Marvel Comics and The Quarto Group’s (through their Epic Ink imprint) ode to The Amazing Spider-Man’s legacy hits stores just in time for the character’s 60th anniversary (and the holiday giving season).
The 200 page hardcover coffee table book, entitled Spider-Man: A History and Celebration of the Web-Slinger, Decade by Decade, explores the wall crawler’s long history through a variety of mediums, replete with behind the scenes anecdotes, images, and rare interviews.
It also helps that the book was originally penned by former Spider-Man writer Peter David and Robert Greenberger, making the examination less of an encyclopedia, and more of a story. Most of the material was originally a part of 2011’s Spider-Man Vault, but new information and additions since 2011 (such as extended pieces about Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, both Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland’s cinematic adventures, and Sony’s video games) has been added by Matthew K. Manning. For those that remember the hard to handle Vault (due to size and packaging concerns), having the book portion of the Vault available in a new updated edition after a ten year hiatus is a win for current fans and those that may have missed out on the initial examination of Spider-Man (or those who prefer a standard, easy to read book).
The “decade by decade” format is always centered on the comic adventures first, and then filled in with additional photos and blurbs about films, animated series, clothing, toys, video games, posters, and anything else that Marvel could slap an image of Spidey on. The historical approach works in relaying how prolific that character has been in pop culture, and also clearly highlights the changes and major storylines that have impacted Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacey, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, and the rest of the recurring cast of characters.
Special attention is also paid to Spidey’s impressive rogues gallery, with much information revealed about the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Kraven, and the rest, and how they have been represented over the years.
While books of this nature do need updates every decade or so, the seminal moments don’t change, and Spider-Man: A History and Celebration of the Web-Slinger, Decade by Decade does an excellent job of capturing them.
Spider-Man: A History and Celebration of the Web-Slinger, Decade by Decade is currently available at your friendly neighborhood comic shop or book store, for a suggested retail price of $40.00.
