I'm a Spider-Man completist and in order to help out other fans, I've created this site. When you've seen the archive, you'll know that I take my collection very seriously. Why this page? Well, a couple of friends of mine said it would be cool to have a website that shows all versions of The Amazing Spider-Man. OK, I said, if you provide me with the images, I'll see what I can do. Of course, that was easier said then done. Fortunately, I have access to a lot of images myself, and with combined efforts, I was able to present this site to you. And due to the success of the Amazing Spider-Man series, I decided to add a couple more.

 

(1963) aka Volume 1 - #'s 1-441

 
 

 
 

(1972) aka Volume 1 - #'s 1-150

If you have any information that might help me complete this particular site, please, let know. If you look closely, you'll find that some issues do not have an image and that they have a question mark besides them. I really like confirmation whether these books exist or not. The text below provides you with information on the various variants for The Amazing Spider-Man. Since more series have been added, it should be re-written to reflect those added series as well.

Newsstand
The original 1st Printings distributed to US newsstand sales outlets (copies being returnable if unsold). Typified by a barcode UPC box, all issues of the ASMV1 exist in this format.

Direct sales
The Western Publishing Company was the first company to distribute Marvel comics from 1977 to 1979, doing so under the 'Whitman' banner. Whilst the comics themselves did not bear the 'authentic' Whitman stamp / logo, the cover appearance was changed to allow Marvel to track non-returnable copies (unlike the newsstand copies, Western distributed editions could not be returned if unsold). These (sometimes called 'Whitman') copies are discernable by a distinctive diamond cover / price box and, more often than not, a blank UPC box.

In effect, this drove the creation of what is now referred to as the 'Direct Sales Edition'. By expanding the concept of non-returnable copies to all Comic Shops and subscribers in June 1979, the 'Direct Sales Edition' was officially born, signalling the end of the 'Whitman' only phase. 'Whitman Editions' are actually much rarer than their newsstand counterparts - a trend which is now reversed. See the following web-page for further details http://www.bipcomics.com/showcase/Direct/

Driven by the earlier 'Whitman Distribution' copies, Direct Sales Editions were distributed to comic shops, special outlets and subscribers from June 1979 to the present day (copies being non-returnable if unsold). Direct Editions were typified by a 'slashed barcode or graphic within the UPC box until issue 378. From issue 379 a barcode would feature with the wording 'Direct Edition', a trend which has continued to the present day.

US price variant
To test the markets appetite for price increases, Marvel distributed a limited number of issues with higher cover prices in 1976 and again in 1977. On both occasions, the price increase was limited to a five issue run, generally distributed in one geographical area.
- 30 Cent Variants: 155, 156, 157, 158, 159 (Regular issue price 25c)
- 35 Cent Variants: 169, 170, 171, 172, 173 (Regular issue price 30c)
See the following web-page for further details: http://mysite.verizon.net/psmerolle/variantlist.html

UK price
1st Printing single price 'pence' copies of the Amazing Spider-Man were produced for the overseas UK market from issue 1 up to issue 120. Issues 18-27,42-43 and 55-70 were not produced. No pence copies were produced from 121 through to 214 in order to not clash with the UK Spider-Man Comics Weekly title in May 1973. These issues being referred to in the UK as 'Non-Distributed' copies (ND). Single priced pence copies appeared again briefly between issues 215 to 223 before being replaced by the dual-priced Direct Edition (with US and UK pricing) from issue 224. See the following web-page for further details: http://stlcomics.com/columns/maneevent/I/

Canadian price
1st Printing single price 'Canadian $' copies of the Amazing Spider-Man were produced for the overseas Canadian market from issue 233 to 272 (75c cover price) and 273-279 (95c cover price). For the Annuals, only issues 16-19 have a true price variant. A Canadian versions exists of Annuals 1 and 2, they have the same front cover as the regular US edition but the back cover is blank.

Australian price
1st Printing single price 'Australian $' copies of the Amazing Spider-Man were produced for the overseas Australian market. These books are identical to their US newsstand counterpart except for the price tag and the date. Meaning the Australian copies cover date is always 3 months later than the indicia (e.g. issue 344 has a cover date of May 91 but states Feb 91 in the indicia). It was believed that only issues 340 through 384 were produced. But with the discovery of issues 408,415-417 the search goes on.

Variant cover
Some comics have gotten more than one cover image. And of course, the second image is called a variant cover. Just take a look to see what I mean.

Reprint
Comics are reprinted all the time. So, what to include in this "all versions" website? I decided to include only those comics that are reprints within the series. Meaning, any reprints outside the series do not count. Thus you will not find any Marvel Tales here.

Giveaway
Most of the time, a giveaway is merely a reprint. So why not list them under reprint? Well, there is a difference in distribution. These books are promo items, the books in the reprints category are not. I decided to include only those that try to imitate the original comic, in both story and size.

What about the "insert" variants?
There are several kinds of insert variants, the National Diamond Sales Insert Editions and Mark Jewellers Insert Editions are the most well known. Unfortunately nobody can tell by looking at the cover which insert is inside the book. So, in order to not create a site with duplicate images, I simply choose to not include them. If you want more information about these inserts, you might want to take a look at this page http://www.awe4one.com/NDS-MJ%20Inserts/Insert%20webpage.html