Amazing Fantasy

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(Redirected from
Amazing Adult Fantasy
)

Amazing Fantasy
Carmilla Black #7–12
Vegas #13–14
Death's Head #16–20
Creative team
Written by(1961–62): Stan Lee, et al.
(1995): Kurt Busiek
(2004): Fiona Avery, Fred Van Lente, Simon Furman, et al.
(2021): Kaare Andrews
Artist(s)(1961–62): Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Paul Reinman, et al.
(1995): Paul Lee
(2004): Various
(2021): Kaare Andrews
Inker(s)(1961–62): Dick Ayers, et al.

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

cover-dated Aug. 1962), introduced the popular Marvel superhero Spider-Man. Amazing Adult Fantasy premiered with issue #7, taking over the numbering from Amazing Adventures
.

Publication history

Spider-Man debuts: Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962); cover art by Jack Kirby (penciler) and Steve Ditko (inker).

The science fiction-

cover-dated Dec. 1961), having taken over the number of the similar anthology Amazing Adventures. The earlier issues before the title change featured stories drawn by a number of artists including Jack Kirby, Don Heck and Steve Ditko. Amazing Adult Fantasy featured exclusively the quick, quirky, twist-ending tales of artist Ditko and writer-editor Stan Lee 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".[1]

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

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".[2]

With issue #15 (Aug. 1962) Amazing Adult Fantasy was retitled Amazing Fantasy.[3] This issue's lead feature introduced the superhero Spider-Man, written by Lee and drawn by Ditko, although Lee rejected Ditko's cover art and commissioned Jack Kirby to pencil a cover that Ditko inked.[3] 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".[4] 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 superhero – one who would be a teenager, but not a sidekick, and one who would have everyman doubts, neuroses and money problems.[5] However, while this was indeed the final issue, its editorial page anticipated the comic continuing and that "the Spiderman [sic] ... will appear every month in Amazing".[3][6]

Regardless, sales for Amazing Fantasy #15 proved to be one of Marvel's highest at the time,[7] so the company launched the series The Amazing Spider-Man seven months later.[8]

The DVD release of the collector's edition of the Spider-Man 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 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".[9][10]

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 decided a story gap existed between Amazing Fantasy #15 and The Amazing Spider-Man #1. In an attempt to fill that gap, Marvel published three Spider-Man flashback stories in Amazing Fantasy #16–18 (Dec. 1995 – March 1996), each written by Kurt Busiek and painted chiefly by Paul Lee.[11]

Volume 2

Amazing Fantasy #1 (Aug. 2004), featuring Araña; cover by Mark Brooks and Jamie Mendoza.

The second volume of the series ran 20 issues (

cover-dated Aug. 2004 – June 2006).[12]

The first arc ran through (vol. 2) #1–6 and featured a new teenaged heroine,

Monstro, the Heartbreak Kid, and Positron. 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.[12]

The final arc, in (vol. 2) #16–20 (Feb.-June 2006), introduced Death's Head 3.0, a revamp of the Marvel UK character, written by the original version's creator, Simon Furman. Issues #18–19 contain two "Tales of the New Universe" stories as backup features, while #20 featured a Western backup, "Steamrider".[12]

Volume 3

The third volume ran for five issues (cover dated September 2021 - February 2022). Written and drawn by Kaare Andrews, it follows numerous characters who wake up on a mysterious island with no memory of how they arrived.

Collected editions

Volume 1

Title Material collected Published date ISBN
Amazing Fantasy Omnibus Amazing Adventures #1–6, Amazing Adult Fantasy #7–14, Amazing Fantasy #15 July 2020 978-1302922702
Untold Tales of Spider-Man Omnibus Amazing Fantasy #16-18, Untold Tales of Spider-Man #1-25, -1, Annual 1996-1997, Strange Encounter and material from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37 May 2021 978-1302928612
Untold Tales of Spider-Man: The Complete Collection Vol 1 Amazing Fantasy #16-18, Untold Tales of Spider-Man #1-14 November 2021 978-1302931773

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

Volume 2

Title Material collected Published date ISBN
Arana Volume 1: Heart Of The Spider Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #1-6 January 2005 978-0785115069
Arana: Here Comes the Spider-Girl Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #1-6, Arana #1-6 October 2020 978-1302926465
Scorpion: Poison Tomorrow Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #7-12 November 2005 978-0785117124
Captain Universe: Universal Heroes Material from Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #13-14 and Captain Universe: Daredevil, Incredible Hulk, Invisible Woman, Silver Surfer, X-23 February 2006 978-0785118572
Amadeus Cho: Genius At Work Material from Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #15, Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #100, Incredible Hercules #126,133,135,137 April 2016 N/A
Death's Head 3.0: Unnatural Selection Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #16-20 August 2006 978-0785121084

Volume 3

Title Material collected Published date ISBN
Amazing Fantasy Amazing Fantasy (vol. 3) #1-5 April 2022 978-1302931483

Sales of Amazing Fantasy (vol. 1) #15

See also

References

  1. ^ Amazing Adult Fantasy at the Grand Comics Database. Accessed September 2, 2008
  2. ISBN 978-1-60010-542-5
    , p. 9
  3. ^ a b c Amazing Fantasy (Marvel, 1962 series) at the Grand Comics Database. "[T]he 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".
  4. ^ "Videotaped Deposition of Stan Lee". United States District Court, Southern District of New York: "Marvel Worldwide, Inc., et al., vs. Lisa R. Kirby, et al.". p. 37.
  5. ISBN 0-8109-3821-9
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0785124580
    .
  7. ^ Daniels, p. 97
  8. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man at the Grand Comics Database
  9. ^ "Library of Congress Receives Original Drawings for the First Spider-Man Story, 'Amazing Fantasy' #15". Library of Congress press release. April 30, 2008. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010.
  10. ^ Raymond, Matt (April 30, 2008). "Library of Congress Acquires Spider-Man's 'Birth Certificate'". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on May 5, 2010.
  11. ^ Amazing Fantasy (Marvel, 1995 series) at the Grand Comics Database.
  12. ^ a b c d "GCD :: Series :: Amazing Fantasy". comics.org.
  13. ^ "Metropolis Sets Record for Amazing Fantasy #15!". Scoop. Gemstone Publishing/Diamond International Galleries. May 29, 2004. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  14. ^ "Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 9.2, First Appearance of Spider-Man, Sells For Record $460,000 At Comic Link". January 16, 2017.
  15. ^ "An Amazing Fantasy 15 CGC 8.0 Has Sold For A Record Breaking $261,010 At ComicLink". June 2, 2017.
  16. ^ "Spidey's Huge at ComicLink". Scoop. Gemstone Publishing/Diamond International Galleries. June 23, 2007. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
  17. ^ Moore, Matt (March 8, 2011). "Spider-Man Debut Sells for $1.1 million". Associated Press via The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012.
  18. ^ "Amazing Fantasy #15 (Marvel, 1962) CGC NM+ 9.6 Off-white pages.... | Lot #93001".

Further reading

External links
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