Amazing Spider-Man #18: Original Art, Story Page 22 - Steve Ditko, 1964 // SOLD: $288,000.00 in 2018

"I was born to be... Spider-Man!!!" This incredible image, a two-thirds splash, one of the largest Ditko single-image of the fully costumed Spider-Man ever brought to market, combines poetically with the text to paint a self-contained portrait that encompasses our hero's entire narrative for us, making this the ultimate Ditko Spider-Man page.

The immediately recognizable depiction of arguably the world's greatest super-hero is as iconic as it gets, dating from Ditko's peak period, and this last-page stunner is moving on every level. The page truly has to be read in its entirety to fully appreciate how important "The End of Spider-Man!" has become to the character's mythos. 

Steve Ditko and Stan Lee co-plotted a wonderful tale of redemption as Peter Parker had planned to give up being Spider-Man to devote more time to taking care of his ailing Aunt May. A common theme in Spider-Man stories was that he would "do the right thing," as he notes on this page, "fate gave me some terrific super-powers and I realize now that it's my duty to use them," even at great personal cost. These early issues of Amazing Spider-Man were a huge part of the bedrock foundation upon which the Marvel Universe was built, and such stories defined the characters solidly in the reader's mind.

Sadly, Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko passed away in June of 2018 at the age of 90. But he left us a huge wealth of achievements, with Spider-Man unquestionably at the absolute top, and pages from his #1-38 run on the title are the gold standard for original art collectors. Comic art's unique combination of image and dialogue just doesn't get any better than this page: Nuff said!

This amazing page was created twice-up scale in ink over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 12.5" x 18.5". The page is personalized and signed by Stan Lee in the top margin. With only one small text correction and only slight toning, this page is in Excellent condition.