Spider-Woman (from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe ) by Bob McLeod

A beautiful Spider-Woman piece by artist/inker extraordinaire Bob McLeod.

This one is identical, line for line, to the official Handbook of Marvel Universe entry. I say identical as I was unable to confirm that it is indeed the published original (which would have been drawn in color and whose marker colors would have faded over time due to light exposure) or a recreation. I contacted Bob for clarification and he was himself hesitant based on the quality of the art line. He would need to see it in person. In any case, if it is a recreation, it was done back to back to the original in terms of timeframe (early 80s).

As a child of the 80s, Spider-Woman’s costume was both super sexy and a bit creepy with a darker edge. Her serie was a bit special. Offbeat, darker than the usual Marvel Universe production with a strong street and supernatural edge. The artists working on it were also not your typical fare (Infantino, Leialoha, strong cover artists…).

I find that Bob managed to capture that super sexy and dark edge perfectly with great nudges to Leialoha or Miller’s inking. She is very athletic and thin as opposed to nowadays’ more “fleshed” physiques.

Lastly, I have a true fondness to any art related to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe(or Dc’s Who’s Who) as it was a dream come true for a ever curious young child's mind in need to know more and classify his passion for Super-Heroes :)