Along Came a Spider

After trying to figure out which character I should draw next, I realized that I hadn't drawn a comic book icon... The Spider-Man. (BTW... I have a ton of holiday and assorted art to also put up.)

In quickly trying to rectify the fact that I had omitted the Spider, I ran through the comic database that is my mind to come up with my favorite spider artists of all time.

No spider artist list should ever start anywhere other than with Steve Ditko. He started it all and provided the perfect template for everyone to copy. John Romita Sr. and John Buscema then changed the spider look to a blockier look. Buscema continued way into the 80's until Marvel put the book in the hands of a rising penciling superstar... Todd McFarlane. Todd's Spider-Man provided the modern age template that has been used for years since. His Spider-Man was a contortionist of the highest order with arms and legs everywhere. Todd was followed by Erik Larsen, who continued Todd's look, but added his own cartoony spin. Then came a long run by my favorite Spider-Man artist, John Romita Jr.

Most people have a problem with the squareness of Romita Jr's Spidey, I on the other hand love it. It harkens back to the Buscema and Romita Sr. era. My Sipdey pic above is a clear homage to the square look of JRJR.

Pencils on the piece took about 45 minutes. Inks on the other hand took almost two hours (damn webbed costume). Sorry I took so long to add you to the collection, Spidey.