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Title: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 2 * Steve Ditko Collection
Place Published:
Publisher:Marvel [Indicia: Non-Pareil Publishing Group]
Date Published: 23132
Description:

CGC certified: VG (4.0). Off-white to white pages. STEVE DITKO COLLECTION. Cover: Steve Ditko pencils and inks, Stan Goldberg colors. Story: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Art: Steve Ditko. Colors: Stan Goldberg. Lettering: John Duffy, Artie Simek. First appearance: The Vulture.

Provenance: From the Steve Ditko Estate, CGC-certified as Steve Ditko's personal copy, and with a certificate of authenticity signed by Mr. Patrick S. Ditko, Steve Ditko's brother. Not cleaned and pressed in order to preserve all traces of Steve Ditko's handling. GPAnalysis: PBA sold a Ditko Collection 6.5 for $10,625 in 12/22. A non-Ditko Collection 4.0 sold for $2500 in 5/23.

A note on the Ditko Collection: Steve Ditko owned from one to three copies of each of the 41 Spider-Man comics that he drew (comprising Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #s 1-38, and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #s 1 & 2). The only complete set of 41 Spidey comics belonging to Ditko was featured in PBA's 12/22 "Spidey Sale, Including the Steve Ditko Collection Part One"; an incomplete set of 23 Ditko Collection Spidey comics was offered in 2021 by Heritage; and a final incomplete set of 19 Ditko Collection Spidey comics is offered in this sale.

Ditko Collection Census: There are two Ditko Collection copies of ASM #2: 4.0 and 6.5.

A grizzled gaffer sporting mechanical wings goes on a crime spree, robbing banks and stores with a vigor borne of desperation. His nom de "plume," the Vulture, marks him as a scavenger, foraging for scraps in an urban jungle inhospitable to old buzzards. Spidey, like a Darwinian force of nature, clips the Vulture's wings, enabling the cops to cage the old bird. Soon, the crafty codger will subsist on prison mush and fantasies of revenge. All the while, Spidey and Jameson circle each other in a bizarre holding pattern of dysfunction, with Parker selling Jameson the news photos that Jameson uses to rip Spidey's rep. All of which begs the question of who's scavenging who?

"The episode is still all about fame. The Vulture is supplanting Spider-Man as the celeb who shifts copies of Jameson's papers. Spider-Man was a TV hit because he seemed to be more spider than human; today, the crowds are looking at the Vulture because he is 'more bird of prey than human.' Jameson, who was obsessed with Spider-Man, now wants to fill whole issues of his magazine with pictures of the Vulture. The Vulture actively courts publicity, announcing in advance where his crimes are going to be committed. And so Parker makes a Faustian pact to keep himself in the public eye. He is going to sell pictures of himself to Jameson, knowing full well what Jameson is will do with them." – Andrew Rilstone, Listen Bud: The First Great Graphic Novel in American Literature. Unpublished manuscript, p. 51.

A limited edition of ten hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a few dozen softcovers. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with obscure facts, gags, bon mots. Softcovers are $40, deluxe hardcovers with dust jackets and limitation plates are $200. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Fall 2023 Comic Book sale. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Find out why PBA is the new fan-fave of funnybook fiends. "This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books... Priceless." – R. Crumb. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Coming soon: The DC Universe Collection, featuring over 40,000 comics, comprising every comic book published by DC for retail sale between 1934 and 2014. Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com to get on the notifications list.