spider-man – Page 5 – Coke ⊕ Comics

Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1

The Sinister Six!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: June 11, 1964
Cover: 1964
25 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Steve Ditko
Lettered by: S. Rosen
41 pages

It’s 1964. You’re young. You don’t have a lot of money. But you know some math. Most comics cost 12 cents. This one costs 25. You could get two comics for that price! But wait… those two comics between them would only net you 42-46 story pages. This one promises 72 pages! 72 big pages, at that.

Indeed, this first story is 41 pages, enough to give you your money’s worth. But there’re over 30 pages of bonus features as well!

Plus, most of those comics will give you one super-villain, two at most. This cover promises a sinister six villains for your hard-earned quarter.

If you’re not yet sold to drop two bits, the first page should do it. Aunt May and Betty Brant have been captured by the Sinister Six, and Spider-Man has lost his powers! Now that’s a story!

Amazing Spider-Man #16

Duel with Daredevil

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: June 9, 1964
Cover: September 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee, master of the spoken word
Illustrated by: Steve Ditko, dean of dramatic drawings
Lettered by: S. Rosen, sultan of sparkling spelling
22 pages

Let me start by wishing a happy birthday to Steve Ditko, who would have been 93 today had he not passed away in 2018.

Ditko has created a number of new villains for this series, while maintaining a generally pretty high quality (Green Goblin excepted). The team has only once borrowed a villain so far, when Spider-Man fought Dr. Doom in issue 5. This is the second time borrowing a villain, but they dig deeper, bringing back Ringmaster from Incredible Hulk #3 two years earlier. We’ve read over 200 comics since we last met Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime.

Aunt May still insists Peter accept a blind date with Mary Jane Watson. Peter makes the reasonable protestation that he has a girlfriend. May notes they are not engaged. Does May just not like Betty for some reason? On the other hand, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a date. Peter could just offer to hang out with Mrs. Watson’s niece as a favor to Aunt May. I feel like they could compromise here.

Tales to Astonish #59

Enter: The Hulk

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: June 2, 1964
Cover: September 1965
12 cents
Rapidly written by: Stan Lee
Dashingly drawn by: Dick Ayers
Instantly inked by: P. Reinman
Lazily lettered by: Art Simek
18 pages

Art Simek’s lettering is referred to as “lazy”. Indeed, he seems to have forgotten Paul Reinman’s name, crediting him as R. Reinman, rather than the usual P. Reinman.

This is Ayers’ first time drawing the Hulk. In fact, it’s the first time anybody but Kirby or Ditko has drawn the Hulk.

It’s clear that prior to this point, Hulk is not yet the character modern readers (or TV viewers or moviegoers) have come to know. Steve Ditko will take over the art/plotting duties on Hulk’s new ongoing series, and often gets the credit for inventing Hulk as we know him. But it seems to me all the groundwork is laid right here by Lee and Ayers. This issue introduces a more recognizable version of Hulk.

For several months, Hulk has been bouncing title to title (Avengers, Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man) ever since his own series got cancelled a year earlier. This guest appearance in Giant-Man’s comic is his final bounce, and a transition into the return of his ongoing solo adventures in this very title. This is why they cancelled Wasp’s solo adventure backups, to make room for Hulk’s return. And this time, Hulk’s series will endure for a long time.

They refer to Hulk as the “Jolly Green Giant”. Think they took that name off a mascot for canned vegetables.

Besides being the lead-in to his new series, this is a significant issue for Hulk. We learn his full name for the first time: Dr. Robert Bruce Banner. This explains why Stan sometimes called him Bruce and sometimes Bob. I had assumed Stan just got careless with details.

Amazing Spider-Man #15

Kraven the Hunter!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: May 12, 1964
Cover: August 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee (because we couldn’t afford Mickey Spillane)
Illustrated by: Steve Ditko (because Picasso was out of town)
Lettered by: Art Simek (because his name fits this space)
22 pages

I feel like the golden era of Ditko coming up with cool Spider-Man villains may be over. At least Kraven is more interesting than Green Goblin. Like Green Goblin, it’s generally agreed the best story for each is the one where they die.

I will give Green Goblin and Kraven credit for one thing… they’re different from the other villains. They’re both unique, for better or worse.

But, while one form of Goblin or another was the villain or a background threat for the first four Spider-Man films, we’re seven films in without so much as a hint of Kraven. Guy’s gotta be a little insulted.

Kraven’s motive is different from the other villains we’ve met. He’s not interested in money, power or revenge. His goal is sport. His namesake is not an animal like many of Spider-Man’s villains, but his outfit does suggest a lion motif.

The story begins with the return of Spider-Man’s first super-villain foe: the Chameleon, who we learn is an old friend of Kraven the Hunter.

While Chameleon’s mask has the same basic idea as before, it’s been cleaned up and altered. This new look will endure for 60 years.

Amazing Spider-Man #14

The Grotesque Adventure of the Green Goblin

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.

Amazing Spider-Man #13

The Menace of… Mysterio!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: March 10, 1964
Cover: June 1964
12 cents
Author: Stan Lee
Artist: Steve Ditko
Lettered by: Art Simek
22 pages

I love the web dissolving on the cover.

Spider-Man has turned to crime. He commits a robbery and then gets away by crawling a wall and using webbing. He must be guilty. Jameson was right all along.

Of course, there was the time the Skrulls convinced everybody the Fantastic Four had turned to crime. Or the time Thor was framed by Mr. Hyde. Or the two times Wizard impersonated Human Torch to frame him for crimes. Spider-Man himself has been framed for crimes now by Chameleon and the Fox. And Jameson accused Spidey of being Electro and of being in cahoots with almost every other villain. So maybe the public shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.

Sandman #19

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess

Things have changed and will change more; and Gaia no longer welcomes us as she once did.

But he did not understand the price. Mortals never do. They only see the prize, their heart’s desire, their dream… But the price of getting what you want is getting what once you wanted.

Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot.

Thirty years ago today, one of the finest comics I have ever read was published. I would like to take a moment to reflect on Sandman #19, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; admittedly at some considerable length.

Due to its length, the post is broken into 3 pages. The first page gives an overview of the Sandman series, and some background. The second page discusses this issue in depth, as well as Sandman #13 and #75, which serve as prologue and epilogue respectively. The third page examines particular themes of this issue and how they resonate throughout the entire series.

Please find the buttons at the bottom of each page to navigate.

Pages: 123

Tales to Astonish #57

On the Trail of the Amazing Spider-Man

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: April 2, 1964
Cover: July 1964
12 cents
Brilliantly written by good ol’ Stan Lee
Bashfully drawn by loveable ol’ Dick Ayers
Boldly inked by faithful ol’ Paul Reinman
Bravely lettered by fearless ol’ S. Rosen
16 pages

We’re throwing two issues of Tales to Astonish together because the Avengers’ series only leaves so much space for Giant-Man/Wasp adventures and because Wasp’s hairdo is difficult to reconcile with Avengers continuity.

Last issue, Hank was ready to propose. He’d even bought a ring. But then he got insecure and doubted that Wasp really loved him. By the end of the issue, he seemed more confident in Jan’s love. But I still don’t see a ring on her finger and there’s no mention of it this issue.

Wasp gets a new addition to her arsenal: a stinger. It’s a compressed air gun. She’d previously had a weapon she referred to as a stinger, but it was just a pin she held. In issue 46, they refer to it as though it’s a regular part of the arsenal. She’d picked up a pin the previous issue. In the backup story of this issue, which takes place before this story, she’ll also pick up a random pin and refer to it as her sting.

Amazing Spider-Man #12

Unmasked by Dr. Octopus!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: February 11, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
Written in the white heat of inspiration by: Stan Lee
Drawn in a wild frenzy of enthusiasm by: Steve Ditko
Lettered in a comfortable room by: Art Simek
22 pages

We’re reading this story an entire month early. A few reasons for this. One is that a lot of plot and thematic elements remain unresolved from issue 11. So these two issues read well together. The other is that I’ll be shuffling around a lot of Avengers-related comics due to chronological complications, including Spider-Man’s upcoming guest appearance in Tales to Astonish. I’ll be pulling that story forward, which also pulls this story forward.

Since the Dr. Octopus subplot remains unresolved from last issue, I think it’s best if Spider-Man’s guest appearances with Human Torch or Giant-Man don’t break up these issues.

Just keep in mind this comic was actually was published after a lot of the exciting events we are about to read, including the return of Captain America, the introduction of Black Widow, the epic Thing/Hulk showdown, and the introduction of Daredevil. But I think it reads better before all that. So here we are.

This is actually one of my very favorite Spider-Man comics. Let’s dive in.

We see a Daily Bugle article in an unusual level of detail. Spider-Man is blamed for letting Dr. Octopus escape by interfering in police business. Jameson’s articles are often over the top, but this seems a reasonable assessment to me. Spider-Man is a child who barged into a delicate hostage situation. One person was killed and the villain escaped. We know he did his best, but he is an amateur. Nonetheless, Spider-Man is outraged by the article. He should perhaps instead be remorseful about Bennet’s death. That’s what happens when you provoke a criminal into wildly firing shots.

Amazing Spider-Man #11

Turning Point

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: January 10, 1964
Cover: April 1964
12 cents
None but Stan Lee could have written this epic tale!!
None but Steve Ditko could have drawn such gripping scenes!
Lettered by S. Rosen
21 pages

“None but Stan Lee could have written this epic tale!!” I don’t know, Stan. I have my suspicions that’s not precisely accurate. There’s at least one other person who could have, and perhaps did.

With a title like “Turning Point”, this is probably going to be good.

This story has been building for two issues now, and won’t quite resolve in this one. Let’s remind ourselves of what’s been happening.

Two issues back, Peter and Betty were getting closer, but Betty had concerns, and those concerns seemed to hint at larger troubles.

"You're beginning to enjoy the danger-- the excitement! Just like--someone else I once knew--"

"Peter, I never told you why I left high school last year and took a job! I never told you about someone I once knew who-- who remind me of you! But I don't want to be hurt again!"

Last issue, we learn she had been in debt to a loan shark, which leads to her running afoul of the Enforcers. For Peter’s protection, she decides to leave town.

This issue, we see the return of Spider-Man’s greatest villain, Dr. Octopus. Dr. Octopus marks Spidey’s second recurring villain, after the Vulture. (Of course, not counting his persistent nemesis, J. Jonah Jameson.)