Yes sir, I can tell you exactly what my 8-year-old self was up to in December 1962.
I was spending my weekly allowance of a quarter to buy the first appearance of Iron Man and the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man.
Cover-dated March 1963, the two titles looked quite exciting to me. But even the adults at the time would have been excited – and astounded — if they’d known what those issues would someday be worth.
Wish I’d kept them.
One of the covers didn’t make sense to me. The Fantastic Four were fighting some weird character named “Spider-Man,” but the comic book wasn’t about them. It was about him!
I had to know what the heck was going on here, so I invested half my 25-cent weekly allowance and hauled Spider-Man 1 home from the downtown newsstand in Effingham, IL.
Turned out Spider-Man had dropped in on the FF to put in a job application (after fighting them, of course).
I had missed Spidey’s actual debut in the last issue of Amazing Fantasy months before, but I was already familiar with this then-small and unnamed but distinctive line of superheroes. Only the FF, the Incredible Hulk and the not-yet-costumed Ant-Man had preceded Spidey, and Thor debuted simultaneously with him.
Oh, by the way, I got a penny’s change back from my quarter, too.
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| Marvel Comics on sale in December 1962 |
Johnny Williams srote: Dan Hagen, You were - are Me. It's uncanny.
ReplyDeletePaul Zuckerman wrote:
ReplyDeleteI likewise had missed AF 15 so Spidey 1 was my intro to the character. I guess I picked it up because of the FF. But I also got the Tales of Suspense. While I didn't miss any issues of FF or Spidey from that point on, my Iron Man, Thor and Ant Man were spotty, but Iron Man became pretty regular rather quickly.
Still, I preferred DC! 🙂
ReplyDeleteMark Engblom wrote;
Wow! I can't even imagine being at "ground zero" when these issues hit the newsstands! Talk about being there from the beginning! What a great memory.
Bob Doncaster wrote:
ReplyDeleteWith my meager funds I could get Marvel characters first issue or appearance and collect them from there. Even though I liked them, I couldn't get Superman #1 or Batman #1. They already had hundreds of issues. Of course I still can't get them
Michael Fraley wrote:
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like my emotional state as a fan when Kirby introduced his Fourth World. I had just caught the very tail end of his career at Marvel, so I was STOKED -- and not disappointed.
Gary Scoles wrote: I was 7 at that time, not buying the right kind of comics, though.
ReplyDeleteGot many of them where my grandparents lived, not far from Effingham. Neoga,IL.
Bruce Kanin wrote:
ReplyDeleteI have a special appreciation for Iron Man's original outfit. It's kinda like Martian Manhunter when he would use his powers as John Jones with only a hint that he was MM. Simple, basic, easy to understand stuff.
Also, I love how the first Iron Man was faithful to his origin and we got to see this first IM outfit in it. Terrific stuff that helped to launch the Marvel Avengers franchise on the right foot...
ReplyDeleteBob Ruprecht wrote:
Best 25¢ spent ever …
Paul Zuckerman wrote:
ReplyDeleteI also missed AF 15 but started with Spidey 1; and, even though I wasn't as excited by Marvels generally at the time, I did get TOS 39. I think I missed some of the next issues though.
I was 10 years old and I really did not like the entire communist message. I preferred DC's approach of having made-up countries to fight with (except for the war books, of course.) Tony Stark's early career as a weapons manufacturer certainly led to a lot of Marvel dancing as the opposition to the war heated up.
ReplyDeleteBob O'Neil wrote:
Great story! I really enjoy reading about tales about our early Marvel purchases!
Fred Marra wrote:
ReplyDeleteI tended to buy more DC than Marvels back then (the first appearance of Spider-Man came out around the same time that the Flash #130 did. I purchased the Flash because he was one of my favorite characters and even to this day, knowing what I do now, I would still buy the Flash issue first). Still, Don Heck was one of my favorite artists back then and I enjoyed both his Iron Man and Ant Man stories that he drew. As I grew older and as his 1950s' material became available I appreciated his work much more. However, by the time he was drawing the Flash, something had changed in his style. Don't know what it was but I didn't care for it, especially in my favorite Silver Age character. It would have been interesting to have seen his take on the Flash had he drawn him earlier in the '60s.
Nicholas Caputo wrote:
ReplyDeleteDan Hagen, Thanks for sharing that precious memory. I wasn't there quite yet, but I do recall buying two 12 cent comics and getting a penny back (usually used for the 1 cent Bazooka Joe bubble gum at the counter!)
John Dymer wrote:
ReplyDeleteBought gum with the change to chew on the way home.
My first issue was an early X-men. I was entranced with the older college age youths realistically portrayed.
J Edward Jackson wrote:
ReplyDeleteI remember as a kid reading these stories in Marvel Tales and excerpts in Marvel Saga. Those stories are basically cocaine for kids! Lol!
James Langdell wrote:
ReplyDeleteI'll always remember the rollout of early 1960s Marvel titles.
In my neighborhood, there was a boy who had medical conditions that included was dangerously sensitive to sunlight and couldn't go outside to play safely. When he had to leave their house, he needed to wear sort of a spacesuit. His wonderful parents made their house a wonderful place to come over and hang out and play with him. They had great toys, games, and comic books. All sorts of comic books -- including DC superheroes. When Marvel launched Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man and others, their living room had them all from the first appearance. I liked DC books like Flash and Atom better, but the Marvel characters grew on me. But I'll always remember comics of that time as one bit of the love his parents displayed by making it so easy to frequently spend time with him and build friendship.
Annushka Enkeli wrote:
ReplyDeleteKinda wish I'd been born sooner so I could have seen that firsthand.
Harmony Gates wrote:
ReplyDeleteThe 'facsimile edition' carries a warning on the first story page about outdated stereotypes ☹. I personally enjoy the 60s use of communists as frequent antagonists because it gave the strip more of an edge, while providing a record of what the world was like during that era.