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Dan Meth's Blog

Zelig Spiderman

January 10th, 2007

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So I rented a DVD of the early 60’s crime TV show “The Naked City”, which is famous for being filmed on the streets of New York City. Well, in this one episode, there is a scene that takes place in front of a newstand and look what is clearly hanging from a wall in the background; Spiderman.

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But not just any Spiderman comic… it’s THE VERY FIRST APPEARANCE of Spiderman ever. Amazing Fantasy #15. And it’s hanging innocently like it’s just a regular comic book. And at the time it was. When they filmed this episode, NO ONE IN THE WORLD (except for Steve Ditko and Stan Lee) had any idea who Spiderman was. Now that is Amazing and Spectacular.

By the way, if sweaty old Burgess Meredith there had bought that particular comic book for 12 cents he could sell it today for 55,000 dollars.

-DAN METH

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That WOULD be truly amazing, as Burgess Meredith is now dead. ALSO, his connection to comics is playing the Penguin in the 60’s Batman tv series.

 

Hey, if anyone really has a nice AF#15 for $3K, please let me know as they’re actually worth more than 10X that!

http://www.samruby.com/AmazingFantasy/amazing_fantasy_15.htm

 

Hey, believe it or not, the comic on display next to Amazing Fantasy #15 is Journey Into Mystery #83, which is a very valuable book in its own right… it featured the very first appearance of The Mighty Thor!

 

To the right of spidey you can make out thor’s hammer from Journey into Mystery #83, also from august 1962
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_(Marvel_Comics)

 

And to its right is Journey Into Mystery #83 — the first appearance of the mighty Thor! They came out the same month in 1962.

 

AND IF YOU LOOK TO THE RIGHT….

just kidding

 

To its right is “Journey Into Mystery #83″. The first appearance of the mighty Thor!

 

Wait a minute, that’s Journey into Mistery #83! Whatever : P

 

you mean JIM 93

 

Wow, this post got more comments than any of my other posts… and it’s just 7 guys repeating the same thing.

 

I love this kind of cultural archaeology. I was watching Rocky & Bullwinkle with my son, who is about the age I was when that cartoon was originally made. When they made a reference to beatniks, I thought, “Wow, an honest to goodness *contemporary* beatnik reference.”
Yours,
Maynard

 

They’re using a clothespin to hang these comic books? No poly bags or backing boards? Yikes. :)

 

A SLIGHT VARIATION ON THE THEME:
I’VE BEEN A COMICS FAN SINCE 1960…AND IT IS ONLY NOW, IN JAN 2007 THAT I DISCOVER/REALISE THAT SPIDEY AND THOR DEBUTED IN THE SAME MONTH!

 

and look how shiny it is.

 

so what we want to know is former comic book writer Bill Woolfolk the writer or story editor of this “Naked City” episode?

 

But look! Sweat on the man near a comic!

 

“They’re using a clothespin to hang these comic books? No poly bags or backing boards? Yikes. :)”

That’s why they’re valuable now. The mass-marketing of comic-preservation supplies pretty much made sure that no modern comic will ever be as valuable as the golden-age classics. There will be far too many well-preserved bagged ‘n boarded copies around.

 
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