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37 Responses to “Library of Congress Acquires Spider-Man’s ‘Birth Certificate’”

1. Mike Rhode Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

   It’s great to finally see some pictures of this. Hopefully the story will continue to spread and bring in some more comic book art for the Library.

   And Spider-Man was a bit different at the time - DC Comics had mature heroes who used their powers wisely and didn’t have too many personal tragedies. That was the big innovation of the Lee-Kirby-Ditko-era Marvel superhero.

2. » Spider-Man Rocks The Library of Congress What’s Required: Progress in the Commonwealth Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 5:14 pm

   [...] There’s pictures and a more complete account at the (extremely well-written!) Library of Congress Blog. [...]

3. William Wray Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 9:49 pm

   Give Marvel a good set of copies would you? I hope you will post large non- yellow scans for the world to enjoy. Yopu are lucky you got a pass form ditko as these are stolen pages.

4. Ferran Delgado Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 9:56 pm

   Thanks for showing the pics of the originals. I wish there were more of them, but at least, these ones are enough to check that it’s the real thing.

   Only a correction: the image provided by P&P is a photo, not a scan.

5. Sono proprio loro « Andrea Plazzi Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 10:03 pm

   [...] Poi il colpo che taglia la testa al toro: il blog della Biblioteca del Congresso emette un comunicato che ufficializza l’acquisizione. Poi mette online le prime operazioni di scansione e archiviazione delle tavole: sono proprio loro. [...]

6. Glayrouse jean-luc Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 3:46 am

   Hello, je suis français.
   Je suis tellement content que les pages d’origine du Amazing Spiderman 1 et du Amazing Fantasy 15 reviennent � la surface après tant d’années.
   Elles étaient où exactement.?
   J’espère que vous en ferez bon usage.
   Cela fait partie du patrimoine des états unis!
   Mettez les dans un musée, mais ne les vendez pas � droite � gauche.
   Ne les séparez pas!!!
   jean-luc Glayrouse FRANCE

7. Bookgasm: Reading Material to Get Excited About » Blog Archive » NEWSGASM >> 5.1.08 Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 7:24 am

   [...] icon with mass appeal.�? If you can’t make an appointment to see the real deal, you can view samples from the comfort of [...]

8. Comic Box » Blog Archive » Library of Congress Receives Original Drawings for the First Spider-Man Story, “Amazing Fantasy #15″ Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 8:52 am

   [...] To view a sample of these drawings, visit the Library of Congress blog at http://www.loc.gov/blog/?p=290. [...]

9. Mr. Grouchypants - Thwip! Says:
   May 1st, 2008 at 2:37 pm

   [...] Thwip! The Library of Congress just recently got their mitts on 24 pages of the original drawings from “Amazing Fantasy #15″. This is great news for people concerned about preserving Spider-Man’s legacy for geeksterity. [...]

10. D.Puck Says:
    May 1st, 2008 at 4:43 pm

    I find the white-out areas on the splash page in particular interesting, especially on “Sally’s” face. Looks like Ditko was unsatisfied with the first way he either penciled/inked her.

11. D.Puck Says:
    May 1st, 2008 at 5:23 pm

    And who owns the two original covers done for this book? Both the Kirby one (which was published) and Ditko’s original version which was unused??

12. A. Leedom, Says:
    May 2nd, 2008 at 1:56 am

    Wonderful gift. Hope all the pages are up soon. Does the library own much other original art? Red Raven?

13. Free Comic Books for All! Says:
    May 2nd, 2008 at 7:16 am

    [...] has his way. The Idea, to promote reading. This makes me think of the Library of Congress and the new item that they received this week! Tags: [...]

14. ResearchBuzz » » ResearchBuzz Roundup 050208 Says:
    May 3rd, 2008 at 10:36 am

    [...] The LOC and Spider-Man. [...]

15. Spider-Man at the Library of Congress | The Ephemerist Says:
    May 5th, 2008 at 4:09 am

    [...] its Blog the Library of Congress announces that it has been able to acquire the original art by Steve Ditko [...]

16. STWALLSKULL » Interesting Links: May 7th, 2008 Says:
    May 7th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    [...] Library of Congress Acquires Spider-Man’s ‘Birth Certificate’ from Library of Congress Blog [...]

17. Wow…When I visit the Library of Congress | Plan3t T3ch Says:
    May 7th, 2008 at 8:17 pm

    [...] Posted at 5:17 pm under Comics Okay, I am an educator and yes I have been to the Library of Congress. I am ashamed to say, but I was not impressed until now. Spiderman (Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s Spiderman) is now on display at the LOC. I am trying to get copies of this wonderful primary source material, but until then I can see a few samples on the LOC Blog. [...]

18. mike at the national institue of art Says:
    May 8th, 2008 at 6:29 am

    What a beautiful gift. Loving the art! The original are tremendous!

19. Tim Davis Says:
    May 9th, 2008 at 7:19 pm

    I am curious as to comment #3.
    Stolen artwork? Does anyone know more about the history of these pieces?

20. Marco Says:
    May 17th, 2008 at 6:46 am

    And who owns the two original covers done for this book?

21. Chuck Says:
    May 18th, 2008 at 2:33 am

    What a treasure trove of information! I spent my youth collecting DC and Marvel comics.

    Like a dummy - I sold three crates of them for school expenses with many duplicate first editions!

22. Torsten Adair Says:
    May 19th, 2008 at 6:39 pm

    I hope this brings some much deserved attention to the Swann Collection at LC. I was lucky enough to live in DC for three years, and spent many a wonderful time doing comics “research”!

    Of course, this isn’t the first time it’s happened… I believe Swann #318 is the complete issue of Captain America Vol.1 #146, pencilled by Sal Buscema, inked by John Verpoorten.

    As for comment #3, I think the post refers to the fact that original art was rarely returned to the artist(s) in the 1960s. The provenance would be hard to trace unless the donor comes forward, and might suffer some embarrassment over the publicity. Perhaps the pages were “rescued” from Marvel, much like the Elgin marbles. (DC Comics regularly cut up original art pages and handed them out as souveniers to tour groups.)

    This is fantastic, and I hope others will supplement the collection with more original art. (No Kirby? *gasp*)

23. Myke Says:
    May 21st, 2008 at 8:25 pm

    great post! Spider-Man’s Birth Certificate really got me excited for this post.

    Fantastic, it’s good to know they were able to preserve good stuff like this.

24. Jess Says:
    May 22nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm

    thank you showing these originals, they are truly art. I have several binders full of comics that i started reading as a kid, i will pass these on as a family treasure to my children!

25. Mark Lerer Says:
    May 26th, 2008 at 9:00 pm

    This is one of the most satisfying and gratifying evens for an old comics fan. Mssrs. Lee and Ditko’s work will now be preserved for posterity. Congratulations to you all. –Mark Lerer

26. BizeSor Says:
    May 31st, 2008 at 7:31 am

    I hope this brings some much deserved attention to the Swann Collection at LC. I was lucky enough to live in DC for three years, and spent many a wonderful time doing comics “research”!

    Of course, this isn’t the first time it’s happened… I believe Swann #318 is the complete issue of Captain America Vol.1 #146, pencilled by Sal Buscema, inked by John Verpoorten.

    As for comment #3, I think the post refers to the fact that original art was rarely returned to the artist(s) in the 1960s. The provenance would be hard to trace unless the donor comes forward, and might suffer some embarrassment over the publicity. Perhaps the pages were “rescued” from Marvel, much like

27. Trey Says:
    June 4th, 2008 at 1:30 am

    Wow! That really is a “holy grail” type acquisition!

28. Library of Congress Acquires Spider-Man’s birth certificate « Librarians-Crossing Says:
    June 5th, 2008 at 1:21 am

    [...] to the blog here for the rest of the entry and [...]

29. Edinburgh Says:
    June 5th, 2008 at 10:26 am

    Good for you! Hopefully kids and fans can go there and see it if they desire.

30. Coldfusion Developer Says:
    June 5th, 2008 at 11:56 am

    How bizarre - A fictional characters birth certificate.

    I will now try and get one for the Jolly Green Giant

    Martin

31. Mike at Recycling Facts Says:
    June 8th, 2008 at 8:59 pm

    This is just awesome! Stolen (comment no. 3) or not, Spidey’s original appearance deserve a prominent place in the nation’s premier library. Thank for this. I sincerely hope you’ll have more of Stan Lee’s and Steve Ditko’s other creations in the future. Congratulations.

32. Anton Says:
    July 2nd, 2008 at 6:32 pm

    Wonderful gift! Thank you showing these originals!

33. Brian Minor Says:
    July 29th, 2008 at 11:34 pm

    Marvel was notorious for not returning art to the artists in the 1960’s, and to the artist Jack Kirby in particular. Mr. Kirby was has not been treated well by the company he helped create.
    I would have to say that the artist Steve Ditko is the true owner of this art, though I doubt he would ever come forward and assert his right to posses these pages.

34. Transformers Fan Says:
    August 11th, 2008 at 4:20 pm

    Wow…What a great donation! I would give anything to see those in person. I blame Spiderman for turning me into the comic book and action figure geek that I am today. I’ve never managed to outgrow it. Congrats on this spectacular gift.

35. Marvel Comics Fan Says:
    August 15th, 2008 at 4:46 am

    This is a great story. I have always felt and still do to this day that comic books are unappreciated. Most really are works of art with in-depth storylines and incredible artwork. I’m sure that overtime they will get their due respect just like in this story. Long live Spider-Man and Marvel Comics.

36. Make Money From Home Says:
    September 23rd, 2008 at 1:05 pm

    Definitly most satisfying and gratifying evens for an old comics fans.Congratulations!

37. linda Says:
    October 15th, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    well, Spider-man has a birth certificate, but would he get a passport with it? did obama get a passport with the one he has shown
    america? My birth certificate needed a raised seal and signature, i don’t see one on his

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