John Dunbar re-reads AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (AF 15, ASM 1-50)

[John Dunbar]

We have a wonderful thread, started by Richard Mantle, that examines the Amazing Spider-Man starting with issue #51.  I don't know why it took me so long to realize we don't have a thread that covers Spidey's beginning to the point where Richard starts.

Spider-Man is hands down my favorite Marvel hero and I love the early stuff.  Peter Parker felt like an outsider in high school.  He had girl troubles and money troubles.  I think a lot of us could identify with him when we were teenagers; I know I certainly did.  Those first 50 issues of Amazing, plus the Annuals and Amazing Fantasy 15, are among the cream of the Silver Age.  Outstanding artwork from Steve Ditko and John Romita.  Unforgettable dialogue from Stan Lee.  A fantastic rogues gallery and a wonderful supporting cast.  Just terrific, terrific stuff.

Join me, won't you?

[Commander Benson]

John Dunbar (the mod of maple) said:

 

On the other hand, the FF had somebody that could wiggle his ears!

And would many years later date May Parker for a while!

Hmmmmmm.  Otto Octavius . . . Nathan Lubensky . . . Willie Lumpkin . . . J. Jonah Jameson, Sr.  For a grey-haired old broad, Aunt May's a regular Runaround Sue.

[Commander Benson]

John Dunbar (the mod of maple) said:

By the way, Peter's teacher is a Mr. Warren but obviously not Professor Miles Warren, aka the Jackal.  I think in Untold Tales of Spider-Man, this guy is revealed to be Miles' brother.

Ah, the Roy Thomas Dictum---to wit, all comic-book characters with the same surname must be related---strikes, again!

[John Dunbar]

Commander Benson said:

John Dunbar (the mod of maple) said:

 

On the other hand, the FF had somebody that could wiggle his ears!

And would many years later date May Parker for a while!

Hmmmmmm.  Otto Octavius . . . Nathan Lubensky . . . Willie Lumpkin . . . J. Jonah Jameson, Sr.  For a grey-haired old broad, Aunt May's a regular Runaround Sue.

A merry widow, one might say.

[Fred W. Hill]

The gods of comicdom decree that there can be no such thing as mere coincidence in comicbook universes and nothing is ever truly random_ Of course, in real life I may be related to everyone with the last name Hill but I'm sure the common ancestor of all the Hills might go back several tens of thousands of years.

Commander Benson said:

John Dunbar (the mod of maple) said:

By the way, Peter's teacher is a Mr. Warren but obviously not Professor Miles Warren, aka the Jackal.  I think in Untold Tales of Spider-Man, this guy is revealed to be Miles' brother.

Ah, the Roy Thomas Dictum---to wit, all comic-book characters with the same surname must be related---strikes, again!

[Richard Willis]

All the Chandlers came from people who made candles.

All the Sawyers came from people who sawed wood.

All the Smiths came from people who were blacksmiths, silversmiths, etc.

Not all a single descendant.

[Ronald Morgan]

Must have been a lot of smiths, since there are so many Smiths today.

What did the Joneses come from?

[Richard Willis]

It seems that the name Jones (of Welsh origin) is closely tied to the first name John.*

*see Martian Manhunter

[John Dunbar]

Ronald Morgan said:

Must have been a lot of smiths, since there are so many Smiths today.

What did the Joneses come from?

They were the family that other families tried to keep up with

[Fred W. Hill]

Jones was David Bowie's original and remained his legal last name, adopting his stage name to avoid confusion with a similarly named Monkee.  I'm sure it's pure coincidence that the man who led the Spiders from Mars shared a last name with the Martian Manhunter and sang a song about life on Mars.

Richard Willis said:

It seems that the name Jones (of Welsh origin) is closely tied to the first name John.*

*see Martian Manhunter

[Dave Elyea]

To say nothing of Gullivar Jones of Mars--I think there's something to this!

Fred W. Hill said:

Jones was David Bowie's original and remained his legal last name, adopting his stage name to avoid confusion with a similarly named Monkee.  I'm sure it's pure coincidence that the man who led the Spiders from Mars shared a last name with the Martian Manhunter and sang a song about life on Mars.

Richard Willis said:

It seems that the name Jones (of Welsh origin) is closely tied to the first name John.*

*see Martian Manhunter

[Ronald Morgan]

A pattern is definitely forming here.

[Luke Blanchard]

The Living Brain is like something out of Ditko's post-Spidey work. There's a page of the original art here but it's not revelatory.