My Amazing Spider-Man Collection

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I'm dedicating this page to my Amazing Spider-Man collection. I'll post some pictures of my collection, along with some pictures of some of my most-prized issues. There's also a list of what issues I need to complete my collection. If you know of anyone who is selling any of the issues I'm missing, feel free to drop me a message on the "Contact Me" page.

The Amazing Spider-Man was actually considered to be kind of a "throw away" character by Stan Lee. In 1962, with the success of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics editor and head writer Stan Lee was kicking around a new superhero idea. He said the idea for Spider-Man arose from a surge in teenage demand for comic books, and the desire to create a character with whom teens could identify. 

He was inspired to create his new character by a pulp magazine character called The Spider and by watching a spider climb up a wall. He chose the name "Spider-Man" because he wanted the character to age as the series progressed, and moreover felt the name "Spider-Boy" would have made the character sound inferior to other superheroes.

After several meetings with then Marvel publisher Martin Goodman, Stan finally got the approval to "try out" Spider-Man in what would be the final issue of Amazing Adult Fantasy, which was shortened to Amazing Fantasy for only that single issue. Stan thought that this would be his only chance to "get it out of his system," and actually considered Amazing Fantasy #15 to be the only issue that Spider-Man would appear in.

On June 5, 1962, The Amazing Spider-Man made his debut. To the surprise of everyone, except for maybe Stan Lee, the hero turned out to be a complete hit. In fact, the overwhelming positive response to the character garnered him his own ongoing series in March 1963. 

The Amazing Spider-Man #1 debuted in March, 1963 and quickly became Marvel's top selling series. Spider-Man had become a cultural icon. In fact, a 1965 Esquire poll of college campuses found that college students ranked Spider-Man and fellow Marvel hero the Hulk alongside Bob Dylan and Che Guevara as their favorite revolutionary icons. One interviewee selected Spider-Man because he was "beset by woes, money problems, and the question of existence. In short, he is one of us." 

Spider-Man has proven to be one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes of all-time. He has appeared in countless forms of media, including several animated TV series, a live action television series, syndicated newspaper comic strips, and in multiple series of films. The character was first portrayed in live action by Danny Seagren in Spidey Super Stories, a The Electric Company skit which ran from 1974 to 1977. In films, Spider-Man has been portrayed by actors Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tom Holland. He was voiced by Chris Pine and Jake Johnson in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Reeve Carney starred originally as Spider-Man in the 2010 Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Spider-Man has been well received as a superhero and comic book character, and he is often ranked as one of the most popular and iconic comic book characters of all time and one of the most popular characters in all fiction.

And 60 years later, The Amazing Spider-Man is still going strong. Probably stronger now, more than ever, thanks to the success of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This page is a constant work in progress, so check back often for updates and new pictures.