Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: marvel, Scorpion, Silver Age, spider-man, venom

The Spider-Man Villain Who Became Scorpion and then Venom, at Auction

Published Fri, 18 Feb 2022 20:11:10 -0600

The history of the Marvel Universe is filled with people who practically stumbled into fateful circumstances by accident. From Bruce Banner's last-second dash onto a bomb test range to Peter Parker attending a science exhibit after school one night, there are countless Marvel heroes who never (or barely) saw it coming. There are other characters — villains, more often than not it would seem — who have sought great power with their eyes wide open, and gotten something a little different than they bargained for. Such was the case with Mac Gargan, whose unassuming debut in Amazing Spider-Man #19 would lead him down the path to becoming the Scorpion, and later a host for the Venom symbiote. An important early Spider-Man issue for this and other factors, there's a beautiful high grade Amazing Spider-Man #19 (Marvel, 1964) CGC NM+ 9.6 Cream to off-white pages up for auction in this week's 2022 February 20-21 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122208 at Heritage Auctions.

Amazing Spider-Man #19 (Marvel, 1964) with the first appearance of Mac Gargan.

Amazing Spider-Man #19 has an awful lot going on in it — Sandman and the Enforcers, the Human Torch crosses over and Ned Leeds makes his second appearance. The plot threads weaving in and out of this one are a hallmark of the Marvel Universe hitting its stride by 1964. But the unassuming debut of Mac Gargan as a shady character hired by J. Jonah Jameson at the end of the story might be the most significant of those threads from our modern perspective. The character would soon become the Scorpion and much later a host for the Venom symbiote. Early issues of Amazing Spider-Man are virtually all important, and definitely all in demand, and this copy is a gorgeous high grade. So take a look at this Amazing Spider-Man #19 (Marvel, 1964) CGC NM+ 9.6 Cream to off-white pages up for auction in this week's 2022 February 20-21 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122208 at Heritage Auctions.

The Amazing Spider-Man #19 (Marvel, 1964) CGC NM+ 9.6 Cream to off-white pages. The Sandman and the Enforcers appearances. First appearance of Mac Gargan. Human Torch crossover. Steve Ditko cover and art. Overstreet 2021 NM- 9.2 value = $1,050. CGC census 2/22: 41 in 9.6, 13 higher.

View the certification for CGC Certification ID 3705532001 and purchase grader's notes if available.