Untold Tales of Spider-Man

Supercbbox| title = Untold Tales of Spider-Man
comic_color = background:#ff8080


caption = Cover to "Untold Tales of Spider-Man" #1. Art by Pat Olliffe.
schedule = monthly
format = ongoing
publisher = Marvel Comics
date = Sept. 1995 - Oct. 1997
past_current_color = background:#ff9275
main_char_team = Spider-Man
writers = Kurt Busiek
artists =
pencillers = Pat Olliffe
inkers = Al Vey
Al Williamson
colorists = Steve Mattsson
creative_team_month =
creative_team_year =
creators = Stan Lee
Steve Ditko

"Untold Tales of Spider-Man" is the name of an American comic book series starring Spider-Man published by Marvel Comics for 26 issues (#1-25, and a #Minus 1 between #s 22 and 23) from September, 1995 to October, 1997.

The comic was part of an experiment for Marvel where they published a number of new titles for only 99 cents, in the hope that they would attract new, young readers who might have been put off by the then US$1.50/1.95 standard prices for comic books. Uniquely among those titles, "Untold Tales"' stories were retcons; they presented new stories set in Spider-Man's early super-hero career.

The series was primarily written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by Pat Olliffe, though Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz also contributed. Tom Brevoort was the editor of the title throughout its run. The critical and fan approval of the comic boosted Brevoort and Busiek's career and by the time the series had finished both had achieved key positions on the bestselling "Heroes Return" titles "Avengers" and "Iron Man".

This series was noted as one of the better written Spider-Man series during the turbulent Clone Saga that was running through the various then-published Spider-Man related titles from 1994-1996. The controversial storyline was mixed by readers reading the various Spider-Man books, whereas "Untold Tales" was labelled as the most reader friendly title, due to its nature of being set in the past, away from the current events happening to Spider-Man in the present during the unpopular Clone Saga.

The Series

Each issue of "Untold Tales of Spider-Man" featured a single self contained story, though the book did have broad character arcs and subplots which developed throughout the series.

The title kept to a strong continuity, with the events in each issue taking place between specific stories from the first two years of "The Amazing Spider-Man" by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. As those stories were originally told in the early 1960s the title had a somewhat retro style in its depiction of the world around Spider-Man.

The series spotlighted Spider-Man's early interactions with established characters such as J. Jonah Jameson, the Human Torch, Betty Brant, Mary Jane Watson, the Vulture, Sandman and the Green Goblin. It also introduced a number of new characters into the Spider-Man mythos, including The Scorcher, Bat-Wing, the Space-Men, Commanda and the Headsman. Of those listed only the Scorcher, Bluebird and Bat-Wing have been properly acknowledged in modern continuity.

One of the apparently "new" characters, Sally Avril (Bluebird), actually originally appeared in "Amazing Fantasy" #15, where she is called just "Sally". Busiek and Olliffe took the briefly referenced character, who had not appeared again after "Amazing Fantasy" #15, and developed her into one of the main supporting players in "Untold Tales".

During Marvel's "Flashback" stunt in July, 1997, when for one month all Marvel titles were numbered -1 and each was meant to be set before "Fantastic Four #1", the title went even further back to tell a James Bond influenced story which involved Peter Parker's parents on an espionage mission before the character was even born.

The stories from this series are non-canonical due to the retcon of Spider-Man's early years from the "" lmited series (1998–1999) by writer/artist John Byrne, which was released after "Untold Tales" was cancelled. "Untold Tales" also featured stories from Spider-Man's early career, but instead of replacing the original comics they added to them, telling stories which occurred at the same time. "Untold Tales" was popular with many of the same fans who criticised Byrne's revisions. Today, most creators who have come after Byrne ignore the changes done by the "Chapter One" limited series.

Marvel recently published the "Spider-Man Visionaries: Kurt Busiek" trade paperback in 2006, which reprinted the first 8 issues of "Untold Tales of Spider-Man" (which was previously published as the "Untold Tales of Spider-Man" TPB in 1997). This may mean that Busiek's "Untold Tales" stories are now canonical, while "Spider-Man: Chapter One" is now non-canonical in current Marvel continuity, commonly assumed that the original stories by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko have regained their canonical status.

pin-Offs

The immediate initial good response to the series led to a number of spin-offs and companion projects. First came "Amazing Fantasy" #16-18, (December, 1995 - March, 1996) which had been begun prior to the publication of "Untold Tales", but which followed a similar concept; it continued the numbering of the series which had ended with Spider-Man's introduction in #15. The book, which was presented in the "Marvels"-style with acetate covers and slick paper, featured stories set between "Amazing Fantasy #15" and "Amazing Spider-man" #1, just after Spider-Man's very first adventure. It featured painted art by Paul Lee.

There was also "Untold Tales of Spider-Man: Strange Encounters" (1998) plotted by Busiek, scripted by Roger Stern, pencilled by Neil Vokes and published in Marvel's bound "Prestige Format". The story depicted Spider-Man's first meeting with Doctor Strange.

Berkley Boulevard Books and Byron Preiss Multimedia Company were publishing a line of Marvel novels and short-story anthologies at the time of the comic's run, and their second Spider-Man anthology, published in 1997, was titled "Untold Tales of Spider-Man" and editorial credit for the collection went to both Busiek and Stan Lee. The stories -- by comics writers Tom DeFalco, Danny Fingeroth, Ann Nocenti, Eric Fein and Glenn Greenberg, as well as SF/fantasy authors Adam-Troy Castro, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Pierce Askegren, Will Murray, Steve Lyons, and more -- were from throughout Spider-Man's history.

Finally, there were two Annuals for the series. The first of these, "Untold Tales of Spider-Man '96" (1996) is notable for featuring a plot suggested by ""' Paul Dini, written by Busiek and drawn by Mike Allred in which Spider-Man goes on a date with the Invisible Girl. The second annual, "Untold Tales of Spider-Man '97" (1997), by Busiek and artist Tom Lyle, features a story which was continued in that year's "The Amazing Spider-Man '97" Annual which was set 10 years later in the modern continuity.

ales

In the end, the experiment involving 99 cent comics was judged to be a failure. Reportedly retailers had little inclination to stock an item with negligible profit margins and newsstands refused outright to take the 99¢ line, [http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.arts.comics.marvel.universe/tree/browse_frm/thread/38b1b083d2535720/e611597d830f7847?rnum=41&hl=en&q=%22friendly+neighborhood+spider-man%22+busiek&_done=%2Fgroup%2Frec.arts.comics.marvel.universe%2Fbrowse_frm%2Fthread%2F38b1b083d2535720%2F102c3f6ea1dae9b4%3Flnk%3Dst%26q%3D%22friendly+neighborhood+spider-man%22+busiek%26rnum%3D3%26hl%3Den%26#doc_aaff435cf5d9e674] leading in the latter case to an attempt to put two titles together at $1.95, undermining the original aim of providing cheap comics to lure in new readers.

Kurt Busiek has publicly stated his opinion that the comic's title was misconceived given that the title's ostensible purpose was to attract new readers. He has also said that he believes that his original suggestion to title the series "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" (which was later used for a subsequent Spider-Man comic) would have worked better. [http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.arts.comics.marvel.universe/tree/browse_frm/thread/38b1b083d2535720/04479263c2b92f93?rnum=61&hl=en&q=%22friendly+neighborhood+spider-man%22+busiek&_done=%2Fgroup%2Frec.arts.comics.marvel.universe%2Fbrowse_frm%2Fthread%2F38b1b083d2535720%2F102c3f6ea1dae9b4%3Flnk%3Dst%26q%3D%22friendly+neighborhood+spider-man%22+busiek%26rnum%3D3%26hl%3Den%26#doc_04479263c2b92f93] In addition to these problems in format and presentation, the general comic buying audience was largely indifferent to the series. As a result of all this sales were low throughout the book's run.

However "Untold Tales" out lived all its sister 99 cent titles (such as "Avengers Unplugged" and "Marvel Fanfare Vol.2") long before its eventual cancellation, which finally occurred after Busiek left the title completely in #25.

Collected editions

*"Untold Tales of Spider-Man" (Trade paperback, published February 1997, reprints "Untold Tales of Spider-Man #1-8")
*"Spider-Man Visionaries: Kurt Busiek" (Trade paperback, published August 2006, reprints "Untold Tales of Spider-Man #1-8")
*"Spider-Man/Fantastic Four: Classic" (Trade paperback, published May 2005, reprints encounters between Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four including "Untold Tales Of Spider-Man '96")
*"Spider-Man: Saga Of The Sandman" (Trade paperback, published April 2007, reprints stories featuring The Sandman including "Untold Tales Of Spider-Man #3")

ources

* [http://www.spiderfan.org/characters/sally_avril.html Bluebird's Profile at Spiderfan.org]
* [http://www.comics.org/ The Grand Comic-Book Database]
* [http://www.chronologyproject.com/ The Marvel Chronology Project]
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2855/bluebird.html The Women of Marvel Comics Bluebird Page]
* [http://ericteall.blogspot.com/2007/07/sm-fbfw-kurt-busiek-q.html Kurt Busiek on Untold Tales]