As a kid, I was fairly obsessed with comic books. They were an escape from reality. A place where I could immerse myself when the real world wasn’t cutting it...and there was no better place to do that than in my favorite title...The Amazing Spider-Man.
This specific title holds a special place in my heart. To this day, it’s the only title that I personally still collect. I mainly got involved in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I’m not exactly sure which issue I picked up first but I I remember got hooked quickly.
Riding my bike down to the Hobby Shack (my first local comic shop) with my friends. Bothering Mike behind the counter (whom I’m still friends with today). Wasting away the days talking nerd stuff...it was responsible in building the foundation for where I’m at today.
Superstar artist Todd McFarlane was fresh off his run on ASM and Erik Larsen took over pencilling duties. Those were might big shoes to fill but Erik handled it like a champ...bringing his own flare to the flagship Marvel title.
Those years are my favorite for ASM. I just think they bring back great memories of being a kid...riding down to the comic shop...and entering a world where anything was possible.
Fast forward to the present day, I still feel I’m the same kid inside. Just in an older shittier shell. I still hold the same level of admiration for those books that opened the doorway and paved the way for my love of all things...nerdy.
But a lot of the books coming out today sadly don’t give me the same feelings I had when I was a youngin. So what’s the best way to recapture some of that magic again?!? Drugs!!!!! Lots of drugs!!!
I’m joking dum dums...
I’ve started to rekindle that old spark again by diving head first into the Original Art game which for all accounts is just as addicting. For the past few years I’ve been dipping my toes into the waters and just recently snatched up a beauty. I snagged a page from Larsen’s run of ASM.
The page I got holds a special place not only because it’s from my favorite run...and is by one of my favorite Spidey artists...but because it features my favorite villain on Mysterio. I mean...c’mon...look at this!!!
Here’s the colored version you’d see in the actual issue.
To have a piece of Spidey history is a pretty big deal. At least to me it is. I was over the moon when I saw this page pop up for sale. Ya see...not a lot of Larsen’s pages from this run pop up as he sadly had a House Fire in the early 90’s that destroyed a chunk of stuff. That still breaks my heart to think about.
Not so fun fact...the cover to this specific issue...number #337 which is pictured below, was sadly destroyed in that very incident. I contacted Erik before purchasing the page when I was still hemming and hawing, and he told me that while he wasn’t sure how many pages from his run made it vs. ones that got barbecued...the cover to this issue sadly didn’t make it.
A quick word about Erik. The dude is just a class act. I shot him a message and we struck up a great conversation about art and he even showed me some of his own personal collection which is simply Badass!!! So thanks for being awesome brother. You can catch Erik on his creator owned title The Savage Dragon from Image Comics. That book just hit issue #250 which is a tremendous accomplishment. Congrats brother!!!
As for Steve the seller...what can I say?!? He’s an awesome dude who worked out a payment plan with me as it was a tad costly...showed me some of his collection (I want that damn Punisher brother)...and talked life. I hope to do business with him again as well.
Anyway, I wanted to share with you as this was a very special piece for me to obtain. With my OA collection, I view it as a piece of history. I hope to be able to display some of this stuff and showcase it off at a local gallery sometime in the future for other comic fans to enjoy the way I did when I visited the Art of Spider-Man exhibit in NY a couple of years back. Man...what a sight that was.
I also view it as an investment. While I have no intent on moving this stuff anytime soon, perhaps when I am an old man who wants to just relax for a change...maybe then I’ll move some of these pieces to someone who can appreciate them as much as I do.
Original Comic art Is sadly a stupidly expensive road to travel on. Larsen’s pages aren’t getting any cheaper when they do pop up and are only growing in price by the year... so I figured now was as good a time to snag one. I also don’t know how many opportunities will come up to snag one with Mystetio on it.
I got it framed at Michael’s during one of their 70% off sales. They did a fantastic job at helping me choose what would work best and I’ll be getting more done shortly.
So thank you Erik for indirectly bringing some magic back into my life with this piece. I’d be a complete tool to not mention the amazing inks by Terry Austin on this. He absolutely slays. David Michelinie helped weave fun stories that still stay with me to this day. Thank you to that entire creative team throughout those years. I’m glad to have a piece of that history here in my home and not just my heart. Now I gotta find a spot for this sucka...
Blewitt