Spider-Man The Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon (Spiderman)
by Steve Saffel
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Book Summary Information
Author: Steve SaffelForeword: Stan Lee
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2007-10-23
ISBN: 1845763246
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Titan Books
Book Reviews of Spider-Man The Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon (Spiderman)
Book Review: More like Spider-Man: The Brand
Summary: 3 Stars
This book appears to have been inspired by the superior "Batman Collected" by Chip Kidd. Far from an analysis of Spider-Man as a character, or the various Spider-Man comics as works of fiction, this volume concentrates on Spider-Man as a pop culture phenomenon and commercial exercise. As such, equal emphasis is placed on TV and film adaptations and in particular ancillary merchandise as on the comics themselves.
The book is lavishly illustrated with quality reproductions of a wide range of comicbook covers and interior pages as well as screen grabs from animation and movies and photographs of various (often amusingly incongruous or shoddily made) Spider-Man products from across the decades.
Sadly the book is let down by the text. Contrary to the reviews above, the author does assume familiarity with Spidey as well as with Marvel Comics in general. For example, in his opening chapter he offers no definite summary of the character's fictional origin, making it neither explicit that Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider nor that he later neglects to halt a criminal who goes on to murder his uncle. Other characters, titles and story-lines are tossed into the prose casually ("...Cap's shooting...") with no supporting explanation.
Worse, the author was on Marvel's pay roll in the past and as such certain passages come across as trade puff. Saffel is unwilling to engage critically with his subject. To cite a few examples: we are given no account of the well-known creative differences between Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, nor is the contention that Jack Kirby designed the costume addressed ; the recent "One More Day" reboot is described, correctly, as "controversial", but there's no description of why; "Spider-Man 3" was the most critically derided of Sam Raimi's movies (62% "fresh" at rottentomatoes.com compared with 90% and 93% for the previous instalments) but is nevertheless painted as the most successful.
This book therefore has the same frustrating lack of depth as the various DK "Ultimate Guides" to comic book characters whose authors also fail to make any attempt at critique, or even be encyclopaedic in their approach. The definitive Spider-Man book is yet to be written. One longs for something in the style of Les Daniels' "Complete Histories" of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
All Spider-Man The Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon (Spiderman) Customer Reviews
Summary of Spider-Man The Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon (Spiderman)
THE LIFE AND TIMESOF A POP CULTURE PHENOMENON
From his modest 1962 debut in Amazing Fantasy #15, 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!
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