Cobwebs #78 – The Angry Girlfriend Variant

Cobwebs makes its triumphant return!  And what better way to do it than with wrath of an angry girlfriend?  That’s right, dear readers, we are going to deep dive and reveal EVERYTHING there is to know about the infamous Angry Girlfriend Variant of Amazing Spider-Man #14! 

But first, I’ll pull back the curtain so that you can see how the magic works or how the sausage gets made (whichever analogy floats your boat) when members of the Crawlspace staff have to present their ideas to THE BIG THREE before we can seek to publish them with the APPROVED BY THE CRAWLSPACE stamp: 

Mark: I’m going to do a Cobwebs article on Amazing Spider-Man #14. 

Brad: Oh, certainly because it is the first time the Hulk and Spidey met! 

Mark: No, it’s because… 

JR: Ha! It is because it is the first appearance of everyone’s favorite hero, the Green Goblin!  Oz Corn! 

Mark: It is that, but I was thinking… 

George: Oh I know, because it was the comic book stolen by Arnold in the 1981 Different Strokes episode “The Big Heist”!*  That was a classic!   

Mark: I… how do you even know that? 

George: Dude, it had an appearance by Rhoda Gemignani as Mrs. Craig who pressed charges on little Arnold.  How does anyone NOT know that?  What you talking about Willis?  Ha!  Cracks me up every time.  

JR: Ah yes, Rhoda.  Fine looking woman, that one.  Had a pin up of her in my room as a young teen.  You know she played in Ghostbusters as well. 

George: By Stegron’s tail – you’re right!  The real estate agent.  Completely slipped my mind. 

Mark: Actually, I was going to discuss the Angry Girlfriend Variant of that issue. 

The Big Three: *murmurs of awe and respect* 

Brad: Go, my son.  You have our blessings. 

And so it went, thereabouts, and I got started on my article.  Those things that the Big Three mentioned are certainly worth talking about and maybe my next article will be a deep dive into all things non-girlfriend about this issue, but for now, let’s get started! 

If we went all the way back to the beginning, we would go back to November 21, 1970, to when Mr. and Mrs. Bartels welcomed the birth of their son (a mere seven days after yours truly was born) and decided to name him Chance.  But as our story doesn’t really pick up for another twenty years, let’s jump up to the late ‘80s and catch-up Chance as a high schooler who happens to have a few very expensive comics and two girls that he is friends with.  To Audra, he gave Avengers #2 and to Karen, Amazing Spider-Man #14.  He did this, according to him, as a loan to test their friendships and show his trust in them.  I reached out to him to ask if the girls knew about the other one also getting a comic book.  He said that they were both present when he gave the two comics to his friends, so this isn’t a case of two-timing it, though he does admit to wanting to impress Karen as he had a crush on her which is why he gave her the better of the two.  

It is sometime after this point that things go horribly wrong. 

To be clear, Chance and Karen worked together in a drug store, shared classes at school – they were friends.  In fact, she wrote three whole pages in his yearbook encouraging him to graduate (apparently, he was too distracted (maybe by Karen) and did not graduate on time) and expressed her hopes that he would not lose touch with her.  She even used nicknames for him, “Slag” and “Weasel”, which despite their derogatory nature, do seem to be used in a congenial fashion. 

There are pictures of them out there, but on one message board, Karen asked for a poster to take her image down, so out of respect for her, we will not post her image here. 

Our protagonist, however, wanted more than just a platonic relationship.  Since life was splitting paths in different directions, he took a page from Mr. Keating (a la Dead Poets Society) and decided to carpe his diem.  He asked her out.  She said no. He asked her again.  She said no.  He asked her out again.  And again. And again.  Strangely, this plan of attack failed because she went all Palpatine. 

Then he came up with a new plan of attack: he started grilling her on if she was dating this other guy, as if she was cheating on him.  In his own words, he “was an ass to her.” 

Here is where our story splits into two possible realities.  Using a bit of Watcher tech known as the lens of history, we get to witness both. 

What she says:  

She claims that not only did he pursue her after she said and that he was possessive of her, but that he cut her hair in anger when they were driving to a concert and threatened her with a knife.  It was this act on his part that prompted her to deface something that he valued (and she herself as well).  She says “Obviously, if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t handle it the same way I did. Teenagers aren’t always smart, lol.”  The police were called and there was a court case, but outside of those details, she did not go further. 

 

 

What he says: 

He claims that despite his early assertions that he was “an ass” to her, this attack on the comic book was “unprovoked” and he takes great offense at her saying he cut her hair before the comic book incident.  He claims the hair cutting incident happened months latter.  This is brought up in a lot of interviews with him and he points out that she doesn’t mention the hair cutting incident in the markings on the covers.  I have not heard any response to the threatening her with a knife accusation and nothing to show why they were still hanging out together after the comic cover incident. 

 

Whatever the case, here is the result: 

 

In case you are struggling to read it, the cover says: 

Chance, GO TO HELL      turn over 

And on the back we get: 

I never thought Id [sic] be able to destroy something that meant so much to me – As far as Im [sic] concerned Your [sic] dead.   

In no way am I trying to be noble or anything like that 

 

According to Chance and one of the previous owners, Shane, the entire book is marked up.  Well, Shane did say that the ads were left unmolested. 

So how much did that set him back?  Well, I left no stone unturned and searched and searched for a price guide from 1990.  Finally, the Internet Archive came back online and I was able to borrow the 1989-1990 Overstreet Price Guide. 

Things were simpler back then and they only gave you prices for GOOD, FINE, and NEAR MINT.  First of all, we need to determine the condition of the book pre-molestation.  Chance claims it was in mint condition and says it would have been graded at 9.6.  Dustin, the current owner, claims it probably was a 7.5 or an 8.0.  So that puts us somewhere between FINE ($36) and NEAR MINT ($100).  Chance says he paid $100 for it, so you can decide.  For the purpose of this article, let’s say it was NEAR MINT since that was what he paid for it.  Once it dropped in value from the markings, it would put it somewhere below GOOD ($14).   

So, what do you do with a comic that just dropped in value about 80% and is marked with a nasty bit of unrequited love?  You sell it and cut your losses.  Chance sold it for $20 to Mike from Titans Games and Comics in Smyrna, Georgia, in 1990.  Considering that GOOD was only $14 at the time, I’d say Chance got the best deal he could have gotten.   

Mike held onto it for three years until he took it to Dragon Con in Atlanta.  People came and looked at it, remarked on it, but invariably putting it back down.  Everyone, that is, except Dustin Ruff and Shane Hester.  There was no price listed, but due to the rarity of the comic and the novelty of the writing, most people assumed that it would be expensive.  Everyone, that is, except Shane Hester.  He flat out asked how much to buy it.  Mike said, “$40.”  In Shane’s words, “I bought it, and everybody else was like, ‘Dude, I would’ve gave $40 bucks for it,’ And I’m like, ‘It sucks to be you. It’s mine now.’” 

 

Shane and Dustin worked at Battlegrounds Comics in Dalton, Georgia.  Shane has passed away, but Dustin still owns the comic to this day and has since opened a new business in Calhoun, GA named Ruff Edges Comics and Collectibles that seems to be a convention only store, so any rumors that it has passed from dealer to dealer over the years (as purported by Newsweek) is false.   

Speaking of the Newsweek article, the journalist did the minimal amount of research possible and got the lion’s share of his details incorrect and I am quite certain that the freshman in the classroom next me in journalism class could do better, but his article did serve to get people talking about the issue once again.   

Donny Cates offered $25K (supposedly – Shane and Dustin do say that he made an offer) and Jim Lee (supposedly) offered to buy it for $50K and they told him it would be $100K.   I asked both on X if it was true that they wanted to buy it, but neither deigned to respond to my question.   I believe that it is true because Dustin did say that he might would have entertained the offer from Lee if it came with two pieces of original art that had some splash page of Batman or Wolverine on it.  At least at one point, there were talks with his agent, but those talks must have fallen through.   

Chance tried to buy it back for $5000, after a Newsweek article on the comic quoted the owners as saying they were hoping to sell it for that amount.  But, as stated previously, the journalist had not actually reached out to the current owners, he was turned down.  I’ve seen pictures of the comic with a $100K sticky note on it and just last year someone else made an offer for $50K on Instagram, according to Dustin. 

For his part, Chance seems to be rather angry at the men who have the comic book now.  In one interview, he stated that for a small fee, you can pose with the comic to get a picture of you holding it and that Shane and Dustin were just out to capitalize on the issue, and he felt that it was wrong of them to capitalize over his grief and misfortune (though that didn’t stop him from selling it)  I wouldn’t blame the guy if he did charge people – hey, if people are willing to pay for it, why not make an extra buck or two?  Being the ever-intrepid journalist that I am, I reached out to Dustin about the matter and he said, “People can take a picture with it at my booth at shows, but I have never charged anyone to do that.”  The man genuinely seems to enjoy the interactions with people who come by to see the issue.  That, and at this point it is a matter of Shane’s legacy, now that he has passed on.  Dustin said, “I have no plans to ever sell it because people expect me to have it, and it helps keep Shane’s stories and legacy alive.”   

I can get behind that.   

So that brings us to current day.  The book has been slabbed and scored a 1.8 out of 10, which indicates a readable issue which may be “creased, scuffed, abraded, soiled.”  How it was determined to be readable is beyond me since both Chance and Dustin attest that it was written on throughout the book.  Speaking of, it seems that Karen isn’t the only one who enjoyed taking a marker to the book. 

The book, well the slab, at least, has been signed by many people over the past few years and judging from the pictures that appear on the Internet, most have appeared recently.  Here are the signatures.   

I see Jim Shooter, Ryan Brown, but heck if I can make it out.  Can you? 

And then on the back we get: 

Which I am assuming is Paolo Rivera, but why the bunny rabbit, I am not sure. 

But do you know who has NOT signed it?  Karen or Chance.  Chance, probably due to his grudge against Dustin for having the comic and making it famous while Karen would just like to be left alone from what I gather. 

 

So where are they now? 

Well the comic itself is still in the ownership of Dustin Ruff and you can see it at any convention that he is at.  Or you can see a replica of it if you know anyone who went to SDCC 2024 and picked one of these up: 

Which I, unfortunately, do not.  I assume that the writing is just on the covers and not a true replica all the way through.  Still, would be fun to have a copy of it. 

Karen has moved to the complete other side of the country, presumably for career reasons, but in my head canon, it was to get as far away from all of this as possible. 

As to our hapless hero Chance, he replaced his abused copy with another one and went on to make it as an actor – you have probably seen him on the small screen in The Walking Dead: 

(link)

He’s the one who got shot.  You can also find him on his Facebook group page for The Nostalgic Podblast.  What’s more, his contribution to the Angry Girlfriend Variant isn’t his only foray into Marvel controversy.  He also claims that he created the character Madcap and that Marvel stole the idea from him. But as this is not the Madcap Crawlspace, I’ll leave it to you to research. 

Final Words 

Daniel Cochran, a friend of Chance’s, never misses an opportunity to join in on a message board to defend his buddy and to help set the record straight.  So, while this story may be one of a broken relationship, it is also of one that is rock solid.   

The moral of this tale of ours?  Not entirely sure, but according to Dustin Ruff, it’s don’t fall in love with “girls who are out of your league.” 

 

Now, show me some love by dropping into the comments even if it is just to say, “Hi!” 

 

Bartels, Chance. Description of Post. Facebook, 20 May 2021, www.facebook.com/groups/505690109979643/search/?q=madcap.  

Bartels, Chance. Personal Interview via Facebook Messenger. 23 Oct. 2024. 

Chance_Bartels. “The ‘Angry Girlfriend Variant’ Amazing-Spiderman #14 Controversy (My Side).”  CBCS, 2022, forum.cbcscomics.com/topic/18980/page/1/the-angry-girlfriend-variant-amazing-spiderman-14-controversy-my-side/. 

Karen. “Angry Girlfriend Variant? CBCS Slab – Amazing Spider-Man 14.” CBCS, 2019, forum.cbcscomics.com/topic/9671/page/2/angry-girlfriend-variant-cbcs-slab—amazing-spider-man-14/.  

“The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, 1989-1990.” Internet Archive, 1 Oct. 2012, archive.org/details/comicbksovers1900hous.  

Open by Chance. “Live! The Truth about the Angry Girlfriend Variant Spiderman 14! Meet Chance from the Book!” YouTube, 6 Jan. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDJ1TGkpwj0. 

Paper Chase Comics. “Angry Girlfriend Variant – Interview!!!” YouTube, 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjtIQtnGkrU.  

Ruff, Dustin. Personal Interview via Facebook Messenger. 17 Oct. 2024. 

Tuck, Matt.  “The Most Infamous Variant in all of Comics: The Real Story of the Angry Girlfriend Variant.” Comic Book News and Speculation, 2023, comicbooknews.org/the-most-infamous-variant-in-all-of-comics/.  

Two Brothers Comics. “Jim Lee to buy the ‘Angry Girlfriend Variant Comic Book?!  Lexington Comic Con Interview 2022.” YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWMxaFnpREg.  

Whalen, Andrew. “Ultra Valuable ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Comic Defaced by Angry Girlfriend Is Still Treasured by Collectors.” Newsweek, www.newsweek.com/spider-man-comic-marvel-green-goblin-angry-girlfriend-1451590.  

World Travel Nerd. “Amazing Spider-Man 14 Angry Girlfriend Variant Owner Interview.” YouTube, 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnUFPDCRQ2U.  

World Travel Nerd. “Angry Girlfriend Variant Owner Interview Part 2 at Battlegrounds Comics.” YouTube, 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hkt373KJnQ.  

 

* You know you want to see that video clip: 

(link)

 

 

 In case you missed it, you are going to want to see this previous Cobwebs article on the Turkish Spider-Man movie!

 

 

‘Nuff said!