CREATOR CHAT

Steve Saffel

Acclaimed professional editor and long-standing Spider-Man fan Steve Saffel, invites readers to explore the impact of the web slinger in popular culture with Spider-Man: The Icon. Now Steve discusses how he approached the mammoth task of researching Spidey's memorable career in this interview with Titan Books.

In Amazing Spider-Man #19, Stan Lee (credited as "Spidey's Godfather") and Steve Ditko ("Spidey's Big Daddy") introduced me to the web-slinger. That story, "Spidey Strikes Back," was pure gold, with scenes like the Human Torch flying overhead thinking, "If I didn't know better, I'd swear that was J. Jonah Jameson hitting a brick wall!" And Spidey in the middle of a fight, singing, "All hail the Spider! A hardy breed is he! Tra la la!" I was hooked instantly.

Spidey himself was dynamic, and he was real. There was the brilliant action, yet the characters really struck a chord. The effect was unique, utterly captivating, and strangely enough, it's still there today. It's the reason Ultimate Spider-Man works, and it's why, at the end of Spider-Man 2, the line "Go get 'em, Tiger!" made the crowds go wild. They were grabbed by the characters!

There were always new audiences, and new ways to discover the web-slinger. Marvel Comics were difficult to find in the 1960's - for reasons we've explained in the book - so it was that first cartoon series that really caused him to break out. ("Spider-Man, Spider-Man... does whatever a spider can...") There were three live-action series in the '70s, and an expanding number of comic book titles. As long as the writers and artists remained true to the character, there would always be room for more fans.

We've merged text and visuals so that, as readers follow the story of Spider-Man, they'll thrill to hundreds of wonderful, full-color, high-res scans from the comics, photographs of the toys, stills from television and the movies, and so much more! We've got Japanese toys, early British comics, rare record albums, original artwork and animation cels, and magazines that never made it to the newsstand. We even get to tell a few stories, like reprinting the entire run of newspaper strips Stan Lee and John Romita produced, but couldn't sell to a syndicate.

As the story of Spider-Man unfolded, it provided me the opportunity to reveal a "hidden history" of popular culture. For example, the origins of trading cards in America, and the development of video games from OXO on down. Spider-Man merchandise didn't just appear - someone had to develop, say, G.I. Joe before Captain Action could appear, then be given a Spider-Man costume. But who developed G.I. Joe? I wanted to give the reader plenty of fun "Aha!" and "I didn't know that!" moments.

The hidden connections between Spider-Man and the rest of the world. For example, that the man who wrote the Spider-Man theme also wrote Tender is the Night for Tony Bennett, and that Richard Nixon was responsible for Spider-Man's first live-action television series. That the man who pulled together the first "Spider-Man vs. Superman" crossover was the agent for Woodward and Bernstein's All the President's Men (and producer for Revenge of the Nerds!). There were some amazing connections I never expected to find.

Quite a few - especially comics, books, and other printed items - came from my collection. I acquired some while writing the book, like an issue of Esquire magazine that featured two double-page spreads with amazing Jack Kirby artwork. But my collection of rare toys and memorabilia can't hold a candle to Sy Winnie, who provided a huge number of wonderful photos. We found Sy - and other terrific resources - on the Internet. Images from the movies came via the generous folks at Sony, and many of the most exciting comic book images came straight from Marvel.

Of course, "Spidey Strikes Back!" And a pivotal scene in issue #33, where Spider-Man beat the odds and lifted a massive pile of rubble that had him pinned. A lot of writers and artists point to that as the moment that made them want to do comics. The origin story in the first Spider-Man movie was one of the most rewarding moments in Spider-history. Fans had been waiting for forty years to see that one. On a whimsical note, few things were more satisfying than watching the Spider-Mobile disappear into the murky waters of New York Harbor.

In each decade, something thrust him into the spotlight - beyond comics, onto the larger stage of popular culture. In the '60s it was the cartoon, and in the '70s it was the live-action shows. Each event led to more licenses, for everything from action figures to illustrated toilet paper. (Really!) The Spider-Man newspaper strip, for example, placed him in front of millions of readers every day. Then it was up to the writers and artists to keep the stories fresh, so that when new readers came to the comics, they'd keep coming back.

By remaining vital on every level. There are some innovative things happening in the comics, following the "One More Day" storyline and the arrival of a new artist for Ultimate Spider-Man. The new animated series, Broadway show, and theme park plans in Dubai will unfold on a global scale. And there are more movies in the offing. From day one, Spider-Man was a risk and an experiment. As long as they continue to try new things, even if some of them don't work as well as they'd planned, enough will hit home to keep the web-slinger new and exciting.