Unusual Tale

Bruce With a Wang!: Have great memories of sitting with friends reading each others comic books and trading. A real rite of passage.

I've mentioned this a few times before, but...

1963, visiting California and my cousin brings a comic from some company that didn't get distributed in Oklahoma. "Marvel"? The final issue of a weird-fantasy comic that had a superhero cover story. Unusual tale about a high school nerd who gets super-powers, and uses them not for heroics but for personal gain, with tragic karmic results. Changed my whole idea of what comics could be!

Yeah, Amazing Fantasy #15 starring the first appearance of Spider-Man was right there in my hands in near-mint condition.

Asked cousin if I could keep it (I had just gotten the collecting bug) and he said no. Sad-face.

Years later at a family reunion, I told cousin about this. He didn't remember it, but he said, "Yeah, I probably threw it out the next day."

Heh. All in color for a dime.