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Title: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 32 * Steve Ditko Collection
Place Published:
Publisher:Marvel [Indicia: Non-Pareil Publishing Group]
Date Published: 24108
Description:

CGC certified: VG+ (4.5). Cream to off-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: Sam Rosen.

Provenance: From the Steve Ditko Estate, CGC-certified as Steve Ditko's personal copy, and with a certificate of authenticity signed by PBA's Director of Comics and Mr. Patrick 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 5.0 for $2812 in 12/22. Heritage sold a Ditko Collection 6.5 for $3600 in 9/22. A non-Ditko Collection 4.5 sold for $104 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 three Ditko Collection copies of ASM #32: 4.5, 5.0 and 6.5.

"The more one scratches the surface, the more compelling becomes the idea that Ditko is book-ending his graphic novel, gathering themes together, saying goodbye. In Amazing Fantasy #15, Peter Parker had no friends and whinged about it; in Amazing Spider- Man #32 he actively drives his friends away and couldn't give a damn. In the first story, Uncle Ben gave Peter a microscope; in this final one, he pawns a microscope to save Aunt May's life. In Amazing Spider-Man #1 it was Aunt May pawning her jewelry for Pete's sake. But... the whole energy of the trilogy comes from a single fact. When he first became Spider-Man, Peter Parker failed to act, and as a result, Uncle Ben died. In this final story he acts obsessively, fanatically, almost insanely in order to keep Aunt May alive. 'It can't happen again! It mustn't! It mustn't! There must be some way to save her! There must be!'" – Andrew Rilstone, Listen Bud: The First Great Graphic Novel in American Literature. Unpublished manuscript, p. 365.

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.