Although Spider-Man is a comic book character first and foremost, the wall crawler had a long and healthy run as a syndicated newspaper strip hero from 1977 all the way to 2019. For a large chunk of these years, Spidey’s co-creator, Stan Lee himself, wrote the strip. Now, the folks at Clover Press are collecting Lee’s Amazing Spider-Man newspaper comics from 1981-1984, in four new softcover volumes. These follow up on the previous volumes, covering 1977-1980. These new editions feature art by Iron Man co-creator Larry Lieber, Airboy artist Fred Kida, and Transformers artist Floro Dery. You can check out the first images for each cover of these new editions, along with their slipcases, in our gallery down below:
The Amazing Spider-Man Classic Newspaper Comics 1981-1984
Each of these volumes will measure 11″ x 8.5″ in a horizontal format. They’ll arrive housed in a vertical slipcase designed for protection and easy shelving. By backing this Kickstarter campaign, readers will get all four volumes together in one bundle. The campaign will also include a puzzle, stickers, lithographs, a second pocket book facsimile, and more. These editions reprint each strip just as readers experienced them nationwide, with the full-color Sunday pages integrated with the dailies. This era brought Spidey vs. killer robots, Doctor Doom’s flying saucer, the Spider Brigade, and even a “Spidey Jeans” craze. The early ’80s were a wild time for Peter Parker. But really, has he ever had a normal decade?
Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz issued this statement on the upcoming release:
By the early 1980s, Spider-Man was firmly established on the newspaper page. Following the success of our campaign to collect the first four years of The Amazing Spider-Man Newspaper Comic, we are thrilled to continue the line. The strips from 1980 to 1984 feature a more seasoned wall crawler navigating longer, more intricate storylines that balance action, emotional drama, and classic Peter Parker misfortune. This era paired Stan Lee with a rotating roster of artists, including Larry Lieber, Fred Kida, and Floro Dery, each bringing their own visual style to the daily strip.
If you’re a Spider-Man completist, these are definitely books you’ll want to add to your collection. Especially as the newspaper strips were far kookier than anything going on in the regular monthly comics at the time. For more information, head on over to the official Kickstarter page.