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Author:
Title: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 16
Place Published:
Publisher:Marvel [Indicia: Non-Pareil Publishing Group]
Date Published: September, 1964
Description:

CGC certified: VG (4.0). Off-white pages. Not cleaned and pressed. Cover: Steve Ditko pencils and inks, Stan Goldberg colors. Story: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Art: Steve Ditko. Colors: Stan Goldberg. Lettering: Sam Rosen. GPAnalysis: A 4.0 sold for $689 in 8/22.

Blind grind: 1st Spidey/DD crossover. Key mag for Daredevil worshippers. Daredevil's blindness is a double-edged sword: it enables him to resist the Ringmaster's hypno-hat, but results in sartorial shame, as revealed years later in What If? #8 (Spidey to DD: "Let's face it, masked man! Nobody with 20/20 vision would have designed a tacky yellow n' etc. outfit like that!").

Cop plop: Meanwhile, over on the letters page, reader Richard Weingroff of Baltimore, Maryland salutes Stan and Steve for their positive portrayal of cops: "I've noticed that Spider-Man is the first comic in which the police have been given a bit of recognition. Too often police are ignored even though they do a good job of handling the necessary task of protecting law and order." It just so happens that Ditko's increasing interest in Objectivism went hand-in-hand with an interest in police-work bordering on adulation (see lot 28). Indeed, Ditko was such a cop nut that his over-the-top enthusiasm for the fuzz alienated real-life cop Pete Morisi, who moonlighted as a comic book artist when he wasn't pounding his beat:

"Ditko told Morisi he envied him, in that Ditko would enjoy an opportunity to arrest criminals. Ditko's evolving philosophical views made Morisi feel a little uncomfortable. To the best of my knowledge, the two men never spoke again." – Blake Bell, Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko. Fantagraphics: 2008, p. 87.

Enjoying the Spidey Sale? Order a fully-illustrated softcover catalogue for 30 bucks. Only about 100 copies were printed and they're going fast. To reserve a copy, contact PBA's Director of Comics: ivan@pbagalleries.com.

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