Customer Reviews

Spider-Man The Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is both for the novice fan and for the individual who (erroneously) thought that everything about Spider-Man was available in other books. This is a meticulously researched project and an obvious labor of love by Steve Saffel. Going beyond comics and exploring cartoons (including the lyrics for the Spider-Man Theme Song), newspaper strips, toys and films, this is a comprehensive treatise on the web-slinger that should satisfy everyone who even has a marginal interest in Spider-Man. The author probably has information that even Stan Lee is probably unaware of (if that's possible). An excellent volume that sets the bar for similar books. What next, Fantastic Four? Steve Saffel has the credentials to make further volumes equally great!

In the classic "Spider-Man" comics, Peter Parker, and his Spidey alter ego never seemed to get respect. Nowadays, Aunt May's favorite nephew is a certified movie star and there's finally a book that celebrates Spider-Man's history with the grandeur, and sense of fun, the character deserves. Author Steve Saffel comes out of the Marvel universe and had a long and successful run as an editor with the Random House Publishing Group, so it's a treat to see him put that experience to work on behalf of the 'ol webslinger. A tip of the hat to Titan Books as well for producing the kind of beautiful, high-class volume that this pop culture phenomenon deserves (those who saw the recent book on Stan Winston know that Titan pulls out all the stops). It's a class act, one that I hope will attract not just the legion of comics fans, but those who only know Spider-Man from the movies. Gazing into my crystal ball, I see a lot of "Spider-Man: The Icon" books wrapped up and waiting under many a Christmas tree.
Mark Cotta Vaz

Great compilation of all things Spidey. A must for every collector and fan. This book is not just of Spiderman but for anyone interested in the creation and evolution of an "icon." From the first incarnation to the latest movies, the history is both a fantastic homage to a hero and a thrilling tale of creation, art, and how an icon changes over times. Thoughtful, respectful, funny, and in all ways entertaining.

As a fan of the Web-slinger and a pop-culturalist, I am amazed with Steve Saffel's book. It is beautifully produced, bursting with rare art, filled with cool factoids, and historically and factually sound. What an effort! It speaks to both the comic-book novice and the longtime Spidey fan, making it the perfect giftbook for just about anyone on your list this holiday season.
--Gina Misiroglu, co-author of The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes

First...Amazing illistration. The history from start to finish makes this one a page turner. The title says it all...Icon. This book is a must have for any spidey fan!

I have been a Spider-man Collector for 32 years and this is by far one of the best books you can buy. This collection is very informative and has great pictures by all the best artists.

Buy this book now.

This is an excellent, entertaining history of Spider-Man. Saffel has done a terrific job of chronicling the long and strange history of one of the most popular fictional characters in the world.

There are lots of interesting tidbits that will surprise even the most dedicated of fans. Entertaining details and gorgeous photography are the clear highlights of this massive package.

The coverage of how Spider-Man made it to the screen is particularly interesting.

Plus the evolution of the character is great, even if it just touches on some key milestones.

Three minor complaints:
1. The book tries to cover too much ground. That is, there's so much to report that the author must sometimes merely gloss over interesting historical details. Perhaps if the focus was mainly on comics and media and toys, it would have been more effective.

2. This book would have been the perfect place to offer some historical perspective on key story lines. The author spends some time on current history (Civil War) and some recent history (Clone Wars, Black Costume, Wedding), but very little on other history. It would have been very interesting to know more about certain story arcs from the 70s and early 80s.

3. Listing of facts. Sometimes the author seems to be simply listing information, like names of episodes or other stuff that doesnt really progress your knowledge of the character's history. It's almost as if the author is filling space to round out a chapter or section.

Again, these are minor complaints, and I still give this 4 of 5 stars.

This should be Book 1 in an ongoing series of books like this. Well worth the price.

This is an amazing book, filled with all kinds of fascinating information about everyone's favorite wall-crawling hero! Steve Saffel has done an incredible job, drawing together historic items, wonderful photos of toys, games and other items that feature the iconic Spider-Man. This book is both a fascinating history of Spidey and a warm nostalgic trip through the "life" of a character that has achieved mythical status through comics, books, TV shows (animated and live action) and now a terrific movie trilogy. Highly recommended!!!

I'm one of those guys who started reading Spider-Man back in 1962 with his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15. I've kept up with Spidey's adventures all these years through all sorts of titles, and episodes. I even worked for Marvel as a freelancer during the `80s & `90s (a little bit of that time for author Steve Saffel while he was an editor over there), so it is entirely possible that I'm a tad biased when it comes to this subject.

I believe that one of the reasons that I became a professional writer was because of my love for this character. When I spotted this book at a local bookstore, I knew I had to have it. Having Steve's name on the cover clinched it for me.

Now as I read the book, rediscovering all of the things that made me a Marvel Zombie, and Spidey fan as a teen came flooding back. This is a terrific book, and if I, who not only knew much -- if not all -- of this stuff already still finds it fascinating, think how engrossing it will be to someone who doesn't have my history with the character. Going through the book I see snippets of conversations I had with Steve about the history of both Marvel and Spider-Man, as see that he has taken the care necessary for dealing with a subject that is near and dear to the author's heart.

Yes, this is a great coffee table book that is a great research tool as well as a wonderful trip down memory lane for any fan of May Parker's beloved nephew. All of which brings up an interesting point.

As much of the early accolades for Spidey (as reported in the book) revolved around the degree of realism that Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and John Romita, Sr. put into the series (Spidey lived in New York, not "Metropolis" or "Gotham City," He suffered from real-world problems (school bullies, an ailing aunt, death of close friends), and that he was allowed to grow up and age (Peter went from a 15-year-old High School student to a young adult attending and then graduating college).

Thus, given this early ground-breaking work by Lee and those that followed, one has to wonder why the current editorial management team has decreed that Spidey's clock be reset to an earlier time via a magical "solution" (to a problem that wasn't there)? Ah well, perhaps Steve will be able to explain that in his follow-up tome.

This book was amazing! There was a plethora of wonderful information about your friendly neighborhood Spider Man. The pictures were fantastic, and it was amazing to learn so much about the wall crawler. This author has done his homework and found pictures that are rarely seen. This is a must read for any Spidey fan. What amazed me is one of the villains who would terrorize Spidey was originally going to be a female. However, it was thought she would not be as terrifying as a man. Anyway this is a great read for any comic or Spidey fan