Webslinger: Unauthorized Essays On Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man (Smart Pop series) [Paperback]

Gerry Conway (Editor), Leah Wilson (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Smart Pop series | Publication Date: February 8, 2007

** COMPLETELY UNAUTHORIZED **

 

The tangled web of vengeance, love, and loss woven by Spider-Man comics and films is explored in this collection of insightful essays by acclaimed writers of comics and science fiction. A variety of topics—from the superhero’s sarcasm to the science behind radioactive spiders—are discussed in essays on "Turning Rage into Responsibility: A Psychology of Loss," "Love Is Selfish: Can a Hero Afford Personal Attachments?," and "Self Identity and Costume Design." The popular rival Green Goblin, the bumbling-yet-influential media, and the part New York City itself plays in stories are skillfully explored, as is the overall philosophy of mild-mannered Peter Parker and Spidey’s relationship with the rest of the characters in the Marvel universe.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Why is Spider-Man cooler than Superman? Was the original Spider-Man really a horror comic? Does the Webslinger have a religion? What was life like in Forest Hills, Queens, when Peter Parker lived there at the time of the first comic book series? What really makes Spider-Man click with readers and viewers across the years? These are just some of the questions tackled by 16 writers of comics and science fiction in this book on all things Spider-Man: psychology, philosophy, comic book history, movies, and more. Most of the essays assume a deep interest in (and sometimes detailed knowledge of) Spider-Man lore. For this reason, they will appeal primarily to his avid fans, although fans of comics and movies in general may also find this nicely crafted and accessible collection fun and thought-provoking.—Sandy Freund, Patrick Henry Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Glenn Yeffeth is the editor of several anthologies in the Smart Pop series, including Anthology at the End of the Universe, Farscape Forever!, Five Seasons of Angel, Navigating the Golden Compass, Seven Seasons of Buffy, Taking the Red Pill, and What Would Sipowitz Do? He lives in Dallas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 231 pages
• Publisher: Smart Pop (February 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933771062
• ISBN-13: 978-1933771069
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesing book of essays on the wall-crawler, March 7, 2009

By 

Thanos6 (Chapin, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Webslinger: Unauthorized Essays On Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man (Smart Pop series) (Paperback)

For anyone with even the barest interest of Spider-Man, these essays are definitely thought-provoking. You may not agree with all of them--I certainly didn't--but they all get your brain going, which is the point of philosophy (all right, the one about the "real" Forest Hills doesn't so much, but it's still a fascinating comparison of geography in our universe and the Marvel Universe). Amusingly, one of the highlights is the essay by J.R. Fettinger, perhaps the only "amateur" writer in the book and owner of the website SpideyKicksButt.com; Fettinger really nails some of Peter Parker's parental problems.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diverse and intriguing, May 4, 2007

By 

S. Dowdle "terracamp" (Lindon, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Webslinger: Unauthorized Essays On Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man (Smart Pop series) (Paperback)

This book operates very well on its premise: A bunch of essays about Spider-Man. It has a myriad of opinions on the Marvel Universe, and, what I liked particularly, it incorporated the events of Marvel's Civil War up to the point where the webhead unmasks himself. It was refreshing to know that these geeks (how else can you describe authors that psychoanalyze Spider-Man?) aren't stuck in their thoughts that they formulated when they were teenagers.

That being said, I did disagree with a few of the attacks/observations, and there were some superfluous interjections by the authors (science being the only thing to save mankind, for instance) that lessened the impact. Still, one of the best essays included quotes from the Bible, John Stuart Mills, Kierkegaard, and William Shakespeare, all of which harmonized with the point the author made of the wallcrawler. Not too shabby.

I'm going to err on the side of enthusiasm for the subject matter in giving it a five star rating; it probably deserves a four and a half. I enjoyed it, even if it was too short a read (you could easily knock this sucker out on a nice Saturday afternoon) and stuttered through the occasional typo.

In sum: great read for the thinking Spidey-phile.