Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Steve Ditko
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Collecting Amazing Fantasy #15 and Amazing Spider-Man #1-#10
With interest in Spider-Man at a new high over the past few years, it’s as good a time as any to take a fresh look at his first ever appearances in the pages of Amazing Fantasy and Amazing Spider-Man, but what needs to be said about the comic book debut of possibly the greatest superhero character ever created? We’ve all heard creaky Stan Lee re-tell the story of Spidey’s creation so many times that it almost devalues the character’s origins, beginning to sound like the ramblings of a beloved uncle. We humour old Stan, sure, but we’re not convinced that he’s really with it any more. One look at this book, however, should be enough to convince you that this was a moment in time when Lee really did have a handle on what made his readers tick, and was a man at the peak of his craft: and did enough to ensure that the creation of Spider-Man would go down as one of the most important points in comic book history.
If you can overlook the breeziness of 60s comics and the lightness of Silver Age writing which was all but lost after the grim and gritty 80s, you’re guaranteed to lose yourself in the pages of this collection. The issues can now almost be read as much as historical document as good comic book yarns, but if you try to approach them from a fresh perspective (impossible, but necessary) then you’ll get an unexpected amount of sheer, unpretentious, simple joy out of them. With all the baggage that has accumulated around the character over the years it’s quite refreshing to see Spidey reduced to his core components, and to appreciate just how fully-realised the character was from his first few appearances. Case in point: it’s quite fashionable to cite the moment of Gwen Stacy’s death as the moment when Spider-Man went "dark," but a quick glance at even his first appearance – the self-doubt, the school bullying, the “revenge of the nerd” which goes so horribly wrong, culminating in the murder of Uncle Ben - will tell you that those grim undertones were there from the very beginning. Although the weight of “power and responsibility” is often accepted as the drive for the character of Peter Parker, I’ve always felt that it’s more simple than that: Spider-Man is driven by guilt. The neuroses which plague so many young people throughout their teens and beyond are really brought to life in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man’s first tentative issues, and even if they’re in a much more simplified, primitive form than the kind of expressiveness and subtlety we expect from modern comic books, there’s something to be said for these issues’ efficient, simple charm.
Whilst Stan Lee is always lauded as the genius creative talent behind the characters, artist Steve Ditko is often overlooked – and his visuals contribute as much to the weird and wonderful nature of the character as Stan’s words. Anyone who thought that Todd McFarlane had the monopoly on twisting Spidey into weird, gangly poses would do well to take a look at some of this early work, which characterizes the hero as much through his awkward body language as through his costume or dialogue. To my mind, Ditko’s rendition of Spidey is the definitive Spider-Man, and although John Romita went on to great success with his softer, more romantic look for the cast, Ditko’s original take captures some quintessential essence that was lost after his departure. These first 11 issues are great showcases for his work, and for the new “marvel way” of storytelling which made such an impact on the comics scene in the 60s.
There are too many classic moments in even these first issues to list them all: the first appearances of favourite characters like Flash Thompson, Liz Allen, J. Jonah Jameson and Aunt May show the characters to be thoughtfully-conceived creations with far more than one dimension, who are fresher and more fun to read about in these first issues than in any of their current modern incarnations. We also see the debuts of a cavalcade of villains, whether it’s the terrible Lizard, the daunting Sandman, and unstoppable Dr. Octopus, the Vulture, Electro, the Tinkerer… the list is endless, and just goes to show what a rich seam of imaginative talent was being mined at the time these early issues were written. Guest-appearances by the nascent Fantastic Four and Dr. Doom show the first inklings of what was to become the Marvel Universe, and every issue is rich with the spirit of Marvel comics as a true house of ideas. Some of the writing might be old-fashioned or faintly ridiculous by today’s standards (the constant Stan Lee alliteration and self-aggrandisement on the issues’ opening pages is simultaneously joy-inducing and cringe-worthy, some of the characters are way too cartoonish to be taken seriously –the “Living Brain”?! - and the plotting is hardly the most complex, sophisticated or unpredictable), but these facets of the title’s storytelling are so of-their-time that it’s impossible not to overlook them in favour of the core greatness which can be found within each self-contained story.
It’s also a real treat to have these issues reprinted in full colour, as the psychedelic colours and stark, sometimes abstract visuals really pop from the page in a way that you just don’t get with the black-and-white “Marvel Essentials.” There’s still a place in the market for those more affordable reprints, but these colour issues are a great luxury to have. But as showy as the visuals are, one thing which really comes across when rereading these issues is the naked showmanship of Stan Lee. He wasn’t out to make these books into fine art, or redefine storytelling technique: he set out to create the most entertaining, imaginative and fun tales that he could, and coupling these values to the eminently relatable down-at-heel characters that are Spidey and his loved ones was the masterstroke which made his stories so accessible.
You don’t need me to hammer this point home, but I’m going to say it anyway: these issues are essential, genre-defining pieces of art which have stood the test of time well enough that they can be read and enjoyed today without resorting to the justification of irony or camp kitsch appeal. They’re required reading for any comics fan, and owning them in this lush colour hardcover format is the icing on the cake. You’ll treasure and reread these issues, and if you don’t have them, you have to get hold of them. It’s that simple.
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