RECOMMENDED READING - THE ADVENTURES OF THE FLY...

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Once, in an alternate universe, JACK KIRBY showed a

SPIDERMAN (no hyphen) logo by JOE SIMON to STAN LEE,

and pitched to him the idea for a superhero who'd been rechristened

The SILVER SPIDER before metamorphosing into The FLY.  In

this alternate universe, STEVE DITKO did not advise Stan of the

similarity of Spiderman to The Fly, and MARVEL's newest char-

acter got his wings clipped, either by poor sales or a lawsuit

from RED CIRCLE/ARCHIE COMICS. 

At least, that's what could've happened if we're to believe

a dissenting account of the events that led to SPIDER-MAN's

creation.  We'll never know for sure whether it's true, but imagine

PETER PARKER as a teenager who rubs a magic ring to trans-

form into his alter-ego and you have an idea just how different

things might've been in the Marvel Universe of the '60s.

Which brings me to this softcover book from 2004 which

a friend very kindly gifted to me recently.  It contains the first

four issues of The Fly, produced by Simon & Kirby (with others)

before the duo quit the title.  The tales are simple, unsophisticated

fare from an era when comicbooks were aimed squarely at kids, but

they have their own distinct charm that makes the collection worth

owning.  Though after reading the book, it reminded me just what

an immense contribution Stan Lee made to the comicbook

business, something we should all be grateful for.

Some of the art and lettering restoration is a little dodgy,

with at least one story looking more like a tracing than a re-

printing, but that aside, it's still an interesting look back at an

earlier time in four-colour comicbook history.  I imagine you'd

be able to track down a copy on eBay or Amazon without

too much difficulty or too great an expense.

Ah, yes - how different things could have been indeed!

  

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