About the Marvel Tales #178 [Newsstand] - Fn 6.0

#178 Newsstand Newsstand Edition. Reprints Amazing Spider-Man (1963 1st Series) #39.

Cover art by John Romita, Sr. "How Green Was My Goblin!" Script by Stan Lee, pencils by John Romita, Sr. (who begins as regular penciler), inks by Mike Esposito [as Mickey Demeo] and John Romita, Sr. (touch-ups).

Peter heads to the doctor with the sniffles and learns that Aunt May's health is very fragile; Spidey is roped into tangling with a bunch of goons who zap him with a mysterious gas; not realizing that the gas has weakened his spider sense, he changes into Peter Parker under the watchful gaze of the Green Goblin; the Goblin confronts Spidey outside of his home and captures him as Peter is worried that Aunt May might be overcome by the commotion; trussed up in the Goblin's lair, Peter is shocked when the Goblin takes off his mask and reveals himself to be Norman Osborn. According to Les Daniels in "Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics" (Abrams, 1991), artist Steve Ditko resigned because of a disagreement over the Goblin's identity. Ditko wanted it to be someone anonymous--a new, unknown guy; Lee wanted it to be a familiar character that would startle readers. Cover price $0.65.