Spider-Variant

That is such a great page by Andru. I always loved the Tarantula as a villain. Superb dynamic action.

Frank Giacoia and Mike Esposito, mid-seventies NY comic convention. I definitely would not have been able to pick out Frank. Wonder where Ross was? He didn't seem like he would be the convention type, though.

He also likes the jacket.

And of course, Peter is wearing @Get Marwood & I 's sweater.

Me too, but Gil Kane was pretty good too, lol. I really like the artwork in ASM 145, one of my favorite Ross issues, driven primarily by nostalgia. That flashback scene is one of my favorites.

We discussed a little time ago how Gil Kane drew the Brooklyn Bridge as the location of the demise of the lovely Gwen Stacy back in Amazing Spider-Man 121, even though the dialogue referenced the George Washington Bridge. Here are the flashbacks over his run on Amazing Spider-Man Ross drew in harkening back to that fateful day, hopefully I didn't miss any. Below that is Gil Kane's original depiction.

Forgot how good that was.

Love this cover and story. Only cover I liked better during this time period was ASM 92.

That's a lot of artistry in the family between the two of you.

Can't say much on if your deal is a good one or not, but if you think this is a fun project, then I say go for it! My older brother and I bought some of these issues off the comic rack back in the day and I seem to recall I liked them at the time. But that's testing the memory for sure.

Yes, indeed it was.

Steve, I'm not into this subject, but applaud your research and documentation (that spreadsheet looks like one of mine). I can always respect the passion of fellow collectors and the expertise that passion has developed within them. So, I say to you, Well Done!

@Winterboy that car is much better than most Ross drew, except the Spider-Mobile. Oh and I agree with Get Marwood, nice bums all the way around.

Here are the answers to yesterday's trivia question - "Hunt and Giacoia were captured" in ASM 139, as Liz and Peter search for him a new apartment. Hey @ganni , if I am reading your question correctly, then absolutely you got this one correct! "Hunt and Esposito were captured" in ASM 150. This one was drawn by Gil Kane. I had to invert the panel to even manage to read it. I think I liked Giacoia's inks better than Esposito's. To me, they were a little darker and the lines more pronounced, especially on these earlier issues.

Whatcha got @Get Marwood & I?

That is awesome. Peter definitely has that 70s feel, but Ross never made MJ that sexy, lol.

Not quite

very close

Hey @ADAMANTIUM, what's your guess on the trivia question above?

Let's see if anyone else knows. I think the first one is pretty easy but the second one a little harder. Also, I think the first one was mentioned in a ASM letter's page too.

As discussed previously in this thread, Dave Hunt, Spidey background inker extraordinaire, left little messages here and there throughout his run on Amazing Spider-Man. We discussed the use of "XX" and his shout outs to his son Benjamin. Here are two examples that I felt were hilarious. What eagle-eyed bronze age ASM fan can name the issues these two appeared in? Both occurred in the Ross Andru run.

Yes, too low for sure. I traded my stickered copy for something that was valued at about $2000. But I see my old copy graded out at CGC 8.0 White Pages, so maybe I didn't get enough for it.

Some speculate that Gerry Conway may have borrowed some concepts from the science fiction short story "The Mindworm" written by American writer Cyril M. Kornbluth, first published in 1950. It combines the themes of mutant power, telepathy and ancient superstition. I haven't read it but seems to have some similarities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mindworm The protagonist, the Mindworm of the title, is an orphan, the result of a liaison between a U.S. Navy lieutenant and a nurse aboard ship during viewing of early atomic tests. He is a mutant, as a result of the atomic fallout after the testing, and he can "hear" the thoughts of others around him. Cast out into the world as a young adult, he is about to be attacked by hoboes when he discovers an ability to feed off strong emotions, killing one of his assailants in the process. He uses this to eliminate the rest of his attackers. He moves from town to town, eavesdropping on the thoughts of people around him, and using his abilities to induce the intense emotion he craves, and to gain material wealth.

Thanks Steve. I put this search on hold a couple of times but circled back to it in the last month or so. I knew I was very, very close. Many of the photos I was reviewing had house styles that were similar to what Ross had drawn. But none had all the features until I stumbled upon this one two weeks ago. The coolest thing is the house was just a mile from where Ross lived when he drew it. As I stated earlier, I could easily see the plot for ASM 138 being formulated by Ross on his way to the beach one day. "Hey Gerry, I passed this cool house on my way to the beach this weekend, how about we put a creepy villain in it, set the story in Far Rockaway, and ..."