Spider-Symmetry: The Swinging 60's Spidey

 

For today’s post we have another entry in the occasional series where I endeavour to highlight the visual or narrative symmetry between the Spider-Man and Spider-Girl comics. For this entry of Spider-Symmetry, we are taking a look at a silver age era comic classic and a modern era classic. This instalment, we must credit the amazing penciller and Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko and MC2 and Spider-Girl co-creator, artist extraordinaire and friendly fella, Ron Frenz, but we have a few stops on the way…

 

First up we have the iconic cover to 1964’s Amazing Spider-Man #19 by sturdy Steve Ditko, featuring our webbed wonder, Spider-Man swinging directly toward the reader with various familiar faces surrounding him in a stylized web. Seriously, this guy was talented.

 

It would be remiss of me not to mention the amusing Spider-Man cameo from the pages of Fantastic Four Annual #3 released in 1965. I’ll let it speak for itself.

 

For the generations of Spidey fans who know the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon will no doubt recognize this pose, as it (along with many other poses) was ‘recycled’ for various episodes’ swinging segments.

 

Now, here’s the cover to Amazing Spider-Man #68 by jazzy John Romita Senior, coincidentally released in 1968, which features a similarly swinging Spider-Man albeit rendered very much in the style of Mr. Romita.

 

 

One more time, we have the original Steve Ditko pose brought back and referenced in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #261 by artist and major Marvel fanboy Ron Frenz.

Coming full circle, the cover to Spider-Girl #42 pencilled by Ron Frenz and released in 2002 demonstrates a combination of both Mr. Ditko and Mr. Romita’s cover poses and art styles, no doubt influenced or informed by Mr Frenz’s own affection for the 60’s Spider-Man animation.

 

Once again, it’s wonderful reverence and references like this that really make the MC2 feel familiar and inclusive of the whole history of the Spidey mythos.

 

Until I make a post about the 70’s series, I remain

 

frogoat

Spider-Symmetry: Spider-Man '67 and Spider-Girl

For today’s super-quick post we have another entry in the shamelessly swiped Spider-Symmetry series. Ron Frenz presents Spider-Symmetry: Spider-Man ’67 and Spider-Girl.

 

Spider-Girl and MC2 co-creator and artist extraordinaire Ron Frenz is an admitted lifelong fan of the original 1967 Spider-Man cartoon and he once again took the opportunity to slip several direct references into Amazing Spider-Girl. I’ll let Ron’s own Facebook post provide the explanation:

99% Inspiration!

Remember the 1967 Spider-man cartoon? Every frame is pretty much burned into my frontal lobe!

As the show changed production teams they would spend(waste?) several minutes of any given episode with a traveling montage of the web-spinner web-swinging through the concrete canyons of New York City accompanied by some of the coolest soundtrack music known to man IMHO!

We've spoken before of my cartoon-addled brain and my tendency to indulge it in my comics work, well here's another example from the pages of The Amazing Spider-Girl!

Mayday Parker is desperately searching the city for her missing Father and infant Brother who have been taken by Carnage! (I know!)

Inks by Mr.Sal Buscema, colors by Gotham, letters by Mr.Dave Sharpe and words by The Legendary Tom DeFalco!

This calls for a traveling montage! Cue the music!!

 

For anyone wondering, the issue referenced is Amazing Spider-Girl #11 and an example of previous ’67 homage would be La Fantome aka Staci Smythe. Mr Frenz has even talked about some unused concepts such as a Halloween story idea ‘Night of Evil’.

 

Here’s the page and referenced shots for comparison:

 

Until I stop appreciating the deep love the Spider-Girl creative team has for all things Spidey and more, I remain

 

frogoat

 

Spider-Girl's Spider-Signal

 

A little while back I wrote a post discussing Spider-Girl’s First Web-shooters and today I’d like to present a kind of addendum or supplemental post about one specific aspect of her web-shooters. Let us jump right in and discuss the implications.

 

Introduced in Spider-Girl #18 by Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz (who was filling-in for Pat Olliffe for the issue) is Mayday’s own version of the classic Spider-Signal, here used on The Buzz during a confrontation. Notably, the light is projected from Spider-Girl’s web-shooter unlike her father’s version which is built into his equipment belt.

 

On a side-note, the original release of Spider-Girl #18 depicts most of the eye outline projected by the Spider-Signal in a slightly different shaded red colour. This is also the case in the Spider-Girl Digest Volume 4 reprint and even the recent Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection Volume 2 reprint. This does not appear to be the case on digital editions of the issue, where the Spidey-eyes are black as they would be normally for Spider-Man’s Spider-Signal.

 

The design choice to have May’s version of the Spider-Signal built into her web-shooters is an interesting but also practical one. As Mayday does not appear to use an equipment belt, it seems logical to place the Spider-Signal on her web-shooter.

 

Additionally, as pointed out by arias-98105, the idea of a Spider-Signal-like light being projected from a web-shooter dates back to at least the original 1967 Spider-Man animated series, as seen in such episodes as ‘Captured by J Jonah Jameson’. We know artist and Spider-Girl co-creator Ron Frenz does like the show though this is apparently not a deliberate reference but instead a happy coincidence.

 

Yet another point of note is that since this issue follows immediately after Peter hands over the web-shooters as a sign of trust and a passing of the torch. May herself calls it her ‘new Spider-Signal’ in her internal monologue, so it might be an upgrade Peter installed for his daughter as a sign of support, or even potentially an entirely new pair of web-shooters.

 

 

While the Spider-Signal does not make a lot of appearances in the Spider-Girl series, it is worth noting it appears on the covers of The Buzz #1, Spider-Girl #46 and #74. I will give out a coveted No-Prize to anyone who can point out any other appearances!

 

Until I stop enjoying blinding potential criminals with intense red lights to strike fear into the superstitious, cowardly lot, I remain

 

frogoat