Amazing Fantasy

 AMAO   (Marvel, 1962, 1995-1996)

™ and ©1961 Marvel

During the fifties, Marvel Comics was largely a publisher of monster and science-fiction stories. Super-heroes had largely been a phenomenon of the war years and had since fallen into disuse. The early sixties saw them beginning to make a come-back. Companies began mass-producing gimmick super-heroes based on various animals: apes, cheetahs, flies—whatever hadn’t been done already.

In 1961, Marvel’s Stan Lee decided he wanted to make his next super-hero a shy boy who lived with his aunt and got beat up at school. Lee figured that readers would identify more with such a character than the stereotypically perfect heroes. Since Amazing Fantasy (formerly Amazing Adult Fantasy) was already slated for cancellation, there was no risk in using it to introduce the character. That character was Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man. When sales results came in months later, it was clear they had a hit. Today, Spider-Man is Marvel’s most popular character.

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  NotesWriterArtist

#15

  8/1/1962
  $0.12
  $66,700.00
No copies available 		1st appearance of Spider-Man; 1st appearance of Peter Parker; 1st appearance of Aunt May; 1st appearance of Uncle Ben; 1st appearance of Flash Thompson; Death of Uncle Ben; Origin of Spider-ManStan Lee, Steve DitkoJack Kirby, Steve Ditko

#15 (2nd printing)

  8/15/2001
  $0.00
  $36.00
1 copy available for $24.00 		1st appearance of Spider-Man; 1st appearance of Peter Parker; 1st appearance of Aunt May; 1st appearance of Uncle Ben; Death of Uncle Ben; Origin of Spider-Man; Spider-Man ClassicsStan Lee, Steve DitkoJack Kirby, Steve Ditko

#15 (3rd printing)

  8/1/2002
  $0.00
  $40.00
1 copy available for $39.95 		1st appearance of Spider-Man; 1st appearance of Peter Parker; 1st appearance of Aunt May; 1st appearance of Uncle Ben; Death of Uncle Ben; Origin of Spider-Man; Reprint packaged with Spider-Man movie DVDStan Lee, Steve DitkoJack Kirby, Steve Ditko

#15 (4th printing)

  5/1/2005
  $0.00
  $39.00
1 copy available for $39.95 		1st Appearance of Spider-Man (Peter Parker); 1st Appearance of Peter Parker; 1st Appearance of Aunt May Parker; 1st Appearance of May Parker; 1st Appearance of Uncle Ben Parker; 1st Appearance of Ben Parker; 1st Appearance of Flash Thompson; Death of Ben Parker; Origin of Spider-Man (Peter Parker); Marvel Legends 1st Appearance Spider-Man action figure insertStan Lee, Steve DitkoJack Kirby, Steve Ditko

#15 (6th printing)

  7/1/2006
  $0.00
  $2.00
No copies available 		Reprints Amazing Fantasy #15; Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #1; 1st appearance of Ben Parker; 1st appearance of Aunt May Parker; 1st appearance of May Parker; 1st appearance of Crusher Hogan; 1st appearance of Chameleon; 1st appearance of Spider-Man; 1st appearance of Peter Parker; 1st appearance of Uncle Ben Parker; Death of Uncle Ben Parker; Origin of Spider-Man; Redone cover (black border); Packaged with the Spider-Man Origins 1st appearance Spider-Man action figure; “Not for Resale” Giveaway; Contains new ads; Includes 6-page cover galleryStan Lee, Steve DitkoSteve Ditko

#15 (8th printing)

  9/1/2007
  $0.00
  $2.00
No copies available 		Black border on cover; Reprints Amazing Fantasy #15 (edited); 1st appearance of Ben Parker; 1st appearance of Aunt May Parker; 1st appearance of May Parker; 1st appearance of Crusher Hogan; 1st appearance of Chameleon; 1st appearance of Spider-Man; 1st appearance of Peter Parker; 1st appearance of Uncle Ben Parker; Death of Uncle Ben Parker; Origin of Spider-Man; Packaged with Marvel Authentics Die-Cast Car Series I; Mini-comic GiveawayStan Lee, Steve DitkoSteve Ditko

#15 (9th printing)

  8/1/2009
  $0.12
  $1.00
No copies available 		1st Appearance of Spider-Man (Peter Parker); 1st Appearance of Peter Parker; 1st Appearance of May Parker; 1st Appearance of Ben Parker; 1st Appearance of Flash Thompson; 1st Appearance of Aunt May Parker; 1st Appearance of Uncle Ben Parker; Death of Ben Parker; Origin of Spider-Man (Peter Parker); Old Navy reprint free with shirt purchaseStan Lee, Steve DitkoJack Kirby, Steve Ditko

#15 Variation A

  8/1/2012
  $3.99
  $22.00
3 copies available from $15.00 		Remastered Colors; Collects material from Amazing Fantasy #15 and Amazing Spider-Man #1; Includes Digital Copy codeStan LeeSteve Ditko

#16

  12/1/1995
  $3.95
  $3.00
15 copies available from $1.63 		Cardstock cover; Fills in gaps between Amazing Fantasy #15 and Amazing Spider-Man #1; Revival of series in December 1995Kurt BusiekPaul Lee

#17

  1/1/1996
  $3.95
  $2.75
12 copies available from $0.90 		Cardstock cover; 1st appearance of Josephine PulaskiKurt BusiekAlexi Taylor, Greg Loudon, Ken Myers Jr., Paul Lee, Terese Nielsen

#18

  3/1/1996
  $3.95
  $2.50
11 copies available from $0.80 		Cardstock cover; Final IssueKurt BusiekPaul Lee, Richard Starkings