Panels and Pages… Art and Artists… Creators and Conventions… Musings and Memories…
Author: Greg Goldstein
Greg Goldstein is a veteran publishing and media executive; most recently, he was the Chief Operating Officer, President and Publisher of IDW Publishing, managing all aspects of the company’s book and games business from 2008 to 2019.
Throughout his career, Greg has developed creative and profitable publishing programs for dozens of the world’s best-known entertainment brands including Star Wars, Transformers, Star Trek, James Bond, TMNT, Spider-Man, Batman and Godzilla.
In 2013, Greg led IDW’s acquisition of Top Shelf, an independent publisher best known for Congressman John Lewis’ March trilogy, which has become the most lauded non-fiction graphic novel series in the history of the medium.
In 2011, Greg won an Eisner award for his editing on the first-ever collection of Bob Montana’s Archie newspaper comic strips. (Published under IDW’s Library of American Comics imprint.)
Prior to joining IDW, Greg was VP of Entertainment and Gaming for Upper Deck, responsible for the company’s blockbuster slate of games, including Yu-Gi-Oh, World of Warcraft and The VS Superhero system. During his tenure, he created Marvel Ultimate Battles, the first-ever trading card game that focused exclusively on Marvel’s popular mass media characters.
As VP of Brand Development for Activision from 2000-2002, Greg established strategic partnerships with the largest Hollywood studios, and worked closely with Marvel Entertainment to successfully develop Spider-man into one of the biggest blockbuster licensed videogame brands in interactive history.
Greg’s career has also included a successful stint at Topps, where he helped launch and manage Topps Comics in the mid 1990s.
Additionally, Greg serves as an adviser for to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBDLF). He is also a frequent guest lecturer at San Diego Sate University and has presented at dozens of panels and conferences throughout the US.
He is also a well-known collector of original comic book art and rues the day he sold his collection the first time around in the late 1990s.
Today we wrap up our month-long celebration of Spider-Man’s upcoming 60th anniversary.
Mike McKone brings his own take to Spidey rising from the grave — with Kraven’s daughter seeking revenge for what happened to dear departed dad. (It’s a bit more complicated than that, but you get the idea.) This Wizard story previews “The Gauntlet” and “Grim Hunt” which are also essentially sequels to Kraven’s Last Hunt.
Mike Zeck spoke about the original cover image in Back Issue #35, from 2009:
“If an issue has a scene with the title hero rising from his own grave, it’s like receiving the number-one gift on your Christmas list! Anyone spending even one second mulling over a cover idea for that issue would have been in the wrong business.”
McKone’s cover is a clever callback to Zeck’s original and iconic “crawl from the grave” scene 20 years earlier.
The Amazing Spider-Man: Soul Of The Hunter, August 1992
With and without the overlay that adds snow to the art.
Ah, the lure of the sequel/prequel/spin-off.
Kraven’s Last Hunt (1987), considered one of the greatest Spidey sagas of all time, saw a follow-up story appear as “Soul of the Hunter” five years later, reuniting the original creative team: JM DeMatteis, Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod.
This page is one of my favorites from the story and one of my favorite Spidey pieces that I own, period, because, thanks to some hallucinogenic help, you have Spider-Man in both traditional and black costume on one page.
Of course, if someone wants to offer me a reasonable fraction of what the very first page featuring a Zeck Spider-man in black costume recently sold for, well under that condition, I would probably part with it:
Mike Mayhew was this close to wrapping up the final touches on this classic Spider-Man image.
And then he changed his mind.
Mike and I have spoken about this a few times. He doesn’t specifically remember why he started over but, as you can see, it’s very close to the final cover. (He did recall some possible miscommunication over which aspects were going to be handled digitally vs. his actual original art. That was speculation more than fact, since those changes could have been fixed in this version.)
A potential not so fun fact for me:
When I purchased the art from a third party, it was presented to me as the actual published original, with alterations, finishes, colors and effects added digitally.
Er, no.
Fortunately, it’s still cool artwork, and, with the current insane pricing in the original art market, I’m likely about even.
The published piece along with the actual final original.
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #10 and Web of Spider-Man Annual #6, 1990
Described (tongue in cheek, hopefully) as a “micro-crossover,” Spidey’s Totally Tiny Adventure is a three-part story from 1990, running in the summer annuals. (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #24, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #10, The Web of Spider-Man Annual #6).
The story, as you might guess, features Spider-Man shrinking down to Ant-Man size and beyond. It’s definitely a bit light-hearted without devolving into straight camp. (Our friends at Pulp and Dagger have a full review here.)
Gil Kane drew chapters one and three, and Rich Buckler tackled chapter two. And a trivia note: Stan Lee scripted both chapters two and three, marking a rare return to the keyboard for the Spidey’s co-creator.
Continuing our month-long celebration of Spider-Man’s upcoming 60th anniversary.
Alex Saviuk delivers a dynamic action scene of Spider-Man battling the super-villain team, The Sinister Six. (As much as I love Spidey, I’m pretty sure even he’ going to get creamed 10 seconds later.)
Here’s why good notes are important: My pal Alex drew this for a 2013 Comic Book Convention program. The only problem is, he can’t recall which convention.
If any sharp-eyed fans have seen the published piece, and can remember where it’s from, we’d love to hear from you.
Fun Fact: Our friends at Wikipedia have listed 16 numbered versions of the “Sinister Six,” along with additional lineups from alternate realities, etc. This version is close to the original team (except swap Kraven for the Lizard). Or version #10 (the “Superior Six”) from 2013. In that case, you only have to swap the minds of Spidey and Doc Ock.
Joe Jusko originally created this homage to this classic and iconic John Romita Spider-Man cover (#50, 1967) for a project that ultimately didn’t reach fruition.
I was fortunate enough to see the original — and not mull, noodle, or otherwise hesitate before purchasing it — when it was first offered for sale back in 2007.
As serendipity would have it, a few years later I was at IDW, and we landed Desperado Press as an imprint. Part of that deal included bringing Desperado’s Joe Jusko art book back into print.
Not wanting to miss potential opportunity for Joe or IDW, I asked Marvel if we could license the Spider-Man image for the cover of an exclusive limited edition version of the book. They said yes, told me the fee, and, after some smelling salts revived me, I said yes as well.
We (deliberately) only made 100 copies, and, on a per capita basis, it remains the most expensive licensing deal I have ever made.
But it’s a stunning piece that absolutely deserved to be a cover. (And, importantly, everyone would make a bit of money, so there’s that.)
And what did John Romita himself think about Joe’s painting?
“I had this piece on display at a Baltimore Con one year and who walks by my table and sees it, but John, “ says Jusko.
“He studied it for a while and then told me how much he liked it. A lot of guys would say that just to be nice, but John never said what he didn’t mean. For the rest of the show I had people coming over to my table saying John sent them over, telling them they had to see the painting. I’ve seldom been more flattered!”
Marvel announced only last month that John Romita Jr. will celebrate Spider-Man’s 60th Anniversary with… a return to drawing Spider-Man.
To quote Matthew Jackson on SyFy Wire:
“Romita Jr. made a name for himself as a key Marvel artist thanks in large part to his work on Spider-Man. He first drew the character in 1977, as the rising star son of the legendary John Romita Sr., and went on to become one of the definitive pencillers to ever work on the character… Now, he’s back in full force at his original superhero home, and he’s teaming up with one of the 21st century great Spider-Man writers for a whole new era on the character.”
For an overview of some of Romita’s greatest Marvel work, see the article at Comicbook.com:https://comicbook.com/news/10-greatest-john-romita-jr-creative-runs/
Marc Hempel showcases his witty sense of storytelling in an amusing short Spidey story from 1986. Hempel, best know for his work on Sandman, brings some welcome lightheartedness to the character without devolving into Not Brand Echh mode.
Stylistically, think Steve Ditko meets Los Hernandez Brothers.
I didn’t acquire a Ditko Spider-man original art page back when they were simply “very expensive,” and now that prices have soared into the stratosphere, it feels even more unlikely. Homages and tributes will have to do.
And that’s perfectly ok.
(Complete story presented below. As far as I can tell, It’s never been reprinted.)
