Spider-Man's most important first appearances

Spider-Man first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15, cover-dated August 1962, the final issue of a canceled anthology series. Stan Lee wrote it and Steve Ditko drew it, and the same eleven-page story introduced Uncle Ben and Aunt May. It sold well enough that Spider-Man got his own series, The Amazing Spider-Man, in March 1963.

Today it is one of the most valuable comics in the world. On September 9, 2021, a copy graded 9.6 by CGC sold at Heritage Auctions for $3.6 million, briefly the highest price ever paid for any comic book. CGC reports only four copies at that grade and none higher.

Dates are cover dates where a month is given. Most of these characters have their own page here: start with the matchups list.

First appearances drive the comics market, and Spider-Man's are among its most valuable. Amazing Fantasy #15's $3.6 million sale in 2021 beat the $3.25 million paid earlier that year for a copy of Action Comics #1, Superman's debut. Before that, a 9.4 copy had sold for $795,000 in 2020. Collectors watch Amazing Spider-Man #300 and #361 closely too, because Venom and Carnage became film stars.

A practical note: you do not need an original to read any of these stories. Every issue above is reprinted in collected editions, linked in our reading guide.

Auction records: ICv2, CGC. Publication history: Wikipedia, Library of Congress.