Spider-Man in Popular Culture Conference Schedule with Abstracts

Friday, September 29, 2023 

8:00 AM - 8:40 AM: Registration 
8:40 AM - 8:50 AM: Opening Remarks 

Dr. Jeffrey Brown, Bowling Green State University 

9:00 AM - 10:15 AM: Panel F1: Spider-Man: Character and Theme 

Wall-Crawling from the Wreckage: The Overshadowed Theme of Spider-Man  
Timothy Levine, independent researcher 
What is the theme of Spider-Man?  If you ask anyone who has seen any one of the seven blockbuster feature films starring Spider-Man, they’ll likely tell you that it is “with great power comes great responsibility.”  In fact, the phrase has become so engrained in pop culture that “Weird Al” Yankovic sings it in reference to Spider-Man as part his 2003 song, “Ode to a Superhero.”  While “with great power comes great responsibility” is certainly explicitly stated quite frequently in the early days of Spider-Man comics and becomes a touchstone and personal mantra for Peter Parker, does it really hold up as the overall dramatic theme that encompasses nearly sixty years of the character’s publication?  Also, is it really possible to reconcile a phrase that presumes “power,” and thus a significant level of privilege, as the theme for a character who was not only intended to be an everyman, but more precisely the everyman of a universe of characters meant to look more like “the world outside your window?” 

Looking at the entirety of Spider-Man’s publication history, a thematic through line emerges which is less about “with great power…” and more about a protagonist that keeps on having bad things happen to him but is able to persevere through adversity and inevitably heroically overcome it.  That Spider-Man keeps on getting metaphorically knocked down – perhaps even more so than any other character in comics – but keeps on picking himself back up again, particularly when others need saving.  The amount of tragedy and setbacks that Peter Parker has suffered and continues to suffer is well known to Spider-Man readers and makes for quite a lengthy list.  In fact, the bad things happening to Peter are so common that they are colloquially referred to in-story as the “Parker Luck,” yet Spider-Man always manages to carry on and ultimately prevail.  The larger paper explores how Peter’s struggle through trauma and triumph is a more narratively accurate understanding of the primary theme of Spider-Man, which has enhanced the character by making him more relatable and inspiring. 

How Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Weaves Together the Extended Spider-Man Canon  
Marley Crusch, Kansas State University
Throughout the decades, Spider-Man has embodied the ideal of an everyman suddenly gaining great power, and in the immortal words of Uncle Ben, great responsibility. More than any other work, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse explores what truly makes this hero our “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”, and connects the portrayals of the character in comics, movies, and animation to the ever-expanding canon. 

The ties to existing and forthcoming Spider-Man media are apparent in every aspect of the film, but are most noticeable in the writing and visual elements. By showing the origin of Miles Morales’s Spider-Man having a direct connection to Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, Aunt May, Kingpin, and Doc Ock, the story remains cohesive to existing lore and recognizable to fans, while distinct in its own right. Furthermore, it establishes particular instances of the multiverse and the variety of characters and storylines within, quickly lending depth to new characters without retconning existing heroes. 

The visual elements echo live action films, with multiple scenes being almost direct recreations, inverted in color. The character designs, onomatopoeia, and action align with the comic book style in a way that is often difficult to translate to live-action movies, but proves highly impressive and impactful in animation. 

My presentation would focus on how this movie serves as a natural and impressive culmination of past animated works, comics, and live-action movies, and how, due to these connections, it can serve as a north star for exploring and classifying Spider-Man media. My discussion on classification would mostly be in regards to library classification of graphic novels, movies, and other circulation materials as well as archival classification of comics, costumes, toys and other memorabilia. My exploration of digital archives or online repositories that house relevant materials may touch briefly on fan-driven classifications in online spaces, particularly for fan fiction and fan art, with respect to how these works interact with the canon at large.  

The Presentation of Identity in Spider-Man Media  
Madeline Main, Bowling Green State University
Spider-Man and the Spider-Verse, both in comics and films, offer a nuanced exploration of the concept of identity. Through the experiences of various iterations of Spider-Man, the stories delve into questions such as who we are, how we perceive ourselves, and how others perceive us. 

One of the key themes that runs through the Spider-Verse is the idea of the multiverse, where alternate versions of characters exist. This concept allows for a deeper exploration of the different facets of identity. For example, in the Spider-Verse film, Miles Morales struggles to reconcile his identity as a young black man from Brooklyn with his newly acquired powers as Spider-Man. He learns that being Spider-Man is not just about the powers, but also about the responsibility that comes with them. 

Similarly, in the comics, Peter Parker's struggles with his identity are a recurring theme. He grapples with the responsibility of being Spider-Man while also trying to maintain a personal life as Peter Parker. The introduction of alternate versions of Spider-Man, such as Miles Morales and Venom, further complicates Peter's understanding of his own identity. The Spider-Verse stories also explore how others perceive us and the impact that has on our identity. For example, in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film, the different versions of Spider-Man have varying degrees of success in their personal lives. This highlights the idea that our identity is not just something that we create for ourselves, but is also shaped by external factors such as societal expectations and stereotypes. 

Spider-Man and the Spider-Verse offer a rich exploration of the concept of identity. Through the experiences of various iterations of Spider-Man, the stories delve into questions about who we are and how we perceive ourselves, as well as the impact of societal expectations and stereotypes on our sense of self. 

Your Friendly Neighborhood Multiverse-Hopping, Cosmic-Powered, Spider-God Avatar… From Queens!  
Dr. Christopher “Mav” Maverick, University of Pittsburgh
In sixty years, Spider-Man has become the most ubiquitous superhero. He’s fought countless supervillains, saved the world thousands of times, traversed the multiverse, died and been reborn on several occasions and ascended into cosmic godhood. Yet, he’s remained one of the most relatable characters the superhero fantasy genre has ever produced. Regardless of how many cosmos spanning adventures he partakes, Peter Parker always remains the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. 

For other characters, this seems impossible. A Thor routinely stopping muggings seems as incongruous as a Daredevil facing down Thanos. However, Spider-Man is equally at home in both environments, while also seeming equally ill at ease. He’s defeated cosmic beings singlehandedly, but at the same time fallen victim to human hunter in a lion vest. He’s struggled to track a bank robber from borough to borough, and then gone interdimensional jaunts with the Avengers. He’s defeated Mephisto but can’t save his failing marriage. No matter how often Spider-Man saves the universe, his relatability always comes from his struggles with rent, romance, or simply self-esteem. From his genesis as a high school student, to a married middle-aged father, and in any medium from comics to films to video game, not only can Peter rise to any challenge, but he can seemingly lower himself as well. In any situation, he at best only barely manages to accomplish any goal.  

Thus, Spider-Man represents the emerging evolution of the superhero. He’s effectively the avatar of post-modern America. He’s transgressed the implied perfection of übermensch superheroic monomyth. Instead, he is an avatar of fallible, flawed, supermediocrity. Spider-Man works because the Spider-Mythos resists superheroic trope. He is at once the best and the worst of us and therefore, more than any other character, he renders the impossible accessible. 

10:25 AM - 11:05 AM: Panel F2: Science Fiction and the Supernatural in Spider-Man 

The Spectacularly Spooky Spider-Man  
Trevor Snyder, Virginia Tech University
A young boy is bitten by a radioactive spider, and as a result his body undergoes strange, supernatural changes. We of course recognize it as the origin story of one of our greatest superheroes, but it’s not difficult to see how, with just a little minor tweaking, it could easily be the premise for a twisted tale of body horror in the vein of David Cronenberg. In fact, an aborted 1985 feature film version of the character, which would have been directed by Texas Chainsaw Massacre creator Tobe Hooper, even reconceptualized everyone’s favorite web-slinging hero as a tragic, monstrous, mad scientist created spider-human hybrid. While the idea was abandoned due to concerns from co-creator Stan Lee, it’s not entirely difficult to understand why producers might have been intrigued by this take on the material. After all, despite the character often being viewed as one of the superhero world’s more “kid-friendly” properties, tales of Marvel’s Spider-Man have, over the years, occasionally ventured into realms of frightening darkness that arguably feel adjacent to the horror genre -- from the shockingly grim narrative and imagery of “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” to the slasher-movie brutality of superpowered serial killer Carnage, or the big-bug horror of “Spider Island,” up to the psychological terror of the recent “Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man” miniseries. In this presentation, I will examine these and other horror-tinged moments from the character’s history, in order to not only scrutinize the validity of arguing for Spider-Man as a stealth horror character, but also explore the underdiscussed yet undeniable interrelatedness of the superhero and horror genres, in general.  

Loving the Alien: The Magic Totems, Jungian Fever Dreams and Eerie Ufology Resonating within the Spider-Man Mythos  
Mark Parsons, College Library, ArtCenter College of Design 
Is Spider-Man, AKA Peter Parker, the cheerful, studious, self-sacrificing lad from Queens, NY, really just a street level everyman DIY superhero? Is our trust in the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s good nature unconsciously undercut by a creeping primal arachnophobic sense of dread at his uncanniness? There is more to Peter Parker than wise-cracks, wheat cakes, web fluid and chaotic tardiness. Pop culture’s most beloved arachnid resonates with the Freudian unheimlich: his iconic mask arises and gains pop cultural exposure in parallel with depictions of the Grays, as reported in alien abduction stories. This suggests eerie foundational and synchronistic qualities that, through the decades, peek in from such liminal spaces. Spider-Man’s stranger qualities will be examined through Mark Fisher’s lens of eeriness/weirdness, Freud’s sense of the uncanny, 1950s and 60s UFO abduction reports, and Jung’s ideas on archetypes and the mythopoetic nature of flying saucer phenomenon. All these themes will be traced via Spider-Man’s multimedia metastory – from Ditko’s eerie art style and the hallucination tinged 1960s cartoon to Brendan McCarthy’s dream-soaked, Lovecraftian graphic novel Spider-Man: Fever, then on to Straczynski’s controversial 2001 revision of the character’s origins reflecting magical Jungian animal totems, finally weaving in the vampiric Morlun, Marvel’s demonic devil stand-in Mephisto and the infinitely mutable strangeness of the Spider-Verse. The story of everybody’s everyman Peter Parker is far weirder than we may have realized…

11:15 AM - 12:00 PM: Keynote Speaker 

Spidey and Me: Over 50 Years of Connecting and Collecting  
Bruce Wechtenhiser, world-renowned Spider-Man collector and visual storytelling presenter 
 The “Spidey & Me: over 50 years of connecting and collecting” visual storytelling presentation showcases one man’s obsession, connection, & immersion into all things "Spidey" these past 55 years! Bruce Wechtenhiser's stories of his “Spidey experiences” and his collection have been featured in various media and at many comic book conventions.  Living his whole life in the hometown of Steve Ditko (co-creator of Spider-Man) is just one of many amazing lifelong “Spidey experiences” which you may find hard to believe all happened to just one person! Experience his emotional connections to the character as he tells stories (including his interactions with Spider-Man creators Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and John Romita), projects visuals on a large screen, and brings rare items for YOU to see in person! Get caught in the web of his love for Spidey! www.spideyandme.com

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Lunch 
12:30 PM - 12:55 PM: Tour of the Browne Popular Culture Library 
1:10 PM - 2:10 PM: Panel F3: Historical Perspectives of Spider-Man 

J. JONAH WAS RIGHT: The True Power of Peter Parker’s Regular Identity  
Bentley Boyd, cartoonist and owner of Chester Comix, LLC 
The cultural thumbnail of Peter Parker is that he’s hapless in civilian form—a guy who gets colds and turns in his homework late, in spite of being an amazing hero while in costume. Civilian Peter is as normal as the reader! 

What is often overlooked by the cultural thumbnail is Peter’s agency and power in his civilian identity—a power that was understood by the first two generations of Spider-Man readers. The Marvel movies of the 21st century have done a good job highlighting his intelligence as a scientist. But this presentation for the “Spider-Man in Popular Culture” conference will focus on what is often missed about the first days of Peter Parker, teenager. 

Peter was a different kind of teen hero from the Golden Age characters that publishers quickly inserted into their stories when the audience for comic books was established. Robin and Speedy and Bucky were ham-fisted attempts to mirror the audience—but these characters forced comix firmly into the realm of fantasy. No teen could realistically imagine themselves swinging from skyscrapers or flying with the Human Torch.  

Readers of the 1960s and 1970s could imagine themselves as freelancers for their local paper, the way Peter became tied to the Daily Bugle. Having that connection to the adult world and economy would be empowering for any teenager. I know because I was both a teenage journalist and have played the role of J. Jonah—I was an editor who really hired a teenage photographer. 

My program about the revolutionary role of teenage Peter Parker will mix my professional knowledge of history, my experience as a Bronze Age comix reader, my experiences as a newspaperman and my view as a professional cartoonist. 

Reading, Analyzing, and Podcasting Spider-Man Comics from 1962-Present Day (we are only through 1982 as of today.) 
James “Eddie” Hasspacher, co-creator of the Let’s Read Spider-Man podcast
Let’s Read Spider-Man is a podcast born from the idea of reading and experiencing the entire Spider-man comic continuum as a first-time reader. In true Peter Parker fashion, the project generates no revenue, each episode contains a fake sponsor created by James B relating to the books covered that episode, but offers cheeky analysis of titles from The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up. This is the first podcast to cover Spider-Man’s story chronologically and in its entirety across multiple titles. As of today, we have released 162 episodes covering 429 books averaging a new episode released every five days. Sixteen guests have appeared on the show. Guests are pulled from emails and our 4200 twitter followers and encompass a wide range of age, race, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds bringing perspectives other than those offered by hosts James B and Eddie. While each podcast is no more than 30 minutes and intended to be humorous in nature, topics such as character development and interaction, common tropes, historical facts regarding Spider-Man and Marvel, artwork, cultural movements in relation to the time period books are written, and creative teams are discussed each episode. James B and I are both schoolteachers and we view our podcast series as a read along reference and/or a short analysis of uncommon titles readers or listeners would have little familiarity with. 

The Battle for Marvel Supremacy: How a Bicentennial Battle between Superman and Spider-Man Cemented Spider-Man's Role as Marvel's Premiere Superhero   
Alan Jozwiak, The University of Cincinnati / Cincinnati State
There is a decided change in the perception of Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe during the mid-1970s. Spider-Man was introduced as an outsider, ostracized because he does not fit the standard model of a superhero. Spider-Man is initially rejected for membership in The Fantastic Four (The Amazing Spider-Man, No. 1) and cannot celebrate the wedding of Fantastic Four members Reed Richards and Sue Storm as a full-fledged guest. In The Fantastic Four Annual No. 3 (October 1965), Spider-Man “attends” the festivities by stealing a piece of wedding cake through an open window. 

However, Spider-Man's status flips during the 1970s when he supplants The Fantastic Four as the figurehead for Marvel Comics and moves from being a superhero outsider to an insider. This change is evident with the first DC-Marvel comic crossover in 1976, pairing Spider-Man with Superman. Instead of Marvel leading with their flagship characters The Fantastic Four, they pair Superman with Spider-Man in a full-length tale where both superheroes work together to battle Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus. Commenting on this decision in the book's forward, Stan Lee says that Spider-Man is “the newest, most realistic, most popular wall-crawler on the scene today." With these words, Lee signals that Spider-Man has been accepted as a superhero insider and situated front and center within the Marvel Universe. 

This presentation will discuss the Superman/Spider-Man crossover comic in light of Spider-Man's change from Marvel Universe outsider to insider. I intend to use the work of Robert K. Merton on insiders vs. outsiders to chart the progress in how Spider-Man changes status in the eyes of the other Marvel superheroes. It is my hope that by the end of this presentation, Spider-Man's team-up with Superman will demonstrate the ways that Spider-Man’s change in status makes him into the superhero that we know today. 

2:20 PM - 3:05 PM: Keynote Speaker 

Writing Spider-Man  
Marc Sumerac, Marvel Comics writer  

3:15 PM - 4:15 PM: Panel F4: Woman Characters in Spider-Man (I)  

Move Over Nancy Drew, Here Comes Gwen Stacy: the Teenage Girl Detective Goes Sleuthing in the Spider-Man Universe  
Dr. Jennifer Swartz-Levine, Lake Erie College
Gwen Stacy’s first solo series appeared in 2020. Written by Christos Gage with art by Todd Nauck, Gwen’s adventures are set in the early days of the Spider-Man mythos, but the title was doomed to early cancellation after only two issues, derailed by the pandemic. The entire story is finally collected in the Giant Size Gwen Stacy #1, completing the tale of Gwen’s determined detection antics to clear her father’s name. Captain George Stacy has been framed for a murder and falsely implicated in a dirty cop scheme; he plans to accept forced retirement to save Gwen from a collection of villains including the Green Goblin, Crime-Master, and assorted henchmen known as the Enforcers. Unwilling to allow her father to sacrifice his career for her safety, Gwen goes sleuthing. Assisted by Harry Osborne, Jr. and her boyfriend Darius LeClerc, Gwen does what the police cannot and clears her father’s name.

Gwen joins a long heritage of intrepid teenage female sleuths, in the tradition of Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Veronica Mars. To be a female detective in a space where one is not authorized is normal for these amateur teen crime solvers, and it is their very outsider nature that enables them to figure out solutions to cases that stump the sanctioned authority of the police. To aid them in their endeavors, these young female gumshoes often have a contact on the police force or the local newspaper that can provide useful resources when necessary, and it is no different for Gwen. Her sidekicks are two female police lieutenants as well as a former crime figure turned newspaper reporter. Yet even with these assists from adults who are working inside approved spaces, Gwen is the one who must be the crime solver, since she is motivated not only by her outsider status but also by love. In detective fiction, one of the tropes is that amateur status plus personal connection to the victim (or accused) lends a level of insight and authenticity that professionals cannot have. The larger paper explores how Gwen fits into these established narrative norms of the detective fiction genre as well as how her gender and youth influences the way she navigates her way to success in her personal private eye exploits.

4:25 PM - 5:25 PM: Panel F5: Visual Art, Music, and Storytelling in Spider-Man  

Spider-Minimalism: Abstraction and Simplification in Buscema’s Spectacular Spider-Man  
Sam Cowling, Denison University 
Superhero comics rarely aim for less. In fact, they seem to be as close to an inherently “maximal” artform as one can imagine. Despite this, the demands of intensively serialized storytelling mean that comics production involves a host of compromises and artistic tradeoffs. Given the division of labor typical of mainstream superhero comics, these tradeoffs are most apparent in the drawn elements of series. This essay explores how a variety of artists across Spider-Man titles have sought to address the pressures of serialization with a particular focus on the minimalist strategies in the work of Sal Buscema over the course of his lengthy run on Spectacular Spider-Man (1988-1996). As I argue, Buscema’s varying relationship to comics production—serving as penciller, inker, and both penciller and inker—plays a key role in his efforts to address the pressures of serialization by simplifying, abstracting, and economizing. I then explore some of the strategies that Buscema relies upon including his use of figure drawing as a means for controlling focal attention and the radical simplification of setting and place within his work. 

Buscema’s distinctive approach to Spider-Man art is contrasted with some of Steve Ditko’s early efforts as well as Charles Vess’ Spider-Man: Spirits of the Earth (1990). In stark contrast to Buscema’s run, Vess’ comic was published outside of typical patterns of serialization and with a non-standard setting for a Spider-Man comic: Scotland. Drawing on the differences between Vess and Buscema, I extract some morals about which visual elements of Spider-Man comics are considered negotiable rather than essential over the sixty years of serialized Spiderman comics. I conclude with a discussion of various efforts to describe the axis of variation among art within Spider-Man comics and why Buscema’s minimalism proves especially interesting. 

 The Cover to Amazing Fantasy #15: An Insight into Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby  
Michael Niederhausen, Cuyahoga County Public Library 
When discussing the founding fathers of Marvel Comics, two names always appear: Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. As a fan of both artists, it is noticeable how much different each had in terms of layouts, styles, and ideology. Each artist was almost on the opposite side of the same coin. And yet, together, they were instrumental in the success of Marvel Comics. Nothing encapsulates the differences of each artist as the cover of Spider-Man’s first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15. Jack Kirby’s version was the original cover and Steve Ditko’s (for many years unpublished) cover represent the same scene, but the differences showcase what made each of them unique. Both covers show Spider-Man swinging through the city with a criminal under his arm. Kirby’s viewpoint is from the street, which give Spider-Man an almost god-like quality. Ditko’s perspective is reversed, from above. In which, you see the city streets and give a more grounded viewpoint of the scene.

This presentation will show how the published and unpublished covers of Amazing Fantasy #15 describe the differences between each artist in one famous image.

"What's Up Danger?" and the Assimilative Implications of its Musical Hybridity in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse  
Cristina "Trinity" Vélez-Justo, The Ohio State University
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) features Miles Morales, an African American Puerto Rican (Afro-Rican) teenager who becomes Spider-Man. Uniquely among American superheroes, he immerses himself in hip-hop culture wearing his hoodie and designer sneakers, enjoying his graffiti pastime. The original soundtrack album portrays Miles’ musical preferences and embodies his cultural and ethnic roots through hip-hop, R&B, and Latin Pop. Blackway and Black Caviar’s hip-hop-EDM hit “What’s Up Danger?” was intended to play during the film’s pivotal scene - Miles’ actualization into Spider-Man. However, Daniel Pemberton’s conventional “superhero” score took center stage, combining traditional orchestral layers with hip-hop and EDM elements extracted from the song. This scene could be interpreted as a form of what Alcalde (2022) may call coexistent hybridity, where two or more styles of music occur simultaneously in a “smooth, cooperative relationship.” Instead, I suggest it is an example of sonic assimilation. Orchestral and EDM layers override the hip-hop elements as the scene progresses, sonically suggesting a hierarchy – that in order for Miles Morales to become Spider-Man, he must leave behind his ethnic and cultural roots to reach a place of Whiteness.

Generally, the American superhero film relies on traditional film score conventions to musically represent its heroes and their journeys, using primarily orchestral textures that Taruskin (2006) and Slobin (2008) illustrate as markers of Whiteness. In addition, EDM has evolved to become an emblem of Whiteness in mainstream music scenes (Park 2015, Garcia 2018). Hip-hop, on the other hand, is used as a marker for urban culture and Black-/Brownness (Bradley 2017). Throughout this scene, we are caught in Miles’ “in-between-ness” as he navigates this realm of superhero-hood (Molina-Guzmán 2021). Though the filmmakers intended to express enthusiasm towards diversity and inclusion in American superhero cinema, Miles’ soundscape suggests yet another example of implicit bias and stereotyping.

5:35 PM - 6:50 PM: Panel F6: Spider-Man and Religion: Spinning a Web of Spirituality 

Spider-Man and the Gritty Eighties: A Look at the Sin-Eater in Spectacular Spider-Man and Beyond
George Tsakiridis, South Dakota State University 
After over a decade of stories with our favorite hero, in the mid-1970s a new Spider-Man comic emerged: The Spectacular Spider-Man (SSM). After years of establishing The Amazing Spider-Man (ASM), Marvel introduced this new series, dedicated to taking on stories that were of a different nature than the original comic run. In SSM we see more obscure villains and stories that might be seen as a bit grittier than what was acceptable for broader consumption in ASM. As a part of this alternate series, in October of 1985, Sin-Eater entered the pages of SSM.

Though Spider-Man comic books are full of religious ideas and symbolism, finding a character so explicitly tied to the Christian tradition is somewhat rare. Typically, the themes are under the surface and woven into the epic battle of good versus evil, in addition to Spidey’s personal guilt.

In Sin-Eater, we see the combination of a savior and vigilante, as well as someone who forces us to grapple with the concepts of blame and suffering for one’s sins. In addition, his character is anchored in the New York ethos that permeates the Spider-Verse. Taking this to the broader religious realm, this paper addresses the concepts of guilt, atonement, and reconciliation in both religious tradition and Spider-Man comics. Beginning with the scapegoat in the Jewish Torah, this paper engages dialogue using the lens of Sin-Eater’s run in both SSM and ASM (2018) to show the theological nature of these important story arcs. 

Mother Goddesses and the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Spider-Man: The Transformative Nature of Shriek, Shathra, and Ero  
Christina Knopf, SUNY Cortland 
Syncretic mother worship is evident in Spider-Man comics, which engage various forms of divine motherhood to support and advance Spider-Man’s story, moral development, and spiritual journey. With Peter Parker’s own mother bearing the name of Mary, and repeated appearances of the crucifix and the church, Spider-Man comics develop their own kind of mariamic mother worship. Three maternal villains, in particular - Shriek, Shathra, and Ero - embody the transformative character of the sacred feminine. Through his interactions with them, Spider-Man embraces his dual-nature of being both supernatural and human (his incarnation). He submits to his destiny of being part of something greater than himself (his passion). And he dies and is reborn, facing the doubts of a skeptical world, as he fights for the lives, if not the souls, of his family (his resurrection). 

Demogoblin and the Nature of the Demonic  
Matthew Brake, Northern Virginia Community College 
Demogoblin technically debuted in 1989’s Spectacular Spider-Man #147. Originally possessing the villain Jason Macendale, aka the Hobgoblin, Demogoblin was able to separate from Macendale and begin a reign of terror, killing all of those he deemed “sinners” and revealing himself to be a part of a sect of demons who saw it as their job to cleanse the Earth of iniquity. While the character participated in atrocities such as Carnage’s rampage in New York City in the famous Maximum Carnage storyline, Demogoblin was able to find redemption in the end, sacrificing his life to save a child.  

Demogoblin presents readers with an opportunity to consider the nature of the demonic and its portrayal in popular media. Are demons sectarian? Are they agents of punishment? Can they find redemption? In what follows, I will consider each of these questions, although not without a caveat. In popular culture, there can often be a lack of precision regarding the classification of different religious categories. While this chapter is considering the “demon” Demogoblin, it will also cross over into descriptions of the more properly “Satanic.” While these two categories, and indeed, these two types of beings are not necessarily synonymous, they can often be conflated in colloquial discussion and pop cultural portrayals. Likewise, I will commit such a conflation here. 

Hero or Villain: The Poor, The Family of God, and the F.E.A.S.T. Project  
Travis B. Hill, The University of Texas at Dallas 
In Amazing Spider-Man #546, Dan Slott kicked off a new era for the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler with the monumental “Brand New Day” relaunch of the titular character. In this issue Slott establishes several elements that become staples for his decade long run writing the title, including the Food, Emergency Aid, Shelter, and Training (or F.E.A.S.T.) Project — a resource center for the poor and the homeless run by Aunt May. In subsequent storylines, we see various characters identified as a “hero” or “villain” based on how they interact with the FEAST Project and its people, whether they offer protection, or harm.  

In Luke 3, John the Baptist tells his audience that the time is coming where the family of God will no longer be identified with the lineage of Abraham, but rather through how one treated the poor and the needy in their midst. In subsequent portions of the Lucan gospel, Jesus specifically answers questions related to identity in the family of God with an emphasis on aiding and being one with the poor and oppressed.  

In both Dan Slott’s Spider-Man comics and the Gospel of Luke, one’s identity with a particular group — hero, or family of God — is tied to how one positions themselves in relation to “the poor.” In Spider-Man comics a hero is identified through their defense of the poor and needy. In the gospel of Luke, the family of God is identified through solidarity with the oppressed. 

6:55 PM - 7:15 PM: Panel F7: Spider-Man T-Rex and Toys

Spider-Rex and Saurian Branding
Dr. Jeremy Wallach, Bowling Green State University
From the time of its discovery by Barnum Brown and naming in 1905 by Henry Fairfield Osborn, the Tyrannosaurus rex has captured the public imagination.  An actual animal, the T-Rex, as the creature came to be known, could not be copyrighted as intellectual property (unlike superhero characters like Spider-Man) and was therefore fair game for toy makers everywhere to satisfy dinosaur lovers’ demands.  The Spider-Rex character is an exception.  Even though it is essentially a standard Tyrannosaurus rex with a different paint job, it supplies its manufacturer with an exclusive market, a heretofore impossible feat for a T-Rex toy.

7:20 PM - 7:50 PM: Light Reception 

Saturday, September 30 

10:00 AM: Registration 
10:05 AM - 10:10 AM: Opening Remarks 

Sara Bushong, Dean of University Libraries, Bowling Green State University 

10:15 AM - 11:15 AM: Panel S1: Villains and Battles in Spider-Man 

Spider-Man in the Courtroom  
James M. Dedman, IV of Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. in Charlotte, North Carolina
Spider-Man, a hero and newspaper photographer, can teach us much about the law. Over the years, from the Silver Age to the modern day, Spider-Man has faced many legal issues in and outside of court. Criminal law! Intellectual property law! Family law! He has testified as a witness. He’s been a defendant. Avoiding legalese, the presentation will analyze these storylines and educate the attendees about basic legal concepts using Spider-Man comic books as case studies. The role of judges, juries, and witnesses will be explored, as will the application of certain rules of procedure and evidence in the comic book realm. In light of Spider-Man’s role as a newspaper photographer, we will also explore basic intellectual property law concepts. Other comic book characters – like Daredevil and She-Hulk, themselves practicing attorneys in their private lives - will also make appearances in the presentation.

The presenter, Jim Dedman, is an attorney and litigator based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the editor of the Abnormal Use law blog, which often features comic book covers with interesting legal issues. Abnormal Use was named the top torts blog for five years running by the American Bar Association. He also presented a similar presentation, “Batman in the Courtroom,” at BGSU in 2019.

Who Says This Isn’t the Marvel Age of Vile New Villains?: Spider-Man’s Foes as Challenges to Mission, Power, and Identity  
Dr. Michael G. Robinson, University of Lynchburg
While fans may never agree as to who has the greatest rogues’ gallery, Spider-Man or a certain caped crusader who works for the “Distinguished Competition,” this analysis of Spider-Man’s foes demonstrates the importance of his villains in the career of the popular hero. Arriving in quick succession in Marvel’s earliest days in the Silver Age, these enemies pushed Spider-Man to his heroic limits. The antagonists also demonstrated some of the early 1960s cultural themes that found in Spider-Man comics, particularly youthful distrust of anyone over thirty and a cultural obsession with science.  

This analysis explores Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery by utilizing Peter Coogan’s three-part superhero schema of mission, power, and identity. Villains also have powers and identity. Their missions are often inverted into antisocial directions.  

More importantly, the villains function as challenges for Spider-Man along those three axes as well. A villain’s goal often goes directly against Spider-Man’s mantra of great power and great responsibility. Every antagonist offers some kind of power challenge. Battles with these baddies become super-powered puzzles for Spider-Man to solve and for the reader to play along with. Some villains also pose direct threats to Spider-Man’s secret identity or have ties to his melodramatic personal life. 

The greatest of archenemies function dangerously as triple challenges. In Amazing Spider-Man #31-33, Doctor Octopus must be stopped and his power is deadly, but he is also after the serum that will save Aunt May’s life. When the Green Goblin learns that Peter Parker is Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #39-40, his threat increases exponentially.  

Ultimately, considering villains in this way expands our understanding of how the central device of contests work in the superhero genre.

Spider-Man Clone Saga Gets a Bad Rap!?!
Zach Joiner, Executive Producer, Spideydude Radio Network
Spider-Man's Clone Saga is regarded as one of the worst stories of all time, but it's been one of the most reprinted stories of all time as well. What is it about this story that connected people in so many ways and drove others away in others? Does this story get a bad rap? Does it bring forth a revisiting? How did it change the way Marvel did events... forever?

11:25 AM - 12:10 PM: Keynote Speaker 

 Selling Spider-Man  
Jim Collins, comic book store owner, collector 

12:10 PM - 12:50 PM: Lunch 
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Panel S2: Spider-Man: Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Class 

“Anyone Can Wear the Mask”: Gender-Swapping Practices in the Spider-Man Fandom  
Taylor Bowles, Bowling Green State University
Gender-bending, crossplay, genderfucking, regendering, Rule 63, Starbucking — Known by many names, the practice of gender-swapping characters has been a long-standing staple within fandom culture. Found in fan fiction, fan art, and cosplay, fans often create gender-swapped versions of their favorite characters to explore their sexuality, gender identity, or even just their creativity. There are also many ways that gender-swapped characters manifest, including cosplaying a gender other than one's own and swapping the sex of the characters. 

This paper explores the phenomenon of gender-bend practices within the Spider-Man fandom. Close examinations of female Peter Parker fan fiction (Petra or Penny Parker) and trans-masculine Spider-Man works and headcanons demonstrate common themes within the fandom practice. In addition, examples of gender-swapped cosplay and fan reactions to such are analyzed. Both male-to-female and female-to-male fanworks and cosplays are considered to identify distinctions between the two. Genre conventions that allow for gender-swapped narratives, including transformation narratives and alternative universes, are also analyzed.  

This paper concludes that two separate subcultures emerge, one centered on sexuality and gender exploration and subversion through queer and trans narratives of various iterations of Spider-Man, but also a separate subculture centered on the sexualization of gender-swapped characters, both canonical or fandom-created.

“Bi Felicia”: The Evolving Sexuality of Black Cat  
Michael R. Kramer, Saint Mary’s College 
Increasing LGBTQ representation in popular culture artifacts, such as comic books and their related content, is an important project for building a more accepting and inclusive society. There are different ways of achieving such representation. One approach is creating new LGBTQ characters. Alternatively, comic creators can alter the sexual orientation of existing characters, as Marvel has done with Black Cat. Felicia Hardy, a/k/a Black Cat, has been one of Spider-Man’s main love interests for decades. In 2021, Black Cat was revealed to be bisexual as Felicia entered into a relationship with Odessa Drake.

The benefit of this approach to LGBTQ representation is that the character has an established fan base so the representation has a better chance of reaching more people faster. In that regard, Black Cat has been a fan favorite supporting/recurring character in Spider-Man comics since her creation in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man in 1979. A potential risk of this approach, however, is the alienation or ambivalence such canon change can create in some fans.

This paper will examine the context in which Marvel changed Black Cat’s sexuality and the strategies used to do so. Specifically, I will argue that Marvel used five primary strategies: 1) enemies-to-lovers trope, 2) flashbacks, 3) time jumps, 4) off-panel storytelling, and 5) the use of LGBTQ supporting and minor characters. These strategies seem aimed at delivering groundbreaking representation and inclusivity while also managing Black Cat’s bisexuality in a way less likely to alienate fans resistant to the change. The result is a marginalization of the character’s sexuality as it is being represented. I conclude by arguing that creators should continue to expand representation in ways that enhance visibility of LGBTQ relationships in our most popular comic book franchises. 

2:10 PM - 2:55 PM: Keynote Speaker 

Drawing Spider-Man  
Rick Leonardi, comics artist 

3:05 PM - 4:05 PM: Panel S3: Spider-Man Fandom, Collecting, and Merchandising 

Up, Up, and Away: The Impact of Inflation on the Costs of Hobbies  
Alan W. Middleton, Ohio University, Lancaster campus
Comic book readers have experienced a lifetime of distress over the steadily increasing prices of their favored items over the years.  

In this study, a comparison is made between the general increases in prices over the last number of decades, and the specific increases in comic book prices, as well as the prices of other hobby activities. This study is not designed to track the increase or decrease in back issue values. The focus is on the cover price. 

A “Spidey Price Index” (SPI) is created, based on the modal issue cost each year for Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, and (adjectiveless) Spider-Man. Using the modal cost filters out the impact of special (higher cost) issues, the result being the “normal” or “standard” cover price for an issue.  

The SPI produces a “mean of the modes” for issue prices. When a new comic is introduced to (or removed from) the line, the denominator is adjusted to account for this. This is the system that has been used to calculate the Dow Jones Industrial Average from its origination. From here, a string of annual price increases in the SPI is constructed.  

These annual changes in the SPI are compared to the most common measures of inflation for the general economy, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI). Although there are specific years when this is not the case, the overall conclusion can be drawn that the cover prices of Spider-Man comics have indeed increased at faster rates than general prices in the economy since the character’s first comic was introduced in 1963. 

Although further work has not been conducted yet, the intent is to extend the analysis to the prices of similar hobby activities to see if the conclusion holds. 

Browne Popular Culture Library’s Spider-Man Realia Collection  
Dana Nemeth, Reference Archivist, Browne Popular Culture Library, Bowling Green State University 
When the Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL) started 50 years ago, three-dimensional materials were not collected. However, with the rise of consumerist fandom in the late twentieth century, exemplified by the deluge of licensed products from franchises such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and Spider-Man, the ability to access and assess three-dimensional objects has become necessary for cultural studies scholars seeking to address the fullest scope of American popular culture and its national and international impact.  

With the archival demands of those researchers in mind, the BPCL began amassing these non-traditional archival objects during the 1980s. However, with no solid collection plan in place, the BPCL now owns a plethora of 20th-century material goods, and like many heritage institutions, does not have the storage capacity to collect more realia. The staff has spent the past five years reorganizing, weeding and prioritizing collections that will meet the academic needs of scholars. 

The presenters will share how collections that give insight into fan reception are the most valuable to continue to house and will use the BPCL’s Spider-Man realia collection as a case study. Donated by a BGSU theatre professor, Willard Misfeldt, the presentation will provide an overview of the collection, discuss this collector’s approach to obtaining these licensed materials, review the library’s weeding of the donation, and will further emphasize the research opportunities this collection, as well as other realia materials in our holdings, can provide to our field of study. 

For many prospective students and their family, as well as first time researchers, visiting the BPCL can be intimidating. It is our displays of realia that break the ice and make people feel at home, because it is these everyday objects that have a place in everyone’s home and everyone’s heart. As is written in Popular Culture: An Introductory Text, “Popular culture is what most people choose to do with their time. As you gaze into the funhouse mirror of popular culture you are therefore getting to know yourself and you are getting to know us, all of us” (35). Popular collections such as our Spider-Man realia is an opportunity for those to get to know our library, and an opportunity of us to get to know the people we are here to support. 

Tangled Web: Spider-Man and Fandom  
Donovan Morgan Grant, Writer, Media Journalist, and Content Provider
In the sixty years since his creation, Spider-Man has been popularized as the one superhero most representative of the people who read him. Generally speaking, throughout his history, the character of Peter Parker is not a celebrity, not a beloved hero in the Marvel Universe, underpaid and often in debt, and on the outs with his friends group due to the nature of his double identity. Defined by his efforts to achieve justice by utilizing his great power responsibly, Spider-Man has captured the hearts of millions around the world throughout the decades, being the everyman’s superhero. 

So when that kind of representation is achieved, what effect does that have on the readers?  

If the readers see themselves as Peter Parker, how do they see larger issues that afflict the Spider-Man series? Such as issues of death and resurrection? How do they see women, especially when reading a character who’s gallery of love interests are almost as vast as his popular gallery of rogues? How do they interpret issues of race, when characters like Miles Morales become popular for a new generation of fans? 

Fictional characters change and evolve along with most pop culture icons, but fandom – with the invention of the collected graphic novel, digital readers and the internet – interface with time differently. What may be years of Spider-Man’s life during a storyline might be a weekend’s afternoon of reader for a fan. This, in turn, affects the character’s continued existence, with online discussions and even older fans becoming professionals and writers of the Spider-Man series.  

4:15 PM - 5:00 PM: Panel S4: Spider-Man's International Reach 

Lensing the Elements of Hinduism & Divinity in the Spider-Man India Series  
Dwaipayan Roy and Dr. Shuchi, National Institute of Technology Mizoram, Chaltlang, Aizawl, Mizoram, India 
Spider-Man, the iconic web slinger with all his mythos, was trans-created and re-invented into a four-part mini-series titled Spider-Man India, targeting both Indian and American fans in the year 2004. This particular adaption depicted Peter Parker of New York City parachuted into the Indian city of Mumbai, recreated as Pavitr Prabhakar. Pavtir’s appearance was resketched with flaunting golden earrings, brown skin, and an exhibit dhoti in his spider-costume. Apart from that, Peter Parker’s relatives and pals, such as Uncle Ben, Mary Jane, and Aunt May, have been re-interpreted as Uncle Bhim, Meera Jain, and Auntie Maya. But the major twist lies in the spiritual organization of spider-man and mystical/religious transcendence related to Hindu mythology. We witness the rebirth of a hero as young Pavitr comes to terms with power, responsibility, and the mystical emergence of an aesthetic Yogi, conferring Pavtir with spider power to fulfill his karma. This enigmatic story line sees Pavtir going through traditions of heroic avatars akin to Hindu religion. A major shift in interpretation is noticed when we come across the potential evils in the comics. Nalin Oberoi (i.e., Norman Osborn) discovers a dark powered trinket and wears it to transform him into the maniacal man-turned-monster known as... the Green Goblin. This particular depiction of the green goblin has similarities with the rakshasha demon that is frequent in Hindu epics. Even the tempting magic amulet that Nalin Oberoi acquires has a reminiscence of dark magic or art forbidden in Hindu religion or philosophy. Again, in another adventure, Pavitir faces the Doctor Octopus, transformed into an eight-handed demon, showing a major reflection of the Asura (mythical creatures of the underworld) frequent in Hindu mythology. Spider-Man India celebrated the idea of yoga and meditation as instrumental in the physical and spiritual improvement of individuals, which is again a major part of the Hindu religion. This series contains several allusions to the yogic similar to devotees experiencing a trance while engaging in a spiritual connection with God. As the Yogi and Pavtir crossed paths in the series, it evoked a narrative of the transformation of spiritual potential that originated from avatars of Gods. The mystic yogi instructs Pavtir to accept the power to defeat evil, which is almost synonymous with divine command in the Hindu religion, replacing the original storyline of Peter’s accident. Moreover, the Yogi stresses self-discovery and shows Pavtir that all power and talent lie within him. The previous statement echoes the Hindu philosophy that all souls are potentially divine. Serious comic fans notice that Spider-Man’s catchphrase "With great power comes great responsibility" has a new interpretation in terms of the empowerment of Pavitir to act morally via a yoga chant. Morality lies in the very heart of Hinduism. Thus, Pavtir follows the moral code, which is synonymous with the concept of Hinduism, which believes that without morality, god-realization is impossible. Pavtir is further instructed by the Yogi to realize his potential as spider-man to maintain equilibrium against the forces of evil, countering them with righteousness and virtue. The above line shows a similarity to avatars in Hinduism, coming down to earth to fight rakshashas (demons) and maintain the balance between good and evil/right and wrong. This clearly points out that the tenets of the Bhagabad Gita focus on the countering of impure energy with pure energy to maintain the overall harmony of the universe and celebrate moral values. Even the fourth comics end with Venom’s (depicted as rakshaha) final words-"The demonic and the divine are the two kinds of men in this world. Now... learn about the demonic. " -a quote directly from the Bhagavad Gita. 

This article critically analyses the creative adaptation of the Spider-Man mythos, lensing the elements of Hinduism, religious meaning, and imagery that inspired the series, Spider-Man India. It lances not only the religious elements to re-interpret a superhero’s origin and divine crime fighting but also traces its secularity from the American storyline. A psycho-analytical approach is conducted on Pavtir to dissect the agents of the divine employed to maintain the thrill and suspense of the series bridging American and Indian cultural values. 

A Local Spider-Man at Political Events in Pakistan  
Dr. Ahmad Bilal, University of the Punjab 
A local TV channel has captured Spider-Man; every child’s favorite superhero, protesting in a political procession of a right-wing religious party in Pakistan. The character was spotted in a protest in Karachi city against a local electric company over rotational load-shedding, later he became the soul of all these kinds of protests and rallies. The character, who belonged to the United States Hollywood, is considered to be a hero, even by the right-wing party workers. His presence, his animated moves, his innovative props, and his wittiness have added a lot of energy to the crowd and created a huge social media buzz. In an interview with the channel, the local Spiderman has given a message to the people that he had reached from so far away to participate in the protest, and now it’s the local residents' duty to raise voices for their rights. This paper analyzes the character of Spiderman, who is originally a nerdy schoolboy, with an emotional melodramatic appeal, and deciphers its strange connectivity with the proletarian class in a postcolonial society like Pakistan.

5:10 PM - 6:10 PM: Panel S5: Women Characters in Spider-Man (II) 

Whatever Happened to Mary Jane?: The Emancipation and De-Emancipation of Marvel’s Favorite Redhead  
Dr. John M. Vohlidka, Gannon University 
Mary Jane Watson is an essential icon that has existed almost as long as Spider-Man himself. Through the years she has undergone a variety of perturbations: friend, on again off again girlfriend, wife, model, divorcee, etc. 

In 1984, Mary Jane underwent a transformation under the writing hands of Tom Defalco, where it was revealed in Spider-Man #257 that she had figured out that her friend Peter Parker was in fact Spider-Man.  This revelation was followed a couple of issues later with MJ’s backstory, which did an excellent job of making her into a more three-dimensional character. Defalco’s storyline was a significant step in the evolution of the character away from the classic trope of “flighty female”.  By adding more dimensionality to Mary Jane, her character’s potentialities were opened to explore other possibilities wherein her world (career, modeling, wife, etc.), became more a part of Spider-Man’s storylines. 

How annoying then, when in 1998, John Byrne’s Spider-Man Chapter One completely obliterated all that evolution of character in one swoop when, in the second issue, he re-imagined May Jane figuring out Spider-Man’s secret identity by seeing him crawl out Peter’s bedroom window! This one shot obliterated the base of the entire foundation of MJ’s character development for the previous 15 years, by removing the most important element: that she had figured out Peter Parker was Spider-Man by being smart. 

This de-emancipation of Mary Jane’s character is symptomatic of the overall conservative nature of comics.  Comic books almost always have to return to their original formula and look.  While this is ostensibly for business reasons, it does not follow that character development needs to obliterated. In short, Mary Jane Watson’s character was sacrificed to fit the needs of an overall group think in the 1980s and 1990s that was both unsuitable and unnecessary.  
  
What the Women in Spider-Man's Life Say About Him and his Creators  
Joshua Lapin-Bertone, writer, Popverse, DC Comics official website 
From Mary Jane Watson to Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man's world is filled with dynamic women. Joshua Lapin-Bertone aims to examine the role these women have played in Spider-Man’s narrative, particularly in the Silver Age. How did old school sexism shape the way Stan Lee wrote Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy? Was Marvel bad at writing female characters, or was this the nature of how supporting characters behave in superhero dramas? Has this improved over time? 

During this presentation, Lapin-Bertone will examine what it meant to be a Silver Age Girlfriend in a Marvel Comic. He’ll examine the pitfalls in Peter Parker’s romantic relationships, from an in-universe perspective, and from a writing perspective. Would Peter Parker and Betty Brant’s relationship be healthy in the real world in the year 2023?  

Lapin-Bertone will also compare Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy to other Silver Age Girlfriends published by Marvel. Did Lee handle these romances differently than the ones he wrote for Matt Murdock/Karen Page or Tony Stark/Pepper Potts?  

Lapin-Bertone will also examine why Mary Jane Watson was different. Much of Mary Jane’s anatomy has to do with the fact that she didn’t become Spider-Man’s official girlfriend until the Bronze Age, aside from a few casual dates. Once Mary Jane and Peter Parker finally got together, did that change her character at all? How was her behavior different?  

This all leads back to the theme of supporting characters. Mary Jane, Betty, Gwen, Liz and all of Peter’s love interests are dynamic characters, but they’re still supporting characters. As such, their role is to support the hero’s story, not build their own. Has that been a detriment to their development? What does it really mean to be a supporting character? 

Valerie the Librarian: The First Spider Woman and the Librarian Stereotype  
Jeremy Floyd, Project Archivist/Visiting Librarian, Indiana University Archives, Indiana University Bloomington
Valerie the Librarian is notable as the first woman to wear the spider suit in Spidey Super Stories issue 11 (cover date August 1975, release date May 27, 1975). As a character Valerie was developed for The Electric Company by The Children’s Television Workshop and portrayed by actor Hattie Wilson from 1973 to 1977. Valerie was featured in 14 issues of Spidey Super Stories between September 1974 and November 1981. On The Electric Company, Wilson acted in segments with Spider-Man as Valerie and a variety of other characters in nine appearances between 1974 and 1976. The Children’s Television Workshop created The Electric Company to introduce basic concepts of reading, as well as build comfort and familiarity with literacy for children between the ages of six to eleven, and Marvel continued Spidey Super Stories with that same intent. 

In comics, scripter Jean Thomas, who wrote the first fifteen issues of Spidey Super Stories (including the first appearance of Valerie in comic form, as well as her time as Spider Woman) portrayed Valerie in a manner which both reinforced and subverted librarian stereotypes. Thomas’s earlier work on Night Nurse, one of three comics launched by Marvel in the early 1970s with women writers and lead protagonists, informed her use of female supporting characters in the series. Valerie the Librarian was a positive black female character and demonstrated to child readers that libraries and books could be accessible and rewarding for anyone. The significance of Valerie as Spider Woman has increased in the twenty-first century, as she is seen as leading the way for an increasingly diverse group of characters which have embodied the many incarnations of Spider-Person in Marvel Comics. Although her publication history was short lived, this legacy continues to be remembered as a significant milestone in the history of Spider-Man.

6:20 PM - 7:20 PM: Panel S6: The Universal Spider-Man 

Your Friendly (Global) Neighborhood Spider-Man  
Trico J. Lutkins, Jackson College and Cleary University
Marvel Comics is arguable the largest comic book publisher in the United States. To many of their fans, Spider-Man is considered Marvel’s flagship character since his premier in the 1962 issue of Amazing Fantasy #15. Peter Parker was not the first teenager-turned-superhero. He wasn’t even the first at Marvel (Johnny Storm appeared in Fantastic Four a year before). Yet he captured the hearts and imagination of fans who were often teenagers themselves trying to find their own way in 1960s America. However, his popularity goes well beyond just his American fans. Spider-man comics have been translated into over 70 languages and has inspired spinoff versions in several cultures around the world. From direct interpretations such as Japan’s “Spidamon” of the 1970s and the Pavitr Prabhakar Spider-Man of India to inspired international heroes like El Hombre Mosca and Lastikman, he has become a character that seems to be universally relatable. Through this presentation we’ll look at how Spider-Man’s everyman has transcended nationalities, cultures, and ethnicities. We’ll take a deep dive into why he first became Marvel’s flagship character and how he rose to prominence as a super heroic icon on par with Superman and Wonder Woman. Then we will look at how his universal appeal has spread to every culture to make him a household name all around the world. The presentation will discuss how cultures all over the globe have adapted the Spider-Man mythos to make it their own. We will also discuss characters that have been spinoffs of Spider-Man both in the United States and abroad. Lastly, the presentation will cover how these characters capture the essence of what makes Spider-Man an inspiration to people of every culture beyond the superpowers and tights. 

“Anyone Can Be Spider-Man:” Spider-Man as the Perfect Everyman Superhero  
Dee Elliott, West Virginia University 
Legendary comic book writer, artist, and co-creator of Spider-Man once said in an interview with TV host Larry King “Anyone could be Spider-Man,” due to the fact that the costume Spider-Man wears covers his entire body. Without the identifiable parts of the person underneath the costume showing like skin color or hair color, it is incredibly easy for anyone to insert themselves into the tights originally worn by Peter Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15 in August of 1962. Since then, we’ve seen people of all different races, ethnicities, gender identities, and even species don the legendary mask of the Webslinger himself, all with the same goal in mind: Be everyone’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Heroes like Miles Morales, Gwen Stacey, and even Otto Octavius, otherwise known as the evil Doctor Octopus, have all held the title of Spider-Man at one point, with many, many more in the Marvel universe having done the same. In fact, recently released films like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) have hinged on the idea that anyone can, in fact, be Spider-Man. Whether it be some unassuming, photography and science-obsessed kid from Queens, a Brooklynite that wasn’t even supposed to gain the powers of Spider-Man due to an interdimensional mishap, or even a former Union soldier from the Wild West being bitten by a magical spider, the canon of Spider-Man invites the viewer and reader to not only experience the stories in front of them, but think of their own as well. In this presentation, we will be exploring the recurring theme within different forms of Spider-Man media (both print and digital) of how the reader/viewer is often invited to imagine themselves in the shoes of titular hero, crafting their own “web” within the interconnecting stories of the massive “Spider-Verse.” 

When You Help Someone, You Help Everyone: Being a Real-Life Spider-Man  
Joshua Pchajek, The Dream Factory
Peter Parker is the most relatable superhero of all time. Being broke, having a crappy boss, having girl troubles, and being a social outcast, he has a hard enough life without the superhero aspect, but he still pushes through no matter what. Spider-Man is who I try to be like each and every day, and then I met Ethan. A young boy’s life that was lost to Leukemia way too soon. Ethan’s wish that would be granted by the Dream Factory would be to meet Spider-Man in Disneyland. Unfortunately, his condition worsened, so instead he would have to have a big party back in his home city. Enter the Winnipeg Webhead. 

Through this party for Ethan, I was able to give him a memory he and his family will never forget, but he also changed my life, as he started me down the path of doing this for my actual job. Through stories of birthday parties, Dream Factory Events (including the one I partially told, how Spider-Man has had such a huge effect on me, and how he has helped me touch the lives of so many people, I would give a presentation on what he means to me and how he has inspired me and others to make this a life worth living. I’m trying to live out the words of Aunt May: when you help someone, you help everyone. I would talk about my time on the Spider-Man Crawlspace and the community that surrounds it. I would also discuss cosplaying and the details I put into my work that, although small, makes it all worth it. I was given the chance and the power to do this and do something good in the world. And, as we all know, with Great Power, there must also come Great Responsibility. 

7:25 PM – 7:55 PM: Light Reception

Spider-Man in Popular Culture Conference FAQs

We’d like to share some general information about the conference. Conference speakers and prospective attendees: we hope this helps you plan your trip. Please feel free to share this information with your community. 

FAQs:

Does the conference cost anything to presenters or attendees? 

We are pleased to inform you that there are no fees associated with the conference!  Thanks to generous donors, the conference is free for presenters and attendees.   

What’s the best way to get to Bowling Green for out-of-state travelers? 

If you are flying in for the conference, the Detroit Airport is located approximately 80 minutes away and the Toledo Express Airport located 30 minutes away. You will have the option to rent a car or use a rideshare service like Lyft or Uber from either of the airports. Greyhound offers limited trips from the Detroit Airport to Bowling Green at an affordable rate. Please visit BGSU’s College of Arts and Sciences travel page for more information and resources about traveling to campus. 

Are there special rates for presenters at any hotels in Bowling Green? 

The Best Western Falcon Plaza offers a reduced rate for speakers.  This hotel is conveniently located within walking distance to BGSU’s campus.  Here is a link for the information related to the hotel. If you need assistance directly with your booking at this hotel, call the direct line at: 419-352-4671. 

Unfortunately, we cannot offer reduced lodging rates for conference attendees who will not be speaking at the conference. There are several other hotels in the Bowling Green area, such as the Hampton Inn.

Who are the keynote speakers for the event? 

Our keynote speakers are special and cover the gamut of comics and the connection to Spider-Man and include: 

• Bruce Wechtenhiser, world-renowned Spider-Man collector: https://www.spideyandme.com/ 

• Marc Sumerak, Marvel Comics writer: https://www.sumerak.com/

• Jim Collins, renowned comic book store owner and operator of JCs Comics N More Pop Culture Superstore: https://www.jcscomicsnmore.com/about/

• Rick Leonardi: Marvel Comics and Spider-Man artist: https://rickleonardi.com/

Will I be able to visit the Browne Popular Culture Library while I’m at BGSU? 

Yes! We will be offering a tour of the Browne Popular Culture Library on Friday, September 29, around lunchtime. Visit the library’s webpage to learn more about the collection and services. Please contact the library if you would like to see any materials or arrange a tour before or after the conference at bpcl@libanswers.bgsu.edu. 

Jerome Library-BGSU Campus Map and Parking

The conference is being held in Jerome Library’s Pallister Conference Room (1st Floor of Jerome Library). Here is an online interactive map of campus.

Parking will be available on a limited basis in Lot N next to Jerome Library. Here is a campus parking map.

---

Feel free to contact us at this email with any other questions as we continue to push forward for this special event at spideycon@bgsu.edu.