Featuring: Spider-Man Release: June 9, 1966 Cover: September 1966 12 cents Writer: Stan Lee Penciller: John Romita Inker: Mickey Demeo Letterer: Sam Rosen 20 pages
And so, at long last– The Green Goblin will introduce himself– Take a look, Parker– a good, long look– It’s the last face Spider-Man will ever see– It’s the real face of the Green Goblin– the face of [SPOILER REDACTED]
Steve Ditko has officially left Marvel, which won’t leave me with too many other excuses to bring up Steve Ditko. However, this is the first issue of Spider-Man to not be drawn by Steve Ditko. Which is a fine excuse for bringing up Steve Ditko.
Among those interviewed was Steve’s younger brother, Patrick Ditko, who passed away just last month.
I’ve made no secret how much I love Steve Ditko’s work on Amazing Spider-Man, and have spent this blog clumsily trying to explain why over 38 issues worth of posts. Perhaps this characterization of Spider-Man from the Rolling Stone article gets to the core of how I see myself reflected in the character.
He lacked social skills.
A more charitable interpretation of my own character is perhaps found in their characterization of Steve Ditko as a man…
…who never fit into social norms, yet cultivated thriving relationships.
They go on.
Similar to how Peter Parker never lets loved ones get too close for fear it would put them in danger, Ditko compartmentalized his life, keeping work and family distinct to retain some power in a world that overwhelmed him. And the same way Spider-Man’s neuroticism makes him amazing, the traits that people marginalized Ditko for are what transformed comics forever.
…he had much more in common with his most popular co-creation, Spider-Man, especially his alter ego, Peter Parker. They had the same lanky build. Same comb-over. Same thick glasses. Same bumbling social skills. Ditko’s senior-yearbook photo could have been Parker’s. With their collared shirts and slacks, it looked as if they shopped at the same clothing store —
The late comics retailer Bob Beerbohm assembled this high school photo of Ditko next to high school Peter Parker. Perhaps there is a lot of Ditko in Peter.
So what then is Spider-Man without Steve Ditko? Is the series over?
In some sense, it is plainly not. We have here issue 39. Stan Lee continues to write the comic and has found a new artist to draw it (and probably soon to do most of the writing as well).
If issue 38 was the ending, it wasn’t a clean one. Lots unresolved. Betty is missing. Gwen and Peter are growing closer. Norman Osborn is up to some shady stuff. We never learned the secret of the Green Goblin.
Some say the reason Ditko left Spider-Man is because he and Stan disagreed over the secret of the Green Goblin. We’ll reflect on that at the end of the post.
For now, let’s see what life after Ditko looks like for the Amazing Spider-Man.
John Romita is on art. Unlike Ditko, he tends to draw good-looking people. His career in advertising taught him well to draw good-looking people.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: March 10, 1966 Cover: June 1966 12 cents Edited and written by: Stan Lee Plotted and drawn by: Steve Ditko Lettered and cherished by: Artie Simek 20 pages
Of the greatest run of comics in history. Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Though it ends with more of a whimper than a bang. Its great climactic finale was 4 issues earlier. We then had a couple forgettable rematches with minor villains, then the introduction of a forgettable villain. This issue also introduces a new villain, but again not the most memorable one.
This issue has some things going for it though. It rises above the last few issues, though not to the heights of the first 33. It’s almost over.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: May 11, 1965 Cover: August 1965 12 cents Edited and written by Smilin’ Stan Lee Plotted and drawn by Scowlin’ Steve Ditko Lettered and gift-wrapped by Swingin’ Artie Simek 20 pages
Spider-Man is still Green Goblin’s prisoner, as Green Goblin is trying to take over the gangs instead of Crime-Master.
Lots of mysteries left over from last issue. Who is Green Goblin? Who is Crime-Master? Who is Patch? What is Foswell’s secret connection to all this? We should answer all but one of those questions by issue’s end.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: April 8, 1965 Cover: July 1965 12 cents Stealthily scripted by: Stan Lee Painstakingly plotted and drawn by: Steve Ditko Lovingly lettered by: S. Rosen 20 pages
The issue credits Ditko for the plot. Ditko has probably plotted most of these stories and has been largely responsible for the writing. But he has only so far been credited as the artist, with Lee taking the writer’s credit. Lee’s role is that of editor and making the final script off Ditko’s notes. Most of the storytelling is done through the art, which is entirely by Ditko, accompanied by notes as to what is happening and what type of thing each character might be saying.
The first page serves as a detailed teaser for the comic. Crime-Master is a new character to us, but we are told his identity will be a mystery. Green Goblin was introduced in issue 14; he’s yet to be caught, and his face has always been hidden from us, so his identity remains a mystery. Issue 10 revolved around the mystery of the Big Man’s identity. He turned out to be meek Frederick Foswell of the Daily Bugle. Ditko’s noting this plot will resemble plots we’ve seen, but also take its own twists. We now have three crime bosses or former crimes bosses with a secret.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: March 11, 1965 Cover: June 1965 12 cents Swingin’ script by: Stan Lee Dazzlin’ drawings by: Steve Ditko Loquacious lettering by: S. Rosen 20 pages
I appreciate that the splash page centers Spider-Man’s supporting cast. It really is what separates this comic from all the others we’re reading. And this issue is significant for an almost-addition to that cast!
In addition to the normal credits, there’s an extra note crediting Ditko with the plot. Ditko has been responsible for all the plots and most of the writing without credit for it. And his relationship with Stan is starting to deteriorate over this and other concerns. Pretty soon, we’ll be at the point where Ditko has made a condition of his continued employment that he never has to speak to Stan.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: January 12, 1965 Cover: April 1965 12 cents Written in the spell-binding style of Stan Lee Illustrated in the magnificent manner of Steve Ditko Lettered in the frenzied fashion of Artie Simek 20 pages
Maybe I should start writing down a list of my favorite covers (I do like lists). Early on, there weren’t many, so I was confident when we came across a great one, I could call it my favorite cover yet. Now I’m beginning to wonder. This is a great cover. Is it the best cover yet? Maybe.
I appreciate the Green Goblin on this cover. And only on this cover. Outside of this cover, he’s a lame villain. For evidence, let’s look inside the comic.
Green Goblin is trying to set himself up as a local crimelord. By the time I was reading comics, local crimelords were guys like the Kingpin, who looked the part better to my mind. I suspect Marlon Brando’s Godfather left an indelible impression of what a crimelord should look like to me and to many, but this predates that by several years. Still… they can do better. Lucky Lobo has a much better “crimelord” look.
The previous kingpin had been Frederick Foswell, the Big Man. He looked the part better. Coincidentally, Foswell returns, having been released from prison. He was the leader of every mob in town, behind numerous crimes, yet he was released after less than a year and given his old job back.
Featuring: Spider-Man (for the moment) Release: August 11, 1964 Cover: November 1964 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee, author of “The Fantastic Four” Illustrated by: Steve Ditko, illustrator of “Dr. Strange” Lettered by: Sam Rosen, letterer of… “Patsy Walker”??? 22 pages
Check out that cover. Quite the contrast with pretty much every other superhero cover. The superhero is usually portrayed as tough, dramatically standing against the odds. In the worst case, the cover might show the villain winning, but the superhero remains defiant. This one has Spider-Man cowering and hiding from the villain.
In this story, Peter decides to quit being Spider-Man. He’s thought about it before, but he’s about to actually quit for the first time. It won’t be the last time, or even necessarily the most famous time. A similar story will get told and retold across decades of Spider-Man stories and even make its way into Spider-Man 2. (More directly, the film borrowed from Amazing Spider-Man #50, which borrowed from this issue.)
Note we’re reading this and the last issue together because they make a strong arc when read together. In terms of continuity, it has been weeks since the conclusion of the last issue, so it’s likely several other heroes’ adventures we’ve read occurred in the interim.
The story begins with everybody reacting to Spider-Man’s retreat: heroes, villains, people on the street… guy can’t run away from a single fight without everybody having an opinion. Ditko is great at people reacting to things.
Wasp notes that wasps and spiders are natural enemies. Always found that a weird thing to say. But she’s said it before and she’ll say it again; it’s an obsession of hers whenever the topic of Spider-man comes up.
This is an excellent comic for helping shape the nature of the relationship between Human Torch and Spider-Man. They’ve had some banter and conflict before, but also teamed up. A friendly rivalry. We saw how friendly last issue when Johnny attended the Spider-Man Fan Club meeting and then was quick to help Spider-Man against the Goblin. Now, he seems uncertain. He witnessed Spider-Man’s cowardice firsthand, but still wants to think better of his friend.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: July 9, 1964 Cover: October 1964 12 cents Ruggedly written by: Stan Lee Robustly drawn by: Steve Ditko Recently lettered by: S. Rosen 22 pages
The Green Goblin returns. I was not impressed with this villain in his first appearance. I am not that impressed with him 60 years later. But he is perhaps Spider-Man’s most popular villain, considered by many to be the definitive Spider-Man villain. Why?
I have a theory, a cynical one, mind you. Perhaps Team Goblin folks can correct me. My theory is this: Green Goblin is the villain in all the best Spider-Man stories, most of which would work just as well if you substituted in any villain. Case in point: this story.
A classmate of Peter’s refers to the James Bond novels. The character had already made his way into at least two films by this point as well. We’ll look back to the current place in pop culture of James Bond when SHIELD gets introduced, to see if we detect any influence.
This remains the only series to really handle the out-of-costume soap opera well. Almost every other title needs to keep its focus on the mission or the villain. Here, the villain shows up for the fight on page 13. Stan and Steve are confident they can fill 12 pages with character work, and they can.
Green Goblin has a new glider. Last time, he had a flying broomstick instead. This is definitely cooler, and he notes it’s faster and more maneuverable… but the old one he specifically noted was designed to make fatal error impossible. He neglects to mention if this new glider has been so designed.
That bottom middle panel. We’ve basically seen it before.
The Green Goblin reveals his arsenal: pumpkin, ghost, frog, moon, bat. Of these weapons, the pumpkin will prove surprisingly enduring.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: April 9, 1964 Cover: July 1964 12 cents Writen by: Stan Lee (The poor man’s Shakespeare) Illustrated by: Steve Ditko (The poor man’s Da Vinci) Lettered by: Art Simek (The poor man’s rich man) 22 pages
There are things to like about this comic. The new villain is pretty goofy, perfect for a one-off issue of frivolity. Bring back the Enforcers and throw in the Hulk, and you have a recipe for a fun time.
But look to this first panel. It’s very interesting. A great panel, actually. You see the villain’s mask in the foreground and the shadowed villain in the background. Spider-Man has had a few unmasking scenes of late. Electro turned out to be someone he’d never heard of. Big Man turned out to be Peter’s colleague, Fred Foswell. This opening panel suggests we will get another dramatic unmasking… except we won’t.
They will save the unmasking for a later issue. Spider-Man actually fails to decisively defeat this goofy villain. Which suggests the Green Goblin will return. A bad idea. The character might be fun for one issue, but not as a recurring villain. Especially when Spider-Man aready has such a robust rogues gallery of far more interesting characters: Chameleon, Vulture, Tinkerer, Dr. Octopus, Sandman, Lizard, Living Brain, Electro, Big Man, Enforcers, and Mysterio.
The second panel is a line that’s rather amusing with the benefit of hindsight. “I made the controls simple enough that there’s no chance of fatal error.” If you’ve read further in Amazing Spider-Man, you know he will redesign his flying device and forget that particular design principle. I had suggested this panel to my friend Brian for his Past Was Close Behind series.
The Green Goblin refers to his device as a “flying broomstick”, keeping to a magic/fairy tale theme.
