Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: February 12, 1963
Cover: May 1963
12 cents
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko
14 pages
| Previous | #59 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Strange Tales #108, Story C | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #2, Story B |
| Amazing Spider-Man #1, Story B | Amazing Spider-Man | Amazing Spider-Man #2, Story B |
He thinks I’m just a typical teen-age kid! Good! That’s the way I like it!
So I am going to try something new with this blog. I have mostly been stealing pictures I could find on the internet, but I now have a large nifty scanner working and want to try to make my own scans. Now, for various reasons related to my lack of independent wealth, I don’t own Amazing Spider-Man #2, but I have many reprints.
I’ve largely been reading comics in thick collections, which can be hard to scan with my flatbed scanner. But I have smaller reprints from this story. It was reprinted in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 7, but that is still a bit thick for optimal scanning, and the binding isn’t entirely perfect. I also have it reprinted in Marvel Tales #139. Let me try a few scans for comparison.
From Amazing Spider-Man Omnbius vol. 1 (giant hardcover, basically impossible to scan)
From Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection vol. 1 (large softcover, also hard to scan)
From Amazing Spider-Man Annual 7 (thick comic, also hard to scan)
From Marvel Tales #139 (regular-size comic; this seemed to work)
Found online:
Now, these particular online scans seems to have originated with the digital versions available at marvel.com; that is why they are so clean and white with new coloring and such. But I think I am more interested in how these comics used to look, then how they look after modern touch-ups. Now, 1982 isn’t 1963, but it’s a closer approximation to what the 1963 comic would have looked like than the digital version.
Thus most of the scans below are from Marvel Tales #139, while I prepared this post mostly by reading Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection vol. 1: Great Responsibility.
I will note that Amazing Spider-Man Annual 7 featured this nice bonus pin-up advertising the upcoming story, which originally appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1.
Without further ado, we now start the actual post about the comic; thank you for bearing with the housekeeping above…
I’ve made no secret that I think these Spider-Man stories are a tier above the other comics we’ve been reading. This excellent story is no exception.
I remember when I first saw the Vulture. We would get VHS tapes from the local video store of old Marvel cartoons, including the Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Marvel Superheroes TV series. The series was called the “Marvel Comics Video Library”. The videos included something of a trailer for the whole set of videos, including glimpses of lots of characters. Two villains have stood out in my mind from just that first glimpse: Dr. Doom and the Vulture. Check Vulture out at the 8:05 mark below and see why he made such an impression on my very young mind.
It’s a heck of a design. He looks like a vulture.
I would argue he’s the best villain we’ve met yet. Yes, we’ve met Dr. Doom, but he’s not a great villain yet. The Vulture starts off strong; the first Vulture story is likely the best Vulture story. Just look at that shadow.
We again see J. Jonah Jameson, the distinctive publisher with an anti-Spidey agenda. He has a distinctive and famous personality which is present right off the bat in his first two issues.
We continue to see that Steve Ditko is consistent in depicting the supporting cast, even though many characters haven’t been named. The unnamed blonde girl has appeared in two other Spider-Man stories. And the science teacher is the same teacher we saw the the first Spider-Man story.
In the previous issue, we learned Spider-Man has a spider-sense. Its limits are unclear, but it seems able to warn him of danger. It doesn’t help stop the Vulture from sneaking up behind him, though.
We see the first example of what will become a Spider-Man hallmark: running out of webbing. He shoots webs from artificial web shooters and has to keep them filled with fluid. If he’s low on cash, or (as in this case) just forgets to refill them, then no webs for him. This can come up at a crucial instant. We also see the first limits on Spider-Man’s climbing ability. He tends to be able to stick to walls, but apparently not if the wall is too damp and slimy.
Spider-Man’s battle with the Vulture is great for many reasons. It intertwines well with the story of Peter’s personal life; everything in the issue seems like one coherent story. The stakes are set by our early glimpses of the Vulture’s crime wave and Spider-Man’s initial defeat. And then the final battle is perhaps the best action sequence we’ve yet come across, the previous record being Spider-Man’s space shuttle rescue in the previous issue.
The point of the first Spider-Man story was learning a lesson in responsibility. Peter used his Spider-Man powers to make money, and we learned that was a mistake. What is the difference now? He is still using his role as Spider-Man to get pictures and make money. But now the money is not for him. It’s for Aunt May. He pays the rent for a year and buys her new kitchen appliances. That’s the evolution we’ve seen since the first issue. That’s Peter growing up.
I’ll note the quote above is edited for the 1982 reprint I am scanning. In the original comic, Jameson specifically suggested “twist” records. In the 1982 version, the word “twist” is whited out. Perhaps the 1982 kids wouldn’t know what a “twist record” was. I certainly don’t.
This is of course an important part of the Spider-Man story being introduced. Peter is now a professional photographer taking pictures of Spider-Man’s battles for money. That the camera he is using is his Uncle Ben’s old camera given to him by Aunt May is a nice touch. The photo of Ben adds to the scene’s sentiment.
The little wink here is a trope going back to the earliest superhero comics, and has been common in our Marvel reading. The “if only you knew” is aimed at the audience, who is in on a shared secret with Peter, an inside joke that Jameson is not aware of. It helps establish intimacy and connection between the reader and Spider-Man, that shared secret. Of course, the shared secret is that Peter is special in ways the old man doesn’t understand. Which can be another point of connection between a young reader and Peter… they too may like to think of themselves as special in a way an adult doesn’t understand. They know they contain multitudes their parents or teachers may not grasp.
Another key point of the story is that Spider-Man doesn’t triumph because of his spider-powers at all. In pure aerial combat against the Vulture, he is easily defeated. It’s his science skills that win the day. He guesses the secret of Vulture’s flight and rigs up a device to defeat it. That’s how he wins the battle– with brains.
I don’t know why Vulture is still wearing his flying suit in prison. It’s an odd blemish on an otherwise perfect comic.
It’s also somewhat interesting that Vulture is a very old man. While Spider-Man is a teenager. Someone seen as too young to be a superhero against someone seen as too old to be a super-villain. They are opposites in this sense, but perhaps the old and young also share some commonalities.
Said the little boy, ‘Sometimes I drop my spoon.’
Shel Silverstein
Said the old man, ‘I do that too.’
The little boy whispered, ‘I wet my pants.’
‘I do that too,’ laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, ‘I often cry.’
The old man nodded, ‘So do I.’
‘But worst of all,’ said the boy, ‘it seems
Grown-ups don’t pay attention to me.’
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
‘I know what you mean,’ said the little old man.
Rating: ★★★★½, 82/100
A great villain, great aerial battles, tension well set up, a defeat for Spider-Man, leading to victory thanks to scientific ingenuity. An enduring status quo as a photographer, J. Jonah Jameson, and a nice tribute to Uncle Ben.
Characters:
- Vulture
- Peter Parker/Spider-Man
- J. Jonah Jameson
- Flash Thompson
- Peter’s blonde classmate
- Peter’s science teacher
- Aunt May
Story notes:
- Vulture’s crime spree has continued for days
- Vulture steals briefcase with fortune in bonds
- Jameson runs Jameson Publications
- “Now Magazine” part of Jameson Publications
- Jameson will not rest until Spider-Man is destroyed.
- Aunt May gives Peter Ben’s miniature camera
- Park Avenue Jewelry Exchange moving million dollars worth of diamonds.
- Vulture sneaks up on Spider-Man. Where is spider sense?
- Spider-Man runs out of webbing
- Walls too wet to climb; limits on Spider-Man’s climbing ability
- Peter now sells pictures to Now Magazine
- Spider-Man invents anti-magnetic inverter to stop Vulture
- Paid enough for Vulture pictures to cover the rent for a year
| Previous | #59 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Strange Tales #108, Story C | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #2, Story B |
| Amazing Spider-Man #1, Story B | Amazing Spider-Man | Amazing Spider-Man #2, Story B |
The Twist was a novelty dance which inspired many hit records, including Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” and “Let’s Twist Again”, the Marvelette’s “Twisting Postman” and “Twist and Shout” which was a hit both for the Isley Brothers and later on the Beatles.