Heading:
Author:
Title: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 55
Place Published:
Publisher:Marvel [Indicia: Non-Pareil Publishing Group]
Date Published: December, 1967
Description:

CGC certified: Fine (6.0). Off-white pages. Not cleaned and pressed. Cover: John Romita pencils, Mike Esposito inks?, Stan Goldberg colors. Story: Stan Lee and John Romita. Pencils: John Romita. Inks: Mike Esposito (credited as Mickey Dimeo). Lettering: Sam Rosen. GPAnalysis: A 6.0 sold for $220 in 7/22.

Ersatz father figure Doc Ock gives Spidey a figurative six-armed spanking, culminating in Spidey losing his memory. Ock, leaning into his symbolic father-figure role, decides to mold an impressionable tabula rasa Spidey in his own image. Spidey scholar Andrew Rilstone has an intriguing head-canon explanation for the web of coincidence and circumstance that links Spidey and Ock, postulating that both characters are unknowing avatars of a mysterious overarching force:

"Doctor Octopus has been consumed by the Dark Side of the Spider-Force. He can channel the Spider-Force to give his flimsy metal arms incredible power. It may be that he is consumed with hubris and paranoia due to brain damage; but it may be that at some level he sees that his link to the Force does potentially make him the most powerful human being on earth. And if that is correct – well, is it at all surprising that the Spider-Force keeps drawing the two of them together? And is it surprising that the Dark Side of the Spider Force draws Octopus to places and circumstances that will hurt Peter Parker? And is it in any way surprising that Doctor Octopus is completely obsessed with Spider-Man, and Spidey is equally obsessed with Doc Ock?" – Rilstone, Listen Bud: The First Great Graphic Novel in American Literature. Unpublished manuscript, p. 202.

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.

Consign to PBA Galleries. Our comic sales average a 98% sell-through rate, our prices realized are top-of-the-market, and our research-intensive catalogues are the best in the business. Seeking Silver Age Marvel, Golden Age superheroes, and pre-Code horror. Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.