Celebrating 40 Years of BLACK-SUIT SPIDER-MAN — and RON FRENZ’s Birthday

13 FAB ILLUSTRATIONS by the fan-favorite artist…

Such timing! Spider-Man’s black suit turns 40 this week — and artist Ron Frenz, who (with Brett Breeding) drew the first story featuring the outfit, turns 64!

Well, you know what that means. It means we’re gonna give you a swingin’ gallery of 13 Spidey drawings from Frenz’s colorful and jammed Facebook page.

For the record, The Amazing Spider-Man #252which this week was reprinted as a Facsimile Edition — was released Jan. 31, 1984. Frenz, on the other hand, was released Feb. 1, 1960.

Anyway, you’ll see a lot of Ron’s work reprinted in Marvel’s Facsimile Edition program this year: The House of Ideas is republishing the first year of black-suit Spidey, an issue a month, beginning with the aforementioned #252. (Plus the entirety of Secret Wars too.)

So, dig these 13 FAB ILLUSTRATIONS — all from the world of Spider-Man, black-suit or no. (Plus, Spider-Girl!)

MORE

— 13 FAB ILLUSTRATIONS: A RON FRENZ Birthday Celebration — 2023 EDITION. Click here.

— 13 COVERS: A RON FRENZ Birthday Celebration — 2021 EDITION. Click here.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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5 Comments

  1. Wow ! 40 years ? I can’t believe it’s been that long. Spider-Man was only a little over 20 years old when he got the black suit. I was(still am) a huge fan of Ron’s Spider-Man. Happy Birthday Ron!

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  2. I think there are a lot of mixed feelings about the black suit among Bronze Age fans, but Ron Frenz was a great artist and these sketches are nice.

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    • I blame the marketing folks for that one. Gotta drive those toy sales from Secret Wars. I love Ron’s pencils.

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  3. Nice images! I’m curious about that Karate Kid one. Is that a commission drawing or something?

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  4. Love that cartoon version Spider-Man illustration.
    Got a commission from Mr. Frenz a few years ago, it hangs proudly on my wall.
    Happy Birthday Ron!

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