Monthly Archive:: August 2011

I’m concluding the birthday haul with a biggie – not that issues 12, 10, 7 and 5 aren’t biggies either. But we’re talking Amazing Spider-Man #2 here – the second-ever issue of my favorite comic book series of all-time, and only the third-ever appearance of Spider-Man (don’t forget about

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With the six-part Ultimate Fallout: Spider-Man No More series recently wrapped, I’ve been reminded why I’ve never been much of a fan of Marvel’s “Ultimate” universe. I guess it all comes down to a matter of taste. I’ve always been more of a traditionalist when it comes to my

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Picking out a favorite issue of Amazing Spider-Man is akin to a parent picking their favorite child. Sure, secretly, deep down, they recognize that there’s a black seep in the family, but that can never be publicly acknowledged unless the parent is willing to foot an expensive therapist bill

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My Amazing Spider-Man collection has gone through numerous fits and starts over the years. When I was younger, I didn’t have the attention span to be fixated on one specific comic book series or character and when I was in my teen years, I learned very quickly that serious

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The first and greatest lesson ever learned by Peter Parker/Spider-Man was “with great power comes great responsibility.” It’s a mantra dozens of Amazing Spider-Man writers have repeated and recited like the “Pledge of Allegiance.” The idea behind this mantra goes back to the origins of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy

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My older brother was my first best friend. Since he’s five years older than me, he also was a bit of an authority figure for me too, especially when I was still in elementary school – the go-to babysitter and mentor who I could also spend a Saturday afternoon

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I’m always interested to look back at comic books from 40 or 50 years ago and see what has aged well versus what seems dated for the time. Amazing Spider-Man #10, the second issue in my much bally-hooed 30th birthday haul, features the first appearance of a gang of

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I’ve always taken pride in my memory. I can think back to something that happened in my life 15 or 20 years ago and recount a number of mundane details, like the expressions on people’s faces, what I had for lunch that day, or what song was on the

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If I’ve learned anything from popular culture is that a fictitious bully character has to have a back-story that generates a little bit of sympathy, or at least a better understanding of why the bully bullies. Considering there have been plenty of real-life cases of bullying where they bullies

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Apparently, if you’re a comic book collector looking to complete a run of a specific series, the two best things you can do is start a blog and have a milestone birthday. That way, all of your loved ones will conspire to get you stuff you’re essentially publicly begging

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