I'm
a Spider-Man completist and in order to help out other fans, I've created
this site. Pretty much all the images shown here are from my personal
collection. And yes, scanning all those covers drove me mad. Some say,
I had to be mad to start such a task in the first place. I'll leave it
up to you to decide which one is the case here.
Does this site really contain a complete list of Spider-Man
comic publications? Well, I hope so but I'm pretty sure it's not the
case. There will always be new giveaways, cover variants or appearances
that I do not know of. If you find any comic missing from this list,
please, let
know. But before you do, follow these simple
steps (or rules if you like):
Make sure the comic book you want me to add is not on the site.
I do not have a complete list of Spider-Man (appearance) comics here,
but I'm pretty close. Chances are, you need to look on a different
page or perhaps in the other category.
When you do have a comic book that I have not listed here, please,
mail me a scan of the cover. Before you send me hundreds of megabytes,
make the cover scan about 1/4 the original cover size (that's 40dpi).
For a regular comic that would be something like 275 x 410 pixels.
And please, make it a JPG file.
After that, adding stuff to this site is pretty easy. All pages were generated
by Pete's Collection KIT, a little
program I wrote to maintain my comic collection. It's just entering the
data and pushing a few buttons. I will not update this site every week
though, once every 4-6 weeks will have to do.
The quality of the images could be better. Most of the
(older) comics were scanned while they were still in their Mylar bags.
Well, big deal. Scanning thousands of comics is a tough job, taking
them out and putting them back in their protective bags one by one is
even tougher!
How
does it work...
This Spider-Man Cover Archive is split in two main sections, American
and Dutch comics. The American section is rather large and therefor
split in Core Titles and Appearances. Below you'll find my rough guideline
for putting books in one of these sections. Further down, the specific
rules are explained.
In the Spider-Man Core Titles
section, you'll find....
In order to quickly find those special (or rare) comics, two subsets
have been created. One with giveaways only and one variants only.
In the Spider-Man Appearances
section, you'll find...
All Spider-Man related visual story appearances not already included
in the Core Titles section. To make it easy, I'm using the following
categorisation: appearance, cameo,
reference and other.
The Dutch Comics section includes the
Dutch version of American comics. Since I have to draw the line somewhere,
these are core titles only. I do not have any plans to include Dutch
appearances as well.
NOTE:
In 2008, getting all the variants of all the appearances/cameos/references/reprints
became an insane and silly job. Collecting was loosing it's
appeal and getting too expensive (in that order). So, starting
with a cover date of January 2009, I only collect cover appearances.
And in 2013 I stopped doing that as well. Will you still find
the other stuff here? Sure, if there's one in a book that I
was buying anyway, I'll include it.
What makes a book a variant...
Different exterior (cover). Not counting price differences on the
same print run. For instance the US price in cents and UK price in
pence. During the print run the black plate was changed in order to
produce the UK (or Canadian) edition. The same goes for the 30 and
35 cents versions.
Newsstand editions and direct market editions are generally treated
as one. On other words, what's in the UPC box does not count to make
it a variant.
Different interior. This could be changed ads on a later printing
or corrected pages like with the Earth X Special: Spidey book.
Different printing material. For instance Spider-Man's Tangled Web
#1. The initial print was on regular paper. When they discovered the
mistake, they recalled the books and printed it again on glossy paper.
Single reprint. The original and reprinted book look exactly the
same on both the outside and the inside but have some text added in
the indicia saying it is the umpteenth printing.
Collection reprint. All TPB editions count as
one version unless there's a difference either in the exterior, the
interior, the price or the printing material. Just the text umpteenth
printing does not make it a variant.
Books that are sold sealed with product X are not a variant unless
they are different following the rules above. So called "sealed collector
sets" are just the same books but packaged differently.
When it comes down to TPB editions of appearances, only those that
I happen to own are listed. Due to unavailable resources (money),
I have to draw the line here.
A word about the giveaway
sub-section...
Not all books shown in the Giveaways section are Spider-Man comics
or have Spider-Man in them. Since these type of books are seldom seen,
the whole series is included when possible.
Yes, some of these books should actually be in the appearances section.
I simply choose to not split this type of series.
Feature...
Spider-Man is (one of) the main character(s) in the series. Usually
his name is in the title (for instance Amazing Spider-Man)
or he is the main character (for instance Marvel Team-Up).
Because of this, sometimes, the whole series will be included although
in some issues Spider-Man is nowhere to be seen.
Spider-Man is (one of) the feature character(s) in the story or
one of the stories (for instance Marvel Fanfare (1992) issue 27).
There is of course a thin line between a "feature appearance" and
a "guest appearance". Please, don't hesitate to contact
to share your thoughts. Please, take notice
that some issues of a particular series are listed in the "core titles"
category where others of that same series are listed amongst the "appearances".
Appearance...
Spider-Man is taking part in the story, interacting with the main
characters of the story. There is of course a thin line between a
"feature appearance" and a "guest appearance". Please, don't hesitate
to contact
to share your thoughts. Please, take notice
that some issues of a particular series are listed in the "core titles"
category where others of that same series are listed amongst the "appearances".
Spider-Man makes a very brief appearance (cameo) but is also shown
on the cover.
Spider-Man does not appear in the story or inside the book but is
shown on the cover only.
Cameo...
Spider-Man makes a very brief appearance (cameo) but is not shown
on the cover. This can be a voice only appearance like in X-Man 36.
Spider-Man is shown in a flashback. A (newspaper) photo is a flashback
too for it depicts an actual scene with Spider-Man.
Somebody in a Spider-Man suit, acting out Spider-Man's powers. Also
see reference for there's a thin line between
categories here.
No actual story involvement but only a pin-up of Spider-Man.
Reference...
Somebody in a Spider-Man suit, for instance on a costume party.
Also see cameo for there's a thin line between
categories here.
Family appearances. Meaning when Mary Jane, Aunt May or Uncle Ben
are in the story. May Parker, aka Spider-Girl is listed in the "core
titles" category for she is actually a female version of Spider-Man.
On rare occassions, other supporting characters are counted too (Gwen
Stacy or Harry Osborn).
A newspaper headline with just the words "Spider-Man".
Something made by Spider-Man (webbing) or Peter Parker (a newspaper
photo or a note).
Spider-Man merchandise like comics, dolls, t-shirts, posters and
more.
Spider-Man used in advertisement in the story. On a billboard or
a store sign.
Other...
An insert with Spider-Man in it. For instance the "Fast Lane" inserts
from late 1999 / early 2000.
A serial with Spider-Man in it. For instance the "Call Me Al" serial
from 2002.
Any Spider-Man goody inserted in the book with the exception of
trading cards.
Spider-Man depicted in ads or the bullpen page does not count with
the exception of preview art of the (or an) upcoming issue.
TradePaperBack...
A TradePaperBack (often simply called TPB) is a reprint collection,
with a sturdy, cardboard like, cover. At times, these books are called
pocket books, digests or even graphic novels.
When it comes down to TPB editions of appearances, only those that
I happen to own are listed. Due to unavailable resources (money),
I have to draw the line here.
Thanks...
A big thanks to the following people (in no particular order) for their
support, for their help in getting me rare books and just for being
there. Couldn't have done it without you! Toos Kroon, Kees Kroon, Yvonne Kroon, Stripwinkel Blunder (Eelco,
Paul, Lucienne & Edwin), Todd Adkins, Andrew Hamlin, Steve Cranch, Steve
Levine, Stan Szewczyk, Vince Billett, Ronald Miller, Mile High Comics,
eBay, Eric Gillette, Jonathan Couper, Jonathan Darby, Alan Stone, Johan
de Neef and Brian Collins.
I'm
a Spider-Man completist and in order to help out other fans, I've created
this site. Pretty much all the images shown here are from my personal
collection. And yes, scanning all those covers drove me mad. Some say,
I had to be mad to start such a task in the first place. I'll leave it
up to you to decide which one is the case here.
How
does it work...