Beschreibung:

CGC certified: VG/Fine (5.0). Cream to off-white pages. STEVE DITKO COLLECTION. Cover: Steve Ditko pencils and inks, Stan Goldberg colors. Story: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Art: Steve Ditko Colors: Stan Goldberg. Lettering: Artie Simek. First appearance: The Green Goblin. Provenance: From the Steve Ditko Estate, CGC-certified as Steve Ditko's personal copy, and with a certificate of authenticity signed by Mr. Patrick S. Ditko, Steve Ditko's brother. Not cleaned and pressed in order to preserve all traces of Steve Ditko's handling. GPAnalysis: A non-Ditko Collection 5.0 sold for $2332 in 6/22. A Ditko Collection 4.5 sold for $5760 in 9/21. A note on the Ditko Collection: Steve Ditko owned from one to three copies of each of the 41 Spider-Man comics that he drew (comprising Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #s 1-38, and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #s 1 & 2). The only complete set of 41 Spidey comics belonging to Ditko is featured in this sale; an incomplete set of 23 Spidey comics was offered last year by another auction house; and a final incomplete set of 19 Spidey comics will be offered by PBA next year. Ditko Collection Census: There are two Ditko Collection copies of ASM #14: 4.5 and 5.0. This is the highest-graded copy. First appearance of the Green Goblin, a weird figure of menace whose leering countenance harkens to Ditko's pre-Code grotesques. Biographer Blake Bell claims that Ditko's growing interest in Ayn Rand's Objectivist ideals made him reluctant to portray "fantastical elements" (although Ditko's Doctor Strange scenarios undermine this theory). Bell says Ditko's Randian ideals made him reject Stan's original plan for the Green Goblin: "Lee wanted a movie crew to find an Egyptian-like sarcophagus containing an ancient, mythological demon that would be released and come to life. 'I rejected Stan's idea,' says Ditko. 'A mythological demon made the whole Peter Parker/Spider-Man world a place where nothing is metaphysically impossible.' Instead, the Goblin's origin is built as a mystery to be slowly unveiled; his face hidden by shadows, hinting only that he is a wealthy figure with a lust for power." — Bell, Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko . Fantagraphics: 2008, pp. 57-58. Enjoying the Spidey Sale? Order a fully-illustrated softcover catalogue for 30 bucks. Only about 100 copies were printed and they're going fast. To reserve a copy, contact PBA's Director of Comics: [email protected] Consign to PBA Galleries. Our comic sales average a 98% sell-through rate, our prices realized are top-of-the-market, and our research-intensive catalogues are the best in the business. Seeking Silver Age Marvel, Golden Age superheroes, and pre-Code horror. Contact [email protected]