In this non-fiction work, you get a fun critical tour of the first twelve issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, the comicbook that launched one of the most enduring characters in modern mythology… and you’ll learn something about storytelling and storyworlds while you’re at it!

ABOUT READING THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOLUME ONE

The first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man hit newsstands in December of 1962. A half-century later, Spider-Man is a cultural icon and a central figure in the pantheon of modern mythological figures. Spider-Man, in all his incarnations, is also one of the most enduring—and valuable—fictional characters ever created.

What’s… well, amazing… is that nearly every persistent element in the storyworld of The Amazing Spider-Man was established in the first twelve issues of the original comicbook!

In Reading The Amazing Spider-Man Volume One, I examine the roots of the franchise with a critical (but light-hearted) review of each story in the first twelve issues. As I do, I keep an eye on the many lessons to be found there for writers and storytellers of all kinds interested in developing an enduring storyworld and creative franchise.

More than anything, though, Reading The Amazing Spider-Man Volume One, just like reading superhero comicbooks themselves, is about having fun!