Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: October 8, 1964
Cover: January 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Steve Ditko
6 pages
This is Kirby’s third comic story featuring Spider-Man. All 3 have had Ditko on inks. Of course, he also drew the cover of Spider-Man’s first appearance. Also with Ditko on inks.
This is a pretty slight story. A piece of frivolity squeezed into the back of an issue. Spider-Man and Human Torch annoy each other.
Their antics lead to Spider-Man fighting with Mr. Fantastic and Thing as well. Fighting is what superheroes do when they meet.
But then Spidey leaves Sue a nice webbed heart.
Spider-Man and the Human Torch have met repeatedly at this point, but this is only Spider-Man’s second time meeting the rest of the Fantastic Four. Yes, they fought last time, too.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 50/100
Significance: ★★☆☆☆
I read this story in Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection vol. 1: Great Power.
The scans, except for the first page and feature image, are taken from a reprint in Spider-Man Classics #9, 1993.
You can also find this story through Kindle.
Characters:
- Spider-Man
- Doris Evans
- Human Torch
- Mr. Fantastic
- Invisible Girl
- Thing
Story notes:
- Spider-Man refers to Doris Evans as Johnny’s girlfriend. The Human Torch comics had been less clear on that. She has appeared in two issues and was called his girlfriend in the second of those. But she was not in the most recent Human Torch story and he instead had a date with a different girl.
- Johnny has new Stingray. This is a Chevrolet Corvette; last week, Johnny was driving an XK Jag. This underscores that Johnny loves cars and that he and Sue are affluent.
- Johnny uses powers to make an infra-red glow.
- Spider-Man crashes Torch party with web bat.
- Frank Merriwell reference.
- Reference to traditional song: “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze”.
#131 story in reading order
Next: Strange Tales #116
Previous: Amazing Spider-Man #8
