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Letters : The Spider-Oracle Answers : Spider-Oracle Petitions [15]

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Letters : The Spider-Oracle Answers : Spider-Oracle Petitions [15] (01-Mar)
 
The wise one answers all your Spider-Questions.

From Jason

I am writing a satire for a group project and all I need to know is what is the total number of Spiderman comics ever made?

The Spider-Man Comics Database lists 2840 separate issues of books and comics, including guest appearances (but not reprints). If you mean the total number of actual physical comics... well, a low distribution title sells 30,000 units per issue, and Amazing in its heyday sold over 200,000. Let's settle for 100,000 per issue, making something like 280 million individual comics. Whew!

From TheBigBk

Ralph Macchio is a regular editor for marvel comics and this question has plagued me since I first saw his name credited: is he THE Ralph Macchio, as in, the Karate Kid?

Endless websearching and countless people-asking has come up with no results.

The answer to that, grasshopper, is 'No'. They are not the same guy. Maybe they should have been, Ralph's editing style could have done with a little more 'kick'.

From Elizabeth

Hi. I'm a cataloger at the Library of Congress. I'm trying to determine the relationship between Byron Preiss Multimedia Co. (which I realize is defunct) and BP Books, which your site says is a subsidiary of iBooks.com. Did iBooks take over what was left of Byron Preiss and recast it as BP Books?

Byron Preiss Multimedia Company was a sister company to Byron Preiss Visual Publications. BPMC is defunct, but they transferred the Marvel license over to BPVP. iBooks inc. is part of BPVP, and BP Books is an imprint of iBooks.

But the important thing is, standard business practice was followed, and the shareholders were the ones who really got screwed.

From Franck

I'm looking for information about others essential spider-man (i mean #5 and so on) printing dates. I 've found no informations in marvel.com and they didn't send any answers to my questions ...

Marvel is famous for it's inability to reply to emails. Essential Spider-Man #5 is scheduled for March 6th (according the December 2001 Previews). No further releases planned yet.

From Greg

I've surfed around this great site. However I am having difficulty getting a list of the Cosmic Spider-man Issues in order of readability "not the production dates". Which issue do I start reading to the last issue? I imagine the Cosmic Spiderman trade paperback may list the order and read the same but I don't have access to one. Can You Help Me?

In this case, the order the stories go in coincide with the "production date". The order they should be read in is:

  1. Spectacular # 158
  2. Web # 59
  3. Amazing # 327
  4. Spectacular # 159
  5. Web # 60
  6. Amazing # 328
  7. Spectacular # 160
  8. Web # 61
  9. Amazing # 329
To be a completist, you can also get Quasar # 7 which happens after Web # 61.

From chnguyen

Just wondering, when exactly did mary jane start to call peter parker "tiger" and why?

MJ called Peter "Tiger" in the first words she ever spoke to him... "You just hit the jackpot, Tiger!". And as for why? In Amazing Spider-Man #147, Peter asks there same question. The answer is: "Because you're not!".

From Lisa

Hey Jonathan! How old was Peter Parker when he got bitten by the spider?

Thanks in anticipation ...

Peter was a sophmore in high school. That puts him at either 15 or 16.

From Sk8punk

I am a big spider fan who unfortunately stopped reading for a year and a half, but now I'm back in the swing of things. I'm a little lost. I've found out all I can about most events in spidey's life but I need to know:

What happened to Mary Jane? Did her and Pete get divorced or are they just seperated?

Is she dead? does she still live in New York? Do you know anything of them getting back together?

Also, how did Aunt May come back from the dead!??! These questions are all over my mind and I need to know, asap!

MJ was presumed dead after a plane explosion in ASM vol. 2 # 13, but it was just a ruse by a new villain. After being reunited with Peter, she told him she needed a break and went off to California in ASM Annual 2001. There's a rumor she might be coming back in PP:S-M # 50. As for Aunt May, it turns out she was never really dead. What we thought was her dying was actually a genetically altered elderly actress provided by Norman Osborn. And in anticipation of your next question - yes, that is pretty lame.

From Groves

Questions:

  1. Is the current Peter parker the real one? The clone thing was confusing.
  2. Is Aunt May the real one?
  3. Wheres Mary Jane - wheres the baby?
  4. Venom - wheres he?
  1. Yes and yes.
  2. Supposedly.
  3. MJ is in California. The baby (May) is either dead or currently being cared for by Kaine. However, you can read about her (future version) every month in the fantastic SPIDER-GIRL series.
  4. The clink, the big house, the hotel with iron bars, the slammer, please stop me.

From HackstersName1

Who is scream?

Scream? I scream. You scream? First appearing about a year ago in THUNDERBOLTS # 49, Scream was recently revealed to be the... er... ghost/powers/remnants/soul/whatever of Angar the screamer. He/It has never been in a Spidey book, though.

From JoeCo

do you remember that gargoyle statue's name that spidey always talked to when he stressed out?

In the cartoon, he used to talk to the gargoyles off and on. It was less common in the comics. At one stage during the "I am The Spider" era, he punched the Gargoyle and rescued the pieces before they hit someone. But a name? Can anybody help here?

From David

I'm trying to find a certain spidey comic and I have no where else to turn. It it an issue with the human torch and sand man. I remember that the human torch gets trapped in a glass cell with no oxygen so that he can't "flame-on". It was the first comic I ever bought when I was a kid but it's gone and I really want to replace it. I thought it was a marvel team-up but I can't find it in your lists.

There are 2 Spidey stories that involve the Sandman and the Human Torch being imprisoned in a glass tube. The first story was in Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 # 19 (rather expensive in the original, but it has been reprinted in Marvel Tales # 14 and # 157 and also Essential Spider-Man # 1). The second story was in Marvel Team-Up # 39 and #40 (which has never been reprinted, but which should still be relatively affordable).

From netmaster

was spidy ever part of the x men if so what did his uniform look like what issuse

Spidey was asked to join the X-Men once way back in UNCANNY X-MEN # 27, but has never been an actual member.

From pattidwell

Two questions:

  1. The Trapster in Spider-Man #86 is an old foe of Spidey's. Where did he come from?
  2. When did Peter Parker and Flash Thompson become friends, as referred to in Spider-Man #75?
Two answers:

  1. The Trapster first appeared (as "Paste-Pot Pete") way back in STRANGE TALES # 104.
  2. The Pete/Flash friendship got its beginnings in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 138.

From AD

In wich comic, baby May was born and why she's death?

Interestingly phrased, AD. The answer is- baby May Parker was born (or perhaps stillborn) in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 418. The entire story is rather complicated, but in a nutshell, the writers of that issue left it vague as to wether the baby was stillborn, or was actually secretly kidnapped by Norman Osborn. There's never been a definite conclusion. However, you can read all about that baby, now a teen, every month in the pages of the "possible future" book SPIDER-GIRL.

 
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