The Amazing Spider-Man is an ongoing American superhero comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly periodical (as Amazing Fantasy had been), quickly being increased to monthly, and was published continuously, with a brief interruption in 1995, until its second volume with a new numbering order in 1999. In 2003, the series reverted to the numbering order of the first volume. The title has occasionally been published biweekly, and was published three times a month from 2008 to 2010. After DC Comics' relaunch of Action Comics and Detective Comics with new No. 1 issues in 2011, it had been the highest-numbered American comic still in circulation until it was cancelled. The title ended its 50-year run as a continuously published comic with the landmark issue #700 in December 2012. It was replaced by The Superior Spider-Man as part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch of Marvel's comic lines. Volume 3 of The Amazing Spider-Man was published in April 2014, following the conclusion of The Superior Spider-Man story arc. In late 2015, the series was relaunched with a 4th volume, following the 2015 Secret Wars event. The 5th volume began in 2018, as part of Marvel's Fresh Start series of comic relaunches. The 6th volume began in April 2022 to celebrate Spider-Man's 60th anniversary. Publication history Writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Steve Ditko created the character of Spider-Man, and the pair produced 38 issues from March 1963 to July 1966. Ditko left after the 38th issue, while Lee remained as writer until issue 100. Since then, many writers and artists have taken over the monthly comic through the years, chronicling the adventures of Marvel's most identifiable hero. The Amazing Spider-Man has been the character's flagship series for his first fifty years in publication, and was the only monthly series to star Spider-Man until Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, in 1976, although 1972 saw the debut of Marvel Team-Up, with the vast majority of issues featuring Spider-Man along with a rotating cast of other Marvel characters. Most of the major characters and villains of the Spider-Man saga have been introduced in Amazing, and with few exceptions, it is where most key events in the character's history have occurred. The title was published continuously until No. 441 (Nov.