I’ll be live streaming a bonus episode of The Web Line podcast tonight at 8 PM central time. I’ll have two guests on hand as we talk about the film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, WITH SPOILERS! Come by, and talk with us about what you liked about the film! Hope you watched it already!
Tag: Spider-Man
I’ve Started a Spider-Man Podcast!
Hey everyone.
Now that Trouble is okay and I’m making some progress with paying down her medical debt, I’ve been able to turn my time and energy back to content creation. While I’ll never claim to be the world’s best blogger, YouTuber, or podcaster, I can at least add that latter term to my content creation resume again! I’ve started a podcast focused on one of the few subjects I can nerd out about ad nauseum–the amazing Spider-Man, of course–and have, as of this writing, streamed, edited, and uploaded THREE episodes!
Introducing: The Web Line, a Podcast About Spider-Man and His Amazing World! It’s the ideal place for Spider-Fans to discuss all aspects of our favorite webslinger in a fun, informal–but informative!–forum. Join me, the laughably loquacious Spidey Librarian, and my garrulous guests to hear about the timely topics related to the wondrous webslinger! Spidey news, analysis, reviews, and discussion, all in one perfectly imperfect podcast!
I mentioned earlier that I’ve already gotten THREE episodes out. Below you’ll see what they are, and when they originally streamed:
- Episode 1 – Timeline to Spider-Verse: Video Games to Comics to Film (Really!) / May 28
- Episode 2 – Reaction and Review of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (non-spoiler) / June 4
- Episode 3 – Character Deep Dive: Peter Parker / June 11
Below is a playlist of the original live streams of The Web Line on my YouTube channel. If you love Spider-Man and his amazing world as much as I do, you’ll want to tune in! As time goes on, this playlist will grow larger and larger, since I’m currently averaging an episode per week. And that’s not even talking about the bonus episodes I’ll be putting out on a semi-regular basis!
The podcast is also available in audio formats, on many of the podcast providers out there, such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher. I’ll create a link for The Web Line that has links to your preferred podcast service in the near future.
In the meantime, here’s a list of upcoming episodes, the date of they’re intended live stream, and any information I have about guests for them:
- Episode 2.5 – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse SPOILER Talk / June 16 / Diane Maenad and Chuck Schiel (BONUS Episode!)
- Episode 4 – Tier List: Rating Spider-Man’s Rogues Gallery / June 18 / no guest
- Episode 5 – Spider-Reads: What Are the Most Iconic Spider-Man Stories? / June 25 / Dan Gvozden of the Amazing Spider-Talk podcast
- Episode 6 – Film Review: 2002’s Spider-Man / July 2 / no guest
I hope you’ll check it out and enjoy! I know it’s a good time to be a Spider-Man fan, and hopefully this little podcast will add a little fan-fueled flavor to all the Spider-Man content that’s out there.
It’s Time to Add Miles Morales to My Compression Shirt Collection
This post contains affiliate links.
I’ve been gradually cultivating a collection of Spider-Man compression shirts, and have been meaning to add reviews and links to this site after I unbox and review them on my YouTube channel. It’s a fairly recent endeavor that I’m trying to create content for on a monthly basis, and with my most recent acquisition, I figured it’s time to start linking things to the website blog now. It’s a fun, low-stress way for me to create a brand, use my affiliate links, and let others see how this apparel looks.
If you’re looking to purchase the shirt I review in the video below, please consider using this Amazon affiliate link to do so.
As a Miles Morales fan, I was pretty happy with this shirt, and was happy to give it a good review. You can see the full video review below:
If you’d like to see more reviews of Spider-Man compression shirts, I’ve collected them in a playlist on my YouTube channel. Affiliate links are also available in the video descriptions.
Gifts Your Spider-Fan Will Love For Any Occasion, Part 1: Spider-Man Media
This blog post contains affiliate links.
You might have guessed it by now, but I’m kind of a fan of a certain wallcrawling, web-slinging superhero. And while I may not always know how to anticipate my enemies’ attacks, I’m reasonably attuned to some of the desires of those who think Spider-Man and his friends are pretty great. While it might be a little late in the holiday season to grab these gifts or stocking stuffers, the nice thing about them is they make excellent selections for the Spider-Fan in your life the whole year round!
This was originally intended to be a single post covering a wide range of gifting ideas, but there are SO MANY different gift categories that feature Spider-Man, I’ve decided to break it up into several posts covering different gifting areas. Each article will contain links to both specific items and to general shopping areas where you can browse for other items in that section. We’ll cover the gamut, from graphic novels and video games to movies, collectibles, clothing and accessories that feature Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and so many of the characters we’ve come to know and love over the years.
And while these are by no means exhaustive listings of Spider-Man gift ideas, they should provide an excellent start to searching for something to satisfy your beloved Spider-Fan’s web-slinging heart! We’ll start with arguably the most popular category, narrative media — movies, TV shows, books, and video games!
So with that said, let’s have a look at some of the best gifts you can grab for your Spidey-obsessed friends, family and loved ones!
Spider-Man has been featured in an enormous amount of video games, from a self-titled Atari 2600 game in 1982 to the spectacular 2018 Marvel’s Spider-Man and its superb half-sequel Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. In addition, he (and other Spider-Folks) have been a part of various Marvel video games, such as the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel Ultimate Alliance games. While there are probably too many to list here, and not all of the games he’s been in are guaranteed hits, there is no denying that the web-slinger is a hot commodity who’s basically made for video gaming.
In addition to the two latest Spider-Man games, we’re getting a sequel in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 in 2023. Here are a few personal recommendations for video games in which you can play as Spider-Man.
Graphic Novels — Spider-Man was created 60 years ago, and has been starring in his own comics as well as guest starring in others ever since. There is a LOT of lore that has developed in that time, much of which the movies, video games, and other media have pulled inspiration from to portray their particular depictions of Peter Parker, Eddie Brock, Miles Morales, and so forth. The adventures, trials, and tragedies Peter and his friends have endured in the comics over the decades feature compelling narrative, fantastic artwork, and tie-ins to the greater Marvel Comics universe.
Some stories from Spider-Man lore are truly iconic and stand out among the others. While I have many more recommendations than what’s shown here, this is a good sampling of tales from Spidey’s very storied history.
Movies — Spider-Man’s influence at the box office can not be denied. Filmmakers, moviegoers, and critics can’t seem to get enough of the webhead, no matter what they might actually say. While they’re not all smash successes, the overall body of Spider-Man films–as well as those of Spider-Man adjacent characters–makes for a much beloved and well regarded collection of stories. While I often watch the films digitally, I also like to have DVDs or Blu-Rays of them in case I somehow find myself without internet and craving a Spidey movie fix.
TV Shows — My first memories of Spider-Man come from the cartoons, and I struggle to remember a time when there wasn’t some iteration of the wallcrawler on the small screen. While there have been many versions of the webbed wonder on television–mostly, but not exclusively in animated media–it goes without saying that some shows were better than others. With that said, television has often been the first point at which children meet the arachnotastic superhero, and through which some of them are cultivated into Spider-Man enthusiasts.
A good number of these series are not available in boxed sets, but you can make up for some of these gaps by checking which streaming services, such as Disney Plus, offer them.
While comic books and graphic novels probably come to mind first when most people think about Spider-Man, it is well worth noting that there is plenty of (primarily) prose media that covers the exploits of the wallcrawler, both in the fictional and non-fiction realms. While many of the novelizations are products of their time from several decades ago (and therefore difficult to find), there exist plenty of guides, encyclopedias, timelines and so forth that discuss the chronicled history of Spider-Man and his friends. These resources tend to get updated every so often, as Spidey’s adventures are always ongoing on the comics.
As you can see, there’s no shortage of adventures to read, play, and watch where the web-slinger is concerned. The items featured above are worthy additions to any Spider-Fan’s library, and will hopefully inspire some gift ideas as you shop for them.
Keep an eye out for the next post in this series, covering Spider-Man collectibles, in the near future!
Newest Wave of Spider-Man: No Way Home Funko POPs Recall Some of the Best Moments, Characters From the Film
This article contains affiliate links.
Recalling the blockbuster pop culture phenomenon juggernaut that was Spider-Man: No Way Home, there can be little doubt that it was simply a great Spider-Man movie, filled with great moments big and small. We saw heroes and villains from Spider-Man’s storied cinematic history, laughed at some of the jokes that arose from them, and even had a few key moments we didn’t even know we needed. Needless to say, when the initial line of Funko POPs from the movie first came out, they were instant successes (few Spider-Man POPs aren’t, these days).
Well, hold on to your hats, folks. You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Funko recently released another wave of POPs from the Marvel-ously multiversal movie, and the results are yet another batch of must-have collectibles that show some of the most visually striking moments that came out of the film. Here are some of the best individual POPs that will soon grace collector shelves.
Up first, and perhaps foremost, are the three Spideys. While there is a collector pack that has all three, the reason I’m showcasing them individually is that the Tom Holland one features the costume he sports at the end of the movie, when he’s back on his own, no one knows him anymore, and he’s created his own costume that features elements from the other two Spideys he met (the 3-pack features an earlier costume for that character). And while I’m sure we’ll all agree that it’s well past the time that we should have gotten POPs featuring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield‘s iterations of the webslinger, I’m sure we can also all agree that it’s really nice to see them, and they’re quite a joy to behold.
Next, we have the unforgettable villains from the previous movies, in the form of Electro, Doc Ock, and the Green Goblin. Electro gets the cool “new new” look he gave himself for the final battle, while Octavius looks distinctive as Alfred Molina played him. For the Green Goblin, Funko wisely made Willem Dafoe’s mask-less, tatter-wrapped version of the villain.
Finally, we get two allies, and two mask-less versions of Spider-Man. I’m glad we’re (slowly) getting more versions of MJ, and this version of her holding the box that could send the villains home highlights how pivotal her character has become to Spider-Man’s lore. Doctor Strange weaving the spell that will cause the villains to eventually appear is a great call-back to that important moment in the film. The Andrew Garfield with his mask in his mouth is perhaps my favorite out of this bunch, recalling one of the most crowd-pleasing scenes in the movie as moviegoers confirmed that all this multiverse stuff was indeed REAL. Finally, a mask-less version of Tom Holland’s Peter in the black suit will no doubt be a sought-after item for collectors and completionists.
I’m sure there are more of these that I haven’t seen yet, but this is a good start for anyone looking to collect more Spider-Man POPs from this amazing movie. I may want all of them, but alas, my wall of Spidey POPs is growing rapidly, and I may have to pick and choose. Hopefully you won’t have that kind of problem, and can enjoy all of them that you want.
Watch the Spidey Librarian Action Hour Tonight on My YouTube Channel!
I’ll be reviving my live show, The Spidey Librarian Action Hour, this evening!
I’ll be discussing Spider-Man related news from the last week, answering reference questions related to Spider-Man, and giving a LIVE tour of a significant part of my Spidey Shrine collection: the Funko POPs! I’ll also talk about the MCU’s upcoming movie, Thor: Love and Thunder, and discussing the addition of Valkyrie and Gorr to Marvel: Contest of Champions, just in time for the movie!
The Funko POP segment will feature a LIVE unboxing of two new POPs! Come join me tonight!
So, I Uploaded Today After All, But…
It wasn’t the video I’d intended/expected to upload today.
While I won’t get into the specifics of today’s intended video, I will say it wasn’t ANOTHER unboxing video like I’d just released on Sunday. But, work and personal circumstances being what they are, I should be happy that I was able to get *something* edited and uploaded to maintain my upload schedule.
Anyway, here it is. Let me know what you think, either here or in the comments section of the video!
I kinda love FiGPiNs. And Spidey stuff. So, perfect combo.
Hopefully I’ll get the intended video up by at least next Wednesday.
Cosplays at Comicpalooza Are Always Fun
It’s amazing how people react to me when I put on a Spider-Man costume. I don’t know how many kids, teens, and adults either fist-bumped, hugged, or posed for pictures with me on Saturday at Comicpalooza, but it was a lot. I know they’re responding to the costume, and the positive associations they have with Spider-Man when they see me, and it’s always a rewarding experience.
I like to think there’s at least one part I bring to the cosplay that goes beyond just the costume, though. Striking dynamic poses and imitating Spider-Man’s mannerisms is something I’ve come to also enjoy about “being” Spider-Man. I’ve studied his movements from movies, cartoons, and video games, and do what I can to incorporate them into my disguise.
I know I’ve gotten more than a couple of good-natured giggles when I’ve crouched up on the seat of a chair, knees bent and arms gripping the front of the seat between my legs, turning my head in short, quick motions. Con-goers and fans have often reacted with surprise and admiration when I’ve crouched into a Spidey pose for a picture. I also make a point of talking in a friendly, interested manner to any little kids who notice me, something that parents always seem to appreciate.
During the con, I had one little girl, a tiny, cute little thing whom I could scarcely believe was old enough to be walking, run up to me and give me a hug. She was so far ahead of her mother that we finished the hug before the mother was able to catch up with her, so she had to hug me again in order for her mother to take the picture. When we were done, her mother was so grateful and happy that her daughter got to give her favorite superhero a hug.
Another little boy was so excited to see me, he ran to get into the picture I was taking with his older brother, yelling, “SPIDER-MAAAAAN!!” all the way until he crashed into me with a hug. It was without a doubt one of the funniest, most satisfying moments of the weekend. I high-fived both brothers afterwards, told them to enjoy the con, and wished them and their parents well as they headed off into the growing crowd.
These are the kinds of moments I live for. They’re one of the big reasons I do cosplays in the first place.
Spider-Man in particular gets a lot of love at these kinds of events, though he’s by no means the only cosplay I’ve done. Past costumes have included Nightwing, Hawkeye, the Crow, and an anonymous Jedi. I consider them all wins, as I’ve always gotten at least one compliment from an onlooker. I realize that may make my standards low, but I think as long as anyone has enjoyed the cosplay I’ve put together, then that’s all I need to know.
To say I enjoy doing cosplays would be an understatement. I look for any and every reason to put on a costume and let my nerd flag fly. Just ask any of my co-workers!
Spider-Man: Homecoming Set Photos Takeaway: I Want That Backpack
Yesterday Looper, an entertainment website, put up some photos fresh from the set of 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming showing actor Tom Holland in his Spider-Man costume. They’re pretty good, and aside from showing a clearly less-shiny version of Spidey’s costume from Captain America: Civil War, provide a clear glimpse of a backpack presumably used by the character both for high school and hero-ing.
The fact that this is a fairly plain JanSport backpack actually makes me really happy, as whenever I cosplay Spidey at conventions, I usually have had bags that I carry (because hey, gotta keep that spare set of civvies nearby) and fish through when I need something in them. While I haven’t actually carried one in a few years, I’ve always felt a backpack was an appropriate thing for Spider-Man to carry around. Clearly writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley agree with me (or I with them), as Peter Parker from the Ultimate Spider-Man comics also carried around a backpack with some regularity.
I’d also argue that if you’re going to be a masked, anonymous vigilante with superpowers who wants to keep his identity secret yet still carry a backpack, you’re best going with a commonly carried, plain-colored backpack that will be hard to easily identify as belonging to just one individual. Still, in this day and age of social media, mobile phone cameras, and Instagram, it’s probably not going to throw people off that easily.
In any case, yeah, I now want one of those things. I’ve actually wanted one for a while, but now even more so. Maybe not in that color, but definitely for my cosplay purposes at the least.
I can’t wait for 2017 to get here.
Achievement Unlocked: The Latter Half of the Web-Line
Those of you who know me are well aware of my obsession with a certain web-slinging superhero. For the last few years, I’ve been on a quest to collect the full run of Amazing Spider-Man, and for the most part I’d say I’ve been pretty successful in making progress to that goal. Today at Comicpalooza, I found a number of issues from the 400s (and/or that horrible volume 2 “relaunch” that I only barely acknowledge) that have unlocked what I feel is a personal achievement.
I don’t know if I’ll actually ever complete a full 
run of ASM, but I can at least now claim I’ve completed the latter half of the original 700-issue run (yes, there are more issues since those, but I’ve got all of them, as I’ve been subscribing to ASM since 2012), as the acquisition of these issues–in addition to the 9/11 “black” issue earlier this week–mean that I now have every issue of Amazing Spider-Man from #300-700. It’s taken me about four years of searching and hunting, and spending, but I now have a massively unbroken streak of these comics that more than comprises the latter half of the original run.
To be sure, I have plenty of other issues in my collection previous to #300 (though numbers 298 and 299 are literally the highest numbers of the comic that I currently do not have), and I’m gradually filling in those gaps as I’m able to. I have already gotten my hands on every one of the anniversary issues (#100, 200, 300, and so on), and even got #100 signed by Stan Lee a couple years ago–at Comicpalooza, of course (more about that at another time). Now my main focus is probably going to be to work my way backwards, as the key issues get more expensive, and the older issues get rarer and harder to find.
Since I’ve gone ahead and given my achievement a name, I figure I’ll create one and add some text to it:
- The Latter Half of the Web-Line: Collect an unbroken run of Amazing Spider-Man from #351-700.
In fact, I think I’ll add a couple more to this particular quest for now, as I think they’re worthy of mention (and this is fun!):
- Happy Anniversary: Collect each of the anniversary issues of Amazing Spider-Man.
- ASM #100
- ASM #200
- ASM #300
- ASM #400
- ASM #500
- ASM #600
- ASM #700
- Questionable Allies: Collect the first appearances of Morbius, Punisher, and Black Cat.
- ASM #101
- ASM #129
- ASM #194
And if you take a look at my collection thus far, you’ll see I’ve completed Happy Anniversary, but not Questionable Allies yet. And it may be awhile before I do. I think I may try to come up with some more achievements for collecting ASM, later.
Anyway, it’s been a long, and exhausting, but ultimately rewarding day at Comicpalooza. I’m looking forward to more pictures and fun tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll have more to talk about soon.
Spidey Librarian 