''Amazing Adult Fantasy'', retitled ''Amazing Fantasy'' in its final issue, is an American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

anthology series published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

from 1961 through 1962, with the latter title revived with

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

features in 1995 and in the 2000s. The final 1960s issue, ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d Aug. 1962), introduced the popular superhero character

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

. ''Amazing Adult Fantasy'' premiered with issue #7, taking over the numbering from ''

Amazing Adventures ''Amazing Adventures'' is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics. The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and h ...

''.

Publication history

The science fiction-

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

anthology ''Amazing Adult Fantasy'' began with issue #7 (

d Dec. 1961), having taken over the number of the similar anthology ''

''. The earlier issues before the title change featured stories drawn by a number of artists including

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

Don Heck Donald L. HeckDonald L. Heck
at the Social Security Death Index. Retrieved on Septembe ...

and

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

. ''Amazing Adult Fantasy'' featured exclusively the quick, quirky, twist-ending tales of artist Ditko and writer-editor

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

that had appeared in ''Amazing Adventures'' and sister titles primarily featuring rampaging monsters. The cover of the comic carried the motto "The magazine that respects your intelligence".''Amazing Adult Fantasy''
at the Grand Comics Database. Accessed September 2, 2008 Lee in 2009 described these "short, five-page filler strips that Steve and I did together", originally "placed in any of our comics that had a few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry-type

wist Wist was an application for smartphones that helped users find top five restaurants, bars and coffee shops nearby. History Triptrotting, the previous version of Wist, was focused on combating easy tourism by connecting travelers and hosts onl ...

endings". Giving an early example of what would later be known as the " Marvel Method" of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said: "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect". With issue #15 (Aug. 1962) ''Amazing Adult Fantasy'' was retitled ''Amazing Fantasy''.''Amazing Fantasy'' (Marvel, 1962 series)
at the Grand Comics Database. " e decision to cancel the series had not been made when it went to print, since it is announced that future issues will include a Spider-Man feature". This issue's lead feature introduced the

, written by Lee and drawn by Ditko, although Lee rejected Ditko's cover art and commissioned

to pencil a cover that Ditko inked. As Lee explained in 2010: "I think I had Jack sketch out a cover for it because I always had a lot of confidence in Jack's covers". In numerous interviews Lee has recalled how the title had been slated for cancellation, and so with nothing to lose, publisher Martin Goodman reluctantly agreed to allow him to introduce Spider-Man, a new kind of

– one who would be a teenager, but not a sidekick, and one who would have

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

doubts, neuroses and money problems. However, while this was indeed the final issue, its editorial page anticipated the comic continuing and that "the Spiderman ic... will appear every month in ''Amazing''". Regardless, sales for ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 proved to be one of Marvel's highest at the time, so the company launched the series ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...

'' seven months later. The DVD release of the collector's edition of the ''

'' film included a copy of ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15. In 2001, Marvel published the 10-issue historical overview ''The 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time'', with ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 topping the list. In 2008, an anonymous donor bequeathed the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

the original 24 pages of Ditko art for ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15, including Spider-Man's debut and the stories "The Bell-Ringer", "Man in the Mummy Case", and "There Are Martians Among Us".

Continuation in 1995

For decades, no attempts were made to relaunch the title or to continue it with an issue #16. However, in 1995, Marvel editor

Danny Fingeroth Daniel Fingeroth (; born September 17) is an American comic book writer and editor, best known for a long stint as group editor of the Spider-Man books at Marvel Comics. Early life Fingeroth was born in New York City, New York. Career As a write ...

decided a story gap existed between ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 and ''

'' #1. In an attempt to fill that gap, Marvel published three

flashback stories in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #16–18 (Dec. 1995 – March 1996), each written by

Kurt Busiek Kurt Busiek ( ) (born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer. His work includes the ''Marvels'' limited series, his own series titled ''Astro City'', a four-year run on ''The Avengers (comic book), The Avengers, Thunderbolts (comics ...

and painted chiefly by Paul Lee.

Volume 2

The second volume of the series ran 20 issues (

d Aug. 2004 – June 2006). The first arc ran through (vol. 2) #1–6 and featured a new teenaged heroine, Araña. The second arc, in (vol. 2) #7–12, published after a short hiatus, featured a revamped, female version of the

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

the

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

. A back-up feature in (vol. 2) #10–12 (Sept.-Nov. 2005) starred the character Nina Price, the

Vampire by Night The Vampire by Night (Nina Price) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is the niece to Jack Russell and has the ability to shapeshift into either a werewolf or a vampiress between dusk and dawn. Pub ...

, and (vol. 2) #13–14 (both Dec. 2005) led with the modern-West feature "Vegas", backed up by "

Captain Universe Captain Universe is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is the guardian and protector of Eternity. Rather than a character with a single identity, Captain Universe is a persona that h ...

". In an attempt to replicate history, Marvel announced that the new issue #15 would introduce a new generation of heroes in a 48-page standalone issue, in the hopes that they would become as popular as Spider-Man. These heroes included Mastermind Excello, Blackjack, the Great Video,

Monstro The Terrible Dogfish ( it, Il Terribile Pescecane) is a dogfish-like sea monster, which appears in Carlo Collodi's 1883 book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (''Le avventure di Pinocchio'') as one of the main antagonists and the final one. It is ...

, the Heartbreak Kid, and

Positron The positron or antielectron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. It has an electric charge of +1 '' e'', a spin of 1/2 (the same as the electron), and the same mass as an electron. When a positron collides ...

. The cover to #15 was a revamped version of the original ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 cover, complete with Spider-Man swinging through a modern-day New York City, while the new heroes watch in awe in the background. The final arc, in (vol. 2) #16–20 (Feb.-June 2006), introduced

Death's Head 3.0 Dagger Dagoth Dagoth is a demon who has clashed with Doctor Strange. Daken Dakimh the Enchanter Damballah Daniel Whitehall Daniel Whitehall is a British intelligence agent also known as the Kraken. An elite assassin and member of the t ...

, a revamp of the

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dill ...

character, written by the original version's creator,

Simon Furman Simon Christopher Francis Furman (born 22 March 1961) is a British people, British Script (comics), comic book writer who is best known for his work on Hasbro's ''Transformers'' franchise, starting with writing Marvel Comics, Marvel's The Tran ...

. Issues #18–19 contain two " Tales of the New Universe" stories as backup features, while #20 featured a Western backup, "Steamrider".

Volume 3

The third volume ran for five issues (cover dated September 2021 - February 2022). Written and drawn by

Kaare Andrews Kaare Andrews is a comic book writer, artist and filmmaker from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His work includes '' Spider-Man'', '' Iron Fist'', '' Renato Jones'', and '' Incredible Hulk''. Andrews has a diverse drawing style, which ranges from hyper ...

, it follows numerous characters who wake up on a mysterious island with no memory of how they arrived.

Collected editions

Volume 1

''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 has been reprinted many times, sometimes just reprinting the Spider-Man story.

Volume 2

Volume 3

Sales of ''Amazing Fantasy'' (vol. 1) #15

* In September 2000, Metropolis Comics in New York City brought the only known CGC-graded 9.6 (near-mint plus) copy to market and sold it for $140,000. * In October 2007, a near-mint copy sold for $210,000 in an online auction on ComicLink.com and in 2017 a NM- 9.2 sold on ComicLink.com for $460,000. * Price results accelerated leading up to the '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'' film and a CGC 8.0 sold for three times the price it has ever sold for before when it hit $261,000 in a ComicLink.com auction in May 2017. * A near-mint CGC-graded 9.6 copy sold for $1.1 million to an unnamed collector on March 7, 2011, making the issue one of only three comic books to have broken the million-dollar mark (the others being the debut of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics ...

'' #1, of which three copies have sold for more than $1 million each; and the first appearance of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' #27). * In June 2015, a record price of $200,000 was paid for an example of ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 in CGC 9.0 condition on ComicLink.com. * In September 2021, a CGC NM+ 9.6 copy sold at auction for $3,600,000.

References

External links

Comics: Spider-Man
at Marvel.com * Archive of McQuarrie, Jim
"''Amazing Adult Fantasy'' No. 9"
"Oddball Comics" (column), #1151, April 9, 2007
A review of ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15
{{Spider-Man publications 1961 comics debuts 2003 comics debuts Fantasy comics Atlas Comics titles Marvel Comics titles Comics by Kurt Busiek Comics by Steve Ditko

Publication history

Continuation in 1995

Volume 2

Volume 3

Collected editions

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Sales of ''Amazing Fantasy'' (vol. 1) #15

See also

References

Further reading

External links