Spider-Variant

Thanks Steve, I'm a little under the weather anyway. I want to be in my prime when I puzzle, lol. San Francisco is about 6 hours by car, so most likely Monday.

My brother and I had a beat up copy of this. He must have really like it as it was beat when I remember picking it up for the first time.

Nice DDs. You liked that DD 56 so much you posted it twice.

Didn't check the mail yesterday, hopefully it's out in the box today. Nope, maybe tomorrow.

My AF#15 a few years back. But I regret infinitely more selling my original art page from Amazing Spider-Man 145 by Ross Andru and Frank Giacoia. I remember my older brother and I picking up the issue off the stands back in early 1975. I was incredibly fortunate to work a trade to get an art page from it with Spider-Man in every panel. For what I sold it for, I probably could have come up with the money I needed a hundred different ways and I kick myself every day for being so stupid.

Hmmm, this is still for the Double Date issue, correct? Looks like Pete is the Man to me, lol.

Now I just hope I don't embarrass myself, lol...

Thanks Steve. Looking forward to the challenge.

Over the last couple of years, I have been documenting Ross Andru's real life references from his Bronze Age Spider-Man run. In one panel, he used a partial depiction of a real life restaurant on Mott Street in NYC. As I was doing some research, I actually noticed that John Romita Jr. used the same restaurant in Punisher War Zone #1. He said it was on Mulberry Street, but the actual restaurant was on Mott Street. The restaurant may have been closed by the time Punisher War Zone was published though. Or he was trying not to get sued. Or maybe his memory was off. Anyway, here it is for any that may want to see.

I had to look, Moondark it is,

MTU 12, Mandrake if memory serves

Andru drawn characters only. Not sure Ross every knew about Alistair. Alas, poor Toy did not make the cut, lol.

I would have gotten all the ASM ones and about half the MTU/GS SM ones. I love these type of art pieces and especially enjoy the Spider-Man covers that feature the multiple villain motif, like ASM 141.

Ok, Steve and Adamantium got the ball rolling and named the low hanging fruit (kidding, kidding). Who else remembers the missing Spidey baddies (without looking)?

You mean Dr. Jonas Harrow, if memory serves.... He created Hammerhead, the Kangaroo, and Will o the Wisp.

He's from GS3, but no idea the name. I don't see the lady who conjured him though.

The toughest ones are at the top, from the GS SM and MTU issues. Some of these villains had forgettable names. I really like the way Lou laid this out.

Ok Andruphiles (this is not a real word), let's test your knowledge of the villains Ross Andru drew during his Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Team Up, and Giant-Size runs. Who can name all these baddies without looking them up? Lou Russo over at comicartfans graciously allowed me to share his tribute (yes, he drew and inked this great piece) to Ross's work. You can check out the answers on his gallery here. https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=1719283 He also links this thread, so turnabout is fair play, lol. The person with the most correct gets the coveted Ross Andru Thread No Prize Award and as always, @Get Marwood & I 's half eaten twinkie from 1976, unless all that puzzle work has gotten him hungry. My favorite is Dr. Octopus (see, I gave you the first one), because he has the spirit of his appearance in ASM 157-159, cherished issues from my youth.

Great points Fred, especially about the maniacal depictions by Ross. It's a shame Ross didn't live longer, as I think he would have finally received the accolades from the fans he deserved. I think he would have been a rock star at conventions in the early 2000s. I met John Romita (and his wife, she was so nice) at a convention once, and it actually brought a tear to my eye, just to have the opportunity tp speak to him. I would have probably been on the floor bawling like a baby had it been Ross.

I loved the early JR Jr but his second round on ASM wasn't as enjoyable to me.

Fred's splash that he posted yesterday got me thinking about ASM 144. Here's a random post for no other reason than because it is on my mind. I know I posted a similar comparison, but I updated it a while back. The neat thing is that when I placed some of the images from the comic into the images of the postcard Ross used to model his version after, the building support near JJJ lines up perfectly.

I think he was an incredibly story teller, something I am now more impressed with after seeing the slim plots that Stan and other writers gave him. I think he did have a quirkiness that endeared himself to me as well. The great lengths he went to portray the real world of the city he lived in was simply amazing. It harkens me back to this quote "That's the difference between Ross and most guys. He didn't know how to fake. He loved what he did, and didn't care how much he had to bleed to do it" Mike Esposito

Yes, I do think you are correct in that Romita did heavily influenced the finished product. And I probably ranked this pair the highest because I do love Romita's work so much. I would have to say the artist combination I felt best exemplifies Spider-Man to me was Romita pencils and Romita inks, during his prime. See ASM 108/109. My favorite Spider-Man artist will always be Ross though.

Oh man, knew I would forget someone. And he actually inked two issues as well, ASM 125 & ASM 151. 1. Romita 2. Giacoia 3. Mooney 4. Esposito 5. McLeod 6. DeZuniga