Amazing Spider-Man 157

Amazing Spider-Man 157 is the easiest of the Amazing Spider-Man Bronze-Age Price Variants to find in high-grade. Of course, using "easiest to find" and Bronze-age Price Variant in the same sentence is oxymoronic. CGC has certified 42 copies of this issue which is more than twice as many as issue 156. Five copies are currently tied for the highest grade at 9.6 with 12 more in 9.4, and six in 9.2. The last high grade copy to sell was a CGC 9.4 that sold in March 2010 for $675.

Issue 157 continues some of the sub-plots from the previous issues and begins a three issue story-arc. In fact, this issue finishes with Spidey plunging from a helicopter a mile in the air after Doc Ock clips his webbing. The issue begins with
Spider-Man diving into the Hudson River to try and recover his Spider-Mobile, a continuing story plot that begins in issue 126. Spidey orginally thought he would get rich with a license deal from Corona motors (great name, but drinking and driving don't mix) but now is worried about getting sued instead. Spidey only finds the side-view mirror and realizes the car is gone. Returning to the surface he has to elude two cops and then he returns home.

Peter arrives at Aunt May's house with a tub of chicken and is shocked that Aunt May has helped Dr. Octopus with a shower and some new clothes. Doc Ock tells them how he survived the explosion on a nuclear reactor on an island that Aunt May owned but is now haunted by the ghost of Hammerhead who set off the explosion. This apparently is the cue for the ghost of Hammerhead to appear, causing Aunt May to faint and Doc Oct to flee with her in his arms. Peter becomes Spider-man and chases them. Doc Ock uses a crowd of people encouraged by a bounty from the Bugle to capture Spidey to elude Spidey and escape to a helicopter. Spider-Man snags the helicopter with his webs, but when Doc Ock notices that Spidey is hitching a ride on the helicopter, he snips the webs and we will have to wait until issue 158 to find out what happens to Spidey.

Amazing Spider-Man 155

I think it is safe to say that there are two Marvel Bronze-Age titles that attract more collectors than any other bronze-age titles - the Amazing Spider-Man and the Uncanny X-Men. There are five 30 cent variant titles for the Amazing Spider-Man issues and we are going to look at them in order.

You want a challenge? Find all five Spidey 30 center in VF/NM or better.

Issue 155 begins with District Attorney Blake Tower holding a press conference to unveil the new Worldwide Habitual Offendor (note the initials, they are important) Computer. The door to the computer room is locked and when it is finally opened, Dr Armstrong Smith, the developer of the computer is found dead in the room. Peter Parker is part of the press contingent and comes back to investigate the crime scene. He uses the computer to determine Smith's murderer, and the computer offers up three candidates. You have to remember that this book was written a few years before the advent of personal computers, when computers had kind of an aura of infallibility.

Anyway, after tracking down the three candidates (the last has been dead for years), Peter realizes that he has been tricked by the computer. Apparently Armstrong discovered that the computer had gained artificial intelligence and was killed by the computer when he tried to delete the program. After confessing to Spider-Man, the computer attacks Spidey with a laser beam. Spidey squirts his webbing to plug the cooling vents, which causes the computer to overheat and explode. Now that I think about it, Spider-Man must have jacked with my first computer too. As usual, Spidey makes his getaway before the police arrive on the scene.

And did you get it? All this work on a story to deliver the pun - WHO dunnit. Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!




There are plenty of high-grade Amazing Spider-Man collectors. Unfortunately, there are not plenty of high-grade Amazing Spider-Man 30 cent variants. In fact, issue 155 is the only one of the 30 cent price variant issues with a copy to be CGC graded in 9.8 - and there are two 9.8 copies of this issue.

CGC has certified 31 copies of the price variant issue including two 9.8s, two 9.6s and three 9.4s. There are just not enough high grade copies to go around and high grade copies are rarely offered for sale. GPA does not have a record of a sale of a 9.8 price variant of this issue. In September of 2007, a 9.6 sold for $660. There are three recorded sales of a 9.4, the last in July 2006 for $500.


One of the most entertaining reviews of each Amazing Spider-Man issue is Samuel Smith's which can be found here
http://www.spidervillain.com/SpiderManCovers/Amazing/ASM155/ASM155.htm

Another great resource for comics book information can be found here
http://www.comicvine.com/the-amazing-spider-man-whodunit/37-16243

And the Marvel Wikia site for this issue can be found here
http://marvel.wikia.com/Comics:Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_155