*Marvel: Early issues of the Amazing Spider-Man are always popular and the debuts of his major villains even more so, and this is one of the most keenly sought. Issue #3 of Spider-Man’s series saw the first appearance of Doctor Otto Octavius, a.k.a. Doctor Octopus, the villain who, perhaps jointly with the Green Goblin, is regarded as our hero’s definitive nemesis. Doc Ock (as he’s familiarly known) has been the bête noire of Spidey for decades, but this is where the vendetta began. This is a low grade, pence printed copy. There are plenty of flaws, but none too horrific. There is a softish central crease vertically down the cover, like a subscription crease but not as severe, occasionally breaking colour. Spine splits at top (3.5 cm) and bottom (0.5 cm). Off top staple, bottom okay, although off at centrefold. Small pea-sized hole in front cover in Spidey’s right arm. Chipping towards bottom right edge, with small chips out. Narrow dust shadow along right edge. Moderate tanning around the edges of inside covers. Edge wear isn’t too bad at all, but there are some creases that break colour along the bottom edge. However, the cover colour is good with a strong image; pages are a reasonable cream to light tan. Pictured below; high resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #3 FA/GD p £1,000