AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963-98; 2003-13) #6
CGC VF+: 8.5
(Stock Image)
SOLD ON: Sunday, 03/17/2024 6:15 PM
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PUBLISHER: Marvel
COMIC BOOK IMPACT: rating of 8 (CBI)
COMMENTS: A 15% BUYER'S PREMIUM WILL BE ADDED TO THIS ITEM AT CONCLUSION OF THE AUCTION
crm/ow pages Sl(A-1): sm amt of color touch on cover
1st appearance of the Lizard (w/ origin) and Dr. Curtis Connors; Steve Ditko cover/art; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 8 (CBI)
Jon Berk Collection
Read Description ▼
crm/ow pages Sl(A-1): sm amt of color touch on cover
1st appearance of the Lizard (w/ origin) and Dr. Curtis Connors; Steve Ditko cover/art; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 8 (CBI)
Jon Berk Collection
DESCRIPTION
A 15% BUYER'S PREMIUM WILL BE ADDED TO THIS ITEM AT CONCLUSION OF THE AUCTION
crm/ow pages Sl(A-1): sm amt of color touch on cover
1st appearance of the Lizard (w/ origin) and Dr. Curtis Connors; Steve Ditko cover/art; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 8 (CBI)
Jon Berk Collection
Amazing Spider-Man #6 has Spider-Man facing the first appearance of the Lizard — who's both another bad guy with an animal origin and another sympathetic villain in the emerging Marvel Age. In this case, scientist Curt Connors had researched the regenerative power of lizards to create a serum that would help him regrow his missing arm. The good news is that the arm grows back; the bad news is that Connors is now a crazed lizard out to conquer the world.
This issue's classic cover is another outstanding moment in presenting Spider-Man as an embattled hero, with a wild color scheme that backs the claim that "The Marvel Age is Here!" Stan Lee & Steve Ditko also set up more of the enduring Spider-Man mythos throughout this issue. The story starts with the Daily Bugle daring Spider-Man to investigate reports of a lizard-man in Florida, only for Spidey to goad publisher J. Jonah Jameson into sending along a photographer after accepting the challenge. That leads to JJJ giving the job to Peter Parker, and then tagging along on the assignment. That leads to an ambitious mix of comedy and tragedy that's helped to keep this beloved comic going as a top investment of the Silver Age!
_________________________________________________
Artist Information
Steve Ditko was an American comics artist and writer best known for being the co-creator of Marvel superhero Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange. He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man, revolutionizing the character's red and yellow design.
Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin. During this time, he began his long association with Charlton Comics, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero Captain Atom in 1960.
During the summer of 1958, writer-editor Stan Lee invited Ditko back to Atlas. Ditko would go on to contribute a large number of stories, many considered classic, to Atlas/Marvel's Strange Tales and the newly launched Amazing Adventures, Strange Worlds, Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish, issues of which would typically open with a Kirby-drawn monster story, followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck, Paul Reinman, or Joe Sinnott, all capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflective short by Ditko and Stan Lee. The first collaboration between Ditko and Lee was 2-Gun Western #4 (May 1956), which was also Ditko's only non-fantasy story.
These Lee-Ditko short stories proved so popular that Amazing Adventures was reformatted to feature such stories exclusively beginning with issue #7 (Dec. 1961), when the comic was rechristened Amazing Adult Fantasy, a name intended to reflect its more "sophisticated" nature, as likewise the new tagline "The magazine that respects your intelligence". Lee in 2009 described these "short, five-page filler strips that Steve and I did together", originally "placed in any of our comics that had a few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry-type endings." Giving an early example of what would later be known as the "Marvel Method" of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said, "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect."
During the 1950s, Ditko also drew for Atlas Comics, a forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel. Ditko was the artist for the first 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, co-creating much of the Spider-Man supporting characters and villains with Stan Lee. Beginning with issue #25, Ditko was also credited as the plotter. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and the "Doctor Strange" feature in Strange Tales, Ditko left Marvel for a variety of reasons, including creative differences and unpaid royalties.
Ditko continued to work for Charlton and also DC Comics, including a revamp of the long-running character the Blue Beetle and creating or co-creating the Question, the Creeper, Shade the Changing Man, and Hawk and Dove. Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A, a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Ditko largely declined to give interviews, saying he preferred to communicate through his work.
Ditko was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. He will be posthumously honored as a Disney Legend in 2024.
crm/ow pages Sl(A-1): sm amt of color touch on cover
1st appearance of the Lizard (w/ origin) and Dr. Curtis Connors; Steve Ditko cover/art; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 8 (CBI)
Jon Berk Collection
Amazing Spider-Man #6 has Spider-Man facing the first appearance of the Lizard — who's both another bad guy with an animal origin and another sympathetic villain in the emerging Marvel Age. In this case, scientist Curt Connors had researched the regenerative power of lizards to create a serum that would help him regrow his missing arm. The good news is that the arm grows back; the bad news is that Connors is now a crazed lizard out to conquer the world.
This issue's classic cover is another outstanding moment in presenting Spider-Man as an embattled hero, with a wild color scheme that backs the claim that "The Marvel Age is Here!" Stan Lee & Steve Ditko also set up more of the enduring Spider-Man mythos throughout this issue. The story starts with the Daily Bugle daring Spider-Man to investigate reports of a lizard-man in Florida, only for Spidey to goad publisher J. Jonah Jameson into sending along a photographer after accepting the challenge. That leads to JJJ giving the job to Peter Parker, and then tagging along on the assignment. That leads to an ambitious mix of comedy and tragedy that's helped to keep this beloved comic going as a top investment of the Silver Age!
_________________________________________________
Artist Information
Steve Ditko was an American comics artist and writer best known for being the co-creator of Marvel superhero Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange. He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man, revolutionizing the character's red and yellow design.
Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin. During this time, he began his long association with Charlton Comics, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero Captain Atom in 1960.
During the summer of 1958, writer-editor Stan Lee invited Ditko back to Atlas. Ditko would go on to contribute a large number of stories, many considered classic, to Atlas/Marvel's Strange Tales and the newly launched Amazing Adventures, Strange Worlds, Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish, issues of which would typically open with a Kirby-drawn monster story, followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck, Paul Reinman, or Joe Sinnott, all capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflective short by Ditko and Stan Lee. The first collaboration between Ditko and Lee was 2-Gun Western #4 (May 1956), which was also Ditko's only non-fantasy story.
These Lee-Ditko short stories proved so popular that Amazing Adventures was reformatted to feature such stories exclusively beginning with issue #7 (Dec. 1961), when the comic was rechristened Amazing Adult Fantasy, a name intended to reflect its more "sophisticated" nature, as likewise the new tagline "The magazine that respects your intelligence". Lee in 2009 described these "short, five-page filler strips that Steve and I did together", originally "placed in any of our comics that had a few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry-type endings." Giving an early example of what would later be known as the "Marvel Method" of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said, "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect."
During the 1950s, Ditko also drew for Atlas Comics, a forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel. Ditko was the artist for the first 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, co-creating much of the Spider-Man supporting characters and villains with Stan Lee. Beginning with issue #25, Ditko was also credited as the plotter. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and the "Doctor Strange" feature in Strange Tales, Ditko left Marvel for a variety of reasons, including creative differences and unpaid royalties.
Ditko continued to work for Charlton and also DC Comics, including a revamp of the long-running character the Blue Beetle and creating or co-creating the Question, the Creeper, Shade the Changing Man, and Hawk and Dove. Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A, a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Ditko largely declined to give interviews, saying he preferred to communicate through his work.
Ditko was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. He will be posthumously honored as a Disney Legend in 2024.