Are you a Spiderman fan? Are three movie, a couple of cartoon series, and hundreds of comic books not enough material for you? If you are a true die hard fan I found a great book that is unique. Yesterday I picked up the book Webslinger: Unauthorized Essays on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
This book is a series of essays on topics that involve or center around the Spiderman franchise. The topics range from assertion that Spiderman was a horror comic, to who would win a fight between Superman and Spiderman. The topics vary to a great degree, mostly due to the different authors who wrote each individual article. Because of the different authors, don’t expect an overall thesis or theme; in fact, many of the articles contradict each other. But this is what makes it worth reading: that you get to think on the subjects contained within Spiderman on a different level than you might normally.
My personal favorite essay is a philosophical piece. This essays discusses the obligations of humans, humanity, and Spiderman in different situations. This is the most “serious” essay in the book; the author uses Spiderman as an example to explain different philosophical priniciples with skilled language and visuals.
This book, an anthology of essays on Spiderman, is a definite must read for those who are looking for some deeper insight into the world of your friendly neighborhood Spiderman. It is both accessible and interesting in that it is an easy read for younger (mid to late teens) and has enough new ideas (both contemporary and from the time of the first Spiderman comics) to keep older readers flipping through the pages. It was so interesting that I read the 240 page book in two sittings (a night in a hotel and a 3 hr car ride).
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