Sixty years ago today. Probably the most important date in the history of Marvel.
Dr. Henry Pym decided to use his shrinking formula once more and assume the identity of Ant-Man.
Dr. Donald Blake found a cane in a cave of Norway, which transformed into a magic hammer bearing the inscription: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of… Thor!”
High school student Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and gained the powers of a Spider-Man. He sought to use these powers for selfish ends and sneered at an opportunity to help others. A karmic twist led to personal tragedy and taught him: “…in this world, with great power there must also come– great responsibility!”
Spider-Man is my single favorite fictional character ever. Happy 60th birthday, Peter.
With all respect to Thor and Ant-Man, I propose that June 5 is Spider-Man Day!
In fact, I met two Spider-Men at Glasgow Comic Con just yesterday.
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: February 11, 1965 Cover: May 1965 12 cents Mighty script by: Stan Lee Powerful art by: Steve Ditko A lotta lettering by: S. Rosen 20 pages
I declared last month’s cover the best we’ve yet seen. Two months earlier, I’d declared it that cover. I really don’t want to keep doing that, but man, look at that crazy cover. It brings to mind Ditko’s roots in weird horror tales, and captures some of the madness of his Dr. Strange work.
The comic more than lives up to the cover.
The opening splash is also excellent. It shows Spider-Man haunted by the same ghost images of his villains, but makes it clear that’s a psychiatrist’s office, and it’s Spidey in the chair. And from the look on the doctor’s face, not about to receive a favorable diagnosis regarding his mental stability.
Aunt May is still struggling with the bills, and Peter plans to make more money taking pictures of Spider-Man to help out. Remember the theme of responsibility. Most often, it’s assumed his responsibility is to do good as Spider-Man, but he also has a responsibility to his aunt.
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: Fantastic Four Release: December 10, 1964 Cover: March 1965 12 cents Proudly produced by: Smilin’ Stan Lee and Jolly Jack Kirby Inked by: Chic Stone Lettered by: Artie Simek 21 pages
The main credits are shared between Stan and Jack without specifying who did what.
Fantastic Four has been one of the best of these Marvel superhero titles since the start, but it’s regarded as one of the best comic series ever, which hasn’t yet been obvious. The series gets better at some point. It can be hard to pinpoint the exact point of transition. We noted issue 29 when Kirby started using photo collages as a step toward greatness. The introduction of the Frightful Four in this issue also suggests we are well down the path. Particularly the mysterious Madam Medusa.
Sue and Reed announced their engagement last issue. They’ve now made a public announcement, and the press is excited, underscoring their celebrity status. There will be a big engagement party this issue.
Also, I think Sue’s gotten a haircut. Her hair definitely seems shorter.
Preeeeeesenting… The Clown, and his Masters of Menace!
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: December 10, 1964 Cover: March 1965 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Illustrated by: Steve Ditko Lettered by: Artie Simek 20 pages
Yes, I counted the ‘e’s closely in the title. We strive for accuracy here at Coke & Comics.
I appreciate that Spider-Man doesn’t really appear on the cover. Just the spider signal and his shadow, as the bad guys stand in awe.
I assume you all have the same confusion about the first page as I do. As usual, I blame Stan. Ditko’s drawings are eerily consistent across issues. The two trapeze artists and human cannonball are just as depicted the last time Spider-Man fought the Circus of Crime in Amazing Spider-Man #16.
But Stan had the human cannonball refer to himself as the Great Gambino. When we first met the Circus of Crime in Incredible Hulk #3, the human cannonball was named, sensibly, the Human Cannonball. Lee is basically back to that, referring to him as “the man called Cannonball”. He refers to the two trapeze artists as the Great Gambinos, which I suspect was Ditko’s intention all along. I’m going to claim Cannonball to be the same character we’ve met three times now, and just call his name in issue 16 a typo. He is not the Great Gambino; the trapeze artists are.
Ditko’s Clown is clearly modeled off the clown Kirby drew in Incredible Hulk #3, and doesn’t look particularly like any of the clowns in issue 16. He looks so much like Kirby’s clown that I’m going to declare them the same character. CMRO agrees, though also thinks he was one of the clowns in issue 16. There are a lot of clowns in that issue; one could be him, just with different make-up.
Princess Python is clearly new, and will be the most popular of these villains, making a name for herself entirely separate from the Circus of Crime, for example finding a home with the Serpent Society. She is notably Spider-Man’s first female super-villain and one of very few female super-villains we’ve met at all.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: November 10, 1964 Cover: February 1965 12 cents Adequate script: Stan Lee Satisfactory art: Jack Kirby Passable inking: Chic Stone Sufficient lettering: Artie Simek 20 pages
The page count in these books had been gradually dwindling. At first it was to make room for more letters pages or announcements, or the occasional pin-up. This is the third FF story in a row to clock in at 20 pages. Before that, they’d been 21 or 22; 23 pages even earlier. It doesn’t seem to be a fixed quantity. We still have the occasional 21-pager coming up, but 20 pages seems to be the new rule. Other titles have followed this pattern.
Comics have not gotten much more expensive over time. There were a dime in 1939 and a dime in 1961. In 1964, they’ve only increased to 12 cents. What’s changed is how many story pages you get for those pennies, often 70-80 pages for that dime in 1939. (These days Marvel comics tend to go for $3.99)
The comic returns us to State U, the alma mater of Reed and Ben. Reed is giving a guest lecture.
Where is State U? I assume it’s in New York somewhere. They seem to have brought a lot of luggage. They go galavanting all over the world and into space and into the depths of the ocean with far less.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: November 10, 1964 Cover: February 1965 12 cents Deliciously written by: Stan Lee Deliriously illustrated by: Steve Ditko Delightfully lettered by: S. Rosen 20 pages
What a beautiful cover. One of my favorites yet. Definitely my favorite Spider-Man cover so far. I like the way Ditko contorts Spider-Man in the air. It’s never straightforward, and decades of artists have tried to imitate his many posings. It’s just such a nice rendering of Spider-Man, who’s always at his best when at least somewhat upside down.
Ditko’s got the Beetle lurking off in the corner, just to show there is a villain. He keeps the focus on the actually visually interesting characters.
And then the opening splash page is basically an alternative cover, this one showing Spider-Man directly in combat with the Beetle, again with Spidey’s body flying through the air in his inimitable style.
This is one of the most underrated Spider-Man stories of all time. You’ll easily notice my Best We’ve Read page has more than its share of Spider-Man stories, as they are simply head and shoulders above all the other Marvel comics of this era. The highest rated Spidey stories won’t surprise people who love Spider-Man stories. I’ve spent a lot of time reading people’s opinions on Spider-Man stories, looking at lists of the best Spider-Man stories. His origin and the Sinister Six story, those are everybody’s favorite. While you may hear less of it, for those in the know, the End of Spider-Man story is spoken of with sufficient reverence. As is his unmasking by Dr. Octopus and first battles against Doc Ock, Vulture, and Electro. I’ve heard people cite the Scorpion battle and even the Green Goblin battle as their favorite stories.
But I never hear anybody talk about how great Spider-Man’s first battle against the Beetle is. Let’s correct that.
