Spider-Variant

On 6/22/2022 at 11:29 PM, MR SigS said:

          

Who's signature is this?  Gerry's?

On 6/22/2022 at 6:32 PM, MattTheDuck said:

Thanks - they all have their problems due to being subscription copies, but I love them anyway!  

Do you mean your books are subscription, or mail order?  I never did order anything by mail order and now wish I had

 

My ASM subscription didn't start until around issue 190 or so.

I completed most of my ASM run via mail order.  I loved it.  Of course condition wasn't king, so grading wasn't important, especially to an 11 year old kid.  I would beg my Mom to take me to get a postal money order or ask my older brother to write me a check, so I could order more and more issues.

I can still taste the anticipation of waiting for those books to arrive.  It was like Christmas, opening the mail box and seeing that package.  

On 6/22/2022 at 3:31 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Ah, the old what if...? eh.

 

Tell you what, that would make a good comic title wouldn't it. What you could do, is take existing characters and......

Never work, they'd try to put Spider-Man in the Fantastic Four, so some crazy stuff like that... 

On 6/17/2022 at 5:09 PM, MAR1979 said:

Annual 9 was a good read!

 

He's got a Juggernaut vibe to him.  I had the Iron Man issue, but don't remember anything about it.

On 6/22/2022 at 12:07 PM, MattTheDuck said:

Beautiful books Matt.

I got all these issues through mail order, having purchased issues 145, 148, and 153 off the rack, and then starting my run via mail order.

On 6/22/2022 at 12:50 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Spideyless Andru pages tend to go low Reggie. Makes sense really, doesn't it.

Spidey(less) sense.

 

Had I had the money, I probably would have paid $1300 for this nostalgic character page.

On 5/8/2022 at 6:23 PM, Spider-Variant said:

Here's an original art page I hadn't seen before from ASM 158, Page 14.  It's up on Comic Link.

Wonder how Ross and Len came up with Brookhaven National Laboratory for a setting.  Must have needed some atomic power to make Hammerhead whole again.

Looks like the letterer got a little off on that fifth panel and there was a correction piece glued over top.

 

 

 

This page sold for $1300, under what I thought by about $700.

On 6/21/2022 at 6:28 AM, The Man Without Beer said:

Purchased but not in hand yet. Early bronzeage DD slugfest classic. 

I never could find a nice copy of that book.  That's a beaut!

On 6/17/2022 at 5:59 PM, MattTheDuck said:

I was so thrilled with the release of this new title, I bought the #1...and then didn't buy another issue for almost 15 years

 

I loved that another Spider-Man title was launched and purchased every issue until at least 100.  I even remember buying a 35 cent variant off the stands and was so confused when the price came back down on the next issue.  Sal Buscema was a lot better artist than I gave him credit for back in the day.

On 6/15/2022 at 8:24 PM, pickycollector said:

Not mine anymore but I had a full run of MTU, they now sit in a good new home, here are scans for #1-50 that I keep as a souvenir

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful books.  I have all the pics of my ASM run that I have sold as well.

MTU was a great series to collect, because it wasn't as far along as ASM, so you could complete the run with a little less effort (and $$$).

The stories were very hit or miss IMHO, but the concept of a dedicated team-up each month resonated with me very well.

Love the cover to MTU 12.  That MTU 13 was a little gritty as compared to other Spidey stories of the time, of course this issue coming right after the death of the Gorgeous Gwen Stacy.

`

Happy 95th Birthday Ross!  You were gone way too soon.  

Your art and story-telling were so appreciated by my 9 year old self, and that appreciation has just grown over the years.

On 6/8/2022 at 9:39 AM, APDallas said:

I remember being a kid and begging my mom to buy this comic for me. She looked at me with that glare that screamed "NO!" Sigh. Apparently it was created and written by Gary Friedrich who was also the creator and writer of GHOST RIDER fro Marvel. Could this be a proto-type?

Some nice Andru art, which was a little more dark and grim than his usual stuff.

Oh, and good call by your Mom!  

1,7,12,13.  With 12 being the favorite.

On 6/4/2022 at 1:52 PM, Tri-ColorBrian said:

I knew that.  Alright, I guess some of you don't know me or my amazing, subtle, sense of humor.   

Or perhaps it is like the characters in this thread, under-rated....   

On 6/2/2022 at 9:46 PM, mec3437 said:

 

 

 

 

Spidey was my guy (started my collection with Issue 153 and worked all the way back to AF15 and forward to sometime in the 2000s before I called it quits), but Iron Man resonated with me as well.  I started with Iron Man Issue 78 or so, and didn't make it too far back in collecting the series, but I did have this issue, most likely taken from my older brother's collection.  Jim Starlin did the pencils for this one.  I liked the story and the way Iron Man defeated Fangor.  Heck, this issue even had a cameo by Dr. Strange (before he was a movie star).

I always thought Will-O'-The-Wisp from Amazing Spider-Man 167 was under-rated.   Tragic character, likeable, cool powers. 

He's been around and appeared in other stuff, but probably a C list type character.

I know we probably have looked at this one before.  From ASM 133, here's another two pages of comic story on one art board.  We give the details behind why Marvel did this back in the early 70s (think cheap bast$#ds) in this thread (maybe even two times).  I'm too lazy to relink the threads.

Up on comiclink as well.  

On 5/19/2022 at 2:25 PM, MattTheDuck said:

A few pick-ups at an Estate Sale this morning.  My original #130 lost its MVS somewhere, so I'm real happy to have found this one.

 

 

 

 

I always thought that ASM 161-162 were the acme of Mr. Andru's run on the Amazing Spider-Man.  Maybe because it was these were two of the earliest issues I picked off the stands as a child, or maybe the art and story really resonated with me.  The earlier stuff was good for sure, but the latter stuff left me unsatisfied (like ASM 185),  but these couple of issues were it.

I was leaning 9.2, but maybe it can make 9.4.

This cover always brings a smile, as it doesn't have the UPC barcode plastered on it, so it looks like an old school cover.  Love it.

On 5/15/2022 at 10:20 PM, MGsimba77 said:

That ASM 148 is sweet, my friend.

On 5/14/2022 at 8:21 PM, MattTheDuck said:

An upgrade in today's mail, courtesy of @pickycollector.  My original copy, purchased from an LCS almost 50 years ago(!) had a picture cut out of the letters page. 

 

Another of my fave covers. Really nice story with the Ice Man.  

Great books everyone! 

These books were the jumping on point of my 33 year ASM collecting run.  That ASM 148 is one of my favorite covers, probably driven by the blue background.

On 5/11/2022 at 9:16 AM, FoggyNelson said:

That is a beauty‼️‼️👍 I like the city in the background too

That's looking across Central Park.  I tried to find a building or two, but nothing I could match.

On 5/10/2022 at 8:07 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

I had to Googleate that, but yes, a sort of dry transfer that gives the effect of shading.

Not sure. The absence of Spidey may put off many at the lower end. It did me, back in the day. Who wants to shell out $2K for a page without him? Keep us posted Reggie. 

Yes, but a guy like me who probably couldn't afford much more, might feel nostalgic.  We'll see where it ends up at.  I saw another character page on ebay from issue 159 for $1700ish with no takers, so maybe you are correct Steve.

On 5/10/2022 at 2:36 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Looks like some sort of letraset was added too here, on the upper roof panel:

Too time consuming to draw all those lines that perfectly, I suppose...

I noticed that too.  Is that the same thing as zipatone? 

Wonder what this character page will go for?  I bet at least $2k.