About Me

I've been collecting Amazing Spider-Man comics since I first used my $1 allowance at the corner candy store to buy Amazing Spider-Man #296 in 1987. Chasing Amazing follows my journey to collect every issue of this series, while also reminiscing about how I got to this point. Expect new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with additional posts depending on its relevance and my mood that week.

Additionally, I'm a professional writer and editor living in Brooklyn, NY, who has written for newspapers, web-sites and corporate publications. I write the "Gimmick or Good?" column at Comic Book Resource's Comics Should Be Good blog, and also contribute to such esteemed sites as ComicBook.com, Sequart.org and Longbox Graveyard. I'm the co-host of the Amazing Spider-Talk podcast, which reviews new issues of Spider-Man every month as well as looks back on classic comics. Please check out Chasing Amazing's sister-site, superiorspidertalk.com for video podcasts, reviews and additional content.

If you want to talk to me about Chasing Amazing, Superior Spider-Talk, comics, writing, or anything, leave a comment in the comments section, e-mail me at chasingamazingblog at gmail dot com, or follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

All original material on this site is © Mark Ginocchio and Chasing Amazing, 2010-2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Mark Ginocchio and Chasing Amazing with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

All images included on this site are for purposes of review and research and are not intended to interfere with the copyright holder's right to use such material for their own commercial goals.

Comments (22)

dustin schmidt April 30, 2011 at 9:54 pm

Just found your blog. Good luck to you. I have collected since 1986 and the back issues of Amasing Spiderman are very expensive. I have alot myself and can help you out with some you need for a descent price. But don't think I have alot of way back issues, just saying if I have somenthing you don't I will help you out.

Robert Swathwood May 07, 2011 at 9:11 am

This is such a cool idea, only wish I would have though of it first because I also love Spider-Man(I named my son Parker). I will be coming back to your blog on a regular basis to check it out and I'm putting you on my blog roll. Keep up the good work.

Mitch May 08, 2011 at 9:17 pm

i saw this online and it looks like your missing no. 12? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Amazing-Spider-Man-12-Doctor-Octopus-1964-F-G-1-5-/150598650752?pt=AU_Books_Comics&hash=item2310610b80

Marley May 16, 2011 at 12:37 pm

I knew you collected comics as a kid, but I had no idea the extent of it! Good luck and God's Speed on your quest. PS: Nice work with the name Chasing Amazing... I'm sure you've gotten a chuckle out of Kevin Smith for that one!

Gavin May 22, 2011 at 3:59 pm

Thanks for the link! And there is no way I'm racing you!

Brian July 02, 2011 at 2:55 am

I'm not racing you either, but my first Spider-Man issue was Amazing #259 (the yellow cover with the return to the red & blues).

jordi August 28, 2011 at 4:31 am

Hi from Spain! I have been collecting Spider-man comics since I was less than 7 years old, But, since my collection is in Spanish version, it got far more cheap than your project sure is. Good luck!

New Collector December 01, 2011 at 12:09 pm

In my own quest to collect every issue of Amazing Spider-man I found you blog. Great job! I am interested in your opinion on the ASM variants. Do you collect the ASM variants, or just one comic per issue? Finding and buying the variants seems to be slowing me down from collecting all of the issues. ASM #666, in particular, with over 150 variants, is a wallet breaker.

Travis January 31, 2012 at 10:19 pm

Hey, love your reviews. I am doing something similar (although I am trying to read my way through all marvel comics), so I salute you for taking on a major task. I am collecting digitally if possible though....you must have a lot of room taken up by all those long boxes.. My wife would kill me if I tried that.

Mike February 04, 2012 at 5:07 pm

What a cool idea! I have been reading ASM since I was a kid and have also tasked myself with attempting to collect every issue. It is so much fun and I wish you the best of luck.

Lex Luthor July 18, 2012 at 1:16 pm

I love Spiderman fan sites. A friend of mine showed me OnlineSpiderGames.com, tons of Spiderman games, movies, images and more. I personally don't collect anything but I'm a hugh fan of SM.

Donnie December 13, 2012 at 12:38 pm

I been collecting since I was 5 , I;m 42 now, my earliest issue seeing on the newsstand was #136, but I recall buying #166 (lizard). My chase ended last september- I bought issue 1 . So The only thing I"m missing is amazing fantasy #1 .What issues are you missing because I do have some older issues for sale including #18

Cory January 02, 2013 at 2:03 pm

Im trying something similar, though I cant decide if i'll collect all the variants... thanks for the inspiration that this can be done! Out of curiosity, you said you were missing six issues a few posts back, which ones?

Mark Ginocchio January 02, 2013 at 2:11 pm

Happy collecting. Obviously the call is yours if you want to include variants. I don't consider them part of my "chase" but that's not to say out in the future, I won't make an effort. That's what makes collecting fun - you make your own rules! If you check the right sidebar on the front page of the site, I list which issues I'm missing. I may actually narrow that number down to 5, but more on that in another post.

Neil Vig April 16, 2013 at 11:45 am

Cool blog. I would like to do something similar with my Fantastic Four collection.

Mark Ginocchio April 16, 2013 at 1:08 pm

Hope you do. Look fwd to reading it if that's the case. How far along on FF are you?

Marvel Slots February 05, 2014 at 3:20 pm

Hi Mark, Very interesting blog you have here. I am researching an idea behind the origin of a Spiderman casino game that we feature. Would you happen to have any insight on how Marvel (and the Spiderman franchise) is associated to gaming? Many thanks for the interesting reading material and looking forward to your reply. Imre

Tony Goodwyn February 10, 2014 at 3:53 am

Oh, very nice. I just started collecting the run of ASM last year, so I've got a ways to go, but I like what you've organized here so far. You're not on Tumblr, are you?

Jason May 07, 2014 at 9:21 pm

Cool site,found a lot of simularites in my spidey collecting history My first spiderman purchased off the rack was #154 with the sandman. My best friend Brad introduced me to spidey way back in the 2nd grade and there was no turning back.I personally need 6 more amazing's to complete my collection. Good luck and keep up the great work on the podcasts!

Dan "SpidermanGeek" Briand September 02, 2014 at 12:38 pm

Hey Mark. I love what you're doing here. I've only read a couple of your posts so far, but I already feel a certain kinship to your exploits here. I'm also in the process of "Chasing Amazing" and my history with Amazing Spider-Man follows a pretty similar path as yours with my very first issue being #312 which as you know was just a little over a year after you acquired #296. I currently also co-host a Comic Book Review Podcast, blog about my Spider-Man collection and occasionally write articles and reviews for ComicAttack.net. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I look forward to discovering more about your journey in Chasing Amazing and seeing just how far you've gotten so far. Kudos again on a great looking site. ~Dan

Eric Cox October 12, 2014 at 6:55 am

I have been a huge spider-man fan since I was a kid (32 now) and you have inspired me so much to begin my own chase which I have started this year. I love the site and the podcast. I look forward to it Everytime it comes out. -Eric

Jeff Hicks January 16, 2015 at 5:38 pm

I too am working on collecting every issue of ASM. I started in 2007 when I graduated from High School. I recently had to stop, but I'm almost to 375-400 (maybe more) issues.

Comments are closed.