Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Spider-Man

Dave Johnson — Spider-Bonus

Original Art and The Artists

Spider-Man DVD Special Edition, Bonus Art Gallery, 2002

With Great DVDs Come Great Bonus Features:

Remember when DVDs tried really hard?

Okay, so maybe you don’t remember DVDs at all. Sadly, in the age of streaming, that’s entirely possible.

The 2002 Spider-Man Special Edition included the usual commentaries, documentaries and deleted material—but it also featured a gallery of original Spider-Man artwork by 19 different comic artists.

And it’s an impressive group: Chris Bachalo, Jae Lee, David Mack, John Cassaday, Kevin Nowlan, Sean Phillips and plenty more. There’s a complete checklist below.

This piece by Dave Johnson is one of my favorites. Interestingly, when an artist supplied a piece in black and white, the DVD left it that way—so for original-art fans, that’s a bonus on top of a bonus. The coloring shown here was created this year by the very talented Frank Cuonzo.

Did the casual movie fan have any idea what they were looking at? That’s pretty much a rhetorical question.

These pieces were commissioned exclusively for the DVD, which means somebody had to contact the artists, negotiate fees, collect the artwork, scan everything—and then hide it several menus deep on the second disc.

That’s a lot of effort for something many viewers probably clicked through once, if at all.

Still, I love that they did it.

The feature connected the movie back to the comics and gave a wonderfully eclectic group of artists a chance to interpret Spider-Man in their own way.

Wasteful? Possibly.

But compared with today’s nearly bonus-free streaming releases, it also feels pretty terrific.

Color by Frank Cuonzo — it’s Black and White in the DVD.

I couldn’t find a checklist of all the DVD “Bonus” Comic Art Images, so I created one. (It’s an all-star list, in order of how they appear when you click through the gallery):

Note: “Color” denotes the only pieces presented in color in the DVD gallery.

Spider-Man DVD Comic Art Gallery

ArtistFeatured Character(s)Format
Michael DavisGreen Goblin—
Denys CowanSpider-Man—
Chris BachaloSpider-Man & Green GoblinColor
Jae LeeSpider-Man—
Mike AllredSpider-ManColor
David MackSpider-ManColor
Duncan FegredoSpider-Man & Green GoblinColor
J. G. JonesSpider-Man & Green Goblin—
Dave JohnsonSpider-Man—
Frank QuitelySpider-Man—
Terry DodsonSpider-Man—
John CassadaySpider-Man—
Sam KiethSpider-ManColor
Sean PhillipsSpider-ManColor
Michael Avon OemingSpider-Man—
Paul ChadwickSpider-ManColor
Alex MaleevSpider-Man—
Kevin NowlanSpider-Man—
Kevin MaguireSpider-Man & Mary Jane—

Samplings of some of the other DVD art pieces

Sean Chen — Into The Spider-Verse

Original Art and The Artists

FCBD Regional Specaility Print, 2023

Here is a great Spider-Man original from my pal Sean Chen, featuring Miles Morales front and center, with Spider-Gwen—Ghost-Spider—right behind him.

Peter Parker gets a more casual nod through the classic Spidey image on the side of the building, and “Peter Porker” makes an appearance the same way, just for good measure.

It’s a terrific composition—and whenever Sean draws buildings, the level of detail is outstanding.

Sean originally created the piece for a regional Free Comic Book Day print in 2023, and he also brings a version with him to conventions.

Fun, somewhat tangential fact: Someone started a rumor—at least locally here in California—that the first comic-book team-up of Miles, Gwen and Peter may have appeared in our Marvel Action: Spider-Man series from IDW Publishing.

I have no idea whether that is actually true.

I did see speculators buying copies in bulk at a local show around the time the last Spider-Verse animated film was released, but I don’t think they succeeded in cornering the market. You can still find the books pretty readily at cover price or just slightly higher.

I’m not crazy about the coloring on the published print. It obscures too much of Sean’s terrific detail, and while the palette might seem appropriate for the animated film series it doesn’t feel especially “Spider-Verse” here.
But hey—everyone’s a critic, right?

Steve Rude — Spider-Man ‘s Fireworks (Part 2)

Original Art and The Artists

Speciality Piece, 2001

Steve Rude takes on a classic John Romita Spider-Man cover here, and gives it just enough of his own “spin” to make it interesting.

I really like it.

But… I still prefer Romita’s original. His Spidey is more prominent — and, hey, it is Spidey’s book. Torch also gets a little more room to breathe on the published cover.

Plus — nostalgia.

That said, I think Rude’s Torch pose feels more in the moment, especially reacting to Spidey’s webbing — which is fireproof now?

Handy.

Rude also has some fun with the dock setting. The crates, pylons, broken boards, and extra bits make the action feel more like an actual waterfront brawl.

But Romita still wins.

Still, I could afford the Rude reinterpretation. If the Romita ever comes up for sale, I don’t exactly have an extra $250K–$500K lying around.

Which, naturally, is a pity — although I’d probably use that kind of cash for something else.

Unless, of course, I win one of those mega-jackpots with eight figures or more.

In that case, all bets are off.

Pat Olliffe — Spider-Man’s Fireworks (Part 1)

Original Art and The Artists

Untold Tales of Spider-Man #6, February 1996

The Human Torch and Spider-Man: peanut butter and chocolate? Or oil and water?

Maybe both.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the pairing of Marvel’s two original teenage superheroes. Peter Parker and Johnny Storm should probably understand each other better than anyone else in the Marvel Universe.

Naturally, they mostly annoy the hell out of each other.

Which is why I enjoy it.

This terrific Pat Olliffe / Al Vey cover comes from Untold Tales of Spider-Man, a modern retro gem of a series that filled in the gaps between Spidey’s earliest Lee/Ditko adventures. The Kurt Busiek-penned book had the tricky job of feeling new without stepping on sacred ground, and typically it pulled it off.

This cover does the same thing.

It feels classic without being phony-retro — just a clean, punchy Marvel image with Spidey and Torch doing what they do best: racing straight into trouble.

And that’s the fun of them together. Torch is all swagger, Spidey is all wisecracks, and they’re usually over their heads before the story even has a chance to get warmed up.

Pun intended.

Fun fact: It’s a “modern” series only if you’re an old-timer. It’s about 30 years old now, which means it’s roughly as far from us as the original Ditko stories were from it.

Sigh.

Chris Bachalo — Wolverine Is No Second Fiddle

Original Art and The Artists

Amazing Spider-Man #555, June 2008

Continuing a mini-celebration of the X-Men’s 60th anniversary.

Spider-Man and Wolverine. Team-up or rivalry? Peanut butter and chocolate — or Coke vs. Pepsi?

Doesn’t really matter.  Two of Marvel’s most famous icons in one story typically means chaos and fun, especially when a talented artist like Chris Bachalo takes charge.

Bonus points for snow, at least for me. Issues #47- #49 of Amazing Spider-man were the earliest issues I read, and yep, Spidey must ultimately deal with snow. Not to mention the flu. Oh, and he gets his butt whipped by a different kind of dynamic duo: Kraven the Hunter and The Vulture. 

Good Stuff.

Gil Kane — Titanic Team-Up

Original Art and The Artists

Marvel Team-Up #14, October 1973

Spider-man art by Gil Kane. From the collection of Greg Goldstein

Spider-Man and Sub-Mariner need a few pages of bantering and brawling in this early issue of Marvel Team-Up before they figure out that they left on friendly terms just two years prior. But that’s often the classic (sometimes cliché) formula. Characters meet, fight, and then figure out who the real enemy is and join forces to stop them. (In this case Tiger Shark and — I kid you not — the Aquanoids.)

Gil Kane provides, as always, dynamic and dramatic pencils and composition — although finding regular inkers for him on this series seems challenging. Here the enigmatic Wayne Howard takes a stab at Gil’s unique styling with mixed effects throughout the issue.  (Although I like the results on this specific page.)

Great cover too, with inks by Frank Giacoia. (Although the Marvel trade dress is out of control with not much room for the main imagery.)

For more on the first Sub-Mariner / Spider-Man crossover, see this fun article below:

Sub-Mariner #40 (August, 1971)

Ron Lim — Maximum Carnage

Original Art and The Artists

Spider-Man Unlimited #1, May 1993

Carnage organizes a group of like-minded maniacs (Shriek, Carrion, etc.) on a murderous spree in the infamous 1993 crossover event from Marvel. In the intro issue, Ron Lim delivers this terrific splash as Spider-Man tackles Doppelganger, an evil near-mindless version of Webhead created during The Infinity War saga.

The “Comics Code” was completely superfluous by now, if not an outright joke. This storyline, which is the basis for a video game, and influenced the second Venom film, features so much bloodshed and violence its pretty much impossible to keep a bodycount.

The Green Goblin is a pussycat compared to these guys.

10 minutes with Ron Lim at a con and I spend the rest of the day grinning ear to ear.

Scott Koblish — Goblin City

Original Art and The Artists

Spider-Man Spectacular #1, August, 2014

The only thing that freaks out Aunt May more than the Green Goblin? Spider-Man, of course.

Scott Koblish provides pencils and inks for this story set early in Spidey’s career. In this drama-filled penultimate action page, The Green Goblin’s glider indeed comes back to him — but not in the way he would like.

Meanwhile, a terrified May Parker figures she’s next since she believes Spidey has already murdered her late husband. Ah, irony.

(Based on the notation in the top margin, the story was originally intended for a French Panini magazine, and ended up in an American one-shot instead. It’s later reprinted in a Brazilian Panini mag, but I’m not sure there ever was a French version.)

Leonard Kirk — The Gorilla On The Cover Trick

Original Art and The Artists

Spider-Man Family #4, October 2007

It’s Spider-Man vs. Agents of Atlas on this fun cover, and check out the featured player: It’s Gorilla-Man, an obscure 50s character who eventually made his way into Marvels Agent of Atlas, a team made up entirely of obscure 50s characters.

During the 50s and 60s, word over at the “Distinguished Competition” (DC Comics) was that gorillas on the covers sold more copies. (And purple gorillas apparently outsold ordinary-colored gorillas, but as always, we digress.)

Atlas (Marvel) clearly didn’t get that message in 1954, because the zombies get top billing in the issue with Gorilla-Man’s first appearance. But this was 1954 of course, and zombies were doing pretty well in the comics biz, at least for a few more months anyway.

Fifty years later, with the mass market for comics nearly extinct, I don’t think it matters for sales whether a gorilla is featured on the cover or not.

But fun, anyway.

Bret Blevins — Web Of Confusion

Original Art and The Artists

Sleepwalker # 5, October 1991

Spider_Man. Nearly drowned. Trapped in chains. On a table. Prone before Kingpin and a group of other assorted criminal goons. It’s a terrific final splash.

In “real life”, it’s game over, as most of the goons would quickly pull their guns and start blasting away. Spider powers do not include invulnerability.

But in comics, especially older classics, it’s… continued next issue!

And I am absolutely there for it. (And we know Spidey is going to get out of this — the joy is the “how?”)

Pencils and inks here both by Blevins, who drew most of the early Sleepwalker issues, following his terrific run on New Mutants.

Next issue leads off with a somewhat silly cover — and a great splash page that’s a close-up from the previous closer.