Like a kid on Christmas Eve I could hardly sleep. Filled with anticipation for this day I set an alarm just in case, but I didn't need it. I was up by 8, showered, made myself a nice breakfast and was out the door. When I arrived at my destination I noticed the parking lot was already full, so I parked next door and made my way over. The time was now 10:15 A.M. When I opened the door I was not greeted by my fellow freaks and geeks who adorn the halls of this sacred place I have spent every Wednesday for the better part of half a decade. Instead I was meet by "The Man" or many of them to be exact. Middle age men in suit and ties, probably on their lunch break and there were there for one reason and one reason only: The Amazing Spider-Man #583.
Now allow me to back up. What would a mild mannered Clark Kent want with a comic book and this comic in particular? Well let me inform you: Every so often an event is revealed in the comic book world that draws national and international acclaim alike. Last year it was Captain America #25, the death of the legendary and beloved character Captain America. In 1992 it was Superman #75, the death of Superman. This year it is The Amazing Spider-Man #583. No, Spider-Man does not die; instead he has the pleasure of helping save prez-elect Barack Husein Obama! Not only that, but the two share the cover of the Variant Edition (now going for over $300 on E-Bay!).
As these grown men stumble, fight and try to out bid each other as if it was the ground floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I casually stroll around, in this my home away from home and look through my weekly picks: Final Crisis #6, Punisher: War Zone #5, Faces of Evil #1, Booster Gold #16, House of M: Civil War #5, and last but not least, yes the ever so coveted copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #583 and it's Variant Edition (thanks to the owner and his wife who set a few aside for their "regulars," such as myself!)
Was it nothing but a media ploy? Yes. Was it better than Final Crisis #6? No. Did it work? Yes. Was it worth it? I'll let you be the judge of that.
