*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: In 1968, Marvel made its first stab at distributing to the wider magazine market, rather than the comics readers, in what was a brave but premature attempt to broaden their readership. Spectacular Spider-Man was launched in July 1968, with a 52 page black & white Lee & Romita story, ‘Lo…This Monster!’, plus a further 10 pager by Lee, Lieber & Everett recapping Spidey’s origins. The second issue was released in November that year, with a 58 page tale, ‘The Goblin Lives!’ by Lee & Romita, but despite a spectacular painted cover, the addition of full colour to the interiors, and the star power of Spidey’s greatest foe, it still didn’t ‘take’, and Marvel withdrew from the magazine market for several years. These lovely items are genuinely uncommon in the UK – the first was only spottily distributed, and the second not at all, as far as we know.
PICTURED: SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN
#1 VG+ £20 SOLD
#2 FN/VF £40 SOLD