The Amazing Spider-Man #1 - Huh?

I was re-reading Amazing Spider-Man #1 last night.  This is the first issue in the long running series...not the origin issue of Amazing Fantasy #15.  It had been a while since I had read this story.  And while I am usually pretty willing to suspend my dis-belief and explore more fantastical stories when reading a comic, one has to admit that Stan Lee was really reaching in this issue!

The story introduces us to J. Jonah Jameson, the editor of the Daily Bugle.  From the start, he has it out for Spider-Man.  He thinks he is a menace.  Well...in this story, JJJ's son, who is a military test pilot, finds his spacecraft totally out of control shortly after launch.  Who can save him? Well, you guessed it, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

My favorite panel here is the one showing the "steel net" that was sent up to supposedly catch the space craft...which, by the way, is somehow magically flying in the atmosphere.  Huh?  Stan clearly wanted to have a spacecraft story here given it was 1962.  But, really?!?!

Anyway...we can rest in the knowledge that Spider-man went on to much more believable (in a fantasy sense, anyway) escapades in future issues, and became one of the great comic icons in America.

Oh...one more thing...you don't need to spend thousands to see these panels reprinted on four-color newsprint.  The scans above are from Marvel Tales #138, which reprints the entire issue of Amazing Spider-Man #1 in its entirety.  These books were printed in the 1970's and can be had for a few dollars today.

Until next time...