Spider-Man didn't speak out loud. To encourage young viewers in reading, Spidey's dialogue was spoken in word bubbles and his fisticuffs special effects of 'Pow' and 'Bam' were shown as comic book panels to minimize the violence level, as well as for educational purposes and budget cutting reasons. Spidey never battled anyone on par of a Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus. Instead, Spider-Man fought were small time crooks or goofy new super-villains often portrayed by the Electric Company's regular cast of characters. Perhaps Spidey's most memorable and deadliest foe was the menacing Dr. Measles who in one frightening episode infects Spider-Man by reaching into his medicine bag and throwing dots of the virus right onto his costume
In a licensing agreement to the likes you would probably never see these days, Spidey was given to the Children's Television Workshop free of charge. Stan Lee and Marvel believed that having Spider-Man would be amazing free advertising for both Marvel and his regular titles The Amazing Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up. With the CTW partnership, Marvel produced a third series, Spidey Super Stories, devoted to young readers. At 36 pages with no ads, SSS would sometimes include a list of words to look for as well as other vocabulary related fun and games. Unlike the live-action segments on PBS, super-villains and heroes alike guest-starred in these comics as well as characters from the show such as Jennifer of the Jungle and her simian side-kick, Paul the Gorilla and the funky threaded Easy Reader whose face was used to endorse each issue as 'easy to read.'
A number of Marvel talent worked on the comic. Jean Thomas (Night Nurse) penned the first 15 issues. Jim Salicrup (Fantastic Four) took over as regular series author afterwards though Bill Mantlo (Rom: Spaceknight), Sesame Street editorial director Deborah November and Michael Siporin shared responsibility for the 3 short stories that make up this issue. First, Spidey must save Aunt May from the clutches of the Scorpion. Then the stars of Electric Company make up the cast of characters in a story where Spidey and the Carol Danvers Ms. Marvel must save a ballet dancer from an evil choreographer. Finally the Thinker takes a brand new subway train hostage. As Peter Parker is aboard working for the Daily Bugle, he can't find a quiet place to change. So it's up to the Fantastic Four working from the outside to stop the runaway vehicle from crashing into Coney Island.
Artwork from this issue was by regular series artist Win Mortimer (Superman) with assists by Don Perlin (Werewolf by Night) and Mike Esposito (Wonder Woman).
Spidey Super Stories lasted 1974-1982; going on for another 5 years after the Electric Company was cancelled. The cancellation was not due to popularity. It was a massive hit. But the show's lack of being able to really create stand out characters such as sister series Sesame Street kept the publicly funded program from being solvent with licensing of toys and dolls. The few Electric Company products to hit the market were mostly series of books, records and a Fargo North, Decoder character board game from Milton Bradley. It is said that having Spider-Man added to the show's format helped the series to linger on a couple extra seasons which also relied more on repeated material to help stay solvent. The comic was the Electric Company's most popular tie-in, running for an impressive 57 issues. However, with the Spidey Super Stories being owned and read by young children, quality condition issues are harder to find and pricey on the collecting market.
Completing this review completes Task #3 (Comic from the Bronze Age (1971-1985)) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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