A crucial piece of the Spider-Man story can be traced to Pittsburgh -- specifically, to the pencil of artist Ron Frenz, 47, of Bellevue.
He was the artist for Spider-Man's infamous costume change into a shadowy, black-clad wall-crawler in "Amazing Spider-Man" No. 252 in 1985, a key turning point for the title, and a major event in the comics world.
"Rumors had started," Frenz says. "Mail we got was viciously negative to the idea of changing Spider-Man."
It was supposed to coincide with the launch of the "Secret Wars" crossover series, which brought most of the Marvel comics heroes together for a series of battles. The Spider-Man brain trust started to get cold feet, but Frenz's frequent collaborator, writer Tom DeFalco, argued successfully to keep the costume-change story on track. In the end, it was the right choice.
"No. 252 sold like crazy," Frenz says. "That was my early exposure to Beatle-like response from fans at conventions. It was just selling ridiculously; the crowds were incredible. I was at a show in Canada, where the show almost got shut down by the fire marshal, the crowds were so out of control."
Frenz's run on Spider-Man was, literally, a dream come true.
"If you asked 8-year-old Ron Frenz what he wanted to do when he grew up, it was draw comics, work for Marvel, draw Spider-Man," he says.
It was a character he always related to personally.
"He was first of the 'everyman' characters," Frenz says. "You could really picture yourself in his place. He wasn't a rich philanthropist or a scientist, yet was in these extraordinary situations."
Even though Frenz went on to draw other titles like "The Mighty Thor" and "Superman," he feels like he grew up with the character.
Now Frenz draws "Spider-Girl," in which a middle-aged Peter Parker has to come to grips with a daughter following in his dangerous footsteps.
Frenz's skills as a quick-change artist have also come in handy after Spider-Man.
"Even Superman got a new costume for a while -- in '97 -- and I happened to be at the scene of that crime, too," Frenz says. "I seem to always be around when people get tired of their old clothes."
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