F.A.Q. : Finding Stuff

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How do I get in touch with Marvel?

The address for Marvel Comics is printed on the Letters Page of Amazing Spider-Man each month. To save you from reaching for your latest copy, here it is:

Amazing Spider-Mail
c/o Marvel Comics
135 West 50th Street
New York, NY
U.S.A. 10020

Web Page is at:

www.marvel.com

They probably get tons of mail, so don't be disappointed if they don't seem to want to tell you how to get a job drawing comics, or if they can't seem to be bothered explaining just how Wolverine's pre-X-men continuity fits together.

Here at SpiderFan we do occasionally have contact with some of the Marvel editors. But that's is all under strict confidence. We will not pass on contact details under any circumstances, so please don't ask.

How do I get a job with Marvel?

Getting a job creating comics for Marvel is about as hard as becoming a Hollywood actor. Sure you might have plenty of talent, but that's not sufficient in the slightest.

First of all, don't bother writing to us. There's absolutely nothing we here at SpiderFan can do for you. We're not agents, we're not talent scouts, and since none of us have ever created comics for Marvel (other than helping out with a bit of research or proof-reading) then we certainly have no useful advice or experience to offer.

Instead, let me point you at a couple of web sites:

If you really want my advice, here it is:

Study and practice. Produce a ton of samples, freelance for anyone you can find. Starve a bit, travel and see the world. Get a lucky break. Make a hit with spotty, pre-pubescent fan-boys, demand your own Spider-Man title, break away and set up Spawn, or an alternative universe under contract for Marvel. Produce merchandise and trading cards which make up 80% of your profit. Retire and move to L.A. Live in fear.

How do I contact Paradise Books?

Try the following address:

Paradise Press Inc
(954) 349-9474
1575 N Park Dr Ste 100
Weston, FL 33326
U.S.A.

How can my kid send a letter to Spider-Man?

The same way they can send one to the Easter Bunny. Use a postbox.

Really, I don't know why people ask this question, but they do. All you need is somebody willing to let you use their address and pretend to be Spidey. I presume what people are really asking when they ask me this question is either:

You're an obsessive collector and internet weirdo who lives on the other side of the world. Can you please lie to my six-year-old, and we'll hope they don't ask why Spider-Man lives in New Zealand not America. Or...
There must be a lot of money in pretending to be Spider-Man, so I'm assuming that somebody does that for a living. Please tell me what their address is, and do they take cash or credit card.

Regarding the first, sadly the conditions of my parole state that I am not to pass within 100 yards of a school or have contact with children under eighteen. I'm also not permitted to feed squirrels, even though that charge was dismissed under plea bargain. There is no justice.

Regarding the second, there was a company who ran a profitable operation answering Spider-Man letters, but they got taken over in a hostile takeover by a SantaMail, Inc. who promptly shut them down to get rid of the competition. But if you're an entrepreneurial type, maybe there's a business idea for you. Good luck!

How do I join a Spider-Man fan club?

Sorry, I don't know of any formal Spider-Man club, official or otherwise.

You can always join a list-server email club at eGroups or somewhere similar.

Where's the Spidey chat room (or message board)?

We don't have one. Running and moderating an active forum is a full-time job and we just can't do everything. Anyhow, the one at ComicBoards is so good that we can't even imagine trying to compete!

When we hear about active and useful Spider-Man chat rooms we include them amongst our Fan Links.

Where's can I find Spidey pictures to color/photocopy?

In the past few years there's been a resurgence of Spidey coloring books. You can find descriptions of nearly all of them in our {{Comics & Books}} section.

If you're wanting something for your kids to color, then you'll find heaps of them really cheap at Amazon and eBay. Have fun!

So why don't we scan a whole heap of coloring-in pics and put them on the website? Umm... 'cos that would be illegal? And we try very hard to stay within the rights of Fair Use.

Do we offer a service where we send out bootleg scans to people who ask us? Nope. Not even if they ask really nicely and their three year old son is a huge Spider-Man fan.

Where are all the pictures on this site?

There are over 42,000 files on this site, over 1.3Gb of data, text and images. There are reviews of more than 3600 Spider-Man comics. Cover images are used to clarify which comic is being reviewed. Here is the Comics Index.

There are also encyclopedia articles related to many famous Spidey-related Characters, and most of these have a small image gallery to assist in the description.

But we're not a Spider-Man gallery site. We focus on review and discussion, not graphics. This is partly because of the limitations of Fair Use. But's also because I personally don't find it interesting to just scan images.

Where's the Spider-Man fan fiction?

We used to have some fan fiction, but it was so out of date and poorly maintained that it really didn't do Spidey justice. Running a fan fiction site is basically a full time job by itself, and we can't do everything. Instead we'll simply maintain a set of Fan Links.

If you run a large fiction site which contains a significant amount of Spider-Man related fan fiction then Mail Me and maybe we'll link to it.