tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post8499107239870314228..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: BAB Book Review: Spider-Man Newspaper Strips, Volume 1Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-34092841207122654852012-11-14T08:30:11.606-06:002012-11-14T08:30:11.606-06:00Okay, here it is, although it's an oversized t...Okay, here it is, although it's an oversized trade paperback rather than a hardcover; forgive my faulty memory. Stan Lee's THE BEST OF SPIDER-MAN (Ballantine Books, 1986) contains "Spidey and Me," an introductory essay that details their "friendship" over the years, and the following eight newspaper tales, all in b&w except as noted:<br /> <br />"Along Came a Spider" (Romita; 10/3-29/77)<br />"Arms and the Madman" (Romita; 2/28-5/8/77)<br />"Captured by the Kingpin" (Romita; 7/18-10/2/77)<br />"The Imposter Must Die" (Floro Dery; color Sunday strips only; 4/22-8/12/84)<br />"He Prowls by Night" (Romita; 10/8-12/23/79)<br />"Requiem for a Superhero" (Romita; 12/24/79-2/24/80)<br />"When a Wall-Crawler Turns Bad" (Romita; 11/3/80-1/11/81)<br />"The Girl with the Golden Touch" (Fred Kida; 6/14-9/19/82)Matthew Bradleyhttp://marveluniversity.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-89008766172516970562012-11-13T08:07:53.071-06:002012-11-13T08:07:53.071-06:00I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this, ...I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this, but there was an earlier hardcover collection of Spidey newspaper strips a few decades ago. Unfortunately, I'm not at home to pull it off the shelf, so I can't give you any details re: dates, dailies vs. Sundays, color vs. b&w, etc. Will try to look into this and get back to you with further information.Matthew Bradleyhttp://marveluniversity.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-40420758002258870542012-11-11T20:53:07.928-06:002012-11-11T20:53:07.928-06:00Ah, I sit corrected, William P! Did Stan give any...Ah, I sit corrected, William P! Did Stan give any particular reason for the change that you're aware of? It's obviously been quite some time (a couple of decades?) since I last regularly read the Spidey strip.Fred W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07602124919964053532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-43070492491521717162012-11-11T01:08:07.925-06:002012-11-11T01:08:07.925-06:00William..
AMEN and AMEN, sir.William..<br /><br />AMEN and AMEN, sir.david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-61875415092013936742012-11-10T23:38:04.947-06:002012-11-10T23:38:04.947-06:00Seeing stuff like this makes really miss how aweso...Seeing stuff like this makes really miss how awesome comic books used to be. The sense of fun in the writing and the clean, crisp artwork of a master cartoonist like Romita. This sure beats the crap out of most of the garbage they deign to call comics these days.Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988016825582035390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-29307350211294297752012-11-10T21:56:08.846-06:002012-11-10T21:56:08.846-06:00David_b --
I do indeed remember the Green Sheet f...David_b --<br /><br />I do indeed remember the Green Sheet from my 2 1/2 years spent in Milwaukee! That was "my" section of the paper, and I read it every night.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-24332177612834638092012-11-10T21:05:28.545-06:002012-11-10T21:05:28.545-06:00Actually, Fred, for a time the daily strip entered...Actually, Fred, for a time the daily strip entered the Mephistopholean narrative to better connect it to the comic: Mary Jane was gone; Pete was single. I think that went on for a few months at most; then the strip announced that it was going back to the familiar scenario of Pete married to MJ.William Prestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07896164917625191919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-68074667344880259422012-11-10T20:21:11.455-06:002012-11-10T20:21:11.455-06:00Yeah loved to read those daily black and white Spi...Yeah loved to read those daily black and white Spidey strips. I gotta concur with everyone - the John Romita Sr artwork alone is reason enough to buy this collection. I think it's a good idea they didn't try to tie it in with events in the regular Spider-Man comic series. Of course, being run in daily newspapers meant that Stan had to cater for readers who might not be up to speed with the latest from ol' webhead's book.<br /><br />Off the top of my head, I can recall Spidey's encounters with the kingpin ( a tragic story where his wife Vanessa is accidentally killed), another where Jameson hires Kraven to kill Spidey but Spidey saves Kraven's life, so he lets Spidey go free, and one with a new villain (the Rattler).<br /><br />- Mike 'reading Pearls before Swine' from Trinidad & Tobago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-4643644999700487142012-11-10T19:43:59.427-06:002012-11-10T19:43:59.427-06:00The Spidey strip was in the local paper my dad sub...The Spidey strip was in the local paper my dad subscribed to, so I got to read the first few years worth of stories. Certainly fun but eventually I got bored with it, even when I was still gung ho on the montly comics. Spider-Man is much better suited for comic books than strips, IMO. Stan, however,is very wise in keeping the strip separate from what's going on in the comics -- I have a hunch that having Aunt May on the verge of death and Pete making a deal with the devil to save her at the cost of having his marriage to Mary Jane cease to have ever existed would strike most of that dying breed of regular newspaper readers as spectacularly stupid storytelling. The sort of idiocy Stan strove to avoid when he was mostly in charge of Marvel during the Silver Age.Fred W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07602124919964053532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-14005121197795430262012-11-10T13:01:06.834-06:002012-11-10T13:01:06.834-06:00I clipped 'em for a few months faithfully (my ...I clipped 'em for a few months faithfully (my grandma got the daily paper..), LOVED the color, larger Sunday editions. Since we didn't have the daily paper delivered in my small town, I only had the Sunday installments myself, and I still have most of 'em.<br /><br />A bit on the dull side compared to ASM stories, but it fits the daily scripting pace of newspaper comics fine. And as mentioned, you CAN'T beat that Romita art.<br /><br />Wish Romita would have just returned to the regular mag, but this was a great foray to enter.<br /><br />Doug may remember the Milw Journal 'Green Sheet', the lighter blend of comic strips, puzzles, etc printed on green newspaper stock. I still have the 'launch article' with the first strip in, yes, 'green'.david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-33272851979166195832012-11-10T11:56:22.520-06:002012-11-10T11:56:22.520-06:00When these strips first ran, I clipped them from t...When these strips first ran, I clipped them from the Philly Inquirer and kept them in photo albums. I think I missed one in the first year. (I did, eventually, toss them.) As HB says, the strip was Shakespearean compared to the current Dan Brown level of writing. I know Lee's name is on the strip still, but it's pretty clearly not his writing. Is his brother doing the writing as well as the art? And MJ is a drag. Every plot has to involve some theatrical show she's in. These early strips show how to make such a constrained framework interesting.William Prestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07896164917625191919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-1835722977772277202012-11-10T11:32:23.206-06:002012-11-10T11:32:23.206-06:00A local bookstore has the British edition of this ...A local bookstore has the British edition of this book (the softcover published by Panini - it's 'normal' size and the strips are laid out horitzonally, i.e., you don't have to flip the book to the side). However, it's pricey: almost 30 dollars. I keep waiting for a discount sticker to appear on it, since it's been sitting on the shelf, unloved and unsold, for a few years now.<br />I remember the Spider-man strip back then, I used to read it sometimes. But I could never get into it because I was used to an entire comic book, not just a few panels. Now, however, I would really like this just because of that Romita art.Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-74508235475031520962012-11-10T10:43:31.772-06:002012-11-10T10:43:31.772-06:00I must say I am amused by the fact that Stan Lee (...I must say I am amused by the fact that Stan Lee (originally Lieber) has Yasser Arafat rooting for Dr. Doom.Inkstained Wretchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-76053082274438278092012-11-10T09:03:56.948-06:002012-11-10T09:03:56.948-06:00You must have got a bad copy. I have both volumes ...You must have got a bad copy. I have both volumes and the linework is not "light" at all. The stories are much better than anything in the concurrent or modern Spidey comics, too. Modern comics writers should be required to read this and learn how to be succinct and make every episode a place a new reader can start without having to track down "what went before."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-44494892864264236262012-11-10T08:25:15.125-06:002012-11-10T08:25:15.125-06:00Boy, nothing at all to dislike about the art-! Bu...Boy, nothing at all to dislike about the art-! But, boy, even back then Stan's dialog was taking on a sort of autopilot quality. It seems to be driven less by the on-panel action than it is by the need for Doom to make a "Doom"-like comment in one panel, and Spidey to make a "Spidey"-like comment in the next one. I dunno. . . inorganic? Kinda forced?<br /><br />I will say, though, that this reasonable, readable early era is a comic-strip Sistine Chapel when compared to the cringe-inducing disaster this poor strip has devolved into today. We've just started a Kraven sequence-- but prior to this was an unbearably long tale where Spidey was largely overmatched by a frustrated comic actor in a clown costume and enhanced practical joke gadgets: "Clown 9". Every day, one's jaw dropped further in horror. The daily pencils by Larry Lieber are. . . uninspired. The Sunday strip by Alex Saviuk is okay (I've always found him a C+ penciler at best). . . mostly notable because it's still being inked by Joe Sinnott.<br /><br />The only aspect really going for the strip at all is that Pete & MJ are still happily married, and Stan fully intends to keep it that way.<br /><br />HBHumanbellynoreply@blogger.com