Spider-Man: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Newspaper Comics
Marvel Comics had a series of comic strips called The Amazing Spider-Man. It was first syndicated by Register and Tribune Syndicate (1977-1985), and then King Features Syndicate from 1987 to 2019. People really enjoyed the comic strips. Comic strips are drawings arranged in serialized panels to display the story, with characters’ dialogues in speech bubbles and captions.
People all around world used to love it. Adults and kids, all used to be pretty excited about the prints everyday. The eye-catching characters and the colorful panels were really hard to resist. The . The adults enjoyed them too. People used to wait eagerly for the newspaper as the story arcs were so addictive and characters very well written. The first strip launched on January 7, 1977 and the last strip came out on March 23, 2019. Unique characters from Spidy’s comic book universe and other unknown characters made the comic such a big hit.
1. The Very First Strip Idea Was Pitched In 1970.
The very first idea for a daily strip comic was proposed in 1970. Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. completed the two weeks worth of comic but the comics never got published in any newspaper. But do not worry, the hard work wasn’t in vain as the strips got printed for the 1975 Mighty Marvel Comic Convention.
2. Many People Have Worked On The Strips.
Over the 40 years, many talented creators have participated in the making of these strips. The consistency and the passion of these artists is what makes these comics priceless. Stan Lee and Romita worked on them for the first four years and then Larry Lieber took care of the artworks. Alex Saviuk took over after the retirement of Lieber and handled the penciling and inking duties. Roy Thomas and Joe Sinnott inked the Sunday strips from 1992 to 2019, even after his retirement from the comic book world.
3. The Spider-Man In The Newspaper Strips Was From Earth-77013.
The Spider-Man we saw in the newspaper strips was from a different unstable time continuum. This Earth was in a pocket dimension and this was officially recognized as such during the 2014 Spider-Verse event. The Peter Parker of this world was not very good at problem solving and needed many weeks to do even simple tasks. And because this universe was placed in pocket dimension, it got spared throughout the Spider-Verse.
4. Storylines Can Stretch From 12 Weeks To 7 Months.
It was pretty normal for the storylines to run from 8 to 12 weeks and the readers used to love them. The interesting plots and awesome characters is what makes the readers sit through all the long story arcs. One storyline even took seven months to complete. But still Marvel fans love them. Generally, the stories always featured the usual characters from the 616 Universe. But sometimes crossovers did happen. Some fans liked and some didn’t.
5. Roy Thomas Was A Ghostwriter With Stan Lee In 2000.
After Stan Lee’s surgery to implant a pacemaker, an electrical device used to regulate the beating of the heart, Roy started writing for the strip. Because Stan Lee reduced his work a little for a speedy recovery and Roy helped with the newspaper strip.
6. Special Appearances Of Many Heroes And Vilnians From Different Marvel Universes.
Not changing what’s happening in the main Marvel Universe, Thomas brought many different characters to the strip. Different Superheroes and Villains were seen in the strips. Heroes like Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Thor and Wolverine made their cameos. And Villains like Venom and Doctor Doom also played a part in the story. These kind of cameos made the strips more interesting and fun to read.
7. Some Characters Were Only Exclusive To The Strip.
Not only the comic was filled with awesome characters, but there were some characters in the strip that were only made for the newspaper comic and never seen again on any other platform. Characters like Rattler, who was a former shop owner who turned himself into a snake-like creature after tons of experiments. And some characters like The Protector, a thug, and Carole Jennings, who was supposed to be romantically involved with Peter. Characters like these make the comic worth a read as these are characters are not available anywhere else.
8. Star Cameos Were Also A Part Of The Strips.
The story in the strip is happening in the New York City. This was a great opportunity for the creators to add some occasional celebrity or known real person cameos. The first ever cameo in the strip was Yassir Arafat, the former PLO leader. He was shown in the background in a story with Doctor Doom. Many other celebrities like Elton John, Geraldo Rivera, Abe Vigoda, and Redd Foxx, who were drawn in the crowd scene watching the fight between Spider-Man and The Protector. There are many other examples of cool cameos of celebrities that made fans even more excited about the comics.
9. Two Week Worth Of Story By Roy Thomas About Mary Jane And Peter Was Never Published Or Drawn.
Marvel stopped the prints of the new strips and reprinted the old stories for a few weeks in March 2019, and announced that the new story arcs were gonna be introduced. But Saviuk and Thomas both announced that departure from the strips and after a while Marvel declared, they will be ending the strips. During an interview, Thomas revealed that he was ready with a a story about Jane and Peter’s trip to Australia. The Kangaroo was also featured.
10. The Spider-Man: The Ultimate Newspaper Comics Collection.
Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing’s The Library of American Comics, teamed up to put out collectible editions of the newspaper strip series called: The Amazing Spider-Man: The Ultimate Newspaper Comics Collection. The aim behind the imprints were to save the old classic newspaper comics by archiving them and making them appealing to the younger generation. People loved them because they are piece of history and the nostalgia factor was what makes the product a super hit. The comic strips included in the collectibles also provided the context and background information to the readers. This made the them more valuable.
