It was on the pages of Amazing Fantasy No. 15 where the Amazing Spider-Man first appeared. And in March 1963, one year after his first appearance, Spider-Man was starring in his own comic book and on his way to becoming Marvel Comics’ most popular super hero ever!
Through the years, Spider-Man has also been a superpower in the world of licensing, appearing in paperback books, on posters, as an action figure, and in video games. And in addition to his licensing ventures, Spider-Man is also capturing bad guys in a hit animated TV show.
In 1977, Spider-Man began starring in his own newspaper comic strip written by his creator, Stan Lee. The Amazing Spider-Man can be seen in newspapers worldwide and was a part of the first-ever comic strip/comic book crossover story.
In the summer of 2002, Spider-Man swung onto the silver screen and broke box office records with its massive first weekend receipts. Based upon the freak accident that miraculously granted Peter Parker with his incredible spider-like abilities, the movie starring Tobey Maguire became a smash hit with audiences worldwide. The sequel was released in the summer of 2004.
ABOUT THE CREATORS
Stan Lee
Known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel Comics to its preeminent position in the comic book industry, Stan Lee’s famous co-creations include Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk,X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, The Avengers, Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange, among many others. Lee first became publisher of Marvel Comics in 1972 and is presently the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. and a member of the Editorial Board of Marvel Comics. In 1977, he introduced Spider-Man as a syndicated newspaper strip that went on to become one of the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips. Spider-Man now appears in more than 500 newspapers worldwide making it the longest running of all Super Hero strips.
Without question, Stan “the Man” Lee has exerted enormous influence over the comic book industry throughout his many years. He had a hand in creating many of Marvel’s most recognized characters, the majority of which have been successfully licensed and marketed since 1965. The numbers are impressive. More than 2 billion of his comic books have been published in 75 countries and in 25 languages. In Europe alone, Stan Lee’s name appears on over 35 million comics annually. Each year, X-Men sells more than 13 million copies.
In 1981, Stan Lee transformed his Spider-Man and Hulk creations into Saturday morning and syndicated television cartoons. When Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions were acquired by New World Entertainment in 1986, Stan’s horizons expanded even further, giving him the opportunity to become more deeply involved in the creation and development of filmed projects for both the big and small screen. He supervised such diverse animated series as X-Men, Spider-Man and The Hulk. To date, Stan’s characters have populated over 24 separate television series, all of which continue in syndication around the world.
Stan Lee’s admirers are not limited to the younger generation. His avowed fans include Presidents (Ronald Reagan once said he started every day reading Spider-Man comics and George Bush, in presenting Stan with a Medal of the Arts, praised him for encouraging and assisting “millions of young people to broaden their own imaginations”). Media titan Steven Spielberg once explained that “Stan and I do the same thing. Only my pictures move.” Even his competitors have only good things to say: “Most of my generation of writers learned our craft from or through Stan Lee. He’s an incredible part of the business,” states Paul Levitz of DC Comics.
Now Stan Lee is broadening his horizons with his new company, “POW! Entertainment,” where Stan is currently developing entirely new franchises for film and television. He still proudly cherishes the title of Marvel’s Chairman Emeritus.
Alex Saviuk
Saviuk pencils the Spider-Man Sunday strip and inks the daily Spider-Man strips.
Saviuk began his professional career at DC Comics in 1977 after studying sequential art with Will Eisner at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. Within a few short months, he became the regular artist on such titles as Green Lantern and The Flash. His resume extended to include Superman, Hawkman, Aquaman, The Atom, and Air Wave, among others.
In 1986, Saviuk forged ahead to Marvel Comics where he soon became the penciller on Defenders of the Earth featuring The Phantom, Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician. Then, after successfully filling in on The Amazing Spider-Man, he worked on the Web of Spider-Man for more than seven years followed by two more years on Spider-Man Adventuresbased on the animated series.
From 1997 to 1998, Saviuk pencilled the last 12 issues of The X-Files for Topps Comics. In 1997, he began pencilling the Sunday Spider-Man newspaper strip. In 2003, he began inking the Spider-Man dailies as well. Saviuk also joined ranks with the Swedish publisher Egmont and Australian publisher Frew in chronicling the adventures of The Phantom.
In addition to comics, Saviuk likes to create storyboards and conceptual art for use in advertising and films. He lives in Florida.