I have been on a “cover kick” for Amazing Spiderman and I promise to give a few other titles a little exposure as well. The following two covers are from one of my favorite story arcs of the late 1960’s. What I really enjoy about the cover featuring the Vulture slamming into Spiderman is the menace that it presents. This is what made the Marvel villains of the 1960’s so unique. DC was – and this is being kind – were pretty lame. The Joker is probably the most dementedly evil villain in comic book history. However, that demented character really didn’t start to appear until the 1980’s. In the 1960’s, The Joker and virtually every villain in the DC Universe was a joke as DC was still mortally frightened at being on the receiving end of potential sanctions from the old Comics Code Authority. At Marvel, the storylines were not afraid to venture into more serious territory and these storylines featured some truly creepy villains. The Vulture was definitely one of them. 

Yes, the aged villain was bitter, cruel and ruthless. He could have easily been a goofy villain, but the direction Stan Lee took him was creepy. This brings us to the subject of the “double Vulture” issue.

While heroes would sometimes brawl with one another, it was rare for villains to get into a scuffle. That is why this particular issue is so unique and compelling. It features Vulture Number Two, Blackie Drago, being clobbered by the original Vulture for stealing his gimmick. Again, this is another excellent and memorable issue from the glory days of The Amazing Spiderman.