Along Came a Radioactive Spider

Spider-Man’s  web of stories began far before the first drawing of nerdy teenager  Peter Parker. They started with Steve Ditko, a kid who loved comics so  much that he would brave blizzards to get new issues. Steve was  strange―he was introverted, his art was shadowy, and his characters  didn’t fit the mold of handsome heroes like those crafted by Marvel  legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. But it's not so strange that the traits  that made Steve different were what made his characters stand out.

Swing  into the life of Steve Ditko and discover how he transformed a brawny,  super-powered Spiderman into the perpetually awkward teenager who we  know and love: Spider-Man, a character who relies on his inner strength  more than super strength, who got his powers not through magic but  through the bite of a radioactive spider…

This biography takes  the mask off the famously reclusive artist and shares the story of how  his wall-crawling hero became a friendly neighborhood icon.

Every  superhero has their origin story: a radioactive spider bite turns  ordinary teen Peter Parker into Spider-Man, wealthy Tony Stark escapes  captivity by building his Iron Man suit, scientist Bruce Banner survives  gamma rays only to transform into the Hulk.

For Stan Lee, it  was books of adventure, monsters, and magic that helped him transform  from an ordinary boy to a superstar superhero creator. At first, reading  these stories was a pathway to a world bigger than his family’s tiny  apartment in New York City, but it wasn’t long until Stan was crafting  his own stories, creating comics professionally when he was still just a  teenager! Still, writing wasn’t exciting when the heroes were always  the same: strong, perfect, and boring. Stan had a revolutionary idea. What if anyone―even an ordinary kid―could be a superhero?

Discover  more about the life of the Cameo King, known to many for his  appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how he revolutionized  comics with this vibrant introduction bustling with action, humor, and  references for fans new and old. ‘Nuff said!