Spider-Man first appeared in the comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 from 1962. About 20 years later, I was buying my first comic book. I always liked Spider-Man, every Saturday morning I would watch his cartoons, the one with his "Amazing Friends", and even that PBS short they had on the Electric Company. I was disappointed when the live action TV show got cancelled. I really wanted to see a cross over with Lou Ferrigno's Hulk., but unfortunately the Spider-Man series only lasted 12 episodes (13 if you count the pilot).
I knew his origin story already, I had seen it in the cartoons and in coloring books, but I wanted it in a comic book. I started looking around and realized that saving my allowance was a waste of time, no way I was going to be able to afford it. Heck even early issues of the Spectacular Spider-Man were an arm and a leg. So I didn't see much chance of getting any early stories at all. I did manage to get my hands on issue 10, but in rather poor condition.
In 1993, Marvel started the reprint series Spider-Man Classics, the series ran 16 issues an captured a few of those early story lines. (This was actually the last comic book that I bought for myself). I finally had it, the origin story just as it was printed in the original Amazing Fantasy comic over 30 years before. The original, which I have seen go in Ebay for 10,000 dollars, is still outside of my budget. But that's okay, I got what I wanted out of the reprint. Spider-Man Classics was definitely not an investment. I bought it for $1.25 and I could buy it today in Ebay for $1.32, but that wasn't really why I bought it any way.
As much as I enjoyed the origin story, I'm glad that in the movies, they didn't do show it again with the MCU Spider-Man. How many times do we have to see poor Uncle Ben die??
The comic also had the origin story from Dr. Strange, who I didn't follow and didn't really know all that much about before. So that was my big introduction to him as well.
Did you have any early issues of Spider-Man comics?
Or any other big name comics?
Let me know in the comments below.
And please be sure to recommend!
