Spider-Man Total Universe: More Than 60 Years of Every Comic, Every Character, Every Story

The only issue-by-issue, story-by-story history of Spider-Man comics from the wall crawler's first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) to the present. Featuring fully-illustrated with archival images.

From the moment Spider-Man first appeared on the cover of Marvel's Amazing Fantasy #15 in August 1962, it's now clear that creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko knew they had made something extraordinary. More than 60 years later Spider-Man is one of the world's most recognizable and beloved super heroes and his story spawned the lives and legends of countless other Marvel heroes and villains. How did a mild-mannered high-school kid named Peter Parker swing his way into comic book history and beyond? This is his story.

In Spider-Man Total Universe, pop culture historian and curator Patrick A. Reed mines the Marvel archive and his own decades-long knowledge of Spider-Man to unearth every aspect of the making of this comic hero dynasty, tracing every amazing storyline, story arc, cross-over event, saga, one-shot, and limited series. Along the way Reed profiles every key character in Spider-Man's universe and celebrates the writers and illustrators that brought it all to life. Including thousands of images from the Marvel archives, Spider-Man Total Universe is the must-have collection for every Spider-Man fan.

Patrick A. Reed is a pop culture historian, curator, journalist, and DJ. He has curated exhibitions including Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing, Inventing America: The Comic Book Revolution, Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes, Jack Kirby: Heroes And Humanity, and The Hip-Hop and Comics Show; and has written for Sony Music, TwoMorrows, Taschen, ComicsAlliance, and MTV. He lives in New York, NY.