Spider-Man swings with Mickey and Minnie!

I heard today that Disney bought up Marvel Entertainment, which includes the Spider-Man franchise.

I don't think we'll be seeing mouse ears on any of the Marvel Comics, but you never know. Mickey Mouse swinging from buildings. Hey, I'd pay to see that. NOT.

When I was in junior high school my friend Ronnie and I read monster magazines and comic books. This would be in 1959, 1960 or thereabouts. One day Ronnie told me that there was a new Marvel comic out called The Fantastic Four. I was curious and pedaled my bike to the Millcreek Pharmacy where I picked up The Fantastic Four #1. I sold it along with my other Marvel Comics after I got married in 1969, so I could start my first checking account.

In 1961 or '62 I picked up the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, and I read it for a couple of years. I think it had a lot to do with the adolescent power fantasy. Peter Parker, who is Spider-Man, is just a teenage nerd--like me. But unlike me he has special powers, gets to dress up in a costume and gets to kick butt. That appealed to me at that time of my life. I'm sure a lot of other boys felt the same way.

I have seen the movies and they brought back memories. They also brought back memories of selling the first issue of Spider-Man for 25¢. When the first Spider-Man movie came out I read that a copy of that same comic had been sold for $180,000.

Like a lot of things in my life, that one slipped through my fingers. I didn't feel too bad, though. Easy come, easy go.