Ross Andru's Amazing Spider-Man Club 9 9

[Spider-Variant]

About 10 years ago this Ross Andru original art page was on sale on ebay.  It's from ASM 148, page 3.  

The thing that always stood out to me on this page was panel 1.  As can easily be seen, the name Larry Shell is placed in the backgrounds.  Interesting enough, the seller on ebay was Larry himself, who I contacted.  Here is what he told me back in 2010 "I was friends with Dave Hunt at the time, and he put my name on the page, which I found out after he'd done it. I was able to buy the page from Mike Esposito when he got his share of the art for that issue back and unfortunately years later, i needed to sell the page. And that's the story."

How cool would that be?  Having your name in an ASM comic.  I do see names from time to time, so I bet there are some more stories to be had.

 

[Spider-Variant]

As most Spidey fans know, the gorgeous Gwen Stacy met her demise at the hands of the Green Goblin in issue 121 of Amazing Spider-Man.  And as Spider-Man himself told us, the Green Goblin had kidnapped Gwen and took her to the George Washington Bridge. 

Well, except the bridge Gil Kane drew was actually the Brooklyn Bridge.

When Gerry Conway brought back Gwen's clone though, the error was corrected.  Issues 147 and 148 are centered on the Brooklyn Bridge and Peter acknowledges that Gwen died on the Brooklyn Bridge in Issue 147.  Overall, Ross does a very nice job of the capturing the feel of bridge, especially the texture of brick.   The item that really amazed me is Ross's depiction of the bars Spidey web shoots to save himself on under the bridge in issue 148.  They are spot on to real life.

Now any artist (I nearly typed anyone, but my drawing skill is zero) could do a nice depiction of the famous Brooklyn Bridge.  But Ross didn't have to.  For what the man was paid for his work and deadlines he faced, he could have phoned it in.  But he didn't.  He gave us the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

[FoggyNelson]

On 8/20/2019 at 11:41 AM, Roo_Phillip said:

 

I used to love reading the letters to the editors❤️❤️❤️

[Roo_Phillip]

Awesome stuff Spider-V, thanks!  

[Spider-Variant]

58 minutes ago, Roo_Phillip said:

Awesome stuff Spider-V, thanks!  

Thanks so much!

[FoggyNelson]

Great photo,s of the bridge above  and how the spidy panels fit in👍👍👍

[Spider-Variant]

Sorry I haven't posted anything to this thread in a while.  Two weeks ago I was rushed to the ER after suffering a ruptured appendix.  I can honestly say my second night in the hospital was the worst of my life physically.  I'm recovering nicely and returned to the gym today.  Hopefully I can dig up something Andru soon, although the real life references are drying up.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Spider-Variant

[Get Marwood & I]

 

2 hours ago, Spider-Variant said:

Sorry I haven't posted anything to this thread in a while.  Two weeks ago I was rushed to the ER after suffering a ruptured appendix.  I can honestly say my second night in the hospital was the worst of my life physically.  I'm recovering nicely and returned to the gym today.  Hopefully I can dig up something Andru soon, although the real life references are drying up.

Yikes. Sounds grim Reggie. Positive vibes coming your way...

[Spider-Variant]

20 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

 

Yikes. Sounds grim Reggie. Positive vibes coming your way...

Thanks my friend.  I've definitely had better months than the last.

[tv horror]

Ross is mentioned in this interview with Gerry Conway. and I wish you well Spider-variant. 

 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 9/24/2019 at 3:22 PM, tv horror said:

Ross is mentioned in this interview with Gerry Conway. and I wish you well Spider-variant. 

 

 

 

[Spider-Variant]

I wasn't the biggest fan of Tony DeZuniga's inks on ASM 176.  Here is a quick comparison, since it's been a while.

[Get Marwood & I]

25 minutes ago, Spider-Variant said:

I wasn't the biggest fan of Tony DeZuniga's inks on ASM 176.  

I found it a bit up and down. Sometimes the style worked well - that's a great, definitive Parker there...

 

...and sometimes it didn't.

 

Some pages look rushed, where others look like he took his time.

Easy to see the Andru magic underneath, either way though  

 

[tv horror]

On 10/2/2019 at 8:37 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

 

Is this card or is it a card from a set Steve I don't recognise the villain?  

[Get Marwood & I]

1 minute ago, tv horror said:

On 10/2/2019 at 8:37 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Is this card or is it a card from a set Steve I don't recognise the villain?  

A jigsaw I spotted on eBay Maurice.

I recognised the Spidey pose from this:

 

And the villain appears to be lifted from this:

 

It's an odd amalgamation isn't it 

 

[tv horror]

3 hours ago, Get Marwood & I said:

A jigsaw I spotted on eBay Maurice.

I recognised the Spidey pose from this:

 

And the villain appears to be lifted from this:

 

It's an odd amalgamation isn't it 

 

As always a deep well of knowledge, thanks Steve.

[tv horror]

I had thought that he looked like the Yellow claw before your answer.

 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

5 hours ago, tv horror said:

I had thought that he looked like the Yellow claw before your answer.

 

 

There is a slight resemblance, yes. But I don't think Yellow Claw ever sported a mohican Maurice, despite living all those years. 

Nice Buscema there by the way. Even the dead had gaping mouths on his watch. Must've caught a lot of flies. 

[Spider-Variant]

Nice Andru ASM Splash up on Heritage. 

I never understood this plot.  Why was the Molten Man after Ned Leeds?  Why not just execute your diabolical plan and move on?  Why waste the time?  Ned knew nothing.  And why did Molten Man's Landlord call Ned in the first place?  Molten Man (in disguise) just threatened to burn your place to the ground, and you call a news reporter?  How about calling the police.

This issue was a year before I started collecting ASM, but my 7 year old mind would have asked a few of these questions had I picked it up off the stands.

Hey @Get Marwood & I, does this nurse remind you of Night Nurse?

 

[MGsimba77]

On 10/5/2019 at 12:41 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

And the villain appears to be lifted from this:

On 10/5/2019 at 12:36 PM, tv horror said:

Is this card or is it a card from a set Steve I don't recognise the villain?  

That's Dark Rider. It's an obscure villain appeared in just a few MTUs as far as I know. He looks a little like Tombstone with a mohawk