This cover is from THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4. It's not the last time this kind of panelized cover was used on an early Marvel Comic, but it is one of the most extreme examples of such on a title after superheroes had taken over the company. Ditko referred to this form a few times afterward, but never again in just such a manner.
The cover to this book is one of the most recognizable of the early issues of Spider-Man. And I think it must have sold very well, because it's one of the most common issues that I would run across in my days as a dealer of back issue comic books. It was rare that I didn't have at least one copy of this issue in my back-issue stock. So the cover art obviously did its job. Why Marvel's artists trended away from it I cannot say. Perhaps they hit a point at which they began to look upon it as dated and archaic. I don't know.
My personal copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #4. What a great villain Ditko created in The Sandman! |
4 comments:
My favorite Spidey villain was Mysterio, the guy who had gadgets specifically designed to nullify Spiderman's powers.
I always thought the character was a clever idea.
Mysterio was a good villain. Classic Ditko archetype. He was another one used once as a mystery-villain-in-disguise. This was a unique move on Ditko's part wherein he would have a villain unmasked to be...a previously introduced villain!
Another superhero example of this practice was Tales to Astonish #45 where Antman suddenly ages right before our eyes, panel after panel.
That would be TTA #43. And it's a classic cover type from pre-hero Marvel that bled over into the superhero days. For a brief time.
I've always wondered if this was a type of cover favored for a while by Jack Kirby, or if it was an editorial request made by Stan Lee of his principle cover artists at the time.
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