ASM #121 VS. #122

[COI]

I agree. The only thing I'm really anal about is spine stress. Spine stresses(even transverse) drives me up the wall. Otherwise, I'm not that crazy.

[COI]

[greggy]

So...you're not going to complain about that 1 mm of white showing at the spine because the book is not perfectly centered?

[supapimp]

andrew,

 

you should know what this means, "im there, and im not havin it"!

 

pimpy=sad sack

[COI]

Can you read?

 

My ID says A-N-D-R-E-W-K-N-I-G-H-T, not M-U-R-P-H-0.

[greggy]

Yes, my Canuckian education has afforded me the ability to read. However, I have hear others complain about this flaw.

[supapimp]

nice, but im talkin female, where's clobby when you need him?

[COI]

A perfectly centered Bronze book is so absurdly hard to find that anyone who would complain about a 1mm mis-alignment has some obssesive-compulsive issues.

[greggy]

I agree but some of the grades given to some with serious problems is even more outrageous!

[COI]

For those Board members who were offended by the staple in the above copy, take a deep breath:

 

[COI]

Serious problems in regards to what? Mis-alignment?

[COI]

Oh, F*&K!

 

I know what you're saying now! That was a delayed reaction cause I was thinking about comics.

 

I'd be more pissed than sad.

[greggy]

Mis-alignment?

 

Yep, especially with Marvel Spotlight 5! I guess I never really noticed as I was able to pick up a nicely centered copy in the early 1990s and haven't looked for that book since! But...some of the 9.4s are ugly especially when the lettering at the bottom is cut-off! Also, I noticed that almost all Dr. Strange 1 (1974) are misaligned!

[COI]

Yeah, and I hate when the Marvel banner isn't straight either.

 

As far as letters being cut off, I find this to be a problem among most of the "framed" covers. It's a shame too, as those covers are some of the best....period!

[fantastic_four]

FF, is this similar to the staple on your #122?

It's similar to your Spidey 129, yes. If you go back up and look at the 122 I posted, the bend on that bottom staple can be clearly seen in the scan. I'd say the bend on my 122 is slightly more severe than your 129, but since it's located directly on the spine and not on the front cover like the 129, it's less noticable on the 122.

[arcticbear-migration]

you wrote:

 

Ok, putting market values and all that other junk aside( ), which book do you guys consider to be more significant to the Spidey mythos? These books are usually thought of as a pair, but if you set them apart, which one is the real deal?

 

Personally(and I think I'm in the minority) I've always believed #121 is more significant. If this were your life, which event would affect you more? The murder of a girlfriend/spouse, or the death of the person who killed her?

 

Also, it's important to note that Gwen's death was never cheapened over time. The only "gimmick" surrounding her death was the clone saga(the original, not that gawd awful mess in the 90's), which was actually good, and will go down as a Spidey classic. But GG has been resurrected several times, not to mention that his son permanently took up the mantle afterwards. I loved the whole thing with Harry, but my point is that GG never really went away as a result of his death, but it was the start of his legacy.

 

I wasn't aound at the time #121 hit the stands, but have read a lot about the impact it had at the time. I'll leave that to someone who was collecting Spidey back then. They would be best suited to comment.

 

What do you all think?

 

Well I can tell you I was around when 121 hit the news stands. I can tell you that it envoked major emotions on the readers of that time. It was unheard of to do a soap opera stunt like developing a love story to pull the rug out and kill a major principle. If fact if you look at issues several months later in the reader feedback section, the writers of ASM took major grief from the public by majority for turning the story that way. However once done it really couldn't be undone. That's why I see 122 as the resolution or closure for that particular story line. Which is the more significant comic? Obviously 121, for without it, 122 would have no real purpose. But yes I agree with others here that both probably should be seen as a pair, although I can certainly understand why the first is the key issue.

[ELBRUJO]

Beautiful book, the only thing looks like the bottom staple like you said which probably keep it out of the higher grade.