Join us for a book talk with Patrick A. Reed, author of Spider-Man Total Universe. An audience Q&A will follow. This in-person event will be free and open to the public. We recommend arriving early for the best seating.
About the Book: 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. 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 was clear that creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko knew they had made something extraordinary. More than sixty 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, crossover event, saga, one-shot, and limited series. Along the way, Reed profiles every key character in Spider-Man’s universe and celebrates the writers, illustrators, and colorists 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.
About the Author: 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.
