Spidey-Stash # 2: Mail Away Items

There have been many great Spider-Man items which were only available through orders placed through the mail.  These “mail away” products are some of the most valuable and sought-after collectors’ items.  I am going to spotlight a few of the mail away items in this article.

Maybe the earliest Spider-Man item available through the mail is a personal favorite of mine.  The giant, 6-foot-tall poster, featuring the artwork of Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko!  The poster was hinted at and then offered through comic books in 1965.  The poster was printed upon paper that is thicker than modern day poster paper.  Although some ads mentioned that more heroes would have their own super large poster in the future, no other posters were ever produced at the 6-foot size.

There were many comic book ads for the poster throughout 1965 and into 1966, until it was sold out.  As I started to pick up back issues of comics, I saw the ads for this beautiful poster and always wanted to own one.  The selling price in recent years made it unaffordable to me (in very nice condition the poster sells for over $1,000).  Thankfully, I finally secured one in the summer of 2020.  A friend built a frame for my poster, and I proudly display it in my “Spidey Room”.  My collection went to a “higher level” when the poster made its way to my home.  It is especially meaningful to finally get it, as I have lived my whole life here in Johnstown, PA, the hometown of Steve Ditko!

Another wonderful item released in the 1960s is the first Spider-Man t shirt.  First offered through comic books in 1965, it also featured cool Steve Ditko artwork, and was a very popular item, selling many units.  There are two “versions” of the shirt. One with a copyright date below the artwork, and one without.  The tag at the neckline shows they were produced by the Allison shirt company.  If you have the chance to purchase the t shirt (or any other Marvel character t shirt from the same time period) please be careful.  There have been rumors of fake shirts for many years.  Make sure the shirt has the Allison tag!

The Spidey shirt was so popular that it was offered as a large iron-on for a few years (in a multi-colored glow theme).  The famous Roach Designs iron-on company featured it in many comic book and magazine ads in the early 1970’s.

There have been “official” reproductions of the shirt (notably in 2000, by the Graphitti company), with a different color of “the Amazing Spider-Man” logo (black lettering instead of the original light blue), and the Graphitti logo.

Starting in 1966, a mysterious “Superheroes Club” was offering items through Marvel comic book ads.  In addition to a membership card, a set of 8 character mini-posters were available.  These posters have always been popular with Marvel fans.  The Spider-Man poster features the same pose as the 6-foot-tall Ditko poster.  In fact, many people have mistakenly believed it was Ditko art on the smaller poster.  Marie Severin is the actual artist.  There was even a larger Severin poster offered by itself (a full size poster) at one point.  This artwork is unique in that you can “see” Spider-Man’s lips and mouth impression through his mask.

The poster sets were sold in a bag with a nice header card.  The posters were also sent out in a huge sheet at times which was perforated along the edges of each mini-poster, to allow for the posters to be easily separated.

In 1968 Marvel offered something that looked cool but not very functional.  Inflatable pillows!  Spider-Man (using Steve Ditko art from a comic book panel) and The Mighty Thor.  Produced by the Massachusetts Art company, the ads ran in the comics for at least two years.  There is a valve on the back of the pillow for inflation.

The Marvelmania Fan Club, the first independently operated club endorsed by Marvel, started in 1969 and offered some nice items to be ordered through the comic books.  A gorgeous set of full color, full sized posters featured a very nice John Romita Spider-Man scene (with Doc Ock and Green Goblin).  These posters were available for two years, and there are two different copyright dates along the bottom of the posters.

Originally, the Spider-Man poster was drawn by Jack Kirby.  After offering it for a short time, Marvelmania management decided the poster should be drawn by John Romita, since he was the one doing the Spider-Man comic book art.  So, the Kirby version poster was printed in a very limited amount and is hard to find today.

Marvelmania was known to not always come through with the goods.  Several less than professional business deals and lack of sending items to fans who sent in their money spelled the end of the club in 1971.  One of their ads featured black-and-white posters by artist Jim Steranko.  It is not clear whether the posters were ever produced.  The Spider-Man Steranko artwork (with The Vulture in the background) was featured on the back of F.O.O.M. magazine # 1 (Steranko was in charge of the F.O.O.M. fan club).

The last item I would like to spotlight is the 1973 Hallmark Minting Service Spider-Man medallion!  Bursting into comic books and issues of F.O.O.M. magazines, it was tied for the earliest Marvel item that I ever mailed away to buy (the Rockomic LP, featured in Spidey-Stash episode one, was ordered at the same time).

Also offered were Hulk and Conan medallions.

Roughly the size of a silver dollar, the medallion features beautiful John Romita artwork on the front and back.  The medallion was offered in bronze, silver, and in gold-plating.  In some ads, you could order the medallion in a Lucite holder, on a necklace, bolo tie, money clip, keychain, or in a small or large belt buckle.

A bit of trivia:  the back of the Spidey medallion has two somewhat major mistakes which are easily spotted by Spider-Man experts:  the “responsibility” quote has been shortened to “With great power comes great responsibility” from the original “With great power there must also come– great responsibility” (in the last panel of the first appearance of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy # 15); the quote is attributed to “Spider-Man first story 1961”.  Amazing Fantasy # 15 was published in 1962.

If you have questions or comments, please submit them below this article.  I love talking Spidey and collecting.  My quest continues for more Spider-Stash, including more Mail away items…