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Cover: John Romita

The Amazing Spider-Man #109

Name: The Amazing Spider-Man #109
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jun 1972 · Marvel · 0.20 USD

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“Enter: Dr Strange!”

About this Issue

Amazing Spider-Man #109 closes the last original complete story arc that Stan Lee scripted for Marvel's flagship Spider-Man title — a Vietnam War–rooted two-parter (with #108) that brought Flash Thompson back into the regular cast after a five-year absence and depicted him as a psychologically haunted combat veteran, a portrayal largely without precedent in American superhero comics of the era. The story also marks one of the earliest team-ups between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange in the main continuity, pairing street-level action with mystical storytelling in a way that pointed toward the cross-title team-up format Marvel would formalize with the launch of Marvel Team-Up that same year. John Romita Sr. has publicly cited this two-issue run as his personal favorite of all the Spider-Man work he ever drew, deliberately channeling the visual style of newspaper-strip cartoonist Milton Caniff to evoke the foreign-intrigue atmosphere of the setting. The arc laid the character groundwork for Sha Shan — introduced in #108 and carried through the resolution here — who would remain a recurrent presence in Flash Thompson's story for decades.

In "Enter: Dr. Strange!", Spider-Man teams up with the Sorcerer Supreme to rescue Flash Thompson from a group of Vietnamese monks who believe he’s responsible for the death of their high priest during the war. Written by Stan Lee and brought to life by John Romita’s dynamic art—both in the story and on the cover—this 1972 classic marks a rare crossover that blends superhero action with mystical intrigue.

writer Stan Lee · artist, inker John Romita · inker Tony Mortellaro · letterer Art Simek · cover John Romita

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $38

CGC 9.8 · 25 in census $1,714

CGC 9.6 · 70 in census $626

CGC 9.4 · 106 in census $207

CGC 9.2 · 104 in census $166

CGC 9.0 · 115 in census $124

CGC 8.5 · 124 in census $114

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CGC 8.0 · 81 in census $104

CGC 7.5 · 66 in census $62

CGC 7.0 · 55 in census $62

CGC 6.5 · 50 in census $62

CGC 6.0 · 29 in census $58*

CGC 5.5 · 24 in census $58

CGC 5.0 · 33 in census $47

CGC 4.5 · 17 in census $41

CGC 4.0 · 10 in census $37

CGC 3.5 · 6 in census $35

CGC 3.0 none in existence

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $24*

CGC 2.0 none in existence

CGC 1.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 1.0 none in existence

CGC 0.5 · 1 in census $20*

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History

Stan Lee scripted #109 as the second half of a Vietnam War storyline he co-plotted with artist John Romita Sr., who handled both pencils and inks (with Tony Mortellaro on backgrounds) and also drew the cover. Roy Thomas served as editor-in-chief at the time, with Lee transitioning toward the role of publisher; Wikipedia and the Marvel fandom wiki confirm Lee returned to script issues #105–110 after a sabbatical during which Roy Thomas had written the title, and #108–109 represent his final wholly original story for the series before Gerry Conway took over with #111. Romita later wrote in his afterword to Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 11 that he was deliberately invoking Milton Caniff's bold brushwork and shadowy atmosphere — Caniff being one of his deepest creative influences — in a way he had not attempted before on the title.

Trivia · 8 facts

Title: 'Enter: Dr. Strange!' — Part 2 of a 2-part story begun in Amazing Spider-Man #108 (May 1972); cover-dated June 1972, on sale March 14, 1972.
Written by Stan Lee; penciled and inked by John Romita Sr. (with Tony Mortellaro inking backgrounds); lettered by Art Simek; edited by Roy Thomas.
Sha Shan (later Sha Shan Nguyen) makes her second appearance here, following her debut in #108; her character would persist in Marvel continuity for decades, eventually returning as Flash Thompson's physical therapist after he lost his legs.
The issue features a meaningful early main-continuity team-up between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange; the story's own text playfully offers a No-Prize to any reader who could identify their prior meeting (the in-continuity answer at the time was Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2).
Flash Thompson's Vietnam War backstory — his unit's accidental bombing of a sacred temple, the guilt that haunted him, and his civilian reintegration — represented an unusually nuanced depiction of a combat veteran for superhero comics of 1972, published while the war was still ongoing.
The #108–#109 two-parter is regarded as the last wholly original complete storyline scripted by Stan Lee for Amazing Spider-Man before Gerry Conway took over with #111; Lee's credited run on the title concluded with #110.
The story has been reprinted multiple times: in Marvel Tales #88 (February 1978), Spider-Man Comics Weekly (Marvel UK) #156–157 (1976), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 11 (2009), Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #7 – The Goblin's Last Stand (2017), The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 4 (2019), and Marvel Visionaries: John Romita Sr. (2005 and 2019 editions).
John Romita Sr. named this two-issue story his all-time favorite Spider-Man work, citing it as the occasion when he most deliberately channeled the newspaper strip style of Milton Caniff — creator of Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon.