I've enjoyed drawing all the strips I've worked on over the past 30 years. Who couldn't enjoy having their childhood dream come true? One of the most satisfying gigs was being commissioned by Panini UK to draw new Mini-Marvel strips when they had run out of the American ones by Chris Giarusso. I've shown some of these before in their original art stages, but here's a few of the printed versions from issues of Spectacular Spider-Man in 2008. Click on them to see the strips at a more readable size.
Spectacular Spider-Man was a really good version of the character for a younger UK audience. The main strip in the comic, often by Ferg Handley and artists such as Andie Tong and Simon Williams, was action-packed and well illustrated.
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| Cover art by Andie Tong. |
Sadly, Disney's decision to stop Marvel material being originated in the UK put paid to that. There is still a British Spider-Man comic for kids but it reprints American material, and Panini aren't even allowed to run a new humour strip in it now. Still, it was great while it lasted, and having the opportunity to write and draw Marvel characters for an officially approved comic is something I'll always remember fondly.
I really miss Spectacular Spiderman as that was the first comic I ever collected. Didn't they also have Mini Marvels in 'Marvel Rampage' at some point? I seem to recall seeing them in there.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to think I used to read the Mini Marvels as a kid and think they were the best thing in the comic, and now I have actually gotten to talk to you on a number of occasions - likewise with Simon! Thanks so much for uploading these, Lew - brought back good memories! :)
Thanks Harry. I'm pleased that you liked them when you were a kid. They were fun to do and I only wish I could have done more.
DeleteYes, I did some for Marvel Rampage originally, then they had a change of editor who replaced me, revamped the comic, and it folded. They also reprinted some of my strips in The Astonishing Spider-Man (the 76 page US format comic).
Looking at it now I'd forgotten what a good comic Spectacular Spider-Man was. The lead strip was always excellent and it had its own continuity set somewhere between the American comic and the cartoon series. A really nicely produced comic.
Hi Lew,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear someone speaking so passionately about this. This morning I went to WHSmith, just to see what they have in-store nowadays for the young comic readers: almost nothing. It all revolves around The Avengers and that is it. It's hard to explain to a young chap that the 'Spider-verse' is far more complex, intriguing and exciting than Iron Man and Spider-Man sharing the screen for 5 minutes.