Terry 1 Lauren Terry Ms. Bell English IV, Per.

3 4 September 2013 COMIC BOOKS Comic books are known worldwide and are a great influence to the American culture. There are many different fictional stories that include superheroes and villains. Some of the best known comic book characters came from Marvel which transformed into great and inspirational superheroes to kids and even adults. THE HISTORY OF MARVEL COMICS According to DC and Marvel Comics News, the Marvel comic book was founded in 1939, but it was first known as Timely Comics. One of the most famous superheroes, Captain America, was created during the time of World War Two. This character along with lots of others battled enemies, which during that era were Nazis and some other evil men too. The superhero hype was declining and other characters were taking their place. Towards the end of that time period Timely Comics became known as Atlas Comics, (DC and Marvel Comics News.) DC and Marvel Comics News states, Atlas Comics got tired of the war time theme so they changed to other themes such as horror. Time passed and the war time heroes came back to battle the communist other than the Nazis. Unfortunately, Atlas Comics had political issues and had to change their theme once again. The silver age begun and it featured new artwork and great story lines, (DC and Marvel Comics News.) Some of the old superheroes were being

Terry 2 transformed into newer and better versions of themselves with more personal background stories to share. In 1961, Marvel Comics grew and it created the Fantastic Four, (DC and Marvel Comics News.) This group of superheroes became one of the most popular and it stayed that way for many years. Comic books continued to become popular and created many new and interesting, characters for people to enjoy. DC and Marvel Comics News states that soon after, lots of the beloved comic book characters made it into the movie industry as well. Lots of the most famous Marvel Comics famous characters have been brought to life on the big screen. According to Mania Beyond Entertainment, when comic books were first being published in the 1930s they were at the price of ten cents. The price stayed pretty steady for about 30 years. The industry needed to fix their cost structure around the 1960s and the cost then rose up to two cents. Famous companies like DC Comics and Marvel Comics tend to raise the price of their more popular comics because readers are more likely to purchase them, (Mania Beyond Entertainment.) Marvel Comics top price can be up to $3.99. Overall, the increase in price of comic books accelerated a lot over time. YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN Spider-Man is a fictional character and a comic book superhero that appears in Marvel Comic books. Although he is a superhero, he still has to live an ordinary life that has difficulties with friends, friends and lovers. Spider-Mans powers give him the right to do well to the city and fight off crime. He is frequently known as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. According to Comic Book Resources, Peter Parker is just an ordinary teenage boy who gets bitten by a radioactive spider, giving him spider-like powers. Parker was conceived by being an orphan who is being raised by his Aunt Mary and Uncle Ben. His motivation to pursue on

Terry 3 with his powers was by a murder of his Uncle Ben. Yet Spidey's driving force is guilt, not revenge; he must live forever with the knowledge that he could have prevented the killing if he had not been so self-absorbed, (Superhero Stuff.) Spider-Mans powers consist of super strength and agility, the ability to cling to anything, shoot spider webs and to react to danger quickly. As stated in Superhero Stuff, teenagers in comic book stories werent so popular; they usually were just the sidekick to the protagonist. The creators of Spider-Man made him an ordinary teenage boy with a secret identity, which is Spider-Man. Unlike other superheroes, Spider-Man had to learn for himself. He had no other character to lean on or go to for advice. Superhero Stuff states the saying with great power there must also come great responsibility, which is a line that was said in the first Spider-Man story. Marvel Comics has featured Spider-Man in many of their comic book series; the most famous one is The Amazing Spider-Man. The character Peter Parker transforms from the earlier comic stories of a nerdy, school boy to an outgoing, photographer in the later comics. Comic Vince says that, in the later comics, Spidey joins the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, two of the most well-known superhero comic teams in the world. Sadly, in 2012s comic book issue, Peter Parker died when his enemy Doctor Octopus took over his body, (Superhero Stuff.) Spider-Man is known to this day as one of the most popular and successful superheroes ever. He has appeared in many forms of media; plenty of animated movies and live-action films. Spider-Man has also starred in television shows, newspapers, and comic strips. To this day, young kids and even adults have looked up to Spider-Man because he is not a regular superhero; he is an ordinary teenage boy underneath his red and blue suit and spider webs. THE BRILLIANT STAN THE MAN LEE

Terry 4 As Cyper Spcers stated, the creator of the famous character Spider-Man is a genius man named Stanley Martin Lieber, also known as Stan Lee. He also created a universe of superheroes such as The Incredible Hulk, The Silver Surfer, X-Men, Iron Man, and the group of supers Fantastic Four. According to Cyber Spacers, Stan Lee was influenced at a young age by many movies and books, mostly about heroic roles. He enjoyed reading and writing in high school and dreamed about writing novels when he grows up. Stan Lee was only sixteen years old when he went to work for Marvel Comics. Of course at that time World War II was just getting started and the name 'Marvel' had not been born yet, (Cyber Spacers.) The theme of the comic book at the time was Timely Comics. Lees fellow employees went over to the rival DC Comics so that left him alone with Timely Comics. Lee became comic-book publisher at Timely Comics, which soon became the famous Marvel comics. Stan Lees Biography states, Lee had been looking for a new superhero idea. The idea of Spider-Man came about that teenagers wanted a superhero they could identify. Lee stated that he was further inspired by seeing a spider climb up a wall, (Stan Lee Biography.) Many of the employees didnt care for the idea of Spider-Man, but the Marvel publisher, Martin Goodman, loved it and soon it was selling on stands. During the time Lees career was taking off, it was interrupted by war. He left his job and family to join the war. The Army had Lee write training films, manuals and other papers that no doubt helped win the conflict, (Cyber Spacers.) As soon as the war ended, Stan returned to his original job as a superhero comic creator and got back to work. He became very famous and was also very wealthy.

Terry 5 According to Cyber Spacers, Lee makes many appearances in movies that are based off his comic book characters. Stan loves to be a part of his films based-off books to be involved with his beloved characters coming to life. He appeared as the security guard in The Hulk, a hot dog vendor in X-Men, the sunglasses vendor in Spider-Man, and more that are soon to come. (Cyber Spacers.) Stan Lees Biography states, Lee started a company called POW! Entertainment, in 2001. The following year he published his autobiography, The Amazing Life of Stan Lee. Later he launched the History Channel show, Stan Lee's Superhuman, a series that looked at people with remarkable skills and abilities, (Stan Lees Biography.) To this day, Lee is a famous author and creator that will be remembered forever from his beloved comic book superheroes. SPIDER-MAN, THE LEGEND OF THE ARACHKNIGHT The comic book starts out, as in the busy life of ordinary people, they are oblivious to crowds, congestion and pressure, yet they want to rise above it all. Spider-Man can certainly do that, with his extraordinary powers and his advantageous web line. Night arrives and its time for the evil to come out and play. A man in a dark alley is attacking a woman to give him her purse and Spider-Man comes to save the day. The man starts to shoot at Spider-Man, but his enhanced reflexes save him. The man starts to run away, but of course Spider-Man gets him with his amazing web line. A home in New York City, belongs to a young couple named Peter Parker and Mary Jane, his alias, Spider-Man. Peter is telling Mary Jane how he doesnt understand how the man earlier even tried to kill him. Everyone knows hes Spider-Man and nothing can defeat him. Mary Jane listens and then starts to tickle him and tells him that obviously he hasnt fought her

Terry 6 and she wins him. Peter Parker is a self-absorbed boy who thinks the world is resolved around him and nothing can do him wrong. Night arrives again and more vicious and dangerous monsters come out, killing people left and right. An old man is taking a back way to work to save time and unfortunately for the man, an evil monster is hungry and eats him. This monster is owned by Dr. Doom and does whatever he says to do. Dr. Doom is one of Spider-Mans main enemies and wants him dead. Spider-Man swings above it all, the hero of youth. The story ends with the evil monster below Spider-Man, waiting to eat him. PERSONAL REVIEW OF SPIDER-MAN Spider-Man was a very interesting comic book character to write a paper on because of how he different he is from other comic book superheroes. He is different not just because he really is a teenage boy and Spider-Man is his secret identity, but of how normal he is. Peter Parker is the boy underneath the Spider-Man suit that lives the same life as everyone else. Peter goes to school, work, and tries to be a teenager while saving the world from crime. He is very brave as well because he risks his life almost every day to save the world. Spider-Man has the best super powers out of all the Marvel characters too. His super strength and agility, the ability to cling to anything, shoot spider webs and to react to danger quickly are really cool and no other hero has them. A lot of kids when they were younger would pretend to shoot webs from their wrists and climb walls. That is clearly showing that Spider-Man has the best powers. Spider-Man is a much underrated superhero also. When people hear the word superhero, they think of Superman, Batman, Iron Man or Captain America. Spider-Man fits right in with those characters and plenty of others as well. He can fight crime and save the world as much or even better than all the other superheroes. At some time, Spider-Man was the best superhero out

Terry 7 there. Once when DC comics came out with their Superman and Batman movies, a lot of people forgot about Marvel. Spider-Man was the best comic book superhero to do a research paper on. His background was very cool to learn about and on how he is really just a normal boy trying to fit in with the rest of the world.

Terry 8 WORKS CITED Admin, Comic Press. N.p.. Web. 1 Sep 2013. <http://comicpress101.com/the-history-of-marvelcomics/.> Admin, Mania Entertainment. N.p.. Web. 1 Sep 2013. <http://www.mania.com/history-costcomic-books_article_116449.html>. Admin, Superhero Stuff. N.p., n. d. 1 Sep 2013. <http://www.superherostuff.com/biographies/ spideybio.html. Kistler, A. Comic Book Resources. Web. 1 Sep 2013. <http://www.comicbookresources.com/? page=article&id=39377>. "Cyber Spacers." Cyber Spacers. N.p.. Web. 1 Sep 2013. <http://www.cyberspacers.com/ exclusive/08020301.html>. "Stan Lee." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Sep 01 2013, 07:58 <http://www.biography.com/people/stan-lee-21101093.>

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