From comic books to movies and Broadway theater, Spider-Man has made his mark. He first came on the scene in an issue of Marvel Comics’ Amazing Fantasy back in August of 1962. He became so popular that his creator Stan Lee got to produce Spider-Man’s own comic book just a year later. This highly admired super hero has made all things Spidey, super popular, including the spiderman logo.

Spiderman has proved himself to be such a widely known and admired character that he opened up marketing realms far beyond the comic book world where he got his start. He is not only on large and small screens, but he stars as well in video games. Children love to don replicas of Spidey’s costume and even grown-ups still relish a chance to dress as their favorite super hero. Thank goodness for Halloween.

The Spider-Man emblem has become one of the iconic images of the age. The familiar design features, what else, a spider. Back before Spider-Man first took up space on a comic book page, the standard rule of thumb was that spiders did not sell and neither did teenage heroes. Stan Lee has always been known for his creativity ability to produce unique characters. He took a chance with Spider-Man. This fantasy hero was known in his everyday life as Peter Parker, a rather typical teenager before his encounter with a radioactive spider. The bite from the genetically enhanced spider changes the skinny teen into a super human being with incredible strength, a sixth sense, and all the agility of a Cirque du Soleil performer. Spidey, as he is known to his loyal fans, sticks to walls, throws out webs from his wrist, sees with supreme vision, and moves much faster than mere mortals. He deserves a symbol of power and adaptability. The spider and web design represent him appropriately.

Other super heroes such as Batman and Superman sport their own proud symbols. In addition to decorating the front of Spidey’s well-known red and blue costume, the spiderman logo can be seen in numerous places. Tattoo parlors love the design as do jewelry makers and wallpaper designers. The spider design shows up on Halloween costumes, of course, and is known pretty much throughout today’s world, thanks to electronic media.

Spiderman and his symbol have gone on a long, eventful journey since 1962. Stan Lee gets first credit for the design, along with Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. The design started in the comics as plain black, later morphing into more of a dark chocolate color in the Spiderman movies, and finally evolving into a shiny, metallic black. All along, it has represented superhuman might, athleticism, super fast reflexes and the ability to cast forth spider webbing and trail after in the blink of an eye, speed, agility, reflexes and his ability to produce spider webbing. Some might say that Spiderman has given the earth’s spiders the best PR in the world.

The spiderman logo is easy to find on the web, and graphic design programs such as Photoshop make it easy to recreate the image. When the name Spiderman is included as part of the logo, it is done in plain, italicized lettering with some differences made for film and stage presentation. Tradition prevails, however, and fans will recognize the spiderman logo in all its slightly modified versions. In comic books and stills from movies and theater, one can see the spiderman logo prominently displayed across the chest of the costume. Some websites provide instructions for hand drawing the spider emblem. It is a relatively easy task since it is made up of just a few well-known shapes. Starting with a circle for the head of the spider, the design continues using rectangles for the body and simple Ls for the legs.

The concept for the influential design is a simple one. A spider appears against the backdrop of its web. The spider and web are set against the red of the costume, signifying the hero’s super alertness. When first seen, the spiderman logo shocked the viewers. It still has that effect on the bad guys that Spidey fights. To the super hero’s admirers, the sight of the spider brings big sighs of relief. Spiderman is on the job.