To the Editor (01-Nov-2002)

 In: Letters > Editor > 2002
 Posted: 2002
 Staff: The Editor (E-Mail)
From Marc Campbell

Hi -- this longtime Spidey fan has been out of the loop ever since Chapter One. After much effort, Marvel finally succeeded in losing me as a reader.

I just visited marvel.com on a whim and looked at the character profile pages. There, on the Spidey page, was a summary of the Lee/Ditko origin story! I went to the villains pages and saw the classic Ditko costume designs! Am I on Earth-2, or has Marvel quietly reinstated the old continuity?!

If you've heard one way or the other, please let me know. I may have to give Marvel a second chance.

This is a great question, and one we get every now and again, so we've added it to our FAQ List. Here's our answer.

Once upon a time, Marvel cared greatly about "Official" continuity, but these days, things are far more flexible. During the dismal couple of years that Byrne and Mackie basically controlled Spidey, they used Spider-Man: Chapter One to re-write Spidey's early years... for no obvious good reason.

Unlike Untold Tales (which slipped between the gaps) and Ultimate Spidey (which truly started afresh), they published a patch-up retelling, which added nothing but confusion to Spidey's past. Despite stiff resistance from Spidey fans, Byrne and Mackie attempted to add the stamp of authority to their clumbsy reinvention by bringing aspects of Chapter One into the modern tales.

Most long-term fans just tried to ignore the whole fiasco, and waited until it just faded like a bad dream... which it mostly has. I, and many other students of Spidey just try to pretend it never happened.

From Tony

do you now where Michael Teitelbaum was born date of birth send it to my please i need it for my studies thanks.

Most likely in a hospital, on our around the date of his birthday.

Glad we could help.

P.S. Michael who?

From Mets 49ers

Hey, what about Ice-Man and Fire-Star?! They are two of Spider-Man's best friend. When I was a kid I loved Spider-Man, still do. The Spider Friends was one of the best cartoons ever!

Hmm... have you seen the cartoon lately? There are some things we do grow out of ya know. But to answer your question, the site's character profiles only cover "mainstream" continuity Spidey. Heck, there are so many characters from the regular comics that we haven't covered - we would be crazy to start on the Ultimate Spidey, Spidey 2099, and the TV Spidey versions.

One day, maybe, when we've finished all the rest of 'em!

From Gene

I've lost track of the many spider-man titles, but I stick with the amazing, I can't even tell you now if they changed it over to something else. Anyway, on with my question:

The last issue I read Peter was mourning Mary Jane who was killed in some plane explosion, however he knew she was teleported to some other dimension or..something, and everybody was telling him to let it go and move on, etc.

So The question is, did he find her alive, dead, give up?

Alive, dead, give up? Yep, all of those!

From James

I'm a devoted spidey fan who has never seen the original Spider Man the Movie trailer (the Twin Towers one). Do you know of any website in which I could view it?

It's interesting how much interest there has been in the Twin Towers trailer and posters, etc. Marvel did a pretty good job of pulling all the promo material after you-know-when. I'm sure you'll find it around somewhere though, if you really need to see it. You could try asking on the newsgroups, or at ComicBoards. See our links page.

From Hiroyuki Ito

My name is Hiroyuki Ito, an undergraduate journalism student from U. of Southern California. For my news reporting class' assignment due this Saturday, I am writing about theft of Spidermand suits used for the movie. A former security guard at the Waner Bros. studio was arrrested for stealing Spidey suits. Are you aware of this crime?

I am writing this email to you because I though you, as a great fan of the Spidey, may be able to help me immensely by telling me what you think of this crime. If it is O.K., could you please answer the following questions?

  1. What is your full name (and age)?
  2. What is your initial reaction to this crime?
  3. How do you think this crime may affect the Spiderman-fan community or other comic-fan communities?
  4. Anything else you want to say about this crime?

A number of us from the staff replied to this query. Our answers were all pretty much the same. Our reaction? *Yawn*. Affected? "I'm sorry, but what has that got to do with us?" Extra comments. "I guess you can't trust everybody in a uniform, eh?"

Mental note. If you want to get people's responses, first find a decent issue!

From Wesley

Hi my name is Wesley i've been up all night trying to find a Man's Spider-Man Costume and Spider-Man Boot well as u probly know it no truble trying to find a Spider-Man Costum but Spider-Man Boot are a little hard to find i was wondering it u had any Spider-Man Boot to go with outfit it has to look the same as the red on his chest and the webs must be the same if u dont have any could u maybe order me some i will wate how ever long and pay any price as long as it not to much ha ha ha

but your store looks like a good one and i might keep shoping there thank your for your time and please get back to me on that i've looked so hard for them thanks

Sure thing Wesley. First send us the money. Then we're going to send you a list of instructions you'll need to follow out... then we'll give you the boot. Yep, sure we will. Definitely, the boot.

From BigKing

In the Spider Man video game carnage combines with Doc Ock and still spider man prevals.Is there any villians that could combine to ectually kill Spider Man?

Oh, no, I don't think so. I mean, it would make the comics far too nerve-wracking if there was any chance that Spidey could lose! I really don't think it could happen. For starters, just think what it would do for sales?

From Tom

You're saying that Tangled Web is under the threat of cancellation for its low sales (PPP 8:10 reviews page)... I would question whether this is the case? I know it has lowish sales and Marvel recognises this, but nowhere other than this site have I read that anyone's thinking of cancelling it (in fact Joe Q was asking around for suggestions as to how to promote Tangled Web better!).

So either back up your frivelous statements with some sort of evidence, or remove them! It's errors like that which lead to such a thing actually happening - life imitating art only without coincidence.

To be honest, Tom, I did think twice before publishing that info on the reviews page. I love Tangled Web, and as you say - news of a comic's cancellation can itself do damage to the title.

But it's no secret that Marvel is out to make a profit. If a book isn't selling, it won't cover costs - and unless there's a damn good reason to keep it running, then Marvel will pull it.

Spider-Girl has managed to escape death from low sales twice. It's one of the few, if not the only, Marvel title to survive below it's cut-off number. Maybe Tangled Web can pull the same trick, but I sure wouldn't put my money on it hanging around if the numbers don't go up. That's life in the big city, pal - and they don't come much bigger than Manhattan.

From SolidSnake

What do you think of a section with various quotes from Spidey comic history? Things like, "And so do the proud men die, crucified not on a cross of gold but on a stake of humble tin." You could list them by Book title. Just a suggestion.....

And a good one. We'll shove it over in the pile of all the other great suggestions that we don't even have time to think about doing 'cos we're already behind with the stuff we already do!

From Jicky

i was wondering if you know a site where i can find a variety of venom pics....i am looking for a pic of him scaling a wall for a tattoo i would like to get

Dunno, have you tried a Venom web site? They're normally the best source for Venom pics, Venom info, Venom reviews, etc. Lots of Venom stuff you'll find at a Venom web-site. Of course, us being a not-Venom website, we're not too big on Venom stuff, like Venom pictures, and such.

 In: Letters > Editor > 2002
 Posted: 2002
 Staff: The Editor (E-Mail)