The Spider | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | IPC Magazines |
First appearance | Lion (June 26, 1965) |
Created by | Ted Cowan (writer) Reg Bunn (artist) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Unknown |
Team affiliations | "Professor" Pelham Roy Ordini The Army of Crime Society of Heroes |
The Spider is a British comic book character who began as a supervillain before becoming a superhero. He appeared in Lion between 26 June 1965 and 26 April 1969 and was reprinted in Vulcan . He was created by writer Ted Cowan and artist Reg Bunn. Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel took over the writing of the character with his third adventure, and would write the bulk of his adventures. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The Spider first appeared in Lion from 26 June 1965, and his adventures were divided into serials of varying lengths. Soon after losing his second lawsuit contesting the ownership of Superman and subsequent sacking by DC Comics, Jerry Siegel made advances to Fleetway looking for work and was sent samples of various stories before choosing to work on the Spider. His first work on the character was published in the 8 January 1966 issue, the start of the serial "The Spider v Doctor Mysterioso". [5]
At the end of the serial NYD detectives Bob Gilmore and Pete Trask, who had been attempting to capture the Spider throughout the strip, made their last appearance, with the Spider instead battling a wide variety of fantastic villains instead. At the end of Siegel's third serial, "The Spider v the Executioner", the character renounced villainy and became more of an anti-hero. After the end of the serial "Ordini the Terrible" in the 1 February 1969 edition Siegel would leave Fleetway to work for Western Publishing. Staff writer Ken Mennell took over for two short serials before the feature ended following the 26 April 1969 issue of Lion. Bunn remained as artist throughout the strip's entire run in Lion. [5]
Parallel to his weekly adventures the Spider was also featured in the hardback Lion Annual books from 1967 to 1971, with a one-off reappearance in 1975. The character also featured in the picture library format Super Library Fantastic Series (renamed Stupendous Series from #3), with the Steel Claw featuring in the odd-numbered editions and the Spider in the even-numbered editions. These consisted of 128-page self-contained adventures and ran from 1967 to 1968. Due to the demands of the weekly strips and a lower page rate both the annuals and the Super Libraries featured different writers (including a returning Kearton, Mennell and staff writer Donne Avenell) and artists (including Aldo Marculetta and Francisco Cueto). [5]
A one-off new strip featuring the character appeared in the 1980 Lion Holiday Special, pitting the Spider against Lion stalwart Robot Archie. This strip was drawn by M. David Harwood. [5]
The Spider's adventures were also reprinted in other countries, such as Germany (in Kobra), Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, India and others. [6]
From 22 April 1972 to 8 December 1973 selected serials were reprinted in Lion. "The Spider v Spider-Boy" was truncated, with sections redrawn by John M. Burns. [5] Later, the format of Kobra was copied by Fleetway for the US-format reprint title Vulcan . Initially the title was trialled in Scotland only, where the first four serials reprinted from the first edition on 1 March 1975 to 20 September 1975. The fourth, "The Spider v the Android Emperor", was edited to allow the newly national volume to begin with "The Spider v the Exterminator". The title ended after the 3 April 1976 edition, leaving a reprint of "The Spider v the Crook from Outer Space" incomplete - while selected strips continued in an insert after Vulcan was merged with Valiant the Spider was not among them. A further reprint was also included in the sole Vulcan Annual. [5]
The Spider appeared in the 1960s in the United States with the aim to become the 'King of Crooks'. His base of operations was a Scottish castle he brought over to America He broke out several other criminals to become members of his army of crime and would clash with both the police and with other criminal masterminds. Among these were Mirror Man (who specialised in illusions), Doctor Mysterioso (a multi-talented scientist) and The Android Emperor (who could create a wide variety of robots). He also clashed with a number of criminal gangs, and one organisation, Crime Incorporated, hired the assassin The Exterminator to kill him. The Spider seemed defeated but struck an alliance with his would-be killer, and the pair took down Crime Incorporated. This achieved, the Spider drained the Exterminator, aging him decades with a booby-trapped handshake when the latter tried to double-cross him.
The Spider found fighting criminals to be exhilarating and decided to pit his wits against threats to mankind from now on. For a brief time, he was associated with the Society of Heroes (consisting Captain Whiz; Mr. Gizmo; Rex Robot; Tigro the Wild Man; Rockman; Snowman); all except The Spider died fighting the Sinister Seven. Other foes he faced included The Crime Genie, Spider-Boy, The Snake, The Death-Master, the Ant, the Red Baron, The Fly, The Molecule Man, The Chessman, and Mr. Stonehart.
It is unclear what powers, if any, The Spider has. He is physically fit, but probably not any more than most humans. He is supremely arrogant and self-confident. He is also cunning and intelligent, and a superb hypnotist. He has trained himself to be immune to his own knockout/poison gas.
The Spider wears a black form-fitting outfit along with a strange backpack/harness. The harness serves as a jetpack and webshooters, as well as the sources for his web gun and gas gun. He has a large number of gadgets of his own invention at his disposal. His reluctant allies are a pair of freed criminals, the genius 'Prof' Pelham and the safecracker Roy Ordini. They were the only members of his 'army of crime' to stay on after The Spider renounced his criminal ways. Despite this, he treated them very badly and in return they often tried to harm or even kill him. Their failures often brought humiliating punishments from their master.
Story | Issues | Episodes | Writer | Artist |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Spider | Lion 26 June - 4 September 1965 | 10 | Ted Cowan | Reg Bunn |
Return of the Spider | Lion 11 September 1965 - 1 January 1966 | 17 | Ted Cowan | Reg Bunn |
The Spider v. Dr. Mysterioso | Lion 8 January - 26 March 1966 | 12 | Jerry Siegel | Reg Bunn |
The Spider v. the Android Emperor | Lion 2 April - 18 June 1966 | 11 | Jerry Siegel | Reg Bunn |
The Spider v. the Exterminator | Lion 25 June - 17 September 1966 | 14 | Jerry Siegel | Reg Bunn |
The Spider v. the Crook from Outer Space | Lion 24 September 1966 - 28 January 1967 | 18 | Jerry Siegel | Reg Bunn |
The Spider v. the Crime Genie | Lion 4 February - 20 May 1967 | 16 | Jerry Siegel | Reg Bunn |
The Spider v. Spider-Boy | Lion 27 May - 7 October 1967 | 20 | Jerry Siegel | Reg Bunn |
The Spider v. the Sinister Seven | Lion 14 October 1967 - 11 May 1968 | 31 | Jerry Siegel | Reg Bunn |
The Spider v. the Snake | Lion 18 May - 14 September 1968 | 18 | Jerry Siegel | Reg Bunn |
Ordini the Terrible | Lion 21 September 1968 - 1 February 1969 | 21 | Jerry Siegel | Reg Bunn |
The Death-Master | Lion 8 February - 1 March 1969 | 4 | Ken Mennell | Reg Bunn |
The Spider v. the Ant | Lion 8 March - 26 April 1969 | 8 | Ken Mennell | Reg Bunn |
Annual | Stories | Writer | Artist |
---|---|---|---|
Lion Annual 1967 | The Spider in Cobra Island | Reg Bunn | |
Lion Annual 1968 | The Spider & the Stone of Venus | Reg Bunn | |
Lion Annual 1969 | The Spider versus the Red Baron Starring... the Spider! (prose) | Reg Bunn | |
Lion Annual 1970 | Island of Menace The Spider Meets the Fly (prose) | Reg Bunn | |
Lion Annual 1971 | The Fabulous Spider (prose) | ||
Lion Annual 1975 | The Spider & the Molecule Man (prose) |
Title | Date | Story | Writer | Artist |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fantastic Series #2 | January 1967 | The Professor of Power | Jerry Siegel | Aldo Marculeta |
Stupendous Series #4 | February 1967 | Crime Unlimited | Donne Avenell | Giorgio Trevisian |
Stupendous Series #6 | March 1967 | The Bubbles of Doom | Ted Cowan | Ogreras |
Stupendous Series #8 | April 1967 | The Man Who Stole New York | David Morton | Aldo Marculeta |
Stupendous Series #10 | May 1967 | The Chessman | Ken Mennell | Aldo Marculeta |
Stupendous Series #12 | June 1967 | The Animator | Donne Avenell | Silio Romagnoli |
Stupendous Series #14 | July 1967 | The Scarecrow's Revenge | Donne Avenell | Francisco Cueto |
Stupendous Series #16 | August 1967 | Mr. Stonehart | Ken Mennell | Ogreras |
Stupendous Series #18 | September 1967 | Dr. Argo's Challenge | Ken Mennell | Aldo Marculeta |
Stupendous Series #20 | October 1967 | The Immortal | David Morton | Francisco Cueto |
Stupendous Series #22 | November 1967 | The Shriveller | M. Scott Goodall | Aldo Marculeta |
Stupendous Series #24 | December 1967 | The Melody of Crime | Ted Cowan | Francisco Cueto |
Stupendous Series #26 | January 1968 | Child's Play | David Morton | Francisco Cueto |
The Spider's first three storylines from Lion (plus a bonus storyline from a Lion annual) have been reprinted in King of Crooks in 2005, with cover art by Garry Leach.
In April 2021, the Treasury of British Comics published a volume of strips that were originally serialised in Lion from 26 June 1965 to 18 June 1966 and the Lion Annual 1967. [7] [8] The collection featured a cover by Chris Weston. [9]
Jerome Siegel was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, in collaboration with his friend Joe Shuster, published by DC Comics. They also created Doctor Occult, who was later featured in The Books of Magic. Siegel and Shuster were inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993. With Bernard Baily, Siegel also co-created the long-running DC character The Spectre. Siegel created ten of the earliest members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, one of DC's most popular team books, which is set in the 30th Century. Siegel also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter and Jerry Ess.
"The Thirteenth Floor" is a British science fiction strip character, appearing in titles published by IPC Magazines. The strip debuted in the weekly anthology Scream! on 24 March 1984, before continuing in Eagle until 28 February 1987. The stories were written by John Wagner and Alan Grant; art was provided by José Ortiz. Since 2016 the property has been owned by Rebellion Developments, who have revived the strip in several specials. The plot was set in a tower block called Maxwell Tower, controlled by an experimental sentient computer called Max located on the 13th floor of the flats. Max himself narrated the strip, and as befitting a computerised custodian of hundreds of people, was quite chatty and light-hearted. However, he was also portrayed as having a programming flaw; programmed to love and protect his tenants, he could remorselessly kill anyone who threatened or even just annoyed them.
The Steel Claw was one of the most popular comic book heroes of British weekly adventure comics of the 1960s and 1970s. The character was revived in 2005 for Albion, a six-issue mini-series published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics.
Lion was a weekly British comics periodical published by Amalgamated Press from 23 February 1952 to 18 May 1974. A boys' adventure comic, Lion was originally designed to compete with Eagle, the popular weekly comic published by Hulton Press that had introduced Dan Dare. It debuted numerous memorable characters, including Captain Condor, Robot Archie, Paddy Payne and the Spider. Lion lasted for 1,156 issues before being merged with stablemate Valiant.
Valiant was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines from 4 October 1962 to 16 October 1976. A boys' adventure comic, it debuted numerous memorable characters, including Captain Hurricane, The Steel Claw and Mytek the Mighty. Valiant lasted for 712 issues before being merged with stablemate Battle Picture Weekly.
Robot Archie is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Amalgamated Press, Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines. Created by Ted Cowan, the character first appeared in a serial called "The Jungle Robot" in the first issue of Lion on 23 February 1952. While the initial stint only lasted six months, Archie returned 1957 and would become one of the most enduring characters in Lion, running until the comic merged with Valiant in 1974, with the majority of his adventures drawn by Ted Kearon.
Ted Cowan, being the best known familiar name of Edward George Cowan, was a British comic book writer.
Vulcan was a British weekly boys' comic published by IPC Magazines from 1 March 1975 to 3 April 1976, when it merged with Valiant. The comic was unusual among IPC's weeklies for several reasons - it used a much smaller format than most of the company's weeklies and featured more colour; until September 1975 the title was only available in Scotland as the format was tested; and it consisted entirely of reprints of extant material. It was also published simultaneously in German as Kobra.
"The House of Dolmann" is a British comic strip published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines in the boys' comic anthology title Valiant between 29 October 1966 to 11 April 1970, with a brief revival from 7 September to 26 October 1974. Written by Tom Tully and primarily illustrated by Eric Bradbury, the strip centred on the exploits of genius inventor Eric Dolmann and his army of crime-fighting robot 'puppets'.
Captain Condor is a British comic character who has appeared in eponymous strips published by Amalgamated Press and Fleetway Publications. The character, a space pilot, first appeared in the launch issue of weekly comic Lion on 23 February 1952 and was created by Frank S. Pepper.
Treasury of British Comics is a line of comic book collections published by Rebellion Developments, collecting British comics stories from the libraries of Amalgamated Press/Fleetway Publications/IPC Magazines.
Wildcat was a fortnightly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications from 22 October 1988 to 25 March 1989. A science fiction adventure comic, the title only lasted for 12 editions before being merged with another Fleetway title, Eagle.
The Vigilant are a British superhero team who appear in comics published by Rebellion Developments. The team is mainly made up of updated versions of extant IPC/Fleetway Publications characters that are now owned by Rebellion, mixed with some original characters.
Thunder was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications from 17 October 1970 to 13 March 1971. A boys' adventure comic, the title only lasted for 22 editions before being merged with another Fleetway title, the long-established Lion.
"Gadgetman and Gimmick-Kid" is a British comic strip published by Fleetway Publications in the boys' comic anthology title Lion between 4 May to 26 October 1968. Written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, it tells the adventures of a pair of American crime-fighting technical geniuses - Gadgetman and his younger sidekick Gimmick Kid - as they battle a variety of outlandish villains.
"The 10,000 Disasters of Dort" is a British comic strip published in the weekly anthology Lion from 18 May to 23 November 23 1968, published by Fleetway Publications. Written by Mike Butterworth and drawn by Spanish artists Luis Bermejo and José Ortiz, it concerns a terror campaign against Earth by aliens from the fictional doomed planet Dort, who hope to force humanity into sharing their home.
"Mytek the Mighty" is a British comic adventure strip, appearing in titles published by Fleetway Publications. The story revolves around Mytek, a large and powerful robotic ape. The strip first appeared in the boys' anthology title Valiant on 26 September 1964. The story was written by Tom Tully and initially drawn by Eric Bradbury, with Bill Lacey later taking over.
"The Astounding Adventures of Charlie Peace" is a British comic strip published in the weekly anthology Buster from 27 June 1964 to 15 June 1971, published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines. It was previewed by a single instalment in Valiant on 20 June 1964. The strip featured fictionalised adventures of the real-life Victorian era criminal Charles Peace.
"The Indestructible Man" is a British comic strip published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines in the boys' comic anthology title Jag between 4 May 1968 to 29 March 1969. Written by Scott Goodall and drawn by Jesús Blasco, the story followed an Ancient Egyptian warrior who survived into the present day after learning a number of skills while entombed, and took on the identity of crime-fighter Mark Dangerfield.
Jack o' Justice is a British comic character who has appeared in eponymous strips published by Fleetway Publications. The character is a highwayman adventurer, first appeared in the anthology title Radio Fun on 22 August 1956. The strip began as altered reprints of a Dick Turpin strip from the comic Sun but after being revived in the pages of Valiant became popular enough that new adventures were commissioned. The character was partnered with Moll Moonlight in his adventures - a rare example of a prominent female character in boys' comics of that time. The strip was succeeded in 1966 by Jack Justice, featuring a descendant of the characters.