SPIDER-MAN: THE ICON: EXCERPT ONE

[MattBrady]

<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/TitanBooks/Spiderman_Icon_t.jpg" border="0" align="right">Kicking off today, and with thanks to Titan Books, we’re proud to bring you four weekly excerpts from <i>Spider-Man: The Icon – The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon</I> by Steve Saffel.

The 320 page coffee table book tracks Spider-Man through the ages, from his start in <b>Amazing Fantasy #15</b> up to the beginning of <b>One More Day</b>, focusing not only on the adventures and times of Spider-Man, but also upon how Spider-Man has made an impact upon culture, and how the character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko has been embraced by popular culture.

The book’s description reads:

<i>From his modest 1962 debut in <b>Amazing Fantasy #15</b>, Peter Parker — better known to readers as the web-spinning Spider-Man — has evolved from underdog to international icon. Along the way he’s thrilled entire generations through the comics, cartoons, movies, and tons of spectacular toys.

Spider-Man: The Icon traces that unlikely evolution. A lavishly illustrated chronicle, it charts the wall-crawler’s career from counter-culture figure to motion picture superstar, visually portraying every aspect of the web-spinning phenomenon. This deluxe celebration of the ultimate super hero includes insights from key comic book writers and artists, photos of rare, vintage collectibles, and a vast array of scintillating imagery from the comics, cartoons, television series, and movies.

In doing so, it also traces the history of popular culture over the last five decades. Renowned Spider-Man expert Steve Saffel combines a wealth of arcane knowledge and incredibly rare archival material to create the essential book for every Spider-fan!</I>
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At 12.1 x 10 x 1.6 inches and nearly 5 pounds, the book will most likely be an easily-guessed Holiday gift given to many comic fans.

Click here (http://www.newsarama.com/TitanBooks/ExcerptOne.html) for this week's excerpt.

[not.l.e.b]

FIRST POST W00T!!11!!
This looks awesome. Definitely getting this sooner or later.:)

[grahamgg]

I ordered one of the DF alternate cover versions (McFarlane Spidey on white background) signed by Stan Lee & limited to 750 copies.

Ordered it last week from www.midtowncomics.com it should be arriving any day now.

Looks awesome.

Later,

ggg

[exultant801]

i ahve had that spiderman rock and roll album for awhile now i gotta say...pretty catchy.

p.s. i love how the crappy falcon is responsible for "hand-claps" on the album if you look at the back cover. kind of symbolic of his worthlessness as an actual superhero

[Soto]

Wow, that looks like a great book.
And you gotta love that beautiful Scott Johnson painted cover!

-Soto

[JohnnyZemo]

So is Titan Books paying for this free ad for their product?

I mean... this is not really news, is it?

Sorry... I'll sit down and shut up and go back to being a good consumer now...

[The Amazing Spider-Fan]

So is Titan Books paying for this free ad for their product?

I mean... this is not really news, is it?

Sorry... I'll sit down and shut up and go back to being a good consumer now...

Sure, just like Marvel, DC, Image, etc., pays for the free ads for their books when Newsarama runs the solicitations every month and previews every week, and like Sony, Time Warner, New Line, etc., pays for the stories on their comic book movies. :rolleyes:

[Billy Parker]

I LOVE Spider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero! It's sooo good!! The music is very 70s though, so you have to like 70 prog rock to like it. Like Styx or Queen or something. It's from some band "Crack The Sky" I think.

And yah I'm getting this book.

[weaselwelch]

I LOVE Spider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero! It's sooo good!! The music is very 70s though, so you have to like 70 prog rock to like it. Like Styx or Queen or something. It's from some band "Crack The Sky" I think.

And yah I'm getting this book.
I will be getting the book in a couple of weeks. At Barnes & Noble we get a week were we get an extra 10% for employee discounts.

And I also love the Rock Reflections of a Superhero. I have the 25th Anniversary edition CD. And it has that great John Romita Sr. Cover art.

[MrToady12]

This book looks really cool - and I remember those ads for the Spider-Man record way back when! But geez-louise, the Panther gets to let rip on a guitar, but what does Captain America get? A tambourine!?!?!?! What the.....? And look at the Falcon - he doesn't even get an instrument, but gets to clap his hands!?!?! I'm surprised these two didn't go out on some kind of postal worker rampage!!

Cheers.

[jayvee]

Are there plans for a sequel, or a more in-depth updated edition? Spider-Man has such a rich, dense history that even a book of this nature -- which is awesome, don't get me wrong -- can't even contain it.

[BlackDog]

It's a very interesting book but I find the title very pretentious. Why does Marvel feel the need to label their own character an 'Icon'? Let time and the public call Spiderman an 'Icon', you don't need to sell it that way. It comes off desperate and like I said, very damn pretentious.

[The Amazing Spider-Fan]

It's a very interesting book but I find the title very pretentious. Why does Marvel feel the need to label their own character an 'Icon'? Let time and the public call Spiderman an 'Icon', you don't need to sell it that way. It comes off desperate and like I said, very damn pretentious.

Except this book isn't written or produced by Marvel. And since Steve will be contributing to the forum himself, he can tell the story, but that wasn't even the original title.

[jayvee]

It's a very interesting book but I find the title very pretentious. Why does Marvel feel the need to label their own character an 'Icon'? Let time and the public call Spiderman an 'Icon', you don't need to sell it that way. It comes off desperate and like I said, very damn pretentious.
DC doesn't have the only iconic characters around, you know.

[zodcomplex]

This looks great. I'm definitley going to be picking this up soon. I still have a decent copy of the Spider-Man record my parents bought for me when I was a kid. The album art is timeless (Luke Cage on bass - sweet Christmas!)

[Steve Saffel]

So is Titan Books paying for this free ad for their product?

I mean... this is not really news, is it?

Sorry... I'll sit down and shut up and go back to being a good consumer now...

It's a valid point, but don't blame the publisher--blame the writer. While I was writing the book, I came to realize two things:

(1) There's no way I'll be able to include everything I want to include
(2) It's gotta be impossible for me to have gotten everything right (though I did try!)

So I asked Newsarama if there might be a place where I could talk, one-on-one, with the Spider-fans, to have them post their own impressions concerning the web-spinner. And as any errors came to light, it would give us the opportunity to set the record straight in a public forum.

I have a journalism background, and the age of the Internet has given us an opportunity for interactivity beyond anything we dreamed of in the days of Amazing Fantasy #15. This just seemed like the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the technologies at our fingertips.

And--you'll have to forgive me for this one, too--it seemed like it might be fun.

[Steve Saffel]

It's a very interesting book but I find the title very pretentious. Why does Marvel feel the need to label their own character an 'Icon'? Let time and the public call Spiderman an 'Icon', you don't need to sell it that way. It comes off desperate and like I said, very damn pretentious.

Again, blame the writer. I suggested the title because, in my opinion, Spidey is an icon. By definition, an icon is "an object of uncritical devotion," as well as an "emblem" and a "symbol." It seems as if the symbol ought to have some longevity before it can lay claim to the title, though, and nearly half a century seemed like a good start.

Now, in fandom, "uncritical" may be too much to ask for, but really, Spider-Man himself is generally held in high regard, despite disagreement over the way he is portrayed at times. Certainly, the first trick-or-treater at my door thought he was pretty cool. So, at varying times, did the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Children's Television Workshop, UNICEF, and the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse.

So unlike some characters, for whom "icon" may remain an elusive goal, the web-spinner seems deserving of the title. At least in this author's opinion.

[Mr. Roboto]

Kudos to Mr. Saffel. Very nice book, sir!

I picked this book up tonight at Barnes & Noble. It is very comprehensive, well researched, and a lot of fun. I'm not even a huge Spider-Man fan, but I like the way it covers the Marvel Universe as well. I also like the way the way the chapters are laid out.

You can tell this book was done by someone who knows, loves and respects the character and the Marvel Universe.

So what if this is not really "news" my nitpicking comrades. People should be made aware of a book this good. That's why I visit this website: to learn about what is out there in the marketplace and to find out if it's any good. I value others' opinions and I see no reason to be so cynical.

Again, Mr. Saffel, if you are reading this....well done!

[BlackDog]

Again, blame the writer. I suggested the title because, in my opinion, Spidey is an icon. By definition, an icon is "an object of uncritical devotion," as well as an "emblem" and a "symbol." It seems as if the symbol ought to have some longevity before it can lay claim to the title, though, and nearly half a century seemed like a good start.

Now, in fandom, "uncritical" may be too much to ask for, but really, Spider-Man himself is generally held in high regard, despite disagreement over the way he is portrayed at times. Certainly, the first trick-or-treater at my door thought he was pretty cool. So, at varying times, did the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Children's Television Workshop, UNICEF, and the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse.

So unlike some characters, for whom "icon" may remain an elusive goal, the web-spinner seems deserving of the title. At least in this author's opinion.

Spiderman is an iconic character. He really is. But to label the book that way...it rubbed me the wrong way so to speak. It's like Michael Jackson letting his producers come out with a record labeled 'Michael Jackson The Icon'...it's just wrong. Maybe that's a poor example but I think you get the idea. I would have preferred something along the lines of 'Spiderman Forever' or something like that, something that would let the potential buyer know that Spiderman is iconic but his owners don't need to claim it so blatantly. Just my opinion.

[Mr. Roboto]

Spiderman is an iconic character. He really is. But to label the book that way...it rubbed me the wrong way so to speak. It's like Michael Jackson letting his producers come out with a record labeled 'Michael Jackson The Icon'...it's just wrong. Maybe that's a poor example but I think you get the idea. I would have preferred something along the lines of 'Spiderman Forever' or something like that, something that would let the potential buyer know that Spiderman is iconic but his owners don't need to claim it so blatantly. Just my opinion.

Yeah. Poor example! Seeing as how Michael Jackson himself wants to be referred to as the "KIng of Pop."

Gee, maybe you should have written the book, then you could have called it whatever you wanted.

[Steve Saffel]

Yeah. Poor example! Seeing as how Michael Jackson himself wants to be referred to as the "KIng of Pop."

Gee, maybe you should have written the book, then you could have called it whatever you wanted.

I do appreciate the support, but we don't want to diss anyone, either. To some people, "icon" may represent something much more specifically meaningful. I looked at it in a very literal way, and if I want to ask anyone to respect my opinion, I need to respect theirs--BlackDog included.

But for the record, it wasn't Marvel, nor Titan, who asked that the book be called "The Icon." Originally I suggested "The Iconic Spider-Man," to follow in the vein of The Amazing Spider-Man, et al. It was suggested that Spider-Man: The Icon had more impact, yet still conveyed the same idea, and I agreed.