It's pretty obvious at distance in time that without The Amazing Spider-Man would be far less well known than he is. Despite working in comics for most all of his life of over seven decades, it remains the work he did with Stan Lee from 1962 until 1965 on Spidey that will be his greatest claim to fame.
Of course, the first cover featuring Spidey was rendered by the great Jack "King" Kirby. But it's all Ditko underneath in this issue of Amazing Fantasy. This is the story that introduces to the bookworm Peter Parker, the teenager who was bitten by a radioactive spider and didn't die, but rather was gifted with an array of superpowers.
This is what Ditko turned in for his version of the cover. Stan made the right call when he opted to have Kirby give it more drama and more mystery. The Spidey origin story struck an immediate chord with young fans who were struck by the realism evident in the series from the get-go. That Peter Parker was young wasn't that novel, but that he approached his powers with a degree of glee and selfishness, a selfishness that caused a great personal tragedy left a mark on readers. Stan and Steve hit it out of the park.
Kirby and Ditko combine their talents when it came to the debut issue of Spider-Man. Given that it co-stars the Fab 4 that makes some sense. After this one though, it's all Ditko. (With a notable exception or two along the way.) The Chameleon debuts as Spidey's first baddie.
The original Vulture is so scary. Theft from above. There is also the notion of age versus youth. The Terrible Tinkerer story was not a good fit for Spidey and I'm glad they revised it years later.
When you describe Doctor Octopus he sounds ridiculous, but somehow he works. Doc Ock proved to be perhaps Spidey's most relentless foe for many years, second only to the Green Goblin.
Sandman is easily one of my favorite villains, if he's still a villain these days. I don't track anymore. Ditko's realistic portrayal of Flint Marko made his bizarre body morphing powers even stranger.
Everyone has to fight Doom at some point. It's good proof of a broader Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, Steve Ditko didn't draw a good Doc Doom. It's funny and indicative of the pure style of both Ditko and Kirby in that they had a hard time drawing one another's creations.
In some ways the Lizard is Spidey's scariest villain, a man who loses all control and becomes an actual monster. Spidey had to leave the confines of NYC for this adventure and frankly he doesn't play well without the tall buildings around him.
The Vulture returns to battle Spidey again in the seventh issue. The book was really coming into its own with this adventure, finding a good blend between the action and the soap opera which was Parker's life.
Spidey's longtime relationship with Johnny Storm is one of the highlights of early Marvel stories. These two teenagers understood, to some extent each other. Flash Thompson was a great character, full of bravado but Spider-Man's greatest fan as he was Peter's biggest pain.
Electro was perhaps too powerful a villain for Spider-Man but our hero prevailed nonetheless. Though you can't tell that by the cover. I like Electro, but he is a goofy looking baddie.
Kirby drew this Spidey figure though Ditko drew The Enforcers. Below is Ditko's rejected cover. This is the kind of thing Ditko excelled at, drawing thugs and mobsters. This is a great story and sets up one of Spidey's greatest endings.
Here's the cover that Ditko originally turned in. It is fill with frenetic action, but it is less dramatic. I liked it when Spidey duked it out with more street-level thugs.
When Doc Ock finally returns for revenge the life of Spider-Man and Peter Parker collides as his loved ones come under direct threat.
It took some real skill to make this cover image work in a story which doesn't cheat. There's no dream sequence here or imaginary story as was often the case at DC for such cover gimmicks.
Mysterio is probably the best designed villain in the line-up. I love everything about his look. He comes at Spider-Man indirectly and that makes him doubly dangerous.
The Green Goblin of course is numero uno in the rogues gallery and we meet him for the first time here. The Hulk was on his Marvel Universe walkabout after the cancellation of his first series. The Enforcers are back as well, though I don't think they work as well as in their debut.
We meet Kraven the Hunter for the first time as he teams with returning Chameleon to tackle our hero. Kraven is more purely a villain here, his sense of fair play is not all that evident.
This is my favorite story in the collection. "The Sinister Six" join forces under the leadership of Doc Ock and force Spider-Man to run a gauntlet of battles to save Aunt May and Betty Brant. Dikto's art is reaching its peak with this magnificent extra-long story which features a raft of cameos from across the still young Marvel Universe. The splash pages alone are worth the ticket price.
This was the very first Ditko Spider-Man story I ever read, albeit in a reprint. The battle between Spidey and Daredevil was a delight and the Circus of Crime was just enough of a threat to make things interesting.
The Torch returns as does the Green Goblin. This one is a hoot and a great way to end this first stage of Spider-Man's career. Ditko is becoming more and more confident in his skills and is beginning to dictate more and more about how the series will progress. The results of that development will be quite evident in the second volume titled "Great Responsibility". More on that later.
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