With great power, there must also come great responsibility.
Story Narrator - Amazing Fantasy #15
About Me
My Background
I'm a Nurse/Paramedic, who works for the United States Government and I live in Nashville, TN. I have been reading The Amazing Spider-Man comics since I was a kid, and I have amassed quite a collection of Spider-Man memorabilia over the years. While its not the biggest or best collection, its the best one of all the Spider-Man fans I know.
Since 2022 is the 60th anniversary of the world's most electrifing super hero, I have decided to make this website and share my collection with the world. I am on a quest to obtain a complete run of The Amazing Spider-Man and The Spectacular Spider-Man comic books. I invite you to join me on my journey to achieve this amazing (pun intended) feat to own not one, but two, complete comic collections of one of the most spectacular (did it again) super heroes the world has ever known.
I am The Spectacular Spider-Sean!
My Spider-Man Obsession
I don't really remember exactly how old I was whenever I read my first Amazing Spider-Man comic book, but I must have been around 9. It was issue #198, which was released in November of 1979.
I lived in a small town in Southeast Alabama, and we didn't have any comic book stores in my hometown back then. The only place where you could buy comics was at the pharmacy, or Drug Store, as we called it back then.
My mother would always take me with her whenever she had to pick up her monthly prescriptions, and I would always look through the huge comic book spinner rack in the store. Though the covers of the books fascinated me and the artwork was amazing, I never asked my mother to buy me one.
That all changed one day when I spun the rack around and saw the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #198. Here was this guy, dressed in a red and blue costume, with a huge spider on the front of it, surrounded by several other dudes, dressed in purple and green and wearing fishbowls on their heads. It fascinated me, so I asked my mother if I could have it. Of course, she bought it for me, and that began my obsession with Spider-Man.
I couldn't wait to get home. As soon as we got there, I ran into my bedroom, plopped down onto the floor and began reading. The book was kind of in the middle of a storyline, so I didn't really understand what was going on, but I was immediately hooked.
I didn't realize it then, but I identified with the lead protagionist in the book, Peter Parker. He was an only child, skinny, and shy, with not a lot of friends. He was me, in comic book form. He wanted friends and to be popluar, but he was just too shy and nerdy - somewhat of an outcast - just like me.
And Spider-Man? Well, Spider-Man was the exact opposite. He was strong, people liked him and he was popular with the kids. He was a super hero. He was who I imagined myself being. Yet, despite all of his super powers, he still had real-world problems and had to deal with real-world issues. He was seemingly unlike all the other super heros who were rich, good-looking and super popular. Peter Parker/Spider-Man was just a normal, every day kid, just like me.
Of course, like most comic book stories, the conclusion wasn't going to happen in that issue. Oh, noo! What was I going to do? I have to know how this will end. Will Spider-Man defeat the bad guy? Will he find out what happened to his Aunt May? I had to know, but I had to wait an agonizing month to find out.
I must have read that comic 3 or 4 times, trying to figure out what was going on, looking for clues to help me understand more about it. I couldn't wait to read the next issue. Then, finally my mother had to go to the pharmacy again. This time, instead of simply looking at the covers of all the comics, I went in looking for the cover of ONE particular comic.
Yep, it was there, and yes, my mother bought it for me. I was hooked on this comic book already and it became a life-long obsession.
My Favorite Spider-Man Comic
Every comic book collector not only has a favorite comic, but they also have a favorite issue of that comic. Of course, I'm no exception. Spider-Man has been around for 60 years and there are so many good stories. Although it's really hard to narrow it down to just one, I think that I've managed to do it. You might think that it's one of the typical ones like Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, or The Amazing Spider-Man #1. Maybe it's issue #50, when Peter Parked decides to give up being Spider-Man. Or, maybe it's issue #100, or #121 - the death of Gwen Stacy, or 238 - the introduction of the Hobgoblin, or one of the seemingly countless other milestone issues. All of those are good guesses, but they're all wrong. My favorite issue of The Amazing Spider-Man is considered to be a key issue of the comic series, so it is a "milestone." However, it's not really considered to be an iconic story. I'm talking about issue #200 - "The Spider and the Burglar...A Sequel!" Peter has lost his powers and is trying to figure out why Mysterio rigged Aunt May's death, and who trashed her home. He is shocked to learn that it was done by the man who shot and killed his Uncle Ben. Thought he is without his powers, Spidey manages to corner the Burglar later on in the story and they have an epic battle. I'm not going to summarize the entire issue, but let's just say that it doesn't end like a normal Spider-Man story would. I think the reason this is my favorite issue is because this actually turns out to be more of a Peter Parker story than a Spider-Man story. Peter has to overcome some difficult odds and accomplish some amazing things, all without having his super powers to rely on. He proved to himself that he's not that weak, shy, skinny little boy he once was. He's something more now. Even without his powers, he's...well...he's amazing! I learned that I, too, didn't need super powers to be somebody. I didn't need super powers to gain friends. I didn't need super powers to feel that I was special. All I needed to do was to believe in myself.