SPYDER

A shooting star blazes and disappears

I first became aware of the comic artist Spyder when he illustrated an issue of Whisper for Capital Comics, which also published Badger and Nexus. His style blew me away, modern and innovative. Spyder’s real name is Neil Hansen and he illustrated numerous Badgers. When I wrote Punisher, I brought Neil with me. He did several Punisher Annuals and a handful of stories. Spyder lives in British Columbia. I met him when I went to a con in Vancouver. Later, Spyder visited me at my place in Madison. I had to go away for a few days so I left Spyder in charge and told him he could use my motorcycle. He did a good job.

When Epic launched their Heavy Hitters line, Spyder launched Untamed, his own title. Each of those books is filled with mind-blowing graphics. Spyder was sui generis as far as style goes. You might see echoes of Walt Simonson or Marshall Rogers, but Spyder’s art was instantly identifiable. Untamed lasted four issues.

Years later, when I did Badger for IDW, I persuaded Spyder to to a couple covers. I kept in touch with him over the years, because I always wanted to work with him on something. Several years ago I asked him if he could still draw. He said he’d give it a shot. He sat down at the table and nothing would come. “Sorry, Mike. I just can’t.” This is one of the mysteries of comics, that such an innovative and talented artist was unable to summon the juju that made him work. Spyder doesn’t miss comics. He has written a unified field theory of everything, and he makes a nice living trading domain names. If you’re a comic fan, dig up some of those old Untameds. They’ll blow your mind.