His 1988–1991 run on Spectacular included such story arcs as the "Lobo Brothers Gang War",DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 238: Created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Sal Buscema, Carlos and Eduardo Lobo possessed the mutant ability to transform into werewolves. and the conflict between Daily Bugle editor Joe Robertson and his former friend, the albino criminal Tombstone. He used his joint duty as Web of Spider-Man writer to tie together storylines in the two separate titles and strengthen the continuity between them. Throughout their run, Conway and Buscema collaborated using the Marvel method, occasionally working out details of the plot over the phone.