Here is an Amazing Spider-Man that I pencilled and inked for a demonstration in ink wash for my students at the Kubert School. As with many of my demo pieces, I posted this one on my social media and I was asked an interesting question by “Joe Yod,” a former student of mine. “Joe Yod” incidentally is not his real name but its what he goes by on Facebook so I’ll continue to respect his secret identity here. Here’s what “Joe” asked…
“What are your thoughts on the 50 different spiderpeople running around these days?”
This was my reply which I thought might be of interest to my readers here…
“Y’know… When I was a kid growing up and reading comics, you were either a “Marvel guy” or a “DC guy.” Marvel was seen as “cooler,” “edgier,” and more sophisticated. Their characters were more “realistic” with personal, relatable problems and they changed and grew like real people. DC, on the other hand, was seen as more simplistic and juvenile. Nobody ever died and their books usually had a familiar status quo that went unchanged month after month. One of the big criticisms the “Marvel Guys” had of the DC books was the silliness of how characters like Superman and Batman could be milked to death with their expanded “families.” Marvel fans would ridicule concepts like Supergirl, Superboy, Superdog, Supercat, Comet the Super Horse, and Beppo the Super Monkey. Now it seems that Marvel can’t pimp the Spider Family enough! I’ll be honest. I haven’t read much of any of this stuff. I did try recently with The Amazing Spider-Man and I found the book to be incomprehensible and unpleasant. When I was a kid, I wanted to live Peter Parker’s life… money problems, girlfriend problems, Aunt May and all! He seemed cool and FUN! This was just miserable but that’s a whole other matter. Expanding the Spider-Cast just strips Spider-Man away from his uniqueness and his mystery. Now fans might ask, “Well doesn’t having a Super Monkey do the same for Superman?” Well two things… #1. Superman was not created through a million to one fluke of Science. Peter Parker’s spider bite and subsequent powers should be a freak lightning strike of an occurrence. It shouldn’t be something that occurs over and over again. I had no idea that radioactive spider kept going after biting Peter!! #2. Part of Peter Parker’s mystique is his status as a loner. Spidey was always an outsider EVEN AMONG OTHER SUPER HEROES!! He was never an Avenger and no one …not even other super heroes knew his secret identity. He was a complete mystery in the World he inhabited. Now he has a whole club that he hangs out with complete with hot chicks and even a Spider-Pig!! (Yeah. And Beppo was stupid!) He’s stopped being “Spider-Man.” Now he’s just “Peter.” Incidentally, a big reason why I give DC a pass on the Superman Family is when that was being created, those comics were written strictly for kids. No one ever expected adults to hang onto their comics and keep reading about Comet the Super Horse. Now we supposedly know better. Now our comics are supposedly more mature and written for an adult audience… and they give us Spider-Ham. By the way, I give Jessica Drew and Julia Carpenter a pass because they were so different from Spider-Man and so uninvolved with him that they stood apart as essentially distinct characters on their own and not really a part of any “Spider-Man Family.” I say all this openly admitting that I haven’t read much Silk, Spider Gwen, and the rest. Maybe it is absolutely shakespearean! Conceptually, however, I wouldn’t have gone there.”
Joe followed up with…
“I have to speak up for Spider-ham. In the 80s when he was created it was a spoof book. Not part of canon. But other than that I think you nailed it. I give Spider-woman the same pass. Made sense to choose a name that was in relation to a preexisting superhero. I did the same for the new Ms. Marvel. I think some characters like Ironman and GL work with having numerous people holding the mantle but characters like Spider-man should always stay unique.”
And my reply…
“Yes. In that context, I’m with you on Spider-Ham too. I was there for his first appearance and I enjoyed him for what he was. I always did enjoy funny animal spoofs. It’s the same reason I’m okay with DC’s Captain Carrot who back in the day had a couple of team-ups with the mainstream human DC Universe. It was done tongue-in-cheek and for laughs. No one ever seriously entertained having Captain Carrot as a regular member of the Justice League. He’d guest star. We’d have a few laughs. Then he’d go home to Earth-C (which was really the parallel Earth where Captain Carrot lived!) I’m also with you on Ms. Marvel and I agree with your thoughts on Iron Man and Green Lantern… so long as that armor and those rings aren’t doled out like participation trophies on the short bus.”
What say you all? Are you fans of Spider-Ham, Spider Gwen, and the rest? Please let me know your thoughts in the Comments below!
