The Amazing Spider-Man #14(cover July 1964, on newsstands on April 9, 1964, 12¢) — “The Green Goblin!” », text by Stan Lee, boards by Steve Ditko, Marvel Comics. Remarkable fact: the designer who created this masked character leaves the series before his identity is revealed. The secret would only be lifted two years later, by another hand. Also pay attention to the British edition at 9d.
Rare are the characters whose founding enigma has survived the departure of its inventor. This is one of these cases, and this editorial particularity has left a lasting mark in the structure of its market.
She explains in particular why this file has several key numbers instead of just one.
An enigma left as a legacy
Let's start with what makes this file unique.
The character arrives masked in April 1964, under the pencil of Steve Ditko. His identity constitutes the main driving force behind his appearances: each time he returns, the reader tries to guess who is hiding behind the mask, and the story carefully maintains doubt.
This game lasts two years. The character returns several times - notably in an issue put on sale on January 12, 1965 , then in another the April 8, 1965— without anything being resolved.
However, the designer who created this enigma leaves the series before solving it. The revelation comes on May 10, 1966 , in a booklet drawn by John Romita, arrived in the meantime on the title.
For the collector, this situation produces a measurable effect. The number of revelation has its own value, distinct from that of the first appearance, because it contains something that the first does not contain: the answer. Two markets therefore coexist, and you have to know which one you are targeting.
Lee and Ditko
The text returns to Stan Lee , the boards Steve Ditko: the team that launched the series two years earlier was still in place at this time.
Ditko's line calls for comment, because it resembles nothing else in his editor's output. Angular, nervous, sparing in muscles and heroic poses, he favors bizarre silhouettes and expressive hands. His characters never seem quite at ease.
This strangeness serves particularly well an antagonist conceived as a grimacing figure mounted on a flying machine. There is nothing majestic about the character as he appears here: he is deformed, sneering, and his ugliness is part of his effectiveness.
A practical consequence for the buyer: fans of this designer constitute a public in their own right, who seek out his booklets for the signature as much as for the content. This additional request concerns issues prior to the artist's departure, and is indifferent to fashions.
Let's remember it, because it directly affects the price: the unmasking number is not a simple epilogue. It also inaugurates a new graphic direction for the entire series, which gives it a status that the catalogs list separately.
The context of 1964
The booklet appears at 12 cents, a rate which precisely limits the period and allows republications to be excluded.
The series was then recent. Its main character did not yet have the status we know him to have, and the title was still looking for its recurring adversaries. Many of those who appear at this time have left no trace; he imposed himself to the point of becoming the central opposition figure.
This context has an important material translation. The print runs at the start of the series remained modest compared to what they would become, and above all,no one kept these fascicles. It was just one title among others, without the prestige it has since acquired.
Copies in good condition are therefore significantly fewer than the current popularity of the series suggests - a classic discrepancy on the first issues of titles that have become major.
Let us add an element that works in favor of this booklet in the long term: the series of which it is part is today one of the most collected in the world. Its first issues therefore benefited from permanent attention, which did not depend on any particular news and which grew stronger as the main character gained notoriety.
The British edition
Point of identification not to be overlooked: this booklet exists in two official editions.
The American draw announces 12 cents; that of the United Kingdom displays 9d, nine pence in the old British monetary system.
No other difference: the image, the story and the date coincide. The printed amount is the only clue.
With the United States serving as the main market for these securities, pence copies traditionally trade lower there. The gap, well known to specialists, often disappears from general announcements.
Let's do them justice: there is nothing fraudulent or degraded about these prints. They deliver exactly the same content for an often much lower cost, and a British clientele is actively seeking them. What we can blame them for is never being reported.
What the number actually contains
A useful clarification to avoid disappointments.
There is no explanation of the character's origins. He doesn't say who he is or where his equipment and formula come from. The antagonist arrives there constituted, without explanation, and leaves the same way.
It is a deliberate choice, consistent with the enigma mentioned above: explaining would have ruined the suspense. The origins will come in the booklet following that of the revelation, put on sale on June 9, 1966.
You should also know that the plot takes place partly in a film studio setting, on a lighter register than what the character will subsequently inspire. The darkness associated with this figure came gradually, over the decades.
A buyer coming from recent adaptations will therefore find here something quite far from his expectations - more of an adventure story adversary than a tragic figure.
Why this character stood out
A question deserves to be asked: why this one, rather than the dozens of other adversaries who appeared during the same period?
Three design elements explain this, and they were present in this booklet.
An immediately readable silhouette. A green and purple man, sneering, standing on a flying machine: the image is captured in a second and stands out from everything around it. Many of the antagonists of the time were similar; this one no.
A threat that targets civilian life. He is not trying to conquer a city or steal an object. He wants to know who the hero is — which directly threatens the balance of the main character, and not his physical integrity.
A lack of explanation. The mystery maintained for two years created an attachment that the origins given from the outset would never have produced. Les lecteurs ont spéculé, comparé, échangé leurs hypothèses.
This combination is rare. She explains that this character became the central opposition figure in a series which did not lack one, and that he remained so for six decades.
One last point about the cover, often overlooked: it doesn't highlight the new antagonist like today's covers would. The composition remains centered on the hero of the series, in accordance with current practices. This makes the booklet less immediately identifiable in a bin than you might imagine — a detail that works in your favor if you're shopping at a flea market.
What to look at
Four checks on a 1964 booklet.
The price sticker. Twelve cents or nine pence: that determines your reference market.
The edge of the block, photographed in profile. It betrays true acidification, which an attractive cover can completely conceal.
Staples. After six decades, rust is common and oxidation spreads to the surrounding paper.
Integrity. The advertising inserts offered tear-off coupons. An amputated page, undetectable in a cover image, drops the copy for good.
One last research reference, specific to this file. The series in question is among the most collected in the world, and its first issues are the subject of constant attention. Used items never stay online for long, and asking prices vary wildly from seller to seller for comparable condition. Confront several proposals before deciding: here more than anywhere else, rushing means overpaying.
Where to enter
Three options, depending on what you're really looking for.
The first appearance. The April 1964 issue, in the edition that suits your budget. The most coveted item of the lot, and the only one that truly meets a chronological requirement.
The revelation. The May 1966 issue, which contains the answer to the riddle and the change of designer. Less expensive, often more interesting to read, and with content that the first does not have.
The complete sequence. From the first appearance to the origins of June 1966. Around fifteen booklets, several of which without the character, but a set which tells an unusual narrative construction.
Price wise, see ourvalue decryption; reading side, ourbow selection.
What Buyers Ask
In the fourteenth issue of Amazing Spider-Man, dated July 1964 and released on shelves April 9, for twelve cents. The story is titled “The Green Goblin!” »: Stan Lee signs the text, Steve Ditko the boards, at Marvel Comics.
Because the mystery constitutes the very spring of the character. He returned masked several times for two years, notably in booklets published on January 12 and April 8, 1965, without anything being resolved. The revelation only came on May 10, 1966 — and the designer who had created this enigma had then already left the series.
Two years. The character returns masked several times between April 1964 and spring 1966, with returns dated January 12 then April 8, 1965, without the slightest resolution. Readers of the time speculated and exchanged their hypotheses throughout this period - it is this attachment that origins given from the outset would never have produced.
It depends on what you want to own. The April 1964 issue is the most sought after and the only one that meets an anteriority requirement. That of May 1966 contains the answer to the enigma and the arrival of a new designer; it costs less and is often more interesting to read.
Nothing at all, and many are surprised. The antagonist appears there already constituted, without explanation of his identity, his equipment or his formula. The origins only appear in the booklet following that of the revelation, put on sale on June 9, 1966. The tone is also lighter than one might imagine: the darkness associated with this figure came gradually.
More than ever. The series of which it is a part is among the most collected in the world, and its first issues benefit from permanent attention which does not depend on any current events. This demand even grew stronger as the main character gained notoriety. Practical consequence: opportunities never stay online for long.
At the printed amount: twelve cents on the American side, nine pence on the British side. Image, story and date coincide perfectly. The American market, which is the reference, historically places pence copies lower, but these are official prints which provide access to the same content for an often much lower sum.
Three elements present in this booklet. An immediately readable silhouette, which stands out in a second where many adversaries of the time looked similar. A threat aimed at the hero's civilian life rather than his physical integrity. And a total absence of explanation, which fueled two years of speculation among readers. This combination is rare.
On the status of the series at the time: recent, without particular prestige. Its print runs remained modest compared to what they would become, and above all no one kept these fascicles — it was one title among others. Copies in good condition are therefore much fewer than the current popularity of the series would suggest.
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