Book excerpt: Spider-Man: Web-Slinger, Hero, Icon is a dynamic curation of Spider-Man’s seminal comic book stories and related story lines spanning the comic book’s run. Spider-Man: Web-Slinger, Hero, Icon covers all things Spidey: his character’s first appearance in Amazing Fantasy comic book, before he had his own stand-alone series; his allies, love interests, and archenemies; and his ongoing popularity as a cultural icon. Spider-Man has been one of the most recognizable pop-culture characters of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Americana. Spider-Man: Web-Slinger, Hero, Icon explores the phenomenon of one of Marvel Comics’ most popular super heroes and his appearance in the most memorable and influential comic book stories. Longtime comic-industry insider Rich Johnson examines the character using more than three hundred Spider-Man illustrations, including covers, interior comic art, variant covers, sketch treatments, and Marvel Studios film concept art. Beginning with Spidey’s first appearance in comics in the early 1960s to present-day treatments of the character, Spider-Man: Web-Slinger, Hero, Icon will thrill new and mega comic book fans and Marvel collectors alike. © 2022 MARVEL