In 1977, the Amazing Spider-Man made the leap from comic books to the newspaper funny pages. A daily strip by comic legends Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. brought the adventures of Peter Parker to a new audience. Now, a Kickstarter drive is collecting their comic strip work, and offering Spider-Fans a chance at an exclusive Romita lithograph.
The Amazing Spider-Man Classic Newspaper Comics is the latest collaboration between Marvel Comics, The Library of American Comics, and Clover Press. It will feature four volumes, collecting the strips from 1977-1980. This encompasses the totality of John Romita Sr.’s run on the series. Each softcover volume will measure 11″ x 8.5″ in a horizontal format and slide into a vertical slipcase.
“The Library of American Comics remastered and collected the strip in a series of hardcover collections,” recalled Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz. “But so many of them are out of print, making the collection highly sought after and almost impossible for your average comics lover to get their hands on. We can’t wait to help get these iconic comic strips into the hands of Spidey lovers everywhere!”
In addition to the books, the Kickstarter drive will give fans a chance to collect other Amazing Spider-Man items. These will include stickers, a puzzle, and lithographs. SuperHeroHype is proud to offer an exclusive look at one of the lithographs, a self-portrait of John Romita Sr. at his drawing board surrounded by the cast of Amazing Spider-Man.
Why Amazing Spider-Man Newspaper strips are so notable
By the late 1970s, Spider-Man was already a multimedia star. Beyond his comic books, he had his own cartoon and a short-lived live-action television series. However, the daily newspaper strip helped him find another audience.
At the time, there were many parents who wouldn’t let their kids read comic books, but had no objection to the family-friendly funnies in the newspaper. The Amazing Spider-Man strip also kept the action comic strip alive at a time when serialized adventures were falling out of favor with newspaper syndicates. That, coupled with it representing a substantial sample of the work of John Romita Sr. and Stan Lee, marks it as a historically significant series.
The Kickstarter for The Amazing Spider-Man Classic Newspaper Comics launches soon.
