Amazing Spider-Man #4

Nothing can stop… the Sandman!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: June 11, 1963
Cover: September 1963
12 cents
By: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
21 pages

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Tales of Suspense #45Reading orderFantastic Four #18
Amazing Spider-Man #3Amazing Spider-ManAmazing Spider-Man #5

You teen-agers are all alike– You think the world owes you a living! Now go out and get me some shots of Spider-Man, and don’t come back till you do!

The covers so far have mostly been single images. Here, the cover is itself a comic. It’s not a common artistic choice, perhaps because it forces the images to be smaller. But it effectively shows off the range of Sandman’s powers.

Lee and Ditko share the credits for this issue with a simple “By”, rather than breaking up who did the story and who did the art.

In 4 issues, this series has introduced:

  • Chameleon
  • Vulture
  • Tinkerer
  • Dr. Octopus
  • Sandman

That’s 5 enduring villains, and at least 3 iconic ones.

Continue reading “Amazing Spider-Man #4”

Amazing Spider-Man #2

Duel to the death with the Vulture!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: February 12, 1963
Cover: May 1963
12 cents
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko
14 pages

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Strange Tales #108, Story CReading orderAmazing Spider-Man #2, Story B
Amazing Spider-Man #1, Story BAmazing Spider-ManAmazing 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.

Continue reading “Amazing Spider-Man #2”